ESPN - Good or Bad for Soccer, Part II

Re: Rob Stone - "We have to dumb down broadcasts"

Yeah, because so many people get GolTV

 

Re: Rob Stone - "We have to dumb down broadcasts"

So ESPN should just can any American soccer commentators it has on staff?

 

Re: ESPN Thurs. Night MLS Games LIVE in Argentina

I remember when I lived in Chile and MLS was just starting we got one game each weekend (usually Sat. afternoon/nite).

Metro

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

I think the difference is that the game in L.A. started at 10:30 pm ET, so it was at the end of the primetime broadcast schedule, so they could devote as much time as they wanted - in fact, my DVR recording ended at the end of the scheduled time period, and they were still talking about Man of the Match and so on.

This week's match starts 3 hours earlier, so it is in the heart of primetime in the eastern half of the country. So, clearly ESPN is less inclined to devote more than 2 hours in that case.

Which reminds me, I think that if ESPN and MLS are going to have a weekly highlighted match, then that broadcast should start at the same time every week, and the local kickoff should adjust. This is standard for Major League sports. For example, the World Series games are always at 8:30 pm ET, and if they are playing in L.A., then the local start is 5:30pm - even if it is a Thursday.

Back when MLS was primarily an event to watch at the stadium, then the kickoff needed to be for the convenience of those attending in person - but a regular television slot that people can make a part of their regular viewing schedule is far more important.

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

BINGO!

Every sports TV rights contract has "review" clauses at the end of each season.

Some of these "review" clauses allow each side to make "adjustments".

As we have already seen in the past, a TV network can use a "review" clause to escape from the TV contract altogether (i.e. WUSA on TNT and CNN Sports Illustrated in 2001, which was THE epic disaster of the decade in the TV soccer business.)

Beckham's debut game on July 21 will draw over 1 million U.S. TV households if it airs on ABC.

The problem: will the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. match involving Beckham, airing on ESPN2 in the U.S., product a noticable bump from the 200,000-250,000 U.S. TV households which tune in to the run of the mill ESPN2 MLS telecast?

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

Then you would pretty much have an empty stadium. I left at 6 and got there at 7 so if you leave at five most will not make it there till 6 missing most of the first half and if you are gonna pay 75 bucks to watch half a game then just go watch it at home.

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

Which !$@$ sucks if you're a fan of the West Coast teams. No thanks, I'm not interested in MLS screwing over the local fans for the sake of the national timeslot.

 

Re: Rob Stone - "We have to dumb down broadcasts"

If it's so popular ("hugh market" according to DaeHanMinGuk), then even if it's on GolTV, two things should happen:

1) ratings on GolTV should shoot thru' the roof
2) people should flock to subscribe to packages that include GolTV, i.e. GolTV would have a distribution rivals ESPN.

That's basically the phenomenen for Liga Mexicana (e.g. Chivas X Club America) and Mexico's World Cup games, on a Spanish channel.

So, you care to tell me why (1) and (2) don't happen? and worse yet, can you tell me why NBC or CBS don't pick up European league soccer and put it on the networks week in week out? Why not? isn't there a "hugh market"?

 

Re: Rob Stone - "We have to dumb down broadcasts"

Why do you insist on misspelling "huge?"

Also, you simply pointed out the Spanish and Italian leagues, apparently forgoing the fact that the EPL is European, and has a surprisingly large market share in the United States, inasmuch as it gets an occasional blurb in Sports Illustrated, and an annoyingly large amount of people own Manchester United jerseys.

And why should GolTV have a distribution rivaling ESPN? NFL Network and NBATV don't even come close to the viewership that ESPN pulls, and I hope you realize that no sports channel is going to touch ESPN in ratings, because it stands to reason that a station covering many sports will get more viewers than a single-sport channel.

 

Re: Rob Stone - "We have to dumb down broadcasts"

So huge that it's on a niche channel like Setanta Sports USA and FSC? Nope, EPL isn't huge either. An annoyingly large amount of people won Manchester United jerseys? so why don't we see Man U and the EPL on CBS?

And NFL is only on the NFL Network? NBA only on NBATV? what country do you live in?

GolTV should have a distribution rivaling ESPN, if the European league is really as "huge" as you folks portrait. The fact is, it is not huge. European soccer is just niche content.

And since it's "huge", why must it only appear on a sports channel? NCAA basketball is exclusively on CBS. Is CBS a sports channel?

Nope, events with a huge following should not appear only on a sport channel (whether it's multi-sports or single sport).

Face it, your so called "huge market" is nothing more than 100K-200K audience. That's laughable to say the least if you think that's "huge". The fact that you folks dare not say anything about the networks, and keep harping on ESPN, says it all.

For sports with huge market, ESPN is only a lower priority. I can watch the games with an antenna, not cable.

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

Yeah, keeping the broadcast the same for whatever 10,000 folks come to each particular home field is much better than adjusting one game a week to fit a NATIONWIDE broadcast audience.

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

it;s not for the 10000 folks that come to the game. it is for the many people at home watching the game and their perception. if the stadium is empty, the perception is that the product is crap, and that was ok when MLS was producing it's broadcasts, but apparently it is not OK for ESPN.

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

The World Series is more of an established event than MLS. In this case, it's better to start the game at 7 or 7:30 PM local time as opposed to 5 or 6 PM PT for an east-coast prime time broadcast.

A (generally) set kickoff time works on Saturdays because there's not much else going on. In this case, LA fans can go see their team at 1 PM PT because it's right during Saturday afternoon. Try and get those same fans to skip work and go see their team at 5 PM PT (or even 4 PM PT) and it's a lot harder. Throw in kids with after school activities or what ever they do, and it might be a lot harder for some people.

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

All these things are also true of Monday Night Football, yet those games start at an early local time when they are on the West Coast.

In order for a sport to rise in acceptance, it has to have institutions - Monday Night Football, Thursday Night Soccer.

People will turn on their TV at 8pm ET, say "oh, no game today" and change the channel, oblivious that it will be starting at 10pm !

Also, remember that only 1 or 2 Thursday night matches per season will be played at any particular stadium, so this early local time kickoff would only be once or twice a year.

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

when MLS reaches the levels of Monday Night Football i'll agree with you. but there are enough football fans out there to fill up a stadium at 5 PM on a monday. soccer isn't there yet (and may never be there)

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

What was the deal with that little black thingy that popped out on the screen at times? It looked like some sort of little camera?

Metro

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

I disagree.

CSN-Chicago by far has the best package of announcers, cameras/angles, microphones and coverage.

I'm in the process of starting a thread "rating" the MLS coverage on television. Not just the national, but including the local.

Right now, I'd love HDNet's picture with Telefutura's presentation and CSN-Chicago's announcing.

The Dallas-RSL game OTOH looked like crap...

Thx,

Jay!

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

i think it was the sky cam, that runs on cables above the field. i think the only MLS stadum to have that installed is the Home Depot Center.

I personally really like it.

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

Oh haha: I don't mind it, at all. I was just worried that maybe I was seeing things. Ok, that clears it up for me--good job ESPN2!

Metro

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

I could be mistaken, but isn't that camera installed by ESPN techs in the day(s) before the game and removed after?

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

One would guess that the mounting wire and platform is installed on a semi-permanent basis, and that all cameras in the stadium are removed from their mounts after a game is over.

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

i remembered hearing last year when the camera debuted that the only stadium that would have it would be the HDC. i think the cabling is installed there permanently, and like kstuart said, the camera is installed specifically for the game. That being said, i have also seen the skycam on Monday Night Football, so there may be other stadiums (such as gillette, arrowhead, giants) that have the cabling installed.

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

Remember how we loved Jack Edwards?

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

I like it too.

Goal kicks look really cool from the Sky Cam....

Now if they can figure out how to follow a developing play with it, they will have a tool beyond the "ooh and aahh" factor.

 

Re: ESPN2 Thursday Night MLS - Excellent Production

Gut, it's not "installed" permanently. It travels as it is not owned by the HDC, MLS, etc...They are owned by one company, and they supply them to whoever can afford them.
Mostly big events like the NFL, big college games, and now the ESPN game of the week.
I've worked with the guys who rig and run them and they are an amazing crew.
That said, I'd trade that in for stedicams on the touch line at both ends.