I am a successful cordcutter as of something like three months ago. Nothing special about it. Like many people, I had a few things I enjoyed watching but their cumulative entertainment value was not worth what the cable company charged once you get me to all the various tiers needed to capture everything I liked.
One of the things I liked was the chance to catch the morning show recently renamed The Player on HRTV, with Aaron Vercruysse (I am not even going to check if that’s the correct spelling) and Jeff Siegel at the desk and the effervescent Zoe Cadman providing reports from the Santa Anita rail.
I like to bet on the races but I liked how that team talked about the races more as a sport than a wagering opportunity, compared with their counterpart TVG. Not exclusively, of course, but they struck a good balance.
I liked Zoe’s personality. I liked Aaron making a daymaker out of any horse with four legs. I liked Jeff rocking back and forth in his chair at the start of the show like he had just snorted some lines.
Yet it was revealed this week that TVG is buying HRTV. I read a report that the plan may be to put the races from top tracks on TVG and the lesser ones on HRTV, allowing more races to be shown overall. Which to me doesn’t necessarily mean the end of HRTV’s on-air talent. But it also seems from some remarks I have seen on Twitter that said talent does not feel assured of continued employment. So it’s all up in the air.
Even though I no longer have HRTV access in my home, it would at least be nice to have the option of heading over to Grandma’s on a Saturday morning prior to a big day of racing to see what the gang is up to. It appears likely that option will disappear.
jayeetee3kay 