As mentioned at SluggerO'Toole, TG4 (Ireland's Irish language TV station) is showing a lot of Wimbledon. I'm not a huge fan of tennis, but I've watched a bit of the TG4 coverage and I can see why it's doing so well. They're just showing tennis.
Over on the BBC you get loads of chatter whereas the people who are in charge of TG4's broadcast have - correctly - assumed that few people want indepth analysis of tennis in a language they only barely understand. And, because the game is simple so is the language. It's not hard to pick up a few words when you (a) know what word would be used in English and (b) hear the same few words over and over again.
One other good thing they've done is show matches that the BBC has decided not to show. Tonight was a good example. With the third set of the match between Federer and Ferrero winding down, the BBC left to show their scheduled programming. Suddenly I remembered that TG4 might have it on and they did, despite the fact that the schedule said that the tennis would end two and half hours earlier. So, I got to see the end of what was a pretty entertaining, if short, match.
I do watch programs on TG4, but usually only when they're subtitled or in English. Sporting events are different. I don't need subtitles and I can actually get a feel for the language. It's a great idea.
