ESPN/ESPN2 Coverage of Euro 2012: Like it or not?

studi guys i can listed but macca and the other guy if you are going to mention that ronaldo played for man u why not mention sporting to

ESPN got the English-language announcers right from the start. Only major complaints were Keller, which was only a short-term issue because Twellman had to be on the road to call USA-Antigua.

(Rae and Twellman have just one more match left from Bristol. Once the quarterfinals start, both teams will be on site: Darke-Macca and Healey-Mustoe.)

The studio show in English was unwatchable during the first weekend until someone decided that Lalas should take the opposite side of Ballack in most arguments in order to manufacture tension.

When the likes of ESPN spends that much money on a project, EVERYTHING has to be right: match announcers, studio shows, Internet, English, Spanish. No excuses.

It's not a question of "are the match commentators more important than the studio shows?" or vice versa.

At least they are showing a game!

I get that. We all want every aspect of the presentation to be of the highest quality. But, as you often point out, what matters is ratings, which is why I ask what the ratings are for the pre/post-match material. If the difference in ratings between the first week of English-language studio discussion was close to the same as the studio ratings since then, the only real question revolves around aesthetics: we would like to enjoy studio segments.

But ... and I'm not privy to ratings, this is why I'm asking ... my own sense is that if the matches are entertaining and feature the most popular teams, the ratings for the entire project will be higher than if the matches were dull and the popular teams were eliminated. If we had dull matches, the studio segments wouldn't matter ... people wouldn't tune in.

In other words, in terms of ratings and advertising dollars, the studio segments are relatively unimportant. Understanding that this is a thread about how well we like the ESPN coverage, it sure seems like we spend far more time discussing Rebecca Lowe and Alexi Lalas than we do on the quality of the HD picture, given that, to me at least, the latter is far more important. I don't get up and take a leak during the match; I do that during the studio segments. (And I visit Big Soccer then, too.)

Hey ESPN, get rid of that cringeworthy bumper. WTF. The American Idol bumper is less feminine. The Euro bumper sounds like "oh oh oh oh". (Am I allowed to say "gay"?)

It is the EURO 2012 official theme song. I believe it is required to be in it like how Champions League matches always have the "The Champions" bumper.

I don't like it.

Just now, Bob Ley pronounces Jesus Nava's name right, then "corrects" himself to mispronounce it again.

His name is Jesus Navas, not Jesus Nava. Looks like Bob Ley isn't the only one getting his name wrong.

Apostrophe typo. Oh no!

Nava's isn't like Eto'o?

Bob also said at the very first pre-match show something like, "Five years have passed and another Euro is upon us".

As to Ballack, I don't get it - is he really that big a name to hold any degree of appeal to the US audiences? The guy spent the bulk of his career in Germany, which doesn't have the following of either the English or the Mexican leagues.

Why not get Beckham or Henry in the studio on, at least, a rotating basis?

And this has been mentioned before - Darke and Macca are way too Anglocentric.

Of course, I recall watching some Euro'88 footage with Martin Tyler and, back then, it was accepted that the soccer world outside of England does not exist. By this comparison, Darke and Macca are as cosmo as an Englishman - sans Roy Hodgson - can get.

Guys name is Jesus Navas. If you want to show ownership to him you write it as "Jesus Navas'" and not "Jesus Nava's". The apostrophe goes after the "s", not before it because the "s" is part of his name.

During a commercial spot for euro2012,on the background u can hear Uefa Champions League Song.ESPN =EPIC FAIL.

Healey and Mustoe are at JFK Airport in New York City on Tuesday, waiting for their redeye flight to Europe. They will be in Poland to call two quarterfinals and 1 semifinal starting Thursday.

Healey tweeted that he has found a lounge with a big screen TV at JFK Airport.

Darke and Macca will be in the Ukraine for the rest of Euro 2012.

Rae will go on holiday after calling France-Sweden from Bristol on Tuesday afternoon. His next assignment for ESPN U.K. will be the Scottish Premier League on July 24.

Twellman will be on the road calling MLS again starting this weekend. His last Euro 2012 match will be on Tuesday with Rae.

Healey and Mustoe are no better than if you picked up 2 guys at a random London pub and made them announce a match. I was hoping Rae would call the games.

I quite like Healey and Mustoe. Very knowledgeable and enjoy when they call games.

Wouldn't Beckham and Henry be busy?

A must-read blog entry at Forbes.com by Zachary Slaton, a Mechanical Engineer by training (day job: Sr. Project Engineer for Kenworth Truck Company in Seattle; holds degrees from Purdue and Carnegie Mellon; http://www.linkedin.com/pub/zachary-slaton/4/865/965) who was given access to ESPN's Statistics and Information Group during Euro 2012.

http://onforb.es/NS5Gc8

The amount of resources (human and information technology) required to deliver what today's sports TV consumers (including international soccer) demand is staggering. ESPN, Inc. has an entire research operation that resembles something one would find at a major global investment bank on Wall Street or in the City of London.

It wasn't too long ago that ESPN's international soccer research effort consisted of just one individual (David Satlin, who is now a field producer for ESPN Deportes.) Ditto FOX Sports World when it first started in November 1997 with Giles Elliott sharing a cubicle with then newly-hired programming director Joshua Glassel (who is now the VP of Programming Acquisition for FOX Soccer.)

http://www.multichannel.com/article...Gains_with_Euro_2012_Group_Stage_Coverage.php

Great job ESPN, getting ready for Brazil 2014 which is going to have games on primetime since 1994

I am surprised that espn didnt come to europe for the tournament.I mean producing shows from ukraine and poland.

The Euro Championship is NOT the World Cup.

Producing studio shows from Bristol is OK. A studio is a studio. Ley is available to host OTL on his days off from the Euro if necessary. Ditto Bretos anchoring SportsCenter. Rebecca Lowe can host Press Pass for ESPN UK/Caribbean/Aus/NZ/Africa in addition to the Euro.

The English-language announcers will be at the stadium for all KO matches. Healey and Mustoe left the U.S. on Tuesday. Darke and Macca have been on the road for nearly 2 weeks.

Euro 2012 Tonight is scheduled to be shown on both ESPN and ESPN2 tonight.
ESPN2 - 8:30 pm ET-9:00 pm ET. ESPN - 9:30 pm ET-10:00 pm ET.

Note: The ESPN2 showing will be delayed if the 5:00 pm ET College World Series
game - Florida State-Arizona goes past 8:00 pm ET. Theres going to be an hour
break between the CWS games tonight (Florida State-Arizona and Arkansas-South
Carolina) so Euro 2012 Tonight will be on ESPN2 as the lead-in to the late CWS game.
(A repeat of Pardon The Interruption is scheduled to be shown in the first half-hour.)

Now watch the Florida State-Arizona game lasts until 9:00 pm ET - Pardon The
Interruption is then shown from 9:00 pm ET to 9:30 pm ET and then Euro 2012
Tonight is shown from 9:30 pm ET to 10:00 pm ET - on both ESPN2 and ESPN!

LB...

They should've hired me to do PBP on that Ronaldo goal, Healy sounds way out of it!!