TAB Trackside

TAB Trackside 1
Launched 1992
Owned by New Zealand Racing Board
Picture format 16:9 (SDTV)
Country New Zealand
Broadcast area New Zealand
Formerly called Action TV, Trackside
Sister channel(s) TAB Trackside 2
Website Official Website
Availability
Satellite
SKY Network Television
(virtual)		 062
Cable
Vodafone InHome TV
(virtual)		 62
TAB Trackside 2
Launched October 2009
Owned by New Zealand Racing Board
Picture format 16:9 (SDTV)
Country New Zealand
Broadcast area New Zealand
Headquarters Petone
Formerly called TAB TV
Sister channel(s) TAB Trackside 1
Website Official site
Availability
Satellite
SKY Network Television
(virtual)		 Channel 063
Cable
Vodafone InHome TV
(virtual)		 Channel 63
TAB Trackside Radio
Broadcast area New Zealand
First air date 1978 as Radio Pacific
2007 as bSport
2010 as LiveSport
2015 as TAB Trackside Radio
Format Sports talk, racing commentary

TAB Trackside is New Zealand horse racing and sports broadcast network, incorporating two pay TV channels and a nationwide radio station. The TV channels, TAB Trackside 1 and 2, are available on SKY Digital channels and Vodafone New Zealand TV cable channels 062 and 063.[1][2] The radio station, TAB Trackside Radio, broadcasts on 17 AM radio and 15 FM radio frequencies.[3]

Together, the outlets provide full coverage of all thoroughbred horse racing, harness horse racing and greyhound racing in New Zealand, most racing from Australia, and many races from Hong Kong, Singapore and other countries. The channel provides tickers and commentary with up-to-the-minute odds, field and dividend information. Between races, it features on-track interviews, in-studio analysis, live footage of horses warming up for races, replays of previous races, and recaps of betting odds.[1][2]

The TAB Trackside network reaches an audience of 400,000 weekly. The race day coverage is presented, produced and co-ordinated from Avalon Studios, close to other Racing Board facilities like Raceday Control.[2]

History

Radio

Talkback format 1978-2005

Racing network Radio Pacific began in Auckland in 1978, and became one of the first stations to be networked across the country in the 1990s. The network combined news, news talkback, sports talkback and live racing commentaries.[4][5]

Radio Pacific became a listed company on the New Zealand Stock Exchange and the Totalisator Agency Board became its major shareholder. The company also owned the North Island music station group Energy Enterprises and merged with the South Island radio company Radio Otago in 1999. Between May 2000 and January 2001 it was purchased by CanWest Global Communications, becoming part of RadioWorks and later part of MediaWorks New Zealand. Part of the company was purchased in July 2004, and the entire company was sold off in June 2007.[6]

Radio Pacific's Waikato station began as Radio Waikato, New Zealand's third privately owned station. It originally broadcast in 930AM in 1971, before moving 954AM in 1978. In 1986 Radio Waikato changed to a country music format and was renamed Country Gold - Waikato 954. In 1988 it was sold to Radio Pacific and transitioned into a local talk radio format with national racing commentary. It changed its name to Radio Pacific and eventually replaced local programmes with Auckland networked programmes. A new station of the same name also operated in Hamilton between 1993 and 1994.[7]

Mixed format 2005-2007

Before 2005 live races and betting odds had been broadcast on Radio Pacific in pre-determined, limited periods during the race day under a contract with the New Zealand Racing Board. Between 2001 and 2005, this was also complemented by a trial Radio Trackside station in the Southland market dedicated to racing coverage.[8][9][10]

In 2005 MediaWorks launched new talkback network Radio Live and moved many of Radio Pacific's talkback personalities across to the new network. John Banks continued to host Radio Pacific's breakfast programme, and Alice Worsley and Martin Crump co-hosted a new morning talkback programme. A Trackside TV simulcast, branded as Radio Trackside, was broadcast in the afternoon.[10][9][8]

Sports format 2007-present

On 29 October 2007 Radio Pacific became BSport and its tagline became "BSport, the station you can bet on". The general talkback format was replaced with a sports talkback format. MediaWorks New Zealand and Trackside shared the network's Auckland studios, with live sports talk and betting odds in the morning, and live races and betting odds in the afternoon.[11]

In January 2010 BSport was renamed LiveSport, the sister network to Radio Live. It became TAB Trackside Radio on 13 April 2015, when it came under the full ownership of the New Zealand Racing Board.[11]

Television

One channel 1992-2009

TAB Trackside began television broadcasting in 1992 as Action TV - a free-to-air UHF station that only broadcast during live racing events. In 1993, it changed its name to Trackside. From 1994, Sky Television began using broadcasting Discovery Channel to subscribers when Trackside was in closedown.

The station received a dedicated channel on the new Sky Digital platform in 1999, which began broadcasting 18 hours a day from 2004 and 24 hours a day from 2007. In addition to live New Zealand racing, the channel introduced racing replay, preview and review shows, and live racing and racing shows from Australia. The channel began broadcasting on Freeview Satellite from 2 May 2007, on Freeview terrestrial on 14 April 2008, and in widescreen from 15 December 2008.[12]

Two channels 2009-present

In October 2009, TAB introduced a second station - TAB TV - to accommodate live racing from Hong Kong and Singapore. In October 2013 it changed the TVNZ metadata on the Freeview satellite service to unlock access to Trackside TV, keeping TAB TV as a pay-TV channel. On 14 April 2014, it ceased operations on Freeview, becoming only available to Sky subscribers. In August 2014, Trackside was rebranded as TAB Trackside 1, specialising in New Zealand and Australian racing. TAB TV was rebranded as TAB Trackside 2, focusing on action from Asian tracks.[13]

Television

TAB Trackside 1

TAB Trackside 1 broadcasts most New Zealand racing and some Australian racing, alongside specialist shows. [12][13][1]

TAB Trackside 2

TAB Trackside 2 predominantly broadcasts racing from Australia and Asia, alongside simulcasts of TAB Trackside Radio. In 2011, it live simulcast Fill the Basin, a February 2011 Christchurch earthquake fundraiser cricket match, with Canterbury Television. As of 2015, it broadcasts approximately five thousand races every year.[1][2]

Radio

TAB Trackside Radio has a racing and sports format. Some shows date back to Trackside's origins as Radio Pacific.[2][3]

Breakfast

TAB Trackside Radio's breakfast programme, The Kick Off, is hosted by Glen Larmer, a former Newstalk ZB, Radio Sport, TVNZ7 and RadioLive presenter.[2][3]

Broadcaster Nathan Rarere and cricket commentator Ian Smith hosted the previous breakfast programme, LiveSport Breakfast of Champions, between 2007 and 2015.[14][15][16] Jeff Wilson co-hosted in 2013, and Monty Betham co-hosted in 2014.[17][18][19] The final hour of the show was dedicated to specialty sports programmes, hosted by Nathan Rarere from 2007 to 2010, Rarere and Martin Devlin in 2010 to 2012, and by Brendan Telfer from 2014 to early 2015.

Mornings

Highlights of the breakfast programme are played from 10:00am.[3] James McOnie hosted the 10.00am hour in 2006 and 2007. Former All Black Richard Loe hosted a farming and sports show On The Field in the 11.00am hour during 2006 and 2007, and in the 10:00am hour from 2008 to 2015.

Saturday mornings

Jenny-May Coffin hosts rugby union and rugby league show The Two Halves on Saturday mornings.[3] She replaced The Fishing Show with Grant Blair, Terry Williams-King, John Eichlsheim and Bruce 'Swish' Duncan, which broadcast on the slot from 2005 to 2015.

The Starting Gates with Alby Gain and Peter Earley airs from 8:00am, and On the Sideline with TAB bookmakers Grant Nisbett and Mark Stafford airs from 9:00am.[3][20][21]

Sunday mornings

Dale Budge hosts The All American Sports Show and While You Were Sleeping world sport show on Sunday mornings, before Ryan Bradley presents the morning scratchings.[3] Stephen McIvor previously hosted Sunday breakfast, including a one-hour trans-Tasman simulcast with 1116 SEN.[22]

At 9.00am Riccardo Ball and former Football Fern Rebecca Sowden host the World of Football, a show previously hosted by coach and former All White Wynton Rufer.[3][23][24] From 10:00am, racing commentators Des Coppins presents a long-running racing talkback programme.[3]

Broadcasting

FM frequencies

AM frequencies
  • Hawke's Bay - 549 AM
  • Wanganui - 828 AM
  • Manawatu - 828 AM
  • Wellington - 711 AM
  • Nelson - 990 AM

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "TAB Trackside TV". TAB Trackside. New Zealand Racing Board. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "TAB Help - Trackside Radio". New Zealand Racing Board. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 "TAB Trackside Radio". TAB Trackside. New Zealand Racing Board. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  4. ↑ Morris William Shanahan, Karen Neill (2005). The Great New Zealand Radio Experiment. p. 132. ISBN 0-17-012480-0. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  5. ↑ Lee-Robinson, Robinson (2008). Talkback Toast. Opitiki: Ocean Books. ISBN 978-0-473-13752-6.
  6. ↑ Decision No. 294 Commerce Commission, Wellington New Zealand, 1997.
  7. ↑ "Radio Waikato story". Radio Heritage. Radio Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Trevett, Claire. "Radio Live fires first shell in talkback war". New Zealand Herald. New Zealand Media and Entertainment. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Drinnan, John. "Listeners turning off Radio Sport". New Zealand Herald. New Zealand Media and Entertainment. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Marshall, Jonathan. "Revamp at talk station". New Zealand Herald. New Zealand Media and Entertainment. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Media Works notice of Launch for BSport "MediaWorks Notice". MediaWorks. MediaWorks New Zealand. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "How to get the best of Trackside in widescreen" (PDF). TAB. 15 December 2008. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Trackside on Sky". TAB. New Zealand Racing Board. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  14. ↑ "Nathan Rarere NZ On Screen". Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  15. ↑ "Nathan Rarere Outspoken". Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  16. ↑ New Zealand v India, 1989/90, 3rd Test
  17. ↑ New Zealand Reality TV: Monty Betham Signed to DWT
  18. ↑ "2008 celebs announced...". Television New Zealand. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  19. ↑ "NZ celebs set aside fears in the name of dance". The New Zealand Herald. NZPA. 16 December 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  20. ↑ "Grant Nisbett: The Voice Of Sky Rugby On Rongotai College". Sky Sport. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  21. ↑ "Grant Nisbett: The man who's calling the shots". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  22. ↑ "Stephen McIvor". Speakers New Zealand. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  23. ↑ Maddaford, Terry (15 December 2001). "Soccer: Rufer - simply the best we've had". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  24. ↑ "Wynton Rufer appointed PNG national coach". pngfootball.com.pg. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "TAB Trackside Radio frequencies". New Zealand Racing Board. Retrieved 13 April 2015.