Pedrosa

Problem you have in the U.K. is that bike racing is a minority sport. It will never compete with the viewing figures enjoyed in say Italy or here in Spain.

Here in Spain viewing stats always show the coverage of the Moto GP race to be among the top 5 every week. You would never see that in the U.K. So here, it is a perfect vehicle for advertisers to receive a high profile for any campaign. That is what pays the bills for the TV companies.

Even if the present Beeb coverage is crap,what are the viewing stats for it? I would rather watch my fave sport and turn down the volume to avoid prattish commentary than avoid it altogether.

If people start watching in bigger numbers and pressing the Beeb to improve then they just might do so. But to repeat,the bottom line is only justified by viewing stats.