North One is refusing to comment on reports it has lost its contract to cover the TT.

The London based company has produced coverage over the past eight years, during which time the viewing figures has increased significantly with highlights distributed globally to many international broadcasters.

It’s understood the procurement process is still ongoing but local firm Greenlight TV has won back the contract it lost nearly a decade ago.

---

North One Television has been told it has lost the contract to cover the TT, which has been awarded instead to island-based Greenlight TV.

London-based TV production company North One informed staff last Friday that it was disappointed that it had been unsuccessful in its tender to produce coverage of the TT from 2018 to 2022.

It has requested a full explanation of the decision which it says will take at least two weeks.

The company has retained the contract for distribution.

North One has produced TV coverage of the TT Races since its original appointment ahead of the 2009 TT Races.

It took over from Greenlight TV, which has filmed the event for the past 13 years.North One’s initial contract for the exclusive rights for television production, sales and distribution was for five years.

The worldwide TT audience grew from 8.1 million in 2010 to 24.4 million viewers in 2013 in more than 130 countries. Its contract was awarded for a further two years in 2014 following a competitive tendering exercise by the then Department for Economic Development.

The contract was extended for a further year in 2017, while the department was dealing with the aftermath of the Vision Nine affair.

A new procurement process was launched but this time the contract was split into two parts - production and distribution.

The Department for Enterprise said it would not comment as the procurement process had not yet ended.

Greenlight TV director David Beynon said he too could not say anything as the procurement was still on-going.

We asked North One chief executive Neil Duncanson for a comment but he had not provided a response to us by the time the Examiner went to press.

---

Does anyone remember what an instant improvement North One made when they took overfrom Greenlight  before - HD cameras etc made greenlight coverage look like a home movie.

I think many people are sick of the ITV presenters so a change is well overdue - anyone now talking about Anstey getting out of bed or the helicopter not being able to keep up should be sacked immediately.

Can't quite work out why North 1 might be keeping the distribution when Greenlights partner SES is suposed to be one of the worlds biggest distributors - but I'm sure DED wouldn't mess up a tender procedure - would they

I also enjoyed North One's video coverage but their audio coverage has left a lot to be desired of late. I do admire James Whitham and Steve Plater for their TT exploits but they and the other commentators all lack the presentation skills necessary to keep it fresh. The producers seemed to be striving for a 'Top Gear, laddish' type of programme whereas I (and I suspect many others) want to know about the races and all the racers and not just the first three. The sidecars deserve more coverage too.

Stavros has been around for ages granted but along with Plater and Whitham they portray very well the full spectrum of emotions and commitment involved with TT / Road Racing and for me that's a critical part of the show, not saying that change/refresh is a bad thing but I feel that if you get fresh faces that don't have that genuine hands on experience they could very easily make themselves, the production and the event look unprofessional, especially in today's media mad world.

I think the presenters need to not only have the presenting skills but also to have been there, done it and got the t shirt themselves, which all 3 of the above have done to various degrees, not saying there isn't room for some new blood, but if so I hope it is people of a similar background.

I think televising the TT presents many issues and challenges.

The programs have to have a wide ranging appeal, but with a priority of where the advertising money is coming from!

The dedicated TT fan (as I suspect most of us on here are) may want more in depth coverage of the event and riders (as I do), but we are probably in the minority.

For many viewers, I suspect it's a once a year event they like to watch on TV and want to see the thrills/spills/glamour etc. In addition, celebrity culture has a major influence on many viewers & potential viewers.

As we know, the weather can play a major part in the scheduling of races, which makes it more difficult to strike the right balance of what to show.

The circuit's length, that the TT is a time trial rather than a first to the chequered flag race, makes it more difficult to televise and for the non TT fan to grasp what is happening in a race.

As others have stated, knowledgeable TT people are not always the best at presenting or commentating, given that the program has to be compressed (a 2 hour race into half an hour) it is very different from live commentary. Although it may be that improved commentary could be added after the event?

The images shown are amazing, compared to what was possible only a few years ago. The presentation and commentary have improved (whilst I like Mike Brewer on Wheeler Dealers, I wasn't a fan of his TT presenting) but I think there is still room for improvement.

I would also like to see more detailed graphics on race positions at the end of each lap (not just the top 6), improved commentary that isn't so repetitive, less "jokey blokey" presentation and more of me on my unicycle (I only knew about it when others told me they'd seen me!)

I would also request that Manx radio review their presentation. There is one race commentator that, in my opinion, should have some airtime previewing & reviewing races, with a few stories from way back thrown in for good measure, but I would prefer that he doesn't commentate on the actual race.

That's my 10 pence worth!

aslong as we get decent coverage on a free to view channel ill be happy
no way can we loose this great event to the gready pay per view or subscripton money grabbers

Hear, hear +1

I agree with an earlier comment on this thread......North one were slammed when they got the contract I recall, couldn’t possibly cover the event like Greenlight and then promptly produced the best EVER coverage..... there ultra slow motion pictures were truly amazing and the programmes just got better...

I agree their presenter team was sometimes “laddish” but hey, they are ex racers and good ones at that and Staceos likes a joke or two doesn’t he....!

Interestingly, the picture above is from a live outside broadcast truck and Geeenlight have never done anything like live tv......will be interesting to see their new format as their old one, as written above looked like home movie compared to North 1..... although they can now copy and alter it a little I suppose!

Mike Brewer, Richard Nichols combo has me cringing!

Mr Brewer seems to have sold his soul to the USA with Wheeler Dealers........so I don't watch that anymore!

Well there goes half of the dream team then.....😂