Keller would definitley liven up the studio show - I like his enthuthiasm and he has more credibility than Lalas or Twellman as he has actually played against many of the players in this tournament. Right now the studio show is barely watchable - I switch to Sky sports News between games
Watching the studio show in between matches. Bob Ley is playing traffic cop, asking questions directed at each individual analyst, in order to keep the show moving. Lalas is being kept on a tight leash in order to give Rossi and Ballack a chance. Update at 2:10pm ET: Ley thanked Rossi and Ballack for their contributions today. They are being subbed off (about time.) == I am looking forward to seeing Ley, Lalas, Keller, and Tommy Smyth in the studio for the rest of the day. I am expecting major fireworks. == Should be obvious by now that someone in Bristol is reading this thread carefully even though only a handful of us are posting here. Let's keep the comments constructive. The soccer TV industry in the U.S. is still very small and everyone knows everyone who has ever been involved in any way, even an outsider who has only been on the fringe of the industry as independent marketing contractor several years ago.
Now THIS is a studio show lineup I would pay to watch: Tommy Smyth Alexi Lalas Kasey Keller Good luck to Bob Ley for having to play traffic cop with these 3 for the rest of the day.
Yeah, I thought it looked familiar. It's normally the home of college football and basketball shows, as well as NASCAR Now. http://frontrow.espn.go.com/2012/06/inside-studio-gs-transformation-into-our-euro-2012-hub/ And Bob Ley continues to be great. I know people who watched USA '94 coverage as well as other soccer coverage on ESPN from that area and they raved about him. It's a shame that ESPN (someone?) removed him from coverage in favor of people like Jack Edwards and Dave O'Brien. I know Ley does the OTL reports, but he probably could have called PbP of a few games here and there. (MLS Cup 97's coverage was fantastic. I saw it on ESPN Classic a few years ago.)
Let's see what Tim Scanlan and Jed Drake will do after Sunday. They clearly have a working formula available for the studio show that will require them to juggle talent assignments and possibly have to eat a big salary (i.e. Michael Ballack.) Are they willing to make that choice? Tim Scanlan @Sixof11 Jed Drake @JedGDrake
During the 2006 World Cup - ESPN insisted that Dave O'Brien was doing a great job and there no plans to replace in the near future despite universal outcry among the soccer public. I think Dave O'Brien left soccer coverage in late 2007
I think you're right. I remember him doing MLS games after the 2006 World Cup, but not too long after. If they want an "American" voice, they have a few gems...why they had to bring in the bumbling idiots that I mentioned previously was anyone's guess. I realize that not everyone is watching every moment of every game, but does Bob Ley need to mention that head-to-head is the first tiebreaker every chance he gets? (Actually, probably. It's nice to be reminded of that fact, but it's starting to get a little tiresome.) (And yes, I realize this counts as an official Bob Ley complaint... The praise still far outweighs the complaints, though.)
Monday's Euro 2012 Tonight Show will air at 10pm ET on ESPN2 and 11:59pm ET on ESPNEWS Network. Max Bretos is supposed to host. Bretos will host the studio show during the day on Tuesday.
Giuseppe Rossi was another one who wasn't assertive enough on Sunday to earn another appearance. Bob Ley gave Rossi chance after chance to say something with authority, and Rossi passed at every opportunity. Perhaps Rossi was afraid of offending anyone since he is an active player, given the political nature of both international and club futbol. Another lesson for aspiring producers: active players and active coaches often make poor TV pundits because they are afraid to criticize potential future bosses. === Lalas and Wynalda are so good as pundits because they are honest and they are NOT afraid to criticize anyone. Keller is another one that has the makings of a good pundit. Having playing experience in EPL and La Liga (in addition to MLS and USMNT) are all pluses. (Don't be surprised if Keller were to show up on beIN Sports USA in the near future. ) Good pundits cannot have the fear of offending people, just like good players and coaches cannot be paralyzed by the fear of losing.
Jed Drake's Twitter is @Icantdrive105 Tim Scanlan's Twitter (private) is @Sixof11 Those two executives are in charge of production of Euro 2012 on English-language ESPN Networks in the U.S.
Check out @AlexiLalas on Twitter. Alexi is not afraid to take on anyone that makes a comment about him that he doesn't agree with. Alexi should be exclusive to ESPN Networks in English through 2014. So Alexi is locked up by ESPN Networks and Eric Wynalda is locked up by FOX Soccer. That leave Keller...
I think Lalas, Ballack, Keller, and Smyth are the worse part of ESPN's EURO 2012 coverage. I wished they spent that money and got Roberto Martinez to be on more instead have ITV steal him away. Also, they should use Klinsmann when US qualifying is done, but it seems that he will be working for the BBC. Other people they could use as pundits is someone like Michael Laudrap or even Stewart Robson. So overall feeling so far Ian Darke (A-) - So far like his commentary and is providing excitement when needed. Feel his knowledge certain European players may be lacking at times. Steve McManaman (B-) - Usually not a big fan of him because he talks too much without providing insight, but I have been impressed with him so far. Not talking as much and his analysis is a little better. Adrian Healey (B) - Typical performance from him. Nothing too special but does a good job. Robbie Mustoe (B+) - I feel that he is one of the most underrated co-commentator and pundit. Wished ESPN uses him more. His provides good insight and analysis. Knows how to talk about actual tactics and not "so called" tactics. And he has a good knowledge of the European game. Derek Rae (A) - Always nice to hear him in the commentary booth. He is probably one of the most knowledgeable commentator about the European leagues and game. Kasey Keller (D) - Not that good. Analysis is weak. Constantly butchering names and even the simple names too. Bob Ley (C) - Does what is asked for the job, but does not provide anything special. Alexis Lalas (D-) - Just talks way too much without providing anything good. Rubs viewer the wrong way and is just the soccer ver. of Skip Bayless. Michael Ballack (D) - Started out terrible, but slowly improved. However, it is still not good enough. His analysis is not good and the chemistry with the others are not good. He does seem to speak with more confidence when talking about Germany. Tommy Smyth (F) - Just no. Haven't we learned that he doesn't know the sport in EURO 2008. Other thing I wished ESPN did was used Rebecca Lowe more because I think she is a better football presenter than Bob Ley and ask better hard hitting questions. Also, maybe they could get a writer that writes about European football constantly as one of the panel. Edit: I would also wish that they got Michael Cox of zonalmarking.net. Have a whole segment of actual tactics talk. And then ESPN could go with the "so-called" tactics with the other studio panels.
If y'all speak spanish, you should give Deportes a try. Mario Kempes and Tato Noriega have both been terrific analysts.
O give me a brake Keller to Bian Sports I think not now I have not seen any of the WCQ they have done on PPV but after hearing Keller work I don’t think Bian will want to spend the money even if they have lots of it on him.
The only thing most of us care about is that ESPN has allocated 200 hours towards this tournament...The graphic and the presentation is awesome. Pundits come and go. Some are good, some are ok, and some are bad. The big story is EURO 2012...After the breakthrough in 2008, the tournament has introduced the casual viewers and sports fan to another great tournament outside the World Cup. This tournament has a long way to go before we see the peak in terms of TV ratings. I have mentioned this before, but WC 2014 will become the peak for WC TV ratings for the US market in this cycle (due to better time zone, and ESPN's sequel to WC 2010 coverage). WC 2014 might be the peak for WC TV ratings till the US ends-up hosting the event again. It is the perfect storm coming to fruition and a peak after many years. On the flip side, the EURO is still in it's early years of development in the US market. The 2012 version will see atleast 20%-35% growth in TV ratings versus the 2008 version (the first time the tournament received mainstream coverage) . The 2016 version will expand to 24 teams, and the tournament will see further growth in TV ratings in the US. What is on the horizon? WC 2014 in Brazil will pull the best TV ratings to date for the Men's World Cup in the US market. Women's World 2015 in Canada will do very well in the US market due to better time zone, a competitive US team, more quality teams, and further development in the Women's game. EURO 2016 will expand to 24 teams, and it will be a month long tournament. The tournament will continue to grow in the US market in terms of recognition and acceptance. MLS 2016 will have all the team playing in their own stadiums and the average attendance should reach the 20K level. The league will have 20 or 22 teams. We will see more uptick in the EPL and UEFA Champions League knockout rounds and the Finals. And finally, we might see the EL Clasico becoming a signature event by being on a mainstream outlet.
Check out what Rebecca Lowe wore on ESPN Soccernet Press Pass on Sunday June 10 (online in U.S. and Canada; TV in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Middle East, Caribbean): a bright red/white sleeveless top that certainly catches the viewers' eyes: http://espnfc.com/us/en/videos/1094864/press-pass10-june-2012.html
I disagree, they tend to sound wordy but don't really say anything. Palomo's commentary is excellent, and Martin Ainstein is great when he is pitch side. The Futbol Picante guy who does analysis with them is soft and lacks European football knowledge outside of the big names.
Bingo. The hombres from Futbol Picante know Liga MX inside out and the big global brands from Europe, but don't know enough about the others. That also applies to some of their colleagues on ESPN Networks in English.
I complete agree with you here. Jose Ramon never does his homework, and it shows. He consistently gets his facts wrong and never bothers to correct himself as long as it fits his often misguided narrative. Moreover, he is a card-carrying Europhile who thinks the Continent's s*** don't stink.
Rebecca Lowe is hosting studio shows during ESPN's daytime coverage of Euro 2012 on Monday. She is wearing a sleeveless black dress. Lalas and Ballack are in the studio for the France-England match. -- Max Bretos is supposed to host Euro 2012 Tonight (ESPN2 at 10pm ET or after College Baseball, ESPNEWS Network at 11:59pm ET.)
I hate the Darke/McManaman pairing, ZERO insightful commentary for either (C-). Rae/Keller is very good. Like Keller's laid-back, average joe approach with occasional injections of personal annedotes and insightful observations, and Derek Rae is a far better than Ian Darke. (A-) The studio show analysts are bad, Lalas know very little of European Football, and Ballack is a epitome of a dumb jock dishing out nothing but conventional wisdoms. Overall, Espn's coverage hasn't improved much and deserves a (C).
Overnight households ratings (Top 56 TV markets) according to Michael Hiestand of USA Today: Saturday Netherlands vs Denmark - 1.2% Germany vs Portugal - 1.3% Sunday Spain vs Italy - 1.7% Ireland vs Croatia - 1.2% (ESPN Sunday Night Baseball Detroit @ Cincinnati got a 1.6% overnight rating.) http://content.usatoday.com/communi...soccer-draws-strong-tv-ratings/1#.T9YowJhy3a5 == Look for Mac Nwulu to issue a press release with final household ratings, overall viewership, plus demographic data (median age, 18-34, 18-49) on Tuesday and/or Wednesday.