Graphics were better, or did i miss that from Texas?
But still not gps eventhough they have it? Why is that not working?
Also Rinny/Crowie has to stop, it is like listening to paint dry
Think the graphics were better: thereâs an obvious effort being made. In the swim they had stuff up - from gps rather than buoy sensors. On the bike they listed the top 30, five men and five women at a time, scrolling through the field, with gap to leader, which was good and in retrospect accurate. Unless they had spotters or timing mats that werenât informing the tracker, they were using gps (from the devices carried by athletes in the back of their trisuit (not from RR)). Worked well otherwise and all through the run.
Went through a glitch for half an hour on the bike where they showed 1-5 then 11-15 et seq and 6-10 (often players of interest) were always MIA.
1 Like
I protest! Commentary has some real jewels, and I didnât even hear more than 10% of it
All these professional women look great - Crowie
Knowledge of the [run] course is paramount, especially towards the end of the race - yes it was neither Crowie nor Ronny but Tim Don (on a multi-loop course), but had to be noted
On a serious note, the broadcast would be better if Ironman:
- Increased the volume of ambient sound at least 3 times - watch WTCS and see how a broadcast can come alive when you really hear the course even if the commentators are thousands of miles away
- Added a higher energy person to the commentary booth. They canât have Will McCloy, pick someone else.
- Just told Crowie that it doesnât matter how a runner looks or if they have high cadence, itâs driving me nuts the second time I hear it, and imagine hearing it 10 times in a broadcast, thank you very much!
Duly noted:
- The graphics have improved
- Replays of key moments
- The current commentating team is still LOADS BETTER than the previous one
- They are talking about the T100 and Challenge races like they exist and matter (which they do)
4 Likes
It would also help if Rinnie didnât pronounce the Bortolamediâs name in at least 50 different ways throughout the race (why wasnât Crowie or a producer in her ear about it during an ad break?) and in general sounded like sheâs never heard of any of the people racing, except maybe Bogen on the menâs side and PierrĂ©, Simmonds and Philipp on the womenâs side.
There have been plenty of improvement overall in the broadcast, thatâs true, but I donât think commentary has improved much. Crowie is knowledgeable, but needs to be paired with a high-energy commentator (like when he was commentating with Jack Kelly in T100) as heâs not that.
The difference in both quality and professionalism of IM:s commentary to the WTCS Yokohama with McCloy and Granger was really stark this weekend. WTCS made the Pro Series seem like Ironkids in this regard 
7 Likes
This. I watched almost all Yokohama and a bit of Aix, and the commentary was so much better. Even when they mess up in Yokohama (like when they donât see the chase group bridge up in the womanâs race because the germans up front slowed down the pace), it doesnât look so bad as they have super good chemistry and energy.
4 Likes
Tim Don is a keeper for transition reporting. Great energy, vivid descriptions. Would love to hear what he can do in the main commentary booth.
Also, it was interesting to get swim splits and a better identification of the lead swimmers at the timing points.
Itâs fun during some of the bike coverage to see the shadow of the camera drone move on the pavement along with the cyclists. Iâd be interested in a behind-the-scenes video from Ironman in how they are changing the way they capture footage.
I donât understand why the athletes donât do more to brand themselves during the bike. Most of the time, all we can see is a side view, and many still have real estate on side torso or leg where they can put their name. Athletes should help the audience know who they are looking at. It would also help the commentators confined to a booth in Colorado do it too. (Yes, I know some have their name on front and back, and that helps during the run, but not so much on the bike.)
In terms of broadcasting, Tim Don cut his teeth on Super League / Supertri - as a team manager with plenty of camera time and (I think) an on-course reporter earlier. Incidentally that series is the one we originally know Will McCloy fromâŠ
The part that got me was that Crowie was telling a story about something, right as the gun went off and he kept telling his story rather than engage with what was happening.
I get that triathlon can be boring and we need people who can tell these stories to fill time, but you need someone as part of the crew who will say âand theyâre off, athletes jump into the water, elbowing for positionâŠâ
Thereâs lots of time to tell stories. Start, transitions, finish, etc you at least need to engage with whatâs on screen.
3 Likes
The Daily Tri for Aix:
Is that Biancaâs sister 
2 Likes
I wonder if sometimes itâs a running gag to continuously butcher a name after they messed it up a couple times. Why not just roll with it and keep saying weird things, they figure.
1 Like
Why does it never happen with US names? 
thats her German name lol
just showing off my qualifications to be an ironman commentator ( butchering names )
thatâs Bianca Bogen 
the cousin of Michele Bogenlamedi
Iâve said it before, the Ironman broadcast gives the vibe that there is no producer and the commentators have no clue whatâs going up on screen next and just have to roll with the punches. I hope thatâs not the case, but if it is they need someone with a broadcasting background on the commentary team to shepherd it through the exact moments you just mentioned. Right now it seems a bit like their commentary team is divorced from the video production and theyâre just doing this from home.
2 Likes
I think thatâs harsh
I watched part of the Aix broadcast and both commentators discussed how the climb at the 60km mark would be crucial especially for climbers like LP etc. They did their homework, knew the course, and discussed how it will or could impact the race
Didnât know the competitors thoughâŠ
If thatâs your bar for âdoing their homeworkâ, that Aix has a climb and that it would be crucial for climbers and it will impact the race in a major way, thatâs not a very high barâŠ
I agree about the comment about the production team being disconnected from the commentary, but I think that is true for a lot of triathlon broadcast. I watched the World Cup in Chengdu and was appalled by the production. Just following the leaders, never a pan out to see what was going on. The commentators seemes as frustrated as they kept saying âwell weâll just see the splits when they leave the waterâ (this was during second or third leg of relay where it is really easy to spot who is bridging to what group in the water). I couldnât believe they didnât have someone in charge to tell the cameraman what shots to take.
1 Like