Fox Soccer Channel: Ruining the Soccer Experience!!

[koppite4ever]

Does anyone remember when FSC was Fox Sports World and used to broadcast the original full coverage feed from SKY SPORTS for every game?

We used to get pre-match coverage with SKY Presenters (Richard Keys, Martin Tyler and Andy Gray) and Half Time from SKY Studios (with Graeme Souness, Terry Venables and George Graham) and Post Match interviews. Almost 3-4 hours of brilliant build up, match commentary and post match analysis from real pros in the industry and game. It was paradise in America. Real football coverage from SKY and American sunshine.

These past few years, FSC has dissected the feed to have their own presenters before the game, their own half time and post match coverage, using only the SKY feed for the match itself.

At first, this was just a nuisance, but now FSC producers Carlos and Jaime have gone too far.

The England vs Kazakstan match coverage was the poorest presentation it's been in a decade. The commentary by Nick "Nosferatu" Webster and Joey "Couldn't Kick Sand On A Beach" Barton sounded like 2 voices talking through a tin can. The poor quality of the FSC studio sound production lowered the original SKY SPORTS feed of crowd noise, so we could not hear any of the Wembley atmosphere (like we can on SETANTA) and to compound that, they could not shut up once and bored us to death with endless monologue.

Boring Barton was a hypocrite talking about how England should be professional and just shut up shop at 2-0 with still 20 minutes to play, against KAZAKSTAN. But after England sped up a gear and scored 3 more goals in the last 15, this nobhead then said, why couldn't England always play like that :rolleyes:

Then you got that buffoon Nosferatu who speaks like a fan in a pub. What is he doing on television? His FSC Monday night talkshow is a joke. They try so hard to copy SKY Sports shows and fail miserably with their childish speech and manner. They know nothing about the game and have brainwashed the American public into thinking they do.

Let me enlighten you Webster to why David Beckham does not interview on your show: Because you're amateurs!!!!

SETANTA is growing fast and while they also use many of their own presenters, at least the coverage is good quality.

FSC must go back to basics and just show the SKY Sports coverage LIVE from England and let the pros do the work. Stop ruining the experience for the viewers in America who are not all clueless about the game. Many viewers know the feeds are from SKY Sports and want more SKY, with shows like Soccer AM.

In fact, get rid of FSC altogether and just broadcast SKY SPORTS 1, 2 and 3 and we will all be much happier and better off. The soccer community deserve the best soccer coverage, not these pub amateurs on FSC.

[narko]

Joey "Couldn't Kick Sand On A Beach" Barton

That was Warren Barton.

[superdave]

Yeah, Joey would most definitely kick sand on a beach, so long as the sand was brown.

[BocaFan]

In fact, get rid of FSC altogether and just broadcast SKY SPORTS 1, 2 and 3 and we will all be much happier and better off.

Wouldn't that be nice. Not realistic though. Everything must be dumbed-down before reaching the public in this country, and no I'm not just talking about soccer on TV, but this is a prime example.

[studzup]

Christian Miles is brutal.

Bretos is promising but annoying.

Christopher Sullivan is a good guy but he's weird and affected.

[koppite4ever]

I have no problem with FSC using their own commentators for MLS, USL, college and youth games. No worries at all.

But leave the Premiership, England, England U21s and any FA Cup matches to the real commentators, the professionals from SKY Sports, and leave the whole SKY feed on air, not just the match.

FSC needs to get back to providing us with the best soccer coverage available, the coverage that made them famous and loved, the coverage from SKY and stop trying to imitate it. Leave us with the original.

Also, it's time they got the rights to broadcast SKY Sports SOCCER AM every Saturday morning. That is the best soccer show on the planet and has been for donkeys years. I don't know who the FSC producers are, but they are clueless not to get this programming for America's viewers.

[canesfan00]

It is as if FSC is following GolTv's approach of ruining a game with their amateurs. It is funny though, who would have thought that ESPN's Euro's coverage would have been the best commentary/experience that we would have witnessed this year?

[DCExile]

The England v Kazakhstan game coverage was astoundingly bad. I assumed it was because they'd lost audio feed and the two in the studio had to fill in at the last moment, but if they actually planned to do it that way, it's an all-time low for FSC coverage.

[Big Soccer Member]

[quote=koppite4ever;15993464
Also, it's time they got the rights to broadcast SKY Sports SOCCER AM every Saturday morning. That is the best soccer show on the planet and has been for donkeys years. I don't know who the FSC producers are, but they are clueless not to get this programming for America's viewers.[/quote]

I used to love Soccer AM too. They had the best presenters, best guests, funniest gags and skits and a great football part to it too. Now though, it is one of the worst shows on television in the UK. Everybody hates it now. You can check any England based football forum and see numerous threads slating what the show has become. Their best presenters all left, the football elements have been slowly phased out and the laughs have virtually disappeared.

If you were to want a SKY show to get fed over to you, you should get Sunday Supplement. It is like Around the Horn for football, but without all being saturated with humour (that isn't really funny at all). Goals on Sunday is good too. Anything but Soccer AM though.

[O Fenômeno]

It is still better than the crap GOLTV puts out...

Not really good judging standards but ayyyy...

[timotheus]

I am so sick and tired of the "it's cool to pick on FOX SOCCER".

The commentators are not THAT bad.

I particularly like the guy who does the Argentina matches, the Italian league guys are not that bad, and Maxie has grown on me enormously.

If you don't like it - don't watch it.

For the record, the Prem games arecovered by UK commentators anyway...


Oh and Sky news - the most mind numbingly boring sports show on the plant :p

[Bianco Celeste]

Tim - if they didn't have FSC, they be bitching about NOT having a channel dedicated to soccer.

I agree with you 100% - don't like, don't watch.

[BocaFan]

I.

For the record, the Prem games arecovered by UK commentators anyway...


True, but what people here are asking is to have these UK commentators at halftime and pre-game as well. I'm wondering if this costs more (?). If it doesn't, then why does FSC cut-away from these UK commentators literally 1 second after the final whistle? The Stoke-Spurs match on Sunday had an insane finish to it and to cut away to the FSC guys and turn off the stadium noise/atmosphere 1 second after the final whistle kills part of the game-watching experience and just seems unnecessary (unless there exists some contractual requirement for them to do so).

It's puzzling because its not like FSC has anything better to get to. They had 90 minutes of "Super Sunday Plus" following this match (can you say "Filler"?). What's the big rush?

[koppite4ever]

Napoli, you absolutely hit the nail on the head.

It is amazing when some people cannot read. All that is being said here is to have the full match coverage of the games from prematch to post match as seen in England via the SKY Sports feed. A professional presentation and analysis instead of the amateurs on FSC.

FSC producers have spoiled the start and end of every match from the Premier League with their presenters, hosts and commentators:

* fumbling of the sound in the control room (Napoli, do you hear the "hollow pipe" noise every time they switch from the FSC studio to the original feed???...it is so amateur, anyone in the broadcast industry would lose their job for such consistent on-air gaffes)

* switching to the studio the second the match is over, losing the momentum of the experience of a dramatic encounter and losing the crowd atmosphere and comments from the original commentator

* talking over the kick off with typical long winded statements like, "... so let's take it to Old Trafford for start of the game with your match commentators Alan Parry and Robbie Earle who are doing the 1st Half of this big match"(4-5 seconds of talk after the ball has already been kicked off...which then transitions to the original commentator who is already in the middle of his comments...aaagggghhhh)

* lowering the crowd volume so that you hear no atmosphere of a sell out crowd that was singing, playing instruments and providing a festive atmosphere, such as the England vs Kazakstan match which was all heard clearly on SETANTA...absolutely pathetic.

* showing the same FSC logo, music, ads about upcoming games, etc, instead of showing the SKY Sports half-time show.

* playing horrible music as an intro, outro, filler, etc...Do they even watch the full feed from SKY in their studios? SKY plays the most trendy and catchy music in sports...are FSC that broke that they cannot get the rights for the same music and songs as a background????

I guess these clowns above who make statements like "don't watch it then" are the same kind of guys who if you criticize a manager for his rotation policy, say, don't go to the games then :rolleyes:

Yeah, right, stop being a fan altogether because of one person's mistakes. No, get rid of that person. Why should I not watch my football. However, I will add, that if this continues and more people switch to SETANTA (who have most of the big games anyway) and we all have to pay more to watch them, then they will say, why did we not call in or email FSC to do a better job. That is the point.

The American soccer community is so apathetic. For decades we accepted sub par fields for youth and adult games, often playing on dirt, stones, bumps and patches of crab grass and never protested to our rec departments or local govt. For years we said it was OK to have a pro league with no youth development. For years we have allowed different organizations create different national leagues and cups to the level where there is no direction from US Soccer. For years we have to pay $20 or more on PPV to watch a single match on TV.

Sports like golf, tennis, and baseball have all the facilities, land, amenities, and TV coverage that their community desires.

We have 20 million kids that play soccer and millions more adults and yet we are still treated like second class citizens. Why? because we do not fight for our rights as a community.

In this country, we should have the best fields money can buy, best stadiums, best amenities, best players, best pro league and best TV coverage. PERIOD! and if you don't think so, then you don't get it.

[2ndAveFC]

Napoli, you absolutely hit the nail on the head.

It is amazing when some people cannot read. All that is being said here is to have the full match coverage of the games from prematch to post match as seen in England via the SKY Sports feed. A professional presentation and analysis instead of the amateurs on FSC.

FSC producers have spoiled the start and end of every match from the Premier League with their presenters, hosts and commentators:

* fumbling of the sound in the control room (Napoli, do you hear the "hollow pipe" noise every time they switch from the FSC studio to the original feed???...it is so amateur, anyone in the broadcast industry would lose their job for such consistent on-air gaffes)

* switching to the studio the second the match is over, losing the momentum of the experience of a dramatic encounter and losing the crowd atmosphere and comments from the original commentator

* talking over the kick off with typical long winded statements like, "... so let's take it to Old Trafford for start of the game with your match commentators Alan Parry and Robbie Earle who are doing the 1st Half of this big match"(4-5 seconds of talk after the ball has already been kicked off...which then transitions to the original commentator who is already in the middle of his comments...aaagggghhhh)

* lowering the crowd volume so that you hear no atmosphere of a sell out crowd that was singing, playing instruments and providing a festive atmosphere, such as the England vs Kazakstan match which was all heard clearly on SETANTA...absolutely pathetic.

* showing the same FSC logo, music, ads about upcoming games, etc, instead of showing the SKY Sports half-time show.

* playing horrible music as an intro, outro, filler, etc...Do they even watch the full feed from SKY in their studios? SKY plays the most trendy and catchy music in sports...are FSC that broke that they cannot get the rights for the same music and songs as a background????

Wow, you just voiced every problem I have with FSC. Well done.

[Bianco Celeste]

A professional presentation and analysis instead of the amateurs on FSC.
Don't call someone an amateur when you have NO idea what it takes to do the job. That's just being ignorant. It may not be as sharp but it is FAR from amateur.

* fumbling of the sound in the control room (Napoli, do you hear the "hollow pipe" noise every time they switch from the FSC studio to the original feed???...it is so amateur, anyone in the broadcast industry would lose their job for such consistent on-air gaffes)
Ummm...apparently not. And it might actually be totally unavoidable. You may not like it but that just may be how it works at this end.

* switching to the studio the second the match is over, losing the momentum of the experience of a dramatic encounter and losing the crowd atmosphere and comments from the original commentator
First off - it's an international feed. The commentators know the game is being shown around the world so they leave that 'break' in announcing for the various outlets taking it in can cut-away to their own stuff. It's a broadcast thing that is done with every international feed taken in. If they don't cut it, they could be in violation of their agreement.

* talking over the kick off with typical long winded statements like, "... so let's take it to Old Trafford for start of the game with your match commentators Alan Parry and Robbie Earle who are doing the 1st Half of this big match"(4-5 seconds of talk after the ball has already been kicked off...which then transitions to the original commentator who is already in the middle of his comments...aaagggghhhh)
I don't see introducing the commentators as a big problem. And if you think FSC are the ONLY ones that fumble this stuff, you need to watch more TV. EVERYONE does it so chill out. It's not like the commentator is revealing the Caramilk secret or anything - he's simply setting it up.

* lowering the crowd volume so that you hear no atmosphere of a sell out crowd that was singing, playing instruments and providing a festive atmosphere, such as the England vs Kazakstan match which was all heard clearly on SETANTA...absolutely pathetic.
Not 100% positive but this could be a source issue depending on if the audio coming in is 2-channel or mixed to one channel at source. If it is mixed at source, nothing FSC can do. Regardless, if atmospehere at a game is so very important - buy a plane ticket and haul your ass over there. While I enjoy the atmosphere, I enjoy watching the game much more than trying to sing songs in my living room.

* showing the same FSC logo, music, ads about upcoming games, etc, instead of showing the SKY Sports half-time show.
This could be a rights issue as well. And let me ask you this - if YOU owned a TV channel, would you NOT want to advertise what you've got coming up during peak audience times? This is pretty much advertising 101. Again, if you think FSC is the ONLY ones to do this, watch some of the other channels.

* playing horrible music as an intro, outro, filler, etc...Do they even watch the full feed from SKY in their studios? SKY plays the most trendy and catchy music in sports...are FSC that broke that they cannot get the rights for the same music and songs as a background????
It's called 'branding' - and look into how much it costs to acquire the rights to say the MNF theme or the ESPN theme. Let us know how that turns out. Would you rather have a catchy theme or see the games? I've seen some Setanta games that just cut right to the two teams set to kick-off. No intro, no thing just *bang* there is is! I don't hear you whining about that...

I guess these clowns above who make statements like "don't watch it then" are the same kind of guys who if you criticize a manager for his rotation policy, say, don't go to the games then :rolleyes:
All 'we're' saying is everyone OUTSIDE the broadcast industry thinks they are experts in TV production just because they watch the games. Kind of like the idiot that goes to the games and then thinks he knows best how to manage the team. You don't - and you don't know shit about TV production either. Could it be better? Of course - but what's most important? Would you NOT take a bar of gold because it's delivered in a sedan versus a brinks truck? To my knowledge, FSC is trying to create their own package around the games. No, it's not perfect (far from it) but I applaud them for making the effort. Think BIG picture for a second - they are creating jobs, giving people opportunities who may not have had the opportunities otherwise. People bitch and complain about companies shipping jobs overseas - what do you think would happen if all FSC did was show Sky 24-7? You have every right to demand a better production but just remember there IS a cost.

Yeah, right, stop being a fan altogether because of one person's mistakes. No, get rid of that person. Why should I not watch my football. However, I will add, that if this continues and more people switch to SETANTA (who have most of the big games anyway) and we all have to pay more to watch them, then they will say, why did we not call in or email FSC to do a better job. That is the point.
First off - Setanta has the games that FSC gives them. FSC has the rights to the EPL in North America. They have a sharing agreement with Setanta - and Sportsnet/The Score in Canada. And if you think it is ONE person that is making mistakes - again, you don't know shit about TV production. No one said 'don't be a fan' - we just said stop being a little whiny bitch. And when I was in the TV business and people used to complain to me, I used to tell them we're always taking volunteers to help out. Maybe you should send over a CV to FSC and see if they need some help? I'm sure someone with your 'expert opinions' would enjoy such an eye-opening experience!

The American soccer community is so apathetic. For decades we accepted sub par fields for youth and adult games, often playing on dirt, stones, bumps and patches of crab grass and never protested to our rec departments or local govt. For years we said it was OK to have a pro league with no youth development. For years we have allowed different organizations create different national leagues and cups to the level where there is no direction from US Soccer. For years we have to pay $20 or more on PPV to watch a single match on TV.
Boo hoo hoo - that's what happens when your sport is 5th on the list in terms of spectator sports on this side of the world.

Sports like golf, tennis, and baseball have all the facilities, land, amenities, and TV coverage that their community desires.
And that their community can afford to pay for. Think man, think. It's ALWAYS about money.

In this country, we should have the best fields money can buy, best stadiums, best amenities, best players, best pro league and best TV coverage. PERIOD! and if you don't think so, then you don't get it.
Money talks pal - bullshit walks. If you think soccer generates NEAR the revenue that golf, tennis and baseball do - you're a retard. There is a REASON they have all the best facilities - THEY MAKE THE MONEY TO AFFORD THEM. I'm sick of the soccer community whining about not having the facilities or saying they're discriminated against - you're not! The sport just doesn't generate the cash needed to make things better from the top down. PERIOD. And if it wasn't for Lamar Hunt - you'd be even worse off than you are right now. You want the best facilities? Open up your wallet.

[koppite4ever]

Celeste, I don't know where to begin with your crap.

1. I was a TV producer and especially for soccer. So I do know what I am talking about. But I am not going to reveal my name to a fool like you.

2. Half your points do not address what you quoted so I won't bother to go back over them, since they are just nonsense and it gets boring repeating the same stuff. The people at FSC are amateurs.

3. My final comments addressed the issue of apathy in the soccer community which leads to a lack of power in this country. Money comes from such power. We have the numbers in the community to demand and make many changes in each city or state but our community prefers to attack issues on a "I'm only willing to deal with my problem and not work with you" attitude. Thus you see some clubs build soccer complexes and others don't. Then baseball or even hockey groups come along and they have worked together to get a bigger piece of land to serve their sport rather than any single club. So it is not just money...that's the obvious part, it is community action.

[bostonsoccermdl]

I am so sick and tired of the "it's cool to pick on FOX SOCCER".

The commentators are not THAT bad.

I particularly like the guy who does the Argentina matches, the Italian league guys are not that bad, and Maxie has grown on me enormously.

If you don't like it - don't watch it.

For the record, the Prem games arecovered by UK commentators anyway...


Its so true. repped.

Some of the here on Bigsoccer posters just try to jump on a the "hate bandwagon of the month" just to sound like they have some sort of cred or nuance.

Thank god he have the damn channel. Some of the whining is that goes on is unbelievable.

[bostonsoccermdl]

We have 20 million kids that play soccer and millions more adults and yet we are still treated like second class citizens. Why? because we do not fight for our rights as a community.

In this country, we should have the best fields money can buy, best stadiums, best amenities, best players, best pro league and best TV coverage. PERIOD! and if you don't think so, then you don't get it.

WHO IS GOING TO PAYING FOR ALL THIS "BEST OF" stuff???

We "dont get it"?

Maybe YOU dont get that money makes the world go around, and soccer is slowly growing here... but DEMANDING it suddenly have the best of everything is naive and delusional.

The "20 million people" you refer to need to start getting their asses into seats at MLS games and bring some revenue into the league.. Onyl then will it get better..

[StrikerMisha]

I completely agree with all of you! The new "americanized" coverage is awful...I do miss the original full coverage feed from Sky Sports. It was much more comprehensive and it truly built up the hype for every match. I've seen other soccer forums that also bash on the FSC coverage. Bring back the Sky Sports original!:(