It is getting annoying to the extent that it makes Formula One unwatchable. I'm talking about the "pro-Hamiltonism" that the English-speaking audience endures when Formula One is on.
With world feeds being a common thing for television, getting ITV's feed is something that has to be lived with. Unfortunately, as a result of Lewis Hamilton's amazing form in the top flight, we also have to deal with James Allen going on and on about the wonder boy from Stevenage.
Of course, I think that Lewis Hamilton is an amazing driver, but I also think that the staff of ITV, most notably James Allen, has so much bias that it makes the state-controlled media of Zimbabwe look free. It makes me wonder whether Lewis Hamilton is paying the staff of ITV to broadcast the race.
Today's Must Reads
You can say that it is British pride and all that jazz, but Formula One is an international sport, and with international sports, there needs to be some balance. The fact that there is so much talk about Lewis Hamilton by James Allen makes me despise Lewis Hamilton and the McLaren-Mercedes team. It's loving to the point of hating.
I don't mind if there is more talk about Lewis Hamilton, but I do mind if all the talk is about Lewis Hamilton. I would like to hear about other drivers, too.
Finally, there is the press conference.
ITV just showed Lewis Hamilton giving his race recap and then left before they even had a chance to chat with Nelson Piquet Jr. Without a doubt, I would have liked to hear Nelson, because he is new to the podium and his perspective would have been most interesting, considering how he came back from 17th place.
It is not fair at all to the viewing public that likes the sport all around and not just a certain driver. If I was in the United Kingdom, I would be sending my complaints en masse to ITV and the television regulators about the lack of balance in the Formula One broadcasts from ITV.
comments (10) write a comment »
write a new comment
about 1 month ago
Yeah! yeah, Mr. Shakeri, thank you! This is my favorite article to date!
about 1 month ago
I am not really that bothered to be honest, I watch F1 for the racing and not to judge the quality of the coverage.
TV sports coverage isn't there to serve hardcore fans like us so we just to accept it. The majority of the potential audience are all armchair fans so ITV have to get as much of that audience as possible, the hardcore audience is a very small percentage of the people who watch the GPs.
It won't change on the BBC, however we will get the see the races uninterrupted and I don't care how bad the BBC coverage is, all I care about is being able to watch the whole race.
about 1 month ago
I couldn't agree more about ITV. I thought they were terrible pre-Hamilton when they used to talk about Button non-stop, little did I know that was nothing compared to what we have now.
I don't think it helps that I don't really like ITV (and particularly James Allen) anyway so I often find it hard to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Surely Mark Blundell can take some elocution lessons before going on national TV too?!
about 1 month ago
i can't stand james allen!!! you are so right, he is to focused on hamilton... say if kubica won in the wet monaco it would be "fantastic drive"
hamilton wins in the wet in monaco "just like senna, schumacher... world champion material" and so on.
i am a fan of hamilton and i think he's great but itv are just too focused on him and no other driver
about 1 month ago
The same things are written on here every post race week. It's going back to BBC so you should be campaigning them to change things and not moaning about ITV's coverage after each race.
It isn't going to change.
And the comment about blundell...Do you want someone who knows what they are talking about? Is British and is a former F1 driver? They are in pretty short supply and I think they deserve credit for their input.
about 1 month ago
I personally like it ... Ha ha ... Cant get enough, I am British and its a Brit doing well so only show him for me and to be fair if he wasnt doing so well then he wouldnt be in the limelight as much ... But the fact that right now he is by far and away the best driver out of the 20 then thats why he is getting all the air time and why not ...
about 1 month ago
To be honest I havent noticed this at all. I did see what happened at the press conference and that was disrespectful. they cut away at 14:52 (by my watch, dont ask how i know this) and that would leave Steve Rider and Mark Blundell to rap the show up with around 3-4 minutes left. Shocking!
But i think the ITV team are a passionate bunch and are proud to have a Brit winning races. Yes a Brit winning races!!! when did we last have a Brit winning races? A long time ago. I know I'm proud to have an English man doing so well in a sport crowded by Germans (in no way was I hating Germans there but there are 5 in the championship at the moment). Well done Lewis keep it up.
from about 1 month ago
Couldnt agree more !
I cant fault them ... Sure James Allen is a d*ck but he knows where his loyalties lie, more of the same I say ...
about 1 month ago
Although it would of been nice to hear young Nelsinho's After race speech for his first time on the podium , i dont really mind that the press conference was cut short , the only thing that mattered to me was them two Mclarens crossing the finishing line , and more importantly one of them doing it in P1 .
If heikki would of been that car in P1 i would of felt just the same..........joyous , i mean i used to celebrate when that miserable spanish git finished P1 last year , so ill have no problem celebrating for OUR heikki when he finally manages to bag that win .
about 1 month ago
This argument seems to happen after every race.
ITV Is a british broadcaster, they appeal to the masses, the mass in the UK support hamilton, yes its a little too much, and it could be toned down a little, but ITV's job is to entertain the UK audience.
If other countries which receive ITV coverage are sick of it, then why don't they start their own?
Anyway the BBC is (supposed) to be less biased, so maybe next year we'll have a more balanced view of F1.
Good article, but this subject annoys me.
write a new comment