The affiliate in Cincinnati will not be showing the US-Sweden game. According to them many others have made the same decision.
Here in SE Tennessee they are showing "Phillip Fulmer Show" A sports talk show about Univ Tennessee football from 12:30 to 1:30 and then joining the game in progress. For some reason many local stations even think taped talk shows or religon shows are MUCh more important than a major international sports event even if it involves the US. In Memphis many years ago the local ABC affiliate did not show the Olympic Ice Hokey finals involving the US in favor of a taped bible show. This part of the country TV stations never let common sense get in the way of doing something stupid.
We are getting infomercials and a preview for fall shows. This is the same station that was not going to show the men's WC final until voicemail was full of nasty messages. Hopefully, people have done the same.
EuroSport I'm glad they hooked us up with cable here and one of the many sports channels is Eurosport which is showing all the matches live! I even saw someone on the site wearing a US mens nat shirt today, representing US Soccer.
puttputtfc do you know if ABC is not going to show any World Cup games? I live right around Cincinnnati and I was pretty upset today when they didn't show anything but home decorating commericals and fall preview shows. I've already sent ABC a pretty nasty e-mail about it. It is a real shame because I know a lot of people around here who wanted to watch that game and were looking forward to it...
Remember that it is NOT ABC that is failing to show the games. It is your local ABC afiliate. ABC had the game from start to finish but many local stations chose not to carry it and carried things that make them money (Called time buys) instead. These infomercials, sports talk shows, and many bible thumping shows are money makers for the stations and they make a LOT less carrying the network's feed as they only get paid for the limited number of local comercials they get to insert while the time buys pay for the entire time. There are some events stations should be required to carry and I believe that major sporting events involving international play, such as World Cups and Olympics, are one sort of these BUT you cannot expect the local stations to throw away money unless they see a greater profit or believe there is enough interest to make it worth their while or fear the backlash of not carrying it.
FOF's post is spot on and I would call WCPO in the future. What I did today was call my friend in Westchestewr and say, " I have chili, beer, and chips. Guess wahat you are having company today." The misses thought it was cool men would drive that far to see women play. I think it sucks I have to drive that far to watch a game.
I too was dissappointed at WCPO's choice of not showing the game. Thankfully I live close enough to Dayton to get thier ABC station using an antenna. The following is a link to the contact information for WCPO. I already sent in my 2 cents thier lack of respect for the game of soccer. http://www.wcpo.com/helpdesk/
"puttputtfc do you know if ABC is not going to show any World Cup games? I live right around Cincinnnati and I was pretty upset today when they didn't show anything but home decorating commericals and fall preview shows. I've already sent ABC a pretty nasty e-mail about it. It is a real shame because I know a lot of people around here who wanted to watch that game and were looking forward to it..." Do you mean that the family of Heather Mitts and all of her hometown fans may have potentially missed her ABC debut as well as a great soccer match? Bummer for them.
Glad I saw it I am from Portland, and on http://www.soccercityusa.com/bbs people were upset about the garden show that was on instead of the match. They contacted the local station and the newspaper. This is what came out of it. http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/brian_meehan/index.ssf?/base/sports/106431866142490.xml KATU's move has soccer fans crying foul 09/23/03 T he World Cup soccer tournament is the biggest women's sporting event in the world this side of the Olympic Games. The U.S. Open tennis tournament and Wimbledon pale next to the global frenzy that envelops World Cup soccer. This year, the United States is playing host to the tournament, because of the SARS epidemic in China, and Portland will play a pivotal role. Two of the quarterfinals and the semifinals will be played at PGE Park, providing the biggest sporting stage that has visited the Rose City. With that in mind, KATU (2), the local ABC affiliate, decided to prepare the ground for the Oct. 5 semifinals with a garden show, a paean to daphnes and rhododendrons instead of a celebration of corner kicks. On Sunday, KATU did not broadcast live the U.S. women's first match in the tournament. Instead, the station showed "In the Garden" with Mike Darcy and an infomercial. Talk about letting a mole loose in the broadcast garden. Portland soccer aficionados were outraged when they clicked on to watch Mia Hamm and company take on the Swedish team. They had to wait for the taped broadcast. "How a decision like that can be made, I have no idea," said Jim Moorhouse, a spokesman for U.S. Soccer. "Our reaction is big disappointment for the fans in Portland because Portland is a big part of this tournament." The station did not return several calls Monday. I guess they still were brushing the mulch from their faces. But KATU needs to hack back the blackberries to get a clearer view of what we are talking about. The U.S. women have won this global extravaganza twice, and the United States has played host to the tournament twice. Portland's rich soccer history was embellished last fall when the University of Portland women won the NCAA championship. And two former Pilots, Tiffeny Milbrett and Shannon MacMillan, are on the U.S. team. "Portland has the only stadium in history to have the event in two successive World Cups," said Drew Mahalic of the Oregon Sports Authority. "It is due to the fact we have an incredible soccer tradition here. It is the No. 1 sport in the state in terms of participation. I think KATU miscalculated." Tidying up the perennials could have waited a couple of hours while Hamm pruned the Swedes. Darcy's show is, indeed, a local delight, but not a flower that would have wilted while the game was on. "In the Garden" is taped. T he Portland market was one of three nationwide that didn't get the game live. WRIC in Richmond, Va., and KAIT in Jonesboro, Ark., also showed the game on tape. But you could put your finger on a globe and rest assured the game was seen there. "This is an event that is seen by millions in 140 countries," Moorhouse said. The World Cup comes to PGE Park on Sunday, followed by quarterfinal games Oct. 2 and the semifinals Oct. 5. Mahalic estimates the event will be worth $7 million to the city. "The semifinals on Oct. 5 are going to be the hottest ticket in history of sports in Oregon," he said. With a bit of luck, the U.S. team will be there. For those viewers who didn't stick around Sunday for the taped broadcast, the United States beat a strong Swedish team 3-1. Hamm assisted on all three goals. "This isn't the USA's World Cup," Hamm said. "This is the Women's World Cup, and it's a celebration of every single soccer player across the world." That beats pulling weeds in my book. The good news for Portland fans is that most of the tournament will be shown on the ESPN networks. ABC has the rights to the final, set for Oct. 12 in Carson, Calif., and KATU will get another whack at this thorny decision. Let's just hope the station is not contemplating a new Sunday morning pilot on the taut thrills of crocheting. Brian Meehan, 503-221-4341; brianmeehan@news.oregonian.com Copyright 2003 Oregon Live. All Rights Reserved.