12:50pm Thursday 7th February 2008
By David Craven
Every now and again, Sky get it so badly wrong.
Generally, you can't argue with their Super League coverage while there is no doubt Murdoch's millions have had a massively positive impact on the sport. We would be lost without them.
But sometimes they just leave you wincing with sheer embarrassment.
I'm not talking about Stevo's constant harping and sensationalising or Eddie's persistent self-praise of this "fantastic" competition. They are givens and as fully expected as a Phil Clarke turn to
camera.
What got me cringing and really seeking refuge behind the sofa cushions was last night's first Boots 'n' All programme of the season. Or more specifically its opening ten minutes.
The programme in its entirety wasn't too bad. There was an excellent piece about the late, great Mike Gregory and eventually some interesting discussion about the new season ahead.
But the first two features couldn't have been duller if they'd tried.
Bearing in mind this weekend sees the start of a new Super League campaign - ignoring the anomomoly of Saturday's Rhinos v KR affair - the programme was an excellent opportunity to entice new
supporters and offer a mouth-watering taster of things to come. Cue customary Sky glitz and razzmatazz with all its cracking images backed up by upbeat, thundering soundtracks. But what did we
get?
To kick-off with, a "first look" at ….the new England badge. Wow. Staggering. And how good did it look in HD?
Stevo and Eddie talked about how it came about, who had what input, why it was designed in the first place before Stevo sagely added he'd have liked to add some lions to the finished product. The
only thing more bland than the feature was the badge itself.
But what came next? Let's up the pace a little. An interview with England coach Tony Smith about his trip to Australia where he's been looking at training facilities and hotels for the World
Cup.
Smith is a great coach but he has never been the greatest media man and always looks uneasy in front of the cameras. But there he is plonked on a live link-up to Manchester with a bland backdrop and
even blander questions. You had to feel sorry for the guy.
It was all so, well, depressing. Things were trundling along so slowly I was praying Sky may bring back Angela Powers' special feature - you know, that one where she went round Super League grounds
with her family in tow rating baby-changing facilities - just to spice things up a bit. Or better still, maybe we'd get a commercial break.
There will be a lot of head coaches citing early season rustiness for under-performance in the coming weeks. Let's just hope the broadcasters are having the same teething problems. And first-time
viewers will wake themselves from their doze to give it another shot.
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