I'd just like to give the CBC a huge thanks for their outstanding coverage of this year's World Figure Skating championships in London Ontario. If marks were awarded for media coverage the CBC would get 6.0s from me! I did not miss one moment of skating this time. Between their tv coverage and online coverage I have seen everything including behind the scenes coverage. Oh and Tracy Wilson, Kurt Browning and Brenda Irving did an outstanding job as did CBC sports host Scott Russell.
As a US citizen with no access to Universal Sports network, I'd like to nominate Latvian TV. Without them there would have been no live Worlds coverage for me.
Thanks mare, I agree! Thanks to Latvian TV and the always excellent Eurosport!!!!Originally Posted by mare
Big props to the Russian channel (don't know its name in cyrillic) and yes - Eurosport UK. Universal can go die on the vine.
That's it, I am moving to Canada. The feed freezing during Gold's short and a few other key moments took years off my life.
Yes - thank God for Ltv and then yesterday I watched ice dancing FD & Ladies LP on justin.tv (with English commentators which helped a lot!) Thanks to all who provided these wonderful links. A big thumbs down to NBC for no coverage at all (showing a 2 hr tape a week later doesn't count IMO).
Going by their commercials, everyone in Latvia seems to have some kind of medical condition that requires a pill or supplement. No wonder they had such extensive coverage of Worlds--ice skating is good medicine!
Universal pulled a big boner last night with the Ladies FS coverage. When the skating started, all they showed was a bored-looking guy sitting next to the judges. You could see an arm or a leg of a skater going by from time to time, but that's all.
I went to TVTeka (my backup) until Universal sorted it out---after about 5 skaters had gone. So I missed my favorite Aussie skater, the graceful and lovely Brooklee Han.
ItWell, I'm from Latvia, actually! I'm positively surprised that you noticed our massive skating coverage... It's usually this way - for Euros and Worlds. And, you must give it proper credit, as competitions were held in different continent, tv actually provided coverage during night and repeated them in daytime.
There are various (complicated and metaphysical) reasons why Latvian TV likes figure skating soo much! It's partly historical.
As for the commercials and medicial conditions - I'm afraid it's much simpler - skating coverage was sponsored by one medicial company, that's why there were pills commercials frequently!
And... it's really shame you don't understand latvian, our skating commentators are funny enough (and usually objective!) There are some "bickering" going one between them - women (former skater and judge) is usually more accepting, but man is skeptic to the bone. And this "fighting" between them continues in every competition!
It
Well, I'm from Latvia, actually! I'm positively surprised that you noticed our massive skating coverage... It's usually this way - for Euros and Worlds. And, you must give it proper credit, as competitions were held in different continent, tv actually provided coverage during night and repeated them in daytime.
There are various (complicated and metaphysical) reasons why Latvian TV likes figure skating soo much! It's partly historical.
As for the commercials and medicial conditions - I'm afraid it's much simpler - skating coverage was sponsored by one medicial company, that's why there were pills commercials frequently!
And... it's really shame you don't understand latvian, our skating commentators are funny enough (and usually objective!) There are some "bickering" going one between them - women (former skater and judge) is usually more accepting, but man is skeptic to the bone. And this "fighting" between them continues in every competition!
LOL! I kid (I kinda figured that the sponsor was a pharmaceutical company, but it was too good a running joke to pass up). I am grateful to Latvian tv and hope they continue the tradition!
I watched on Universal Sports, which I switched to DirecTV just to have. They had Peter Carruthers doing the commentary on everything but Dance. He is just terrible. He babbles out sentences with no apparent plan as to how he's going to end them, and constantly sticks in awkward phrases that add no meaning, such as "as it relates to...". He spent half the time alleging the results were unjust before even seeing the protocol or attempting to understand why one competitor got a higher TES score than another. (The results may be unjust, but, if you're a television commentator, you've got to look at the protocol before asserting that on television.) The last thing figure skating in the US needs is television commentators bemoaning how confusing and corrupt the judging system is (which, in Carruthers' case, I believe he says because he truly does not understand it).
They had Tanith Belbin doing the commentary on Dance. She's pretty good, I think.
Peter Carruthers is an awful commentator. Worse than Scott Hamilton, even.
I enjoyed a little of Brit Eurosport. They seem to know when to shut up, but one night the link worked, the next it didn't. So... I watched in a language I didn't understand.
It was still better then Peter Carruthers.
awwwww...poor peter. not really getting the love. he is a pretty awkward commentator, but there are moments when the awkwardness is endearing...or at least funny...
Welcome to Golden Skate Meriona! Post long & often. we are so grateful for the details of Latvian coverage, the best many of us could get.It
Well, I'm from Latvia, actually! I'm positively surprised that you noticed our massive skating coverage... It's usually this way - for Euros and Worlds. And, you must give it proper credit, as competitions were held in different continent, tv actually provided coverage during night and repeated them in daytime.
There are various (complicated and metaphysical) reasons why Latvian TV likes figure skating soo much! It's partly historical.
As for the commercials and medicial conditions - I'm afraid it's much simpler - skating coverage was sponsored by one medicial company, that's why there were pills commercials frequently!
And... it's really shame you don't understand latvian, our skating commentators are funny enough (and usually objective!) There are some "bickering" going one between them - women (former skater and judge) is usually more accepting, but man is skeptic to the bone. And this "fighting" between them continues in every competition!
Thanks, Meriona, for your description of the two commentators. I was very grateful to have Latvian TV coverage of Worlds. I liked that the commentators rarely said a word during the skater(s) programs. Even though I do not understand Latvian, I certainly knew when a skater had a problem because the female commentator would always say "oy yoi yoi". I hope the folks at Ltv know how many skate fans outside of Europe were happily watching their coverage of Worlds.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks