Who exactly are the British Eurosport guys?

[Crossover]

Regardless of commentary quality, I think the British Eurosport guys have really nice voices to listen to.

 

[cl2]

It is harder to find out stuff about Simon Reed, as he was not a sportsman himself. His background is in journalism, specialising in tennis and figure skating.

It may mainly be about tennis, but here is an interview Simon did in 2011 that you might find interesting:

http://stuartapplebyjournalist.com/2011/10/21/simonreedinterview/

CaroLiza_fan

Very interesting article! Interesting that his first ever commentary was in figure skating. On the topic of his first love, cricket,

"The powers that be, didn’t see journalist-broadcasters like myself having a role in cricket commentary. I thought this was a great mistake but that’s the way it has been and I think cricket has suffered as a result."

I hope skating doesn't go that way...

Anyway, I like that Simon presents a sensible face of sports journalism, unlike a certain other journalist named Phil who likes to stir the pot of sensationalism.

 

[cl2]

Regardless of commentary quality, I think the British Eurosport guys have really nice voices to listen to.

On Simon Reed's interview in the article that CaroLiza_fan posted, his response to the question, "What is the key to becoming a good commentator?" was "heavy research and a good voice".

 

[viennaskater]

Joanne is the exact opposite of that. She is ultra-critical of the skaters (often unnecessarily so), and talks constantly. When she was doing the TEB this season with Nicky, you could tell that he was getting fed up with her.

CaroLiza_fan

Joanne does nobody any favours. Eurosport should definitely not use her again.

 

[el henry]

I am sorry, I am confused.

I quite liked the British Eurosport commentary as well. So *who* exactly was commenting on the Men's SP and the Men's LP? Maybe I'm not reading the thread closely enough, but I can't tell. Everyone is talking about Nicky and Chris, so maybe that's it?

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

I am sorry, I am confused.

I quite liked the British Eurosport commentary as well. So *who* exactly was commenting on the Men's SP and the Men's LP? Maybe I'm not reading the thread closely enough, but I can't tell. Everyone is talking about Nicky and Chris, so maybe that's it?

It was Simon and Nicky that have been commentating this week.

At the start of the week, Simon told us that the reason Chris wasn't available was that he has recently become a grandfather for the first time, and that he is back in Chicago helping out with the little one.

Congratulations to the happy family.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[BlackPack]

One of them is a grandfather already! Time flies...

I hope B. Eurosport viewers post as many funny blurbs by Chris/Nicky/Simon as possible.

I pray for the day technology is good enough when we can all see British Eurosport feeds without delay. It's improved a lot already.

 

[CutieP]

I love these guys

 

[karne]

But, what better way to start the day this morning?! Watching my favourite skater win her first World Championships, and then watching my favourite Formula 1 team winning their first race since 2013 (and having their first win since 2009 with a driver I actually like)!!!

*horrified gasp* Oh no, CaroLiza_fan. I had hoped, with your taste in Russian ladies, that you had better taste than to like him! :no:

 

[Tavi...]

Joanne does nobody any favours. Eurosport should definitely not use her again.

Really? Did she commentate for TEB in 2013 when Patrick, Yuzuru & Jason won? Because I remember as being the complete opposite - very positive.

 

[Alba]

For years, most fans agree that the British Eurosport commentators are the most fair and insightful compared to other commentators in the world of figure skating.

I love them, but it's not true that they are the most fair and insightful compared to other commentators. Eurosport Italy commentators are simply fantastic, dare I say even better. Teledeporte are great too. I'm sure there are many more. Just because we don't listen to them, because of the language or any other reason it doesn't mean that Eurosport UK are THE best.

I know there's Nicky, Chris, and Simon. There were some others too. I couldn't find out much information about them the last time I Googled them which was a long time ago. I don't think I've seen their faces. I know one of them is a general network commentator and one of them used to be an ice dancer/pair skater?

They are the main commentators, and from a long time now. Others are just guests. Usually during the GP events.

p.s. for those who don't know, Simon is the brother of Oliver Reed (the actor). Simon used to comment tenis as well.

 

[BlackPack]

I love them, but it's not true that they are the most fair and insightful compared to other commentators. Eurosport Italy commentators are simply fantastic, dare I say even better. Teledeporte are great too. I'm sure there are many more. Just because we don't listen to them, because of the language or any other reason it doesn't mean that Eurosport UK are THE best.

True. But in the Anglophone commentator world, they are better than any Anglophone commentator I've heard so far. The North American ones are pretty horrifying. It's pretty easy to be a better commentator compared to the likes of Sandra Bezic, Scott Hamilton, Tracy Wilson, Kurt Browning, Tara, Johnny, etc. The only light in the tunnel was Susie Wynne, Uncle Dick on a good day, and Terry Gannon who appreciates good skating more than some of the aforementioned.

Who are the Eurosport Italy commentators? Former skaters?

The Russian commentators talk way too much, constantly throughout the program. When I'm on Youtube, I tend to skip the Russian videos because I can't hear the music.

 

[Weathergal]

True. But in the Anglophone commentator world, they are better than any Anglophone commentator I've heard so far. The North American ones are pretty horrifying. It's pretty easy to be a better commentator compared to the likes of Sandra Bezic, Scott Hamilton, Tracy Wilson, Kurt Browning, Tara, Johnny, etc. The only light in the tunnel was Susie Wynne, Uncle Dick on a good day, and Terry Gannon who appreciates good skating more than some of the aforementioned.

Agreed!

And for the "B" team...
I'm able to get Universal Sports, which, for most events these days, broadcasts the ice dance SD and FD, pairs SP and LP, and men's and ladies' SP, leaving NBC to broadcast the men's and ladies' LPs. They don't show all the skaters (oh, how I wish!), but they show more than NBC does in its portion.

Their main broadcaster is Craig Hummer, who, while no Terry Gannon, is really not that bad. I've noticed over the past two seasons, he's become pretty knowledgeable and has some genuine appreciation of the sport. They often have Tanith Belbin for ice dance, and the two of them have a nice chemistry. Tanith does a great job of explaining things, and my understanding and appreciation of some of the finer points of ice dance has increased since watching/listening to her.

But for the other disciplines, they had been using Peter Carruthers frequently. As discussed on other threads, Carruthers often rambles, occasionally rants, and frequently fails to answer a good leading question--even with some nice prompting from Hummer. I've often wondered what Hummer thinks of him.

Lately though, they've had Ryan Bradley covering everything but ice dance. Bradley has a genuineness about him that is very endearing. They used him sparingly last season, and I'm glad they've been using him more now. Last year I thought sometimes he was a little too chatty. This season, I think he's really improved, and his timing (understandably) is much better. He explains things pretty well and doesn't talk over performances as much.

Unfortunately for Worlds they've used Steve Schlanger instead of Hummer. When they used Schlanger last year, I didn't think he was too great, but this Worlds though was a whole different story. He made so many mistakes (and Universal Sports has also put up video of the wrong skater in a highlights section). I honestly wondered if he might be drinking. But that's a story for another thread. Sorry, didn't mean to get so off topic here!

The Russian commentators talk way too much, constantly throughout the program. When I'm on Youtube, I tend to skip the Russian videos because I can't hear the music.

I have the same issue with the Russian broadcasts. I get frustrated when I can barely hear the music.

 

[aromaticchicken]

I hope they bring Mark Hanretty again! Thanks for clarifying who he was. I remember loving his commentary from Cup of China this year, because he brought some technical specifics that were really interesting (e.g., complimenting Polina on her change of edge on a Biellmann at the end of her program). He also has a very endearing voice

 

[bartlebooth]

I hope they bring Mark Hanretty again! Thanks for clarifying who he was. I remember loving his commentary from Cup of China this year, because he brought some technical specifics that were really interesting (e.g., complimenting Polina on her change of edge on a Biellmann at the end of her program). He also has a very endearing voice

Very endearing indeed.

 

[BlackPack]

Agreed!

And for the "B" team...
I'm able to get Universal Sports, which, for most events these days, broadcasts the ice dance SD and FD, pairs SP and LP, and men's and ladies' SP, leaving NBC to broadcast the men's and ladies' LPs. They don't show all the skaters (oh, how I wish!), but they show more than NBC does in its portion.

Their main broadcaster is Craig Hummer, who, while no Terry Gannon, is really not that bad. I've noticed over the past two seasons, he's become pretty knowledgeable and has some genuine appreciation of the sport. They often have Tanith Belbin for ice dance, and the two of them have a nice chemistry. Tanith does a great job of explaining things, and my understanding and appreciation of some of the finer points of ice dance has increased since watching/listening to her.

But for the other disciplines, they had been using Peter Carruthers frequently. As discussed on other threads, Carruthers often rambles, occasionally rants, and frequently fails to answer a good leading question--even with some nice prompting from Hummer. I've often wondered what Hummer thinks of him.

Lately though, they've had Ryan Bradley covering everything but ice dance. Bradley has a genuineness about him that is very endearing. They used him sparingly last season, and I'm glad they've been using him more now. Last year I thought sometimes he was a little too chatty. This season, I think he's really improved, and his timing (understandably) is much better. He explains things pretty well and doesn't talk over performances as much.

Unfortunately for Worlds they've used Steve Schlanger instead of Hummer. When they used Schlanger last year, I didn't think he was too great, but this Worlds though was a whole different story. He made so many mistakes (and Universal Sports has also put up video of the wrong skater in a highlights section). I honestly wondered if he might be drinking. But that's a story for another thread. Sorry, didn't mean to get so off topic here!



I have the same issue with the Russian broadcasts. I get frustrated when I can barely hear the music.

I didn't go for the icenetwork or NBC for the reasons you mentioned. I once did but they covered some events and not others. It's the commentators that ruin everything or the lack thereof (some of them don't have commentary?). Until British Eurosport feeds become really stable, I will just sit back and watch Youtube videos which are almost instantly uploaded (thank you very much to those who spent precious time doing this). I was able to watch the British Eurosport Live this Worlds, and it was fun to hear all the offbeat comments they make. Chris/Simon/Nicky really are the barflies of the figure skating pub. The commentary does determine how enjoyable a competition is for me.

I hope Alba lets us know what insightful comments the Italian Eurosport makes; it's always fun to compare views.

 

[Weathergal]

I didn't go for the icenetwork or NBC for the reasons you mentioned. I once did but they covered some events and not others. It's the commentators that ruin everything or the lack thereof (some of them don't have commentary?). Until British Eurosport feeds become really stable, I will just sit back and watch Youtube videos which are almost instantly uploaded (thank you very much to those who spent precious time doing this). I was able to watch the British Eurosport Live this Worlds, and it was fun to hear all the offbeat comments they make. Chris/Simon/Nicky really are the barflies of the figure skating pub. The commentary does determine how enjoyable a competition is for me.

I hope Alba lets us know what insightful comments the Italian Eurosport makes; it's always fun to compare views.

Yes, I'm very grateful for those who take the time to upload the YouTube videos. I'm always amazed at how quickly they do!

The barflies of the figure skating pub!

I also would like to hear more about the Italian Eurosport commentators. I've often wished there was a YouTube translate, like Google translate, so I could watch the videos in other languages and hear what they say about the different skaters.

You mentioned you watched British Eurosport live for Worlds. Are you in the US? If so, how did you do that?

 

[BlackPack]

Yes, I'm very grateful for those who take the time to upload the YouTube videos. I'm always amazed at how quickly they do!

The barflies of the figure skating pub!

I also would like to hear more about the Italian Eurosport commentators. I've often wished there was a YouTube translate, like Google translate, so I could watch the videos in other languages and hear what they say about the different skaters.

You mentioned you watched British Eurosport live for Worlds. Are you in the US? If so, how did you do that?

Yes, I'm in the US. I actually went on the official Eurosport website and they sell subscriptions now. Unfortunately, it's geoblocked.

livestream365.com/en/eurosport --- somehow this stream bypasses geoblocks and it worked pretty well. At times there were 30 second delays between the audio and video, i.e. you can see Denis Ten doing a quad and the commentators are saying he stepped out of the axel (ok, that's something Uncle Dick would do but LIVE lol).

 

[Weathergal]

Yes, I'm in the US. I actually went on the official Eurosport website and they sell subscriptions now. Unfortunately, it's geoblocked.

livestream365.com/en/eurosport --- somehow this stream bypasses geoblocks and it worked pretty well. At times there were 30 second delays between the audio and video, i.e. you can see Denis Ten doing a quad and the commentators are saying he stepped out of the axel (ok, that's something Uncle Dick would do but LIVE lol).

Thanks BlackPack. I'll have to check it out for next season! Aww Uncle Dick...just love him anyway though.

 

[caitie]

Here's some of my faourite banter from Chris/Nicky:

Nicky: "I once.... fell over in front of the judges and sat on Karen for a few seconds."
Chris: "Bet she enjoyed that."
Nicky: "Well, afterwards she said... she said she's gonna rip my arms and legs off, really."
Chris: "Ahh... okay."
Nicky: "Okay. So... I had to run off."

Starting from around 7.18 here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjgRhU9KZk8

Haha, aw. I remember he told the exact same story during Davis & White's kiss and cry footage back in 2009 when Charlie fell three times in the OD.