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View Full Version : Foxsports world needs to stop spoiling the results


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texgator
02 Jan 2004, 09:18 AM
Originally posted by Hattrix
Say, Nancy, aren't you a moderator? And doesn't this site have a policy against posting spoilers? Why do you suppose that is?

Back to communicating with people who have some sense, FSW does a very poor job of concealing results. This past week during the Arsenal game they showed results of every league game that had already been played. These results were not Sky Sports graphics; they were Fox graphics. They did this even though two of these games were to be shown later in the week. That was STUPID. From a marketing perspective, they cost themselves a large amount of veiwers who would otherwise have watched the feed of the game to find out the score.

In 1998 a friend of mine had a business outing the day of the World Cup final. He taped the game and carefully avoided any contact with TV or radio that day. The moment he walked into his apartment, his fool roommate asked: "Can you believe France won three nothing!?!?"

Few things in life are as dull as watching a soccer game when you know the result. One would think "America's Soccer Channel" would understand the importance of hiding the outcome of games they intend to show later in the week.

FSW is a great resource at times, but they do a lot of things wrong. Why, for example, do they continue to show the same two games for a week? Is it that cost prohibitive to broadcast some other contest several days after it was played? And why can't they figure out their broadcasts more than a couple days in advance? The Direct TV info box has TBD up there all the time, SoccerTV.com only goes a day into the future, and the FSW site is jampacked with spoilers that make it almost impossible to find their schedule without also eliminating the reason for the search.

But really, we should just get used to spoilers.

A few things.......I believe it is pretty pointless to avoid spoiling games that will be shown on a multi day delay. They (FSW) are probably thinking that many of their viewers will watch FSW Report sometime during the week and have the results spoiled anyway. I understand avoiding the spoiler on SDD, but a game that is played on Sat. that is delayed until Wed.?? Come on, man, most of us, somehow, somewhere will have the result spoiled. Hell, all you have to do is glance at an updated table and you will know the result.

Also, FSW has their entire week's schedule, and next weeks, and future weeks (if you know the trick) available on their website. Sometimes, for real business reasons, they don't actually know what game is being broadcast until 2-3 days before the matchday. Sometimes this makes it impossible to update the on air programming guide. GOL TV was having the same problem, got it fixed, but the last few weeks have been back to "equipos se annunciar" on all matches. BTW, Soccertv.com goes 8 days in the future, not one, without spoiling any results.

JTorres
02 Jan 2004, 12:54 PM
Originally posted by texgator
I understand avoiding the spoiler on SDD, but a game that is played on Sat. that is delayed until Wed.?? Come on, man, most of us, somehow, somewhere will have the result spoiled.

I agree Texgator. SDDs are tricky. If I miss the early Saturday match live, I pretty much understand that I have to tape the 2nd match of the day and watch the matches in sequence. I can live with that.

If the matches are played on Saturday and not shown until Tuesday or Wednesday, I really can't get too concerned with spoilers & I don't blame FSW at all. They should be informative at the end of match and give us a context for the result ... that's how the NFL broadcasts are handled.

Where I run into problems is trying to follow English 1st or 3rd division teams play their 3:00 matches on BBC radio regional coverage and trying to avoid hearing EPL scores. That really is tricky.

nancyb
02 Jan 2004, 03:20 PM
Originally posted by Hattrix
Say, Nancy, aren't you a moderator? And doesn't this site have a policy against posting spoilers? Why do you suppose that is?

I didn't create that policy and I always tell folks, "caveat emptor."

If there's some important result you don't want to know, then avoid places/shows/etc. that could potentially spoil the results. If you're not willing to do that, then get used to spoiled results.

AndyMead
02 Jan 2004, 04:53 PM
I think you folks are wrong. I like when they give the scores of other games. Most people don't try to independently be surprised at the results of several simultaneously broadcast games.

They give the scores as a courtesy to the great majority of those watching.

If there's one game you don't want to know about beforehand - watch that game first.

rangers00
02 Jan 2004, 08:40 PM
Why have we never heard of complaints on the Fox/CBS studio on giving results of other NFL games? Worse yet, an NFL telecast constantly updates the scores of other games on the screen. Yet I have never heard of

"it's really braindead, how can they give out the Vikings results during the Packers game? They even have the nerve to show Mike Sherman and Brett Favre celebrating on making the playoffs before the end of their game. That totally spoils my watching of the Vikings/Cardinals game on tape, after the Broncos/Packers game..."

Simply put, spoilers are PART OF THE AMERICAN SPORTS BROADCASTING CULTURE. If you don't give updates, you are not journalistic enough. Broadcasters really have to go the extra mile to avoid giving away spoilers. And we have this problem only in foreign soccer (with all kinds of tape delays), and only during Olympic hockey (because they must delay the show on the west coast for prime-time viewing).

You would be hard pressed to find an NFL fan dumb enough to watch the Broncos/Packers live and then the Vikings/Cardinals on tape delay...

Hattrix
03 Jan 2004, 12:09 AM
I'm not saying spoilers should be avoided at all costs, I'm just wondering why FSW would offer them in their own font during another game. There is not one person watching a game on FSW who would choose not to watch the show if the results of other games had not been displayed, but there are some who will not find it necessary to watch the FSW Report or a subsequently televised match if the scores are given. Doesn't that seem to be a pretty unusual decision? Even if we are in the USA?

striker
03 Jan 2004, 11:17 AM
IIRC, for Champions League matches, the announcers would often warn the viewers that spoilers concerning a match to be telecasted later (not relevant in the US) was coming up so that the viewers could avoid such spoilers. I think this is a good practice for matches that are scheduled for delayed telecast.

Fah Que
03 Jan 2004, 07:27 PM
Originally posted by AndyMead
They give the scores as a courtesy to the great majority of those watching.


As I sorta said already, FSW can announce results but should try to give people a warning first. That way it satisfies both camps.