[Movietime Blues]

Fan Forum Sports on TV Thread









List of Fan Forum Sports TV-Nauts:

1. Movietime Blues

FAQ

1. Why Sports on TV on Fan Forum?
2. What can I discuss at this thread?
3. Do you favor cable, satellite or broadcast for sports?
4. Can I discuss my favorite team at this thread?
5. Can I use this thread to bitch about the refereeing/umpiring during the last match/game I watched?
6. I can't watch my favorite team because the cable company won't carry the channel!
7. Can I comment on the announcers, analysts, sidelines eye-candy, etc.?
8. Do you discriminate by country?
9. Do you discriminate by sport?
10. The quality of the picture on my TV sucks! It must be the fault of the channel!
11. Would you use this thread to show listings of upcoming events?
12. What else can I comment on?


Answers

1. I believe it's about time we have a discussion thread on the TV aspect of sports, the companies that are in the business of sports programming & everything else that is related to sports programming on TV. Major sports leagues and competitions switch channels every few years, depending on who is willing to give them the most value for the entertainment. We should have a place where we can inform ourselves about these changes, so as to not get lost.

2. Happenings on the TV landscape with regards to sporting events being televised. You may comment on the quality of the TV production during a sporting event, announcers, color analysts, sideline reporters, HD productions and everything else having to do with the former.

3. It makes no difference to me what means you want to discuss about. I would advice that you mention whether it is over-the-air, cable, satellite or other means transmitted through your television set before commenting.

4. You may briefly mention what team you were watching during an event but any deeper discussion concerning players, coaches, strategies, the score, etc., should be better reserved for general sports threads or team-specific threads.

5. Well, specific discussion about refereeing/umpiring decisions would be better in a team or sport-specific thread, IMO. If there is a thread specifically about refereeing/umpiring then better to take it there.

6. Yes. I think you can bring it up here as long as it has to do with the channel your team is on.

7. Sure. You can discuss what you like/don't like about the quality of the announcing, camera work, sideline reporters, as long as it has to do with the production of the telecast.

8. No. In fact, I would like to read about what people in other countries have to say about the TV productions with regards to sporting events. It would help us understand better what is happening elsewhere.

9. No. In fact, it would be educational to read about how certain sports have to be covered on TV. For example, I would like to know how TV covers a sport like Aussie Rules Football. I know that it is played mainly on oval surfaces, to the best of my knowledge. I don't know how you follow the action on an oval, as opposed to a rectangular surface.

10. Depends. If it's something along the lines like "Boy, I would really like to watch the Final but, unfortunately, I can't get a good picture of the channel on my TV!" then that's OK. However, if you are seeking advice on how to fix the problem, I doubt you'd find a technician among the group here. I would suggest going to a place like HDTV Technical at AVS (I can't link to it because of Fan Forum rules. Google it!) or similar sites.

11. If I have time and energy I would like to. Here, I wouldn't mind if one of you would help me out here. If you know of a major sporting event that will be on TV, post it here and a mod or myself would edit it in the first post ASAP. In the meantime, check the sport-specific threads to see any listing on upcoming events.

12. I like to read about TV sports bloopers. That's one of my favorite areas. Other than that, I am sure you will come up with something about Sports on TV that isn't already covered here. Oh, and be sure to yell at the TV when a play is not called properly.


If you want to add your name to the list of Sports TV-Nauts, post it here and I'll try to get to you as soon as possible. If I'm not here quickly then hopefully one of the mods here will do that.

[NikNak]

Thanks for starting this thread.

Hope you're around regularly to keep this thread active and moving here at Sports.

[The Daywalker]

I always used to avoid NFL games with Madden as the announcer. The only time I found it tolerable was in the movie The Replacements.

[Movietime Blues]

Madden is one of those people that gets a rep well beyond his abilities. Another person that he reminds me of is Don Cherry, hockey announcer on CBC. To many diehard hockey fans, Don Cherry is considered to be a god among hockey announcer. From what I've seen of him on YouTube, he's overbearing. He may know his hockey but that doesn't excuse the way he comes off when debating the other analysts.

Perhaps that is what makes him popular with many hockey fans, who believe that manhood is being compromised, that hockey is being watered down with the crackdown on fighting and that women shouldn't play hockey. Well, that debate is for another thread.

What do you think of the TV crew for the new Monday Night Football?

[NikNak]

I really love the TV crew for Monday Night Football. Gruden is a great addition to it.

I miss the TV crew for Sunday Night Football when it used to be on ESPN. They were good announcers and funny as hell. I think it was Theismann, Mike Patrick and Paul Macquire. I liked their dynamic w/ each other.

Madden was one of my favorite announcers of all-time.

[-Bianca-]

I really like Gruden too, but like I pointed out in the NFL thread, he was killing me last night with the names. Oohmenurea... Kywinoooka... just, no.

And I love Don Cherry in part because he's so shamelessly OTT. I totally get why others don't though -- he's an utterly ridiculous personality, from how he shuts down others to the awful suits. He's not for everyone.

[The Daywalker]

Monday is TV night, but not for sports. I'll turn it on if I have fantasy football guys going and it is a tight match, otherwise I'm oblivious.

[NikNak]

That's what a DVR is for.

I always record the TV shows and watch the games live.

[The Daywalker]

True, but we can only watch one and record one, or record 2 and have to watch one of those. Soooo all the shows overlap. No room for a 3rd.

[NikNak]

Ahh. I see now.

[Movietime Blues]

With Hulu and other type sites, I don't have to DVR shows that I might be interested in. I can watch something I might like on the time that more convenient for me. There's also the option of buying/renting DVDs in case you really want to watch a show and is not available online.

So I sporatically watch TV apart from sports these days. I'll watch TNT in the mornings (for the obvious reasons) when I'm free and might catch a rerun on WPIX or Fox5 after coming home. The rest of the TV time is either ESPN, MLB Network, Versus, Fox Soccer Channel/Fox Sports Espanol, GolTV or Universal Sports.

[Movietime Blues]

Well, a couple of interesting news on the TV sports front:

First, NBC says that it will lose money broadcasting the upcoming Winter Olympics - NBC Expects Winter Olympics to Lose Money for the Network - NYTimes.com

However, NBC did score big ratings on the NFL games on Saturday - NFL wild-card games pay off with big TV ratings for NBC - USATODAY.com

Another NBC-related news (are they busy, huh?), they're going to start broadcasting the prep races for the Triple Crown this year - NBC Will Televise Major Triple Crown Prep Races - NYTimes.com

Now for those of you who are soccer fans in the U.S., this should interest you APNewsBreak: Fox to launch 2nd soccer network - wtop.com

I have Fox Soccer Channel but not Setanta Sports U.S.. Setanta Sports U.S. is a pay channel where, for $14.99/month, you get to watch Scottish Premiere League, some English Premiere League matches, the Championship (the level just below the EPL), rugby, Gaelic games and some World Cup Qualifying matches from England, among many sporting events. They've been struggling ever since they started back in 2002. Recently, they lost the rights to sublicence certain EPL matches from Fox because they failed to meet their payment deadline. EPL Talk recently uncovered a story about Fox getting the trademark to the name Fox Soccer Plus registered at the U.S. Patent Office. Thus, the rumors started flying about them buying Setanta Sports. However, it seems negotiations have not been fruitful and Fox is going ahead with starting up Fox Soccer Plus.

The announcement will be later Tuesday.

[NikNak]

Thanks for the info.

I just learned about Hulu. I might have been the last one.

[Movietime Blues]

Two major news on the sports TV front:

First, record ratings for the Super Bowl: Super Bowl ratings: Saints victory over Colts was most-watched program of all time, beating 'MASH'

Sunday's Super Bowl was the most-watched program in TV history. An estimated 106.5 million viewers tuned in to CBS to watch the New Orleans Saints' nail-bitting 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts, according to Nielsen. That tops the previous record of 105.97 million for the 1983 finale of "M*A*S*H," which until Sunday stood as the most-watched program of any kind. "With all the memorable story lines going into Super Bowl XLIV combined with the awesome power of the NFL, we are thrilled with this rating, and I am extremely proud of the way the entire CBS Television Network produced, sold and promoted the most-watched television show in history," Sean McManus, President, CBS News and Sports said in a statement. The audience for Sunday's game was up 8% from last year's Pittsburgh-Arizona game, which was watched by 98.7 million viewers.

Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints, btw.

Now this news would stun you, if you are a fan of the sport: Champions League final to be broadcast live on FOX - News - FOX Sports on MSN

The 2010 UEFA Champions League Final, the culmination of Europe’s most prestigious annual club soccer competition, airs live and in HD on FOX Sports this May, it was announced today by FOX Sports Chairman David Hill. The event is FOX Sports’ first-ever soccer broadcast, and joins a select few major international soccer championships ever to receive broadcast television exposure in the U.S. This season’s UEFA Champions League Final on May 22 is being held on a Saturday for the first time in its history with a 2:30 PM ET FOX on-air time and 2:45 PM ET match kick-off from Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

If you check your calendar, you would know that May 22 is a Saturday, so you'd wonder why FOX can do that when it has MLB Game of Week during that time of the year. That is because FOX is now able to air the games at night on certain weeks.

The very special prime time windows are Saturday May 22 and Saturday June 26, and they are two of MLB on FOX’s four interleague dates this season. The match-ups on both dates are compelling, and regional coverage begins at 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT. May 22 features a four game slate: the defending World Champion New York Yankees battle the cross-town rival New York Mets, the Boston Red Sox travel to Philadelphia to take on the defending NL Champion Phillies, the Chicago Cubs visit the Texas Rangers and the Detroit Tigers head west to take on the defending NL West Champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

Link: FOX 2010 Major League Baseball Schedule Includes Two Interleague Games in Primetime - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings | TVbytheNumbers.com

So an opportunity presented itself for FOX. Still, it is a major move on their part and a big risk. I guess they think they will be able to improve on the numbers ESPN had for last year's CL final (aired on a Wednesday) since it'll be on the weekend. If that happens, it would be a major success for FOX.

[NikNak]

Thanks for the info.