No Heineken Cup highlights on RTE?

Digifriendly

Have checked TV listings for next weekend and can't find any HC highlights programmes on RTE. Are they not covering Munster/Leinster games even in highlights as they have done for past few seasons?

thomond2006

I noticed this too, no mention of it on the Sky EPG.

JustinDee

Is there not a programme on the Monday night?

An Tarbh

there's nothing on the EPG on UPC, no mention on the RTÉ website of any highlights and also nothing on the ERC website but there is a mention of highlights on S4C.

PhatPiggins

I can't take anymore of RTE's awful rugby coverage to be honest, you'd be better off watching the highlights on youtube

Digifriendly

JustinDee wrote: »

Is there not a programme on the Monday night?

Checked Radio Times listings and no mention of any highlights there on RTE.

icdg

That's odd indeed, I've checked all the RTÉ schedules for up to Friday week and even their Sport website and there is no mention of any Heineken Cup coverage.

According to European Rugby Cup, RTÉ still have highlights rights for Ireland. Surely they haven't forgot to give it a timeslot...

Digifriendly

icdg wrote: »

That's odd indeed, I've checked all the RTÉ schedules for up to Friday week and even their Sport website and there is no mention of any Heineken Cup coverage.

According to European Rugby Cup, RTÉ still have highlights rights for Ireland. Surely they haven't forgot to give it a timeslot...

Maybe with this economic recession their budget has been stretched too far with winning the ML contract. This means only FTA highlights are on S4C. Wonder will Sky win some new subscribers in Ireland as a result of this?

channelsurfer2

rte's contract expired last year.... they have to negotiate a new contract from this year on for highlights and the ERC are playing hardball with the Minister's looming decision on FTA Heineken cup in the background... no word yet according to an article in the weekend papers as to whether rte will secure a last minute deal or not..

phog

A welcome break from Hook and McGurk.

If they do get the highlights I'd love to see the panel being changed and alternated over the season to bring some freshness to the panel.

My favourites would be the likes Conor O'Shea, Liam Toland, Frankie Sheahan, Brent Pope, Woody, Noel Mannion, Bernard Jackman and Emmet Byrne.

Badabing

Slightly ot but Newstalk could grab some live rights for HC off RTE according to the papers, sorry i've no link.

bamboozle

phog wrote: »

A welcome break from Hook and McGurk.

If they do get the highlights I'd love to see the panel being changed and alternated over the season to bring some freshness to the panel.

My favourites would be the likes Conor O'Shea, Liam Toland, Frankie Sheahan, Brent Pope, Woody, Noel Mannion, Bernard Jackman and Emmet Byrne.

Birch is too busy getting Clontarf promoted to be distrated with media work...

JustinDee

bamboozle wrote: »

Birch is too busy getting Clontarf promoted to be distrated with media work...

Like the media work he did yesterday?

icdg

channelsurfer2 wrote: »

rte's contract expired last year.... they have to negotiate a new contract from this year on for highlights and the ERC are playing hardball with the Minister's looming decision on FTA Heineken cup in the background... no word yet according to an article in the weekend papers as to whether rte will secure a last minute deal or not..

The Irish Times reported as such this morning, except that they argued that rather than playing hardball, a deal was in fact more important to the ERC as for there to be no highlights deal would increase the arguments in favour of placing the event on the Crown Jewels list. The IRFU lost a lot of sympathy for the anti-listing case over the Guinness Series ticket prices and the lack of any free-to-air coverage would increase the case for this. It should be noted that no free-to-air terrestrial broadcaster is covering the Heineken Cup at all in England and Scotland, though, and the UK government still hasn't listed the event.

Strange that the ERC is still listing RTÉ as highlights broadcaster on its website though.

Digifriendly

Here's a link to Irish Times article - http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2010/1005/1224280401279.html

ButtersSuki

phog wrote: »

A welcome break from Hook and McGurk.

If they do get the highlights I'd love to see the panel being changed and alternated over the season to bring some freshness to the panel.

My favourites would be the likes Conor O'Shea, Liam Toland, Frankie Sheahan, Brent Pope, Woody, Noel Mannion, Bernard Jackman and Emmet Byrne.

No problem with anyone on your list except Frankie Sheahan. My God he's BRUTAL!!!!!

padser

channelsurfer2 wrote: »

rte's contract expired last year.... they have to negotiate a new contract from this year on for highlights and the ERC are playing hardball with the Minister's looming decision on FTA Heineken cup in the background... no word yet according to an article in the weekend papers as to whether rte will secure a last minute deal or not..

How would this put the ERC in a position to play hardball?

It's the other way around - if anyone is in a position to play hardball its RTE, since (as ICDG mentioned) if there is no highlights it strengthens the ministers hand (which is bad for ERC). Also if RTE delay and Minister designates it free to air the price they would have to pay drops substantially.

So I think we can be fairly sure its RTE who are playing hardball.

phog

ButtersSuki wrote: »

No problem with anyone on your list except Frankie Sheahan. My God he's BRUTAL!!!!!

You're entitled to your opinion but in what way do you find him brutal? I like him because he know's his stuff and gives little insights into how players react during a game.

profitius

“We at ERC believe we have worked very hard to sustain the growth of a tournament which has generated huge enjoyment and success for Irish teams, fans and viewers.”

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2010/1005/1224280401279.html

The ERC should also thank Irish teams and fans for making the tournament what it is. It was the Irish fans who first traveled in large numbers to away games.

PhatPiggins

phog wrote: »

You're entitled to your opinion but in what way do you find him brutal? I like him because he know's his stuff and gives little insights into how players react during a game.

I agree I find him refreshing from the normal ex player commentator drones churning out cliches and neutral comments.

ButtersSuki

phog wrote: »

You're entitled to your opinion but in what way do you find him brutal? I like him because he know's his stuff and gives little insights into how players react during a game.

Thank you firstly for acknowledging my right to an opinion; I equally bow to yours. Frankie just comes out with banal anecdote after banal anecdote; he seems to have a propensity to be sensationalist when nothing of any great importance to the game has happened, and his Munster-rose-tinted-glasses are ridiculously biased to the degree that I actually feel sorry for Stuart Barnes and the (rightly-so) flak he takes for bigging up England and English teams - yet we can't fairly level the same criticism at one of our own. Oh, and talking up a completely irrelevant start or end of season Magners League match like it's the game of the century doesn't wash for me.

He's definitely improved but his first performance (well, the first time I heard him) covering the France v South Africa test a year or so ago was frankly embarrassing.

To sum up, he'd be perfect for Sky!

Podge_irl

phog wrote: »

A welcome break from Hook and McGurk.

If they do get the highlights I'd love to see the panel being changed and alternated over the season to bring some freshness to the panel.

My favourites would be the likes Conor O'Shea, Liam Toland, Frankie Sheahan, Brent Pope, Woody, Noel Mannion, Bernard Jackman and Emmet Byrne.

Would love to see that but it's never going to happen. Hook appeals (for some reason) to the large audience that don't know all that much about rugby.

buck65

Frankie is ok I reckon, easy enough on the ear. nothing too analytical but seems to speak alot from experience and player view point which may be why you think he is biased as Munster is all he knows but during a game I think he is fair enough.

cee_jay

TV Rights deal announced earlier:
http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2010/1007/rte_rights.html

thomond2006

Delighted that RTE sorted it. Yes their analysts aren't everyones' cut of tea but it's good they have the highlights coverage.

2 hour programme (9:30pm-11:30pm) suggests that they will have proper coverage of Ulster rather than their piecemeal comment on them in previous years.

Digifriendly

thomond2006 wrote: »

Delighted that RTE sorted it. Yes their analysts aren't everyones' cut of tea but it's good they have the highlights coverage.

2 hour programme (9:30pm-11:30pm) suggests that they will have proper coverage of Ulster rather than their piecemeal comment on them in previous years.

Yes, Ulster should get decent coverage but with no proper OB at Ravenhill for this game (it's not being covered live by Sky), probably just a few minutes as with the home game vs Bath a year ago.