Moan Moan (no real name posted??) , I think you're being a bit harsh saying that ' we can't be bothered' to come over to the TT. I for one have to work for a living and am also not fortunate enough to have the TT on my doorstep, I will more than likely and as I have for the last 15 years be coming over, at great expense to assist a rider in the MGP. Radio isn't subsidised by the Manx tax payer by more than a few pence each and afterall you get it all year and can still listen to it on your radio FREE during TT, these stations are businesses and as pointed out by someone else in this thread they carry ALOT of adverts. I don't and wouldn't complain if YOU as a MANX person wish to tune into my local station (which could via DAB) and I certainly wouldn't expect you to pay for it if you did. I've been coming to the TT and MGP since 1986 and have spent an absolute fortune doing so, I don't think its alot to ask to be able to listen to the practice commentary without lining the pockets of The Dukes? I'm not asking for live free race video footage, just to able to listen to a radio station that is free all year round. BBC should have been given it so that they could have done similar to the NW200. It kept shutting down like Dukes, which was very frustrating but at least it was free and you could watch that to?
Cheers
Russ Henley

Well said Russ, & a big thanks to FC for putting the link up last night,
To say that the air was red hot here last night was an understatement, when we lost the £10 service,
Fingers crossed for tonight, both on the coverage front & the weather

Mike C

arzed Wrote:I agree, Cargo. I have only PM'd it to one person. Unfortunately someone has already given out one of the links. Doing that will guarantee it will be stopped.

Its still working

Shitoffa Shovel Wrote:MM said;;

Quote:those of you who have followed the TT for more than five minutes,

I see from the user list you registered exactly 5 minutes after I did,,,,,,What exactly is your point ?

Regards

SS,,,,,,,,,,,,,

My point was people who have only recently become fans of the TT, and therefore have not previously followed the Manx Radio TT coverage, may not be familiar with the problems the Manx Radio website has previously experienced in dealing with the volume of people trying to listen online. I though my point was fairly obvious from the words I used, but there you go.
It certainly wasn't a slight against longstanding fans, although I am unclear as to how when you join a forum is a measure of your dedication to the sport.

JRA Wrote:

Moan Moan Wrote:

Shitoffa Shovel Wrote:After digesting 'Moan Moan's' reply I thought better of adding to the impending blast from forum users and I decided to subscribe to the 'TT Live' service knowing full well it did have teething problems last year.

I now have a very slow acting dashboard, No Videos to watch, a murky 3 point web cam shot of the start and finnish, and the thing I subscribed for in the first place 'Manx Radio' suffering a hardware failure. For someone who has put his money where his mouth is , I don't think this is good enough.

Am I likely to get any sort of re fund ? I doubt it.

I look forward to MM's views on this subject........

Regards

SS,,,,

I think you should all get a refund for when it isnt working. So, maximum of £20 for the whole festival, that's 11 days of practice and race coverage, will get you a refund of about £1.82 for the day it didn't work. Although it was fixed about halfway through the session, so perhaps call it a quid. Now your only problem is deciding what to spend all that lovely cash on.

Moan Moan. You miss the point. Its not just about your calculated cost for each individual, (although you may wish to apply your accountancy skills to the value for money we who do come across receive from the Steam Packet) its about the significant sums made by Duke overall from this. They are not doing this for our benefit are they.

Suggestion - why don't Duke calculate how much they make from subscribers for when the service is unavailable or not fully working and instead of refunding, they donate that to good causes eg the Joey Dunlop Foundation or the Helicopter Fund.

Can you quantify the significant sums you say are made by Duke and explain whether this is before or after the cost of staff overtime and increased bandwidth is taken into account? Also, apart from the hard-working marshals, other volunteers and TT-supporting charities, precisely who else is involved in the TT for entirely altruistic reasons? Bear in mind we're talking about a maximum of £20 here for a service jointly provided by Duke, Manx Radio and the Isle of Man Government's Department of Tourism and Leisure. I simply don't believe this is the naked profiteering you seem to assume it is.
Also, and I am sorry to go on and apologise for seemingly singling you out for a rant, are you sure Duke doesn't make any contributions to TT charities and marshals?

FC Wrote:

arzed Wrote:I agree, Cargo. I have only PM'd it to one person. Unfortunately someone has already given out one of the links. Doing that will guarantee it will be stopped.

Its still working

Sorry Colin but your link is now broadcasting only Manx radio FM just like mine
We've been gazumped

cargo Wrote:

FC Wrote:

arzed Wrote:I agree, Cargo. I have only PM'd it to one person. Unfortunately someone has already given out one of the links. Doing that will guarantee it will be stopped.

Its still working

Sorry Colin but your link is now broadcasting only Manx radio FM just like mine
We've been gazumped

Sent you a PM

The Bag Wrote:Moan Moan (no real name posted??) , I think you're being a bit harsh saying that ' we can't be bothered' to come over to the TT. I for one have to work for a living and am also not fortunate enough to have the TT on my doorstep, I will more than likely and as I have for the last 15 years be coming over, at great expense to assist a rider in the MGP. Radio isn't subsidised by the Manx tax payer by more than a few pence each and afterall you get it all year and can still listen to it on your radio FREE during TT, these stations are businesses and as pointed out by someone else in this thread they carry ALOT of adverts. I don't and wouldn't complain if YOU as a MANX person wish to tune into my local station (which could via DAB) and I certainly wouldn't expect you to pay for it if you did. I've been coming to the TT and MGP since 1986 and have spent an absolute fortune doing so, I don't think its alot to ask to be able to listen to the practice commentary without lining the pockets of The Dukes? I'm not asking for live free race video footage, just to able to listen to a radio station that is free all year round. BBC should have been given it so that they could have done similar to the NW200. It kept shutting down like Dukes, which was very frustrating but at least it was free and you could watch that to?
Cheers
Russ Henley

You are absolutely right to say I was being a bit harsh, and I apologise to all those who can't make it to the TT this year - I forget sometimes how privileged I am to live here.
The situation is that Manx Radio is funded to the tune of £1 million a year by taxpayers in the Isle of Man, and makes the rest of its income from advertising sales. Advertising equates to less than 50 per cent of the station budget.
While I appreciate the offer of listening to your local stations for free, I'd point out fully commercial stations are entirely self-funding so I wouldn't be relying on compulsory part-funding by taxpayers while local BBC radio stations are funded by the licence fee, which we have to pay in the Isle of Man despite not benefitting from the same level of service as the UK.
When you say 'lining the pockets of The Dukes' what do you mean? The maximum cost of TT Live is £20. Part of that must, surely, go to Manx Radio, which is providing the commentary, some to Greenlight TV, which is providing the race highlight videos during race week, and then there is the cost the increased bandwidth, staffing overtime, new webcams etc etc etc.
How much money do you think The Dukes are taking home from each subscription after costs have been met? And why do you begrudge Duke a small profit? It's not like they are alone in making a bit of money out of the TT, amd I've yet to see them inflate thier prices just for the TT as many other traders do. A DVD is going to cost punters the same in TT week as it does the rest of the year, and I don't think anyone could call £20 for a fortnight-long service excessive.
And how can you possibly say BBC's coverage of the NW200 was free? It was 'free' to those outside the licence fee paying area or those who simply don't pay their licence fee, but it was paid for by all licence payers, including those who have no interest in road racing.

steve-e Wrote:It didn't stop it last year when it was posted on the front of my site.
I've paid for live! with only really the intention of using it last night and tonight as we're off over in the morning so for me it's at a 50% failure rate so far.
Tax payers covering the cost of the radio.. someone's getting well paid if its costing that much to run, it's got more adverts on it than any commercial station round here. And why play music DURING practice? Do that before and after, while practice is on and my mates are out on circuit I want to know they're ok.

I don't know how aware you are of how Manx Radio operates - not very I'd assume. Radio Manx Ltd is a company wholly owned by the Isle of Man Treasury. In exchange for providing a significant element of public service broadcast it receives a subvention from Treasury. This equates to about £1 million a year and is paid for from the money raised through the collection of taxes in the Isle of Man. As the Isle of Man has a zero rate of corporate tax, that means it is mostly from income tax receipts. The actual running costs of the Manx Radio are, reportedly, close to £2 million - the balance of the costs are met from advertising sales.
As far as whether it represents good value for money or not, and whether the standard of broadcast is good enough, I think I may tend to agree with you.

You are talking through your hoop my boy, the NW was broadcast by the BBC and we on the Island pay the licence fee. By broadacsting the TT over the net will get to those that have never seen or been to the TT, thus making great promo. Also think about those that cant get here due to lack of available travel and Hotels. Most of the adds on Radio TT are aimed at non residents and the like so Radio TT are getting a nice little earner on the extra air time adds.

FC Wrote:You are talking through your hoop my boy, the NW was broadcast by the BBC and we on the Island pay the licence fee. By broadacsting the TT over the net will get to those that have never seen or been to the TT, thus making great promo. Also think about those that cant get here due to lack of available travel and Hotels. Most of the adds on Radio TT are aimed at non residents and the like so Radio TT are getting a nice little earner on the extra air time adds.

Do you mean 'ads' as in advertisements rather than 'adds'?
Do you really think the TT translates to the sort of coverage BBCNI gave the NW200 as well as the NW200 format does? The Triangle is a much shorter course to cover with cameras - although this was mainly done from an aerial camera by the BBC - and the bikes are racing against each other, not the clock, making it easier for new fans to follow.
Your point is about as useful as comparing the broadcasting of Formula One and World Rally - both are spectacular, but one lends itself to live TV coverage much better than the other. The highlights programmes put together for ITV4 are the best way to show the TT to people who don't fully understand the scale of it or the format.
And, while we're talking about ITV4, if this web thing is so easy why aren't they following the BBC lead?
When you say 'nice little earner', do you mean making a bit extra money so they can pay for all the additional staff and overtime to ensure there is a full Radio TT service, including detailed race coverage, throughout the festival?
Thought you would know better Mr Moore.

Some firms make a lot of money from the TT, Duke Marketing have it all regarding vidio/TV. By charging people to listen to a radio station that is already paid for is taking the 'pee', you can only rape something for short time not all the time. We are not going on about TV but Radio. ( Greenlight done the NW for the BBC).

Web cams here http://www.manxradio.com/readNEwsItem.aspx?id=20838

FC Wrote:Some firms make a lot of money from the TT, Duke Marketing have it all regarding vidio/TV. By charging people to listen to a radio station that is already paid for is taking the 'pee', you can only rape something for short time not all the time. We are not going on about TV but Radio. ( Greenlight done the NW for the BBC).

Web cams here http://www.manxradio.com/readNEwsItem.aspx?id=20838

You really know your stuff don't you? When you say Duke Marketing 'have it all' regarding 'vidio' (I assume you mean video?) and TV what are you talking about?
Greenlight (yes the same one as filmed the NW200) holds the rights to film the TT, as you may remember from a couple of years ago when they clamped down on people posting videos online, and distributes that footage to ITV for use on TV and Duke for use on TT Live and the review DVD.
Duke doesn't have any rights to film any of the races and relies on Greenlight to provide footage to produce the review.
So, I suppose, the basic question I'm asking is what are you talking about? And I'll wager I'm not the first person to ask you that in your lifetime.
You're right that we're talking about radio, and not TV, but I'll think you'll find it wasn't me who brought the NW200 into the equation.
And by the way, describing TT Live! as 'rape'....that's really tasteful.

Its the riders and teams that pay for us all to have the greatest free show on earth, now if they were to get a slice of the money made from the TT that would be nice.

Anyway this is free, get in the mood, enjoy and be safe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R9MAlkaJqE

PS. how much was a pint last week????

Quote:You are absolutely right to say I was being a bit harsh, and I apologise to all those who can't make it to the TT this year - I forget sometimes how privileged I am to live here.
The situation is that Manx Radio is funded to the tune of £1 million a year by taxpayers in the Isle of Man, and makes the rest of its income from advertising sales. Advertising equates to less than 50 per cent of the station budget.
While I appreciate the offer of listening to your local stations for free, I'd point out fully commercial stations are entirely self-funding so I wouldn't be relying on compulsory part-funding by taxpayers while local BBC radio stations are funded by the licence fee, which we have to pay in the Isle of Man despite not benefitting from the same level of service as the UK.
When you say 'lining the pockets of The Dukes' what do you mean? The maximum cost of TT Live is £20. Part of that must, surely, go to Manx Radio, which is providing the commentary, some to Greenlight TV, which is providing the race highlight videos during race week, and then there is the cost the increased bandwidth, staffing overtime, new webcams etc etc etc.
How much money do you think The Dukes are taking home from each subscription after costs have been met? And why do you begrudge Duke a small profit? It's not like they are alone in making a bit of money out of the TT, amd I've yet to see them inflate thier prices just for the TT as many other traders do. A DVD is going to cost punters the same in TT week as it does the rest of the year, and I don't think anyone could call £20 for a fortnight-long service excessive.
And how can you possibly say BBC's coverage of the NW200 was free? It was 'free' to those outside the licence fee paying area or those who simply don't pay their licence fee, but it was paid for by all licence payers, including those who have no interest in road racing.

Firstly thanks for acknowledging that we're not all TT dodgers but actually just people who would rather be there than here at work and my rantings are based upon I'd rather be there than here
I think to be fair, the residents of The Isle of Man DO get the same level of service from the BBC than I do here in Nottingham, you as I do, get BBC1 BBC2 TV, Radio 1 Radio 2 Radio 3 Radio 4 etc, the only thing that you don't get on the Isle of man is BBC Radio IOM, I get BBC Radio Nottingham, but this station is not to be listened to until you are at least 75 years old!!

Also in parts of the IOM you can get BBCNI TV and don't have to rely on watching the NW200 ( should you wish to) via the internet or Virgin TV (a service which costs me £38 a month for broadband and TV for BBCNI which without I would not have been able to see the NW200).
The BBCNI broadcast was free, based upon the fact that I HAD to buy a licence anyway, I had no choice in that.
Dukes profits I'm sure won't be small, if they were to work for 'small profits' we'd have had a decent MGP vid last year.
My reasons for not wishing to, as I described it 'wanting to line their pockets' is simple.
A few years ago when the internet had become popular, an offer was made by a person associated to this site (whose name I will not mention in case the said person does not wish to be named in this thread) to run, for FREE (actually at this persons expense) and with the help of TT enthusiasts, like this site is now, host and run the OFFICIAL TT SITE, but surprisingly the 'job' was given to DUKE. Ok to a point, but as everyone who goes on these sites regularly will be able to vouch THE OFFICIAL SITE was not updated from one year to the next and was indeed for 2 years not even updated during TT until the end of the event? (who remembers that??) Even now apart from during the event there is little updating or info appearing on THE OFFICIAL SITE, whereas THIS site is updated at least twice a week out of season and as often as 2 or 3 times a day during the TT and MGP.
A small and maybe petty gripe it maybe, but as far as I'm concerned it was and still is a ploy to stitch up the whole media rights of the TT.
Enjoy it afterall its FREE for YOU unless you want to park at Nobles Park in anything other than an Audi
Cheers
Russ

Russ the quality of service here on the Island by BBC is very poor, I live in Braddan and can only watch BBC1 or 2 through Sky

Fair point Colin thats something I wasn't aware of and stand corrected. It was good reception when I stayed in Onchan, Ramsey and Smeale. But it would seem not the whole Island.
Cheers
Russ

The Bag Wrote:

Quote:You are absolutely right to say I was being a bit harsh, and I apologise to all those who can't make it to the TT this year - I forget sometimes how privileged I am to live here.
The situation is that Manx Radio is funded to the tune of £1 million a year by taxpayers in the Isle of Man, and makes the rest of its income from advertising sales. Advertising equates to less than 50 per cent of the station budget.
While I appreciate the offer of listening to your local stations for free, I'd point out fully commercial stations are entirely self-funding so I wouldn't be relying on compulsory part-funding by taxpayers while local BBC radio stations are funded by the licence fee, which we have to pay in the Isle of Man despite not benefitting from the same level of service as the UK.
When you say 'lining the pockets of The Dukes' what do you mean? The maximum cost of TT Live is £20. Part of that must, surely, go to Manx Radio, which is providing the commentary, some to Greenlight TV, which is providing the race highlight videos during race week, and then there is the cost the increased bandwidth, staffing overtime, new webcams etc etc etc.
How much money do you think The Dukes are taking home from each subscription after costs have been met? And why do you begrudge Duke a small profit? It's not like they are alone in making a bit of money out of the TT, amd I've yet to see them inflate thier prices just for the TT as many other traders do. A DVD is going to cost punters the same in TT week as it does the rest of the year, and I don't think anyone could call £20 for a fortnight-long service excessive.
And how can you possibly say BBC's coverage of the NW200 was free? It was 'free' to those outside the licence fee paying area or those who simply don't pay their licence fee, but it was paid for by all licence payers, including those who have no interest in road racing.

Firstly thanks for acknowledging that we're not all TT dodgers but actually just people who would rather be there than here at work and my rantings are based upon I'd rather be there than here
I think to be fair, the residents of The Isle of Man DO get the same level of service from the BBC than I do here in Nottingham, you as I do, get BBC1 BBC2 TV, Radio 1 Radio 2 Radio 3 Radio 4 etc, the only thing that you don't get on the Isle of man is BBC Radio IOM, I get BBC Radio Nottingham, but this station is not to be listened to until you are at least 75 years old!!

Also in parts of the IOM you can get BBCNI and don't have to rely on watching the NW200 ( should you wish to) via the internet or Virgin TV (a service which costs me £38 a month for broadband and TV for BBCNI which without I would not have been able to see the NW200).
The BBCNI broadcast was free, based upon the fact that I HAD to buy a licence anyway, I had no choice in that.
Dukes profits I'm sure won't be small, if they were to work for 'small profits' we'd have had a MGP vid last year.
My reasons for not wishing to, as I described it 'wanting to line their pockets' is simple.
A few years ago when the internet had become popular, an offer was made by a person associated to this site (whose name I will not mention in case the said person does not wish to be named in this thread) to run, for FREE (actually at this persons expense) the OFFICIAL TT SITE, but surprisingly the 'job' was given to DUKE. Ok to a point, but as everyone who goes on these sites regularly will be able to vouch THE OFFICIAL SITE was not updated from one year to the next and was indeed for 2 years not even updated during TT until the end of the event? (who remembers that??) Even now apart from during the event there is little updating or info appearing on THE OFFICIAL SITE, whereas THIS site is updated at least twice a week out of season and as often as 2 or 3 times a day during the TT and MGP.
A small and maybe petty gripe it maybe, but as far as I'm concerned it was and still is a ploy to stitch up the whole media rights of the TT.
Enjoy it afterall its FREE for YOU
Cheers
Russ

There was an MGP DVD Review for 2007, I've watched it, it has Olie Linsdell on the front cover, you can buy it from the duke website, probably.
And I don't know which official TT site you are visiting, but iomtt.com has had almost daily news stories added since about April last year (the news page has a full archive arranged by month for 07 and 08 so you can check this out). Obviously there isn't a story for every day as even road racing has day's off, but it is fairly constantly updated with news stories.
Incidentally, has anyone asked whether the launch of TT Live! was a cash-grabbing decision of Duke or an instruction from the Isle of Man Government's Department of Tourism and Leisure, which controls the site and who Duke administer it on behalf of?
You're right, it does seem a petty gripe, denying yourself access to coverage of the TT to prevent a comparatively small amount of money going to an Isle of Man-based company which employs 50-ish people. Cutting your nose off to spite your face some might think.
I take it you also won't be buying the 2008 TT review DVD just in case those dastardly people at Duke make some money.

Its not just the live Radio TT that most are cheesed of about its also the point that obtain the practice times you also have to pay. I believe that it breaks coprights to copy them and post up on another forum just like posting the list of riders is.

No I haven't bought a TT DVD for a few years now. I take on board your point of biting off my nose to spite my face.
I also have not asked who ordered the launch of TT live, but whoever it was should have made damn sure that before it took peoples money it could provide the service it claimed to be doing.
Why won't you post your real name either? Nobodies gonna fall out with you or think you a bigger t*t than me I'm the biggest t*t of all
Cheers
Russ