By Cherry Tree
September 22 2008

ITV's new Guinness Premiership highlights programme made its debut for the season on Sunday, and the initial verdict is ... welcome back, but could do better. For a programme that calls itself highlights, it spent a lot of time NOT doing what it said on the tin, but hopefully it will get better as the season progresses.

It's good to see highlights from a weekend of GP games, and this first one featured Glaws heavily. But why have they waited until the third weekend of the season?
It was also good to see behind the scenes under the new Kingsholm stand and to have Iain Balshaw interviewed.
But why do these folk who do sports programmes like this always have to look for gimmicks?
Why can't they just edit the action together, interview a few relevant people and leave us to enjoy the rugby? Are we all so dim that we need all the daft extras that distract from the games and take up time which could be used better?
Balsh looked distinctly uncomfortable at times as he wandered round the stand in the wake of some presenter who had taken the weekend off from advertising double glazing.
And when it came to the highlights, they spent an awful lot of time concentrating on missed kicks. In the Glaws game against Quins, they probably made a difference, but surely not in EVERY game?
Some of the camera work on the games was a bit dodgy, too, but of course the pictures came from Sky, who have the contract to cover all GP games and then pass them on the ITV.
Still, it's a start - highlights of the games are always welcome and we mustn't be too critical after just one programme (or show, as they seem determined to call them nowadays).
We'll be watching again.

FOOTNOTE - it appears the claim that this was the first of the season was wrong. I think i was expecting it on ITV1, and didn't bother looking for it on their other channels. Oops!!!!

ITV Guinness Premiership highlights review

Discussion started by Shedloads (IP Logged), 22/09/2008 11:37

Shedloads
22/09/2008 11:37

ITV Guinness Premiership highlights review

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cheerycherry
22/09/2008 12:13

Its been on ITV4 all season, the coverage of the Glaws win at Bath featured a sentence I never thought I would hear ".. A chance for Olly Morgan to show his pace.." its good to see they are trying and im sure it will improve if viewing figures justify it.

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phoenix2005
22/09/2008 18:58

Well done ITV4. Puts the BBC to shame.

.................................
not a member of the sale back side lickers club

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cheerycherry
24/09/2008 00:58

Just watched Glaws v Quins on the repeat showing, where was that game being filmed from? The cathedral?!

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