This is a pleasure to hear. I "obtain" videos of ITV's coverage even though SpeedTV is available here. ITV's coverage has major issues, which shows just how bad SpeedTV is.
I was really disappointed when I watched Melbourne FP1 to see that ITV had kept that terrible "Lift Me Up" song and a very similar intro theme. It's just awful. Snakes crawling on bared shoulders, what the hell? Seems like they tried to make the whole presentation look as ridiculous as possible.
No more mid-race ad breaks is nice, but not huge for me. I don't mind a few two-minute breaks if the coverage is good, but it seems ITV made it a point to pick the worst possible times to go to a break.
The biggest boost for me will be getting rid of the incorrigible James Allen. He should stick to writing; at least when I read his columns I don't immediately feel ill.
With whom to replace him is a tougher matter though. As has already been said, bringing back an older, rusty commentator will probably not help matters. I like Murray Walker but he seemed out-of-touch 20 years ago.
To be honest I'd most like someone who knows when it's helpful to talk and when he should just shut up. 15-20 seconds of commentary so the audience knows what's going on, then be quiet and turn up the volume on the world feed for 30-40 seconds.
I'm going to go against the general sentiment expressed so far and say that I like Louise Goodman. She knows her stuff and does a really good job of finding drivers quickly after they retire. She's about ready to be put out to pasture though. The BBC should find a woman with her skills and knowledge, but who has the body and age of this fine fine specimen:
Their ratings would triple regardless of how good the racing was. Everybody wins!