Latest news with #MichaelDavies
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Farmer's 'world ended' after getting tenancy axe
A farmer who rented his land from a mid Wales council said his "world ended" when he received a letter telling him he had six weeks to vacate the property. The Powys county farms estate is the largest estate of its kind in Wales, and the fifth largest in the UK, but the local authority has ended 19 tenancies and sold multiple farms this year. Farmers and agricultural unions said they were concerned about the impact it could have on the ability of new farmers, who cannot afford to buy, to join the industry. Powys council said it was "reviewing and streamlining" its properties and any income from sales would be "reinvested" into its projects to improve the county. No plans to pause new farming subsidy scheme 'Nonsense' to base farming funding on population Farmers face 'bullying behaviour' by supermarkets Michael Davies, 35, was given a farm tenancy near Newtown in 2012 and said he "worked tirelessly to turn a farm that was unproductive into a productive farm". "All that is wasted because three months ago I was served a notice to quit," he said. "They're not supporting new entrants, they're cutting my daughter's chance at farming. "I've reseeded over 100 acres, and 3,000 metres of fencing, installed a new bathroom and laid a new drive. Powys have not spent a penny on that holding. "My world ended [when I received my letter] it was my dream to be a farmer. Selling the property and retaining land only helps established farmers grow bigger. "The disregard I've received from the council is disgusting. They gave me six weeks to disperse my business and find a new family home." At a meeting on Tuesday, about 150 people gathered to discuss the future of the council's tenant farms. In 2011, Powys council had 163 farm holdings – as of Tuesday it had about 130 and there were fears that more would be sold over the coming years. As of Tuesday, 19 people have received a notice to quit, but the council said some of these will be given another term. Many of the council's tenant farmers were in Montgomeryshire in north Powys where the meeting in Sarn Village Hall near Newtown was held. Chairing the meeting, David Jones, Kerry community councillor, said: "There's been concern over the past 18 months about the situation. Farmers are feeling very uneasy with the situation. "All of a sudden Powys have made this decision to sell £10m of assets each year and it's very, very obvious to us that they intend to do that by selling farms. "Powys has around 130 farms and 30 of those are within our community. The effect on our community could be massive. "Ultimately that's a decision for them but we need answers." The reaction of farming unions included Ian Rickman, FUW president, who said: "These are vital stepping stones for young people to get into the industry." He said the council had a "responsibility" to the tenants and said the plans should be reviewed, a sentiment which was echoed by NFU Cymru. Powys council said its streamlining of property would "reduce maintenance liabilities, improve operational efficiency, and release capital from underutilised or surplus assets". The council said income raised from sales will be reinvested to support the delivery of the council's projects which include essential services, infrastructure and sustainability.
BBC News
28-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Powys: Farmers and unions concerned over plans to sell
A farmer who rented his land from a mid Wales council said his "world ended" when he received a letter telling him he had six weeks to vacate the property. The Powys county farms estate is the largest estate of its kind in Wales, and the fifth largest in the UK, but the local authority has ended 19 tenancies and sold multiple farms this year. Farmers and agricultural unions said they were concerned about the impact it could have on the ability of new farmers, who cannot afford to buy, to join the council said it was "reviewing and streamlining" its properties and any income from sales would be "reinvested" into its projects to improve the county. Michael Davies, 35, was given a farm tenancy near Newtown in 2012 and said he "worked tirelessly to turn a farm that was unproductive into a productive farm"."All that is wasted because three months ago I was served a notice to quit," he said. "They're not supporting new entrants, they're cutting my daughter's chance at farming."I've reseeded over 100 acres, and 3,000 metres of fencing, installed a new bathroom and laid a new drive. Powys have not spent a penny on that holding."My world ended [when I received my letter] it was my dream to be a farmer. Selling the property and retaining land only helps established farmers grow bigger."The disregard I've received from the council is disgusting. They gave me six weeks to disperse my business and find a new family home."At a meeting on Tuesday, about 150 people gathered to discuss the future of the council's tenant farms. In 2011, Powys council had 163 farm holdings – as of Tuesday it had about 130 and there were fears that more would be sold over the coming of Tuesday, 19 people have received a notice to quit, but the council said some of these will be given another term. Many of the council's tenant farmers were in Montgomeryshire in north Powys where the meeting in Sarn Village Hall near Newtown was the meeting, David Jones, Kerry community councillor, said: "There's been concern over the past 18 months about the situation. Farmers are feeling very uneasy with the situation. "All of a sudden Powys have made this decision to sell £10m of assets each year and it's very, very obvious to us that they intend to do that by selling farms."Powys has around 130 farms and 30 of those are within our community. The effect on our community could be massive."Ultimately that's a decision for them but we need answers."The reaction of farming unions included Ian Rickman, FUW president, who said: "These are vital stepping stones for young people to get into the industry."He said the council had a "responsibility" to the tenants and said the plans should be reviewed, a sentiment which was echoed by NFU council said its streamlining of property would "reduce maintenance liabilities, improve operational efficiency, and release capital from underutilised or surplus assets".The council said income raised from sales will be reinvested to support the delivery of the council's projects which include essential services, infrastructure and sustainability.
Indianapolis Star
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
Fox hopes its 'enthusiasm comes through' for first Indy 500 broadcast with tech, storytelling
INDIANAPOLIS — It's not often nowadays that a network broadcaster gets their first shot at one of the American sporting calendar's largest, most historic and still in many ways mainstream culturally relevant events. Super Bowls rotate, and rights for the World Series and the NBA Finals move around from time to time. Even the Masters airs across two different families of networks throughout the weekend. So for Fox, which prides itself on its big event calendar, including two Daytona 500s, the Super Bowl, a World Series and the World Cup over an 18-month span across 2025 and 2026, the opportunity offered in its first Indianapolis 500 isn't taken lightly. 'Even while we were doing the Super Bowl, we were looking at Indy and saying, 'OK, this is our next big Super Bowl.' And this isn't even being treated like a mini-Super Bowl, like I've heard some people say,' Fox Sports executive vice president of technical and field operations Michael Davies told IndyStar. 'This is the Super Bowl of Racing. You can't get bigger than the Indy 500. 'So when we get the chance to do two Super Bowls in a year, one in football and one in motorsports, godd---, it's such an exciting thing for us.' And that pride is shown, Davies and others have said, in all the stops Fox Sports is pulling out for its all-out blitz on Speedway over the course of Sunday's broadcast, including: 'The Indy 500 has been done really well by our competitors in the past, and as with all sports, being the steward of something important as the Indy 500 or the Super Bowl comes with some responsibility, and every network tries to put their mark on an event like this,' Davies said. 'Fox's mark is pretty well track-tested. 'We're a little more visual and audio, and a little less strategy. We like to inform audiences with different things they might not know about the sport if they're new to the IndyCar fanbase, while also serving those people who've been watching for decades. And for those people who have been watching for decades, they're going to see some different stuff, different angles and a different kind of cut, and a little more excitement.' Insider: He played hooky to attend the Indy 500, owns a bar outside IMS and leads Fox's coverage Though not yet slated to be used as a second-screen option for those watching the race on TV like NASCAR's driver cam viewing experience on Max, IndyCar and Fox's foray into the driver's eye technology has already made a major splash in the way the series' new network partner has attempted to convey the cockpit experience during its practice and qualifying coverage. The cameras are almost indetectable and embedded in the drivers' helmets and give almost a video game-like view of the cockpit, able to show a real-time, up-close look at a driver's finger movements on the wheel, as well as the tight proximity they're navigating in their present spot in the pack. During Sunday's race, two-time defending 500 winner Josef Newgarden, as well as fellow contenders Scott Dixon, Alex Palou, Will Power, Kyle Larson and Marcus Ericsson will sport the driver's eye camera. Fox's lineup for the typical in-car camera footage fans have been used to of late will include Scott McLaughlin, Pato O'Ward, Nolan Siegel, Christian Lundgaard, Santino Ferrucci, Graham Rahal, Alexander Rossi, Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood, Felix Rosenqvist and Sting Ray Robb. Together, all 17 cameras will give Fox's IndyCar director Mitch Riggin and lead producer Pam Miller the ability to offer viewers a look inside the cockpits of more than half the field in the heat of the broadcast. 'To me, if you're a general sports fan and tuning into the Indy 500 and are able to jump into the driver's seat, you're basically racing through him,' Miller said. 'It's a stunning piece of equipment to tell stories (with), because pictures tell the story. 'You'll be able to see what a driver's seeing, how a driver's battling the car, the tense moments and the joyous moments, and the camera doesn't lie in that sense. I think it's a sensational tool, and one that shows really well how you have to be spot-on with what you're doing at the speedway.' Though NBC had used a drone in its previous coverage, Miller and Davies believe bringing two — one heavy lift that offers more slow-moving shots, while being lower to the ground than a helicopter, and therefore offering more dynamic tracking capabilities, and one FPV, or first-person view, drone that can travel upwards of 90 mph, is much smaller and is even better at tracking shots and showing cars battling, as well as offering creative transition opportunities on the pre-race show from set to set. 'A conventional arial is vital for any motorsports race, because a lot of times, it's the only camera that can see from a top-down viewpoint what's going on, but what drones bring is something different,' Davies said. 'When you're speeding through whatever area, it can really add some real excitement and show how fast these cars are going. And so much of Indy is the build-up and all of the tradition all the different ceremonies that exist, so covering that with these tools is another thing we're really looking forward to. 'This amazing venue is a piece of living history and has its own character, so utilizing that in any way we can to show it off and show the way somebody experiences the wonder of first coming to the Indy 500 with (more than) 300,000 people, we hope to be able to use all our tools and try to tell that story.' Additionally, Davies says Fox will have some of its best audio personnel, including their lead NASCAR mixer, their Super Bowl mixer and their lead college football mixer, on site to ensure its variety and depth of audio coverage of the race matches its visual versatility. Across the grounds, Fox is expected to have as many as 115 cameras and 108 microphones at their disposal. For a sporting event whose pageantry and tradition are as much a part of its wonder as the action that takes place on track, Fox's extra hour of pre-race coverage, starting at 10 a.m. on network Fox, gives IndyCar's new media partner an increased ability not just to cover off storylines of the month for someone who may not have seen a lap turned all month or even all season, but the chance to dive deeper into some storytelling that Miller says jives with what Fox sees as its overarching goal at the moment. 'We want to make every driver in the field a name to someone at home,' she said. 'We want to make it so fans at home can invest in a driver. We want everybody in America to know who all the drivers in the Indy 500 are, what they're bout and why they might want them to win the race. 'We're about building the fanbase around these drivers, as well as making sure people understand the importance of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to the fabric of motorsports in America and the culture of America and the history of this country.' In that vein, Fox has brought in Rinaldi, a storytelling savant, as well as Andrews, who has posted on social media she has taped a sit-down with Newgarden for the broadcast, to elevate Fox's ability to set the stage for the first two-plus hours of its broadcast. Fox's alternate booth of Myers, Stewart and Patrick, will be used in a similar fashion to how NBC utilized Mike Tirico, Patrick and a rotating cast of others during its six-year stint, leaning heavily on them in the pre-race while also throwing to them at gaps in the race's action when it makes sense. 'I think our team of announcers have some great stories and insight into the event that's a bit different,' Miller said. 'Our cadence will be a bit different. I'm excited to see the whole team come together and show the worldwide audience what a special event this is, and I think everyone here is really excited to pull together and make sure the iconic level of coverage IMS deserves gets out there.
Forbes
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Fox Sports Bets Big On Indianapolis 500 Debut With Tech, Celebrities
When the green flag drops May 25 to start the 109th Indianapolis 500, 33 cars and drivers will race toward a spot in history, but Fox Sports may be the day's biggest winner in a broadcast debut featuring more than 100 cameras, two drone teams, and an all-star crew. Fox Sports, which this year assumed the IndyCar league's broadcast mantle from NBC Universal in a $25 million annual deal, is seeking to reinvent how America sees the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. It is offering 60 hours of race coverage featuring drivers' eye cams, 4K HDR production and celebrity broadcasters from across the network's sports portfolio. 'There's nothing more historic than the Brickyard, where you're literally racing on the bricks of where they raced 100 years ago,' Michael Davies, Fox's executive vice president of field and technical management and operations, said. 'There are not too many opportunities in your career where you get to be a part of a startup on an iconic event like the Indianapolis 500. The whole company is really energized by this.' Fox Sports acquired the IndyCar broadcast rights in June 2024, giving the network two of the world's biggest auto races: the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's Daytona 500. NBC Universal held the IndyCar rights since 2009, and took over the Indianapolis 500 coverage in 2019 from longtime host ABC. Under CEO Eric Shanks, Fox Sports has enhanced IndyCar coverage elements, and those changes have helped the series see increased viewership levels not seen since 2011. The 2025 Indianapolis 500 will be the first broadcasted in 4k using high-level video production that creates a more immersive experience. Six yet-to-be-identified racers will offer viewers a first-person race experience through a tiny helmet camera showing what the driver sees. The broadcast will also feature a heads-up display offering real-time data from the car cockpit, as seen on Formula One broadcasts. 'You take the cockpit view and mold the graphic on there, so it looks like a virtual dashboard,' Davies said. 'You're looking at it like a video game. You can see the speed and the RPMs, where they are on the track, the push to pass.' Coverage will be further augmented by a pair of drone teams, including one that can chase the cars at nearly 90 mph and has been popular in NASCAR broadcasts. 'We want to show people how exciting it is to go to a race, how exciting it is to be a driver,' Davies said. 'Everything we do serves the purpose of showing just how fast these cars go. "If you've been to a race and you watch that on TV, there's a big divide between what that looks like and what it feels like. We want to bridge that.' Among the promises Fox Sports made in its acquisition of IndyCar is to put most coverage on its flagship network, including qualifying, a two-hour pre-race show and post-race winner's circle festivities. NBC Universal, by contrast, split the coverage between its network affiliates and its subscription streaming service Peacock. The 60 hours of content may not be enough to contain the star power, with a lineup that includes former drivers Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick, alongside Fox Sports veterans Chris Myers and Erin Andrews. Football legend Tom Brady will do a lap around the track with NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson in the 'Fastest Seat in Sports' ride, while Michael Strahan will drive the pace car and Rob Gronkowski will serve as grand marshal of the infield Snake Pit. On the call, the race team includes six former drivers with 50 Indianapolis 500 starts among them, including 2016 pole sitter James Hinchcliffe, who will share the broadcast booth with new play-by-play announcer Will Buxton. Buxton, who signed a three-year deal this year to be the voice of the IndyCar Series, rose to prominence through his decade of Formula One coverage and as a prominent voice on the Netflix hit 'Drive to Survive.' He sees the Fox-IndyCar partnership as a chance to tap into a growing global appetite for open-wheel racing. Buxton said IndyCar is uniquely positioned as a driver's competition—where talent matters more than engineering advantages—and racers like surprise pole-sitter Robert Shwartzman, defending Indy 500 champion Josef Newgarden and current points leader Alex Palou are not guaranteed a podium. 'Everyone has a chance to win every weekend,' he said. Those driver storylines will be a key part of Fox Sports's coverage, thanks to feature storytelling led by award-winning reporter Tom Rinaldi, attending his first Indianapolis 500. 'We are finding the balance between honoring and showcasing the history of this amazing event while getting people as close as we can to the present tense race for the competition and victory that will launch somebody into that history,' Rinaldi said. 'If we strike that balance, that is success.' Fox Sports' Indianapolis 500 debut coverage begins at 10 a.m. ET, and the green flag drops at 12:45 p.m.
BBC News
09-05-2025
- BBC News
Cefn Cribwr alleged murder victim found slumped over bed
An alleged murder victim was discovered slumped over a bed at home where her husband was present, an inquest has heard. Tracey Davies, 48, was found dead at her home in Cefn Cribwr, Bridgend county, on 18 April. An inquest opening on Friday heard Ms Davies was found in the bedroom of her home on Cefn Road by family members who had become concerned about her services were called and she was pronounced dead. A provisional cause of death was recorded as pressure on the neck. Michael Davies, 56, from Cefn Cribwr, has appeared in court charged with Ms Davies' Morgan, area coroner for south Wales, suspended the inquest pending the conclusion of the criminal a tribute issued last month, Ms Davies's family said she was "devoted mother" whose children were her "greatest pride".They described her as a "a cherished sister, a loyal friend, and a radiant presence whose laughter could light up any room".
