Boston Globe writer decries ESPN soccer snub Start won't finish Revolution By Frank Dell'Apa Great job by FDA on taking ESPN to task for limiting exposure and thereby continuing to propagate American anti-soccer bias: "ESPN retains the US rights to the Champions League but will screen only the Inter-Milan semifinal today (on ESPN2). ESPN has programmed the Juventus-Real Madrid match throughout the world, but in the US it will show a taped auto race. This is a programming decision that seriously affects the credibility of the network. Not only is ESPN neglecting to show the deciding game of the most important soccer tournament of the year, it has also discouraged or prevented a secondary broadcaster from acquiring the one-time rights to what could be the world's most-watched sporting event of the year." As the Simpsons producers said to Beckham, "You're not a big enough star in the States." They didn't finish the sentence "...and we aim to keep it that way."
The title is a little misleading. It is the soccer writer Frank Dell'Apa that is taking espn to task, not the Boston Globe.
I can't get the link to work - but I'm sure I have heard this sentiment before. Sometimes it is hard to believe that there isn't a programming director or 2 who let their personal feelings about the sport sway their decisions.
Bottom line: 1. ESPN is only required to air 17 UEFA CL matches in the US each season under the terms of the current contract with TEAM. 2. ESPN2 loses at least $40000 worth of advertising inventory for each UEFA CL match aired. 3. No advertiser has purchased advertising on UEFA CL match telecasts in the US for the past 5 seasons. UEFA CL telecasts on ESPN2 only get about an 0.15 rating (150000 households), less than what MLS gets. 4. Starting next season, there will be NO UEFA CL telecasts on ESPN2. All UEFA CL telecasts will air in the US on the expanded 24-hour version of ESPN Deportes, which is scheduled to launch in September.
Yes, I am sure the fact that no one watches these game and that no one is sponsoring these games has nothing to do with the fact that there not being shown. I can't believe with the near overwhelming amount of evidence that people are not watching these games nor sponsoring them would anyone be silly enough to drum up the "American anti-soccer bias" total and utter crap. Andy
and who is going to get ESPN deportes? is it included in basic packages? based on the name, i assume its only in spanish.
ESPN Deportes will be on DirecTV Para Todos channel 426. No cable company has signed on to carry ESPN Deportes at this time. The launch of ESPN Deportes may be delayed if no cable company signs on. That could mean a 4-month to 6-month reprieve for those who watch UEFA CL on ESPN2, as ESPN will have to put at least one match each match day on a non-PPV US network in order to satisfy the terms of its new contract with TEAM AG, which should call for at least 13 telecasts on a non-PPV US network each season.
SBJ reported last week that ESPN's rates on their existing offerings could be lowered for people who carry ESPN HD and/or ESPN Deportes.
Unfortunately, FDA has pretty much zero clout in terms of his impact as a reporter. He's about the 9th or 10th string writer on the Globe's roster. On the other hand, Bill Griffith, the TV Radio guy gave Inter/AC Milan a nice write up today. He DOES have some impact, though not nearly as much as Jack Craig, his predecesor. Believe it or not, guys like Craig and Rudy Martzke do get the attention of the suits at places like ESPN and the networks. I bet if Martzke wrote the same thing as FDA it might actually get ESPN to at least consider showing more of the Champions League.
See, the launching of this type of channel is always like that. Haven't we seen this before? ESPN Extra, PanAmerican Sports Network, Canal de Futbol, etc. It's always like, Oliver drums up the launch of a channel on his web-site. This channel carries lots of soccer. People will live happily thereafter. Result? the launch is usually aborted. Even if the channel is really launched, it cannot get penetration. ESPN Extra had survived for 1+ year, but can only get on "selected" (translation: < 5%) of the cable systems. Neither Directv nor Dish Network showed any interest in picking up ESPN Extra... In other words, I'll treat ESPN Deportes with the same attitude: I'll believe it when I see it. I'll also believe it if the majority of the cable systems as well as Dish Network flock to carry it. As of now, since the major attraction of ESPN Deportes is the Champions League games that appear on ESPN International, I'll say "fat chance"! Yet it doesn't stop Oliver from drumming up this magic network on his web-site as well as on his postings again and again ...
To me this is an example of how ratings might be skewed. I mean, how many people can go home from work to watch soccer at noon or 3 in the afternoon? I know what happens in San Diego: 15 or 20 or 30 or 50 guys and gals show up at the Princess Pub to watch the games over a long lunch. A similar amount show up at Shakespeares, another British pub. None of those people show up in the Neilsen ratings. I'm sure this is multiplied at least to a degree throughout the country. Of course I could be wrong.
And here on the east coast it's the same thing with a "late lunch." Not to mention everyone who sets the VCR and watches it later when they come home from work. The question is what else could they broadcast at that time that would get the combination of better ratings or lower cost. ESPN's own programming of the guys chainsawing telephone poles costs them nothing to air, so my guess is that those programs would come out ahead. The real issue here is that there needs to be a better way of calculating ratings for programs. The current Neilson system was fine 50 years ago when there were only a couple of channels, and a random survey was the only way to make a reasonable guess as to how many watched what. Unfortunately, the technology has leapt so far ahead, not to mention demographics (who gets selected as a Neilson household), not to mention any number of other variables. Tom
50 guys and gals in one or two bars in San Diego, multiplied across the country -- is a couple thousand people sitting in a bar at lunch, not a revolution. And usually, when I've left work to watch a game, I've been one lonely coke drinker, while the staff usually wonders what the hell I'm looking at.
And how are you related to ESPN?? ___________________________________________ "ESPN ratings for soccer suck because they don't care to do a decent job of presenting the sport" - quinella box, on 2/17/03
Frank has more juice than you realize. He covers soccer by choice, bot because he has to or can't get a more prestigious gig. He used to cover the Celtics in the heyday of the Bird-McHale-Parish era and he covered the Bruins, too. You cover those teams for that paper and you're pretty respected in your chosen field. It won't make a hill of beans difference to the suits in Bristol, but to say he has no juice is misleading.
Well, maybe that's the problem here Casper: "drinking coke". If you watch the game while drinking beer, maybe those watching you would take the game more seriously! Bartender: "Hey, wait a minute... this game is being watched by a beer-drinking patron. Hmm... must be a serious sport. Maybe I should watch the game and see what's this all about!!" Hey... I'm just trying to increase my post count!
I was on the road over the weekend before last and wanted to get the MLS scores. The only sports channel at the hotel I was in was ESPN, and I watched Sports Center. Not only did the announcers not give any of the scores, they didn't even have them on the bottom of the screen -- where they had everything else, including golf, arena football and horse racing. MLS just didn't exists on that Saturday night, May 3, so far as anything I was able to see on ESPN was concerned. ESPN repeatedly treats soccer as "non-news" then complains that no one watches it when they do put it on. As for the CL, there's a timing problem for some of us. It's on in the middle of the day and we have to work. I'm recording it.
That's just Ollie, he runs a website, and gives the impression that he has a lot of accurate inside information. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't.
Ssshhhhhh. I can't hear the locusts with you talking. And ten bucks says that if they tried to show the games any other time of day, half the posters here would be swinging from light poles because the games weren't shown live.