Motorsport, me and the rise of TV

Motor racing surely can’t complain about the amount of coverage it now receives on television, but transmission of motor sport actually started before WWII, even though there were few viewers of those first programs. There were interviews with drivers, but even when television started again after the war and audience growth exploded, despite increased radio coverage there was no outside broadcast on TV as it was obviously much more expensive for a production to be covered “live.”

Even in the early ’50s there were very few outside broadcasts, perhaps some rally-type driving tests, but normally only post-produced coverage was transmitted, to which interviews were added. The news occasionally included motor sport items, but all too often covering an accident rather than reporting race results.