The Age will print The Form, its Friday racing guide suppleied free with the newspaper, for the last time tomorrow. The racing guide is moving to an online-only format. This follows the trend in the US where guides which have traditionally appeared in newspapers have moved online. From my perspective, I am happy to see The Form go as it was delivered separately from the newspaper and we needed to allocate additional premium space for no financial return at all.
See The Australian for their coverage of this story.
I look at this from a slightly different perspective in that it is yet another tradition is slowly disappearing. While I am not a avid gambler, I do have friends who enjoy reading the form guide of a weekend and having a flutter. However by moving this online are we not just pushing people to sit their butts in front of a computer turning what could be considered a somewhat social activity (as the paper is passed around, horses and races discussed) into an isolated activity hence perhaps even turning gambling into more of a problem?
Although I understand, from a business point of view, how these guides could be a nusiance, if we are advocate the moving to online of some publications and not others would that not make us a touch hypocritical?
B, I am not advocating the move, just acknowledging that it works for me. I think we will see more migration like this – stock listings and other pages which do not generate revenue.
Hopefully the SMH will follow as well. The form guide not only takes up valuable real estate for zero return, we also have to wrap the supplement and home deliver it to customers who request it – also for zero return. This would also stop those who come in, pick one up off the pile and walk out.
It will be interesting to see what the feedback will be from customers who consider that their weekend bible.
Also interesting to see if sales of Best Bets and Winning Post improve.
Hmm, it will be interesting to see whether the SMH will go the same way.
If so, it will be interesting to see what happens with our customers as well.
We have a handful of regulars who do take it, and I don’t think any of them are online at home.
As for the space, it’s not really an issue for us. We just have them sticking out of the front of the stack, under the papers. No real estate compromised.
The other interesting thing for us is that our subagent has shut up shop, so now we’re handling their greyhound formguides. That is taking up more space, but hopefully we’ll gain those customers, as we didn’t carry those papers ourselves until now.
It won’t work, You want to take the form places that no computer will go. Should have been left in the paper.
I remember the TAB & The Adealie Advertiser separated the form guide a couple of years ago, which was quickly aborted. It became a insert within the paper again. Don’t know why don’t do this interstate ?
Paul,
I can take my phone (which is less than 1/20 of the size of a newspaper) anywhere The Form could have gone.
I also presume people will be able to print the information from online (on paper much smaller than a newspaper-style publication).
The biggest problem as I see it is being able to circle race no’s and horses. I see a lot of punters (Not that I’m in the TAB that much…) with the form guide under their arms with all the studying scribble on it.
My best bet is that there are going to be a lot of grumpy punters when they learn it’s gone online.