Markgraf stumbled over her words and tried to say something about Mandzudkic putting a shot on target. Just couldn't take it anymore.
But just think ESPN got to check off their "female voice" list of things to do today. Its really absurd and looking fwd Markgraff is doing a bunch of matches. I just dont get it. Female presenter fine but why is this being forced upon us. Im sure bbc and itv didnt put women on their commentary just because they needed a female voice. And they do it with all of their sports now bar nba and nfl. Hmmm wonder why? Too much money and viewers to lose.
I have no problem with Markgraf on ESPN FC and shows like that. As a commentator? Needs improvement to say the least.
How many and which of the ESPN commentators are actually at the stadium? I expect the British ones are really there. Is the studio really in France, with the "experts' all over there? Thanks, PH
Obviously Ian Darke is. I pretty sure Champion is. Rae isn't because Moreno was on ESPN FC. Max Bretos isn't. I'm not sure about Healey. The original set got flooded, so ESPN quickly had to throw together a new set. If all goes to plan, they'll be back at the original location after the first week of the tournament.
Thanks. Is that set (the flooded and replacement) in France or in the US with a false back-projected scene of Paris? PH
It's in France. http://awfulannouncing.com/2016/espns-euro-2016-set-forced-relocate-due-paris-flooding.html
UEFA EURO 2016 Schedule/Commentators - ESPN/ESPN Deportes - Monday, June 13. 9:00 am ET - Spain vs Czech Republic - Commentators - ESPN - Max Bretos (Play-By-Play) - Alejandro Moreno (Analyst). Commentators - ESPN Deportes - Emilio Fernando Alonso (Play-By-Play) - Rafa Puenta (Analyst) - Martin Ainstein (Reporter). 12:00 pm ET - Republic Of Ireland vs Sweden - Commentators - ESPN - Adrian Healey - (Play-By-Play) - Tommy Smyth (Analyst) - Julie Foudy (Analyst). Commentators - ESPN Deportes - Omar Orlando Salazar (Play-By-Play) - Ricardo Mayorga (Analyst). 2:30 pm ET - Belgium vs Italy - Commentators - ESPN - Ian Darke (Play-By-Play) - Taylor Twellman (Analyst). Commentators - ESPN Deportes - Fernando Palomo (Play-By-Play) - Tato Noriega (Analyst). UEFA EURO 2016 Schedule/Commentators - ESPN/ESPN Deportes - Tuesday, June 14. 12:00 pm ET - Austria vs Hungary- Commentators - ESPN - Derek Rae (Play-By-Play) - Kate Markgraf (Analyst). Commentators - ESPN Deportes - Ricardo Ortiz (Play-By-Play) - Mario Kempes (Analyst). 3:00 pm ET - Portugal vs Iceland - Commentators - ESPN - Ian Darke (Play-By-Play) - Taylor Twellman (Analyst). Commentators - ESPN Deportes - Fernando Palomo (Play-By-Play) - Tato Noriega (Analyst). Commentator Assignments - http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-r...6-espn-espn-deportes-commentator-assignments/ Commentator Bios - http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2016/05/177157/
The commentator teams will call a significant number of matches from stadium sites in France - Ian Darke (who will be paired with Taylor Twellman or Steve McManaman during the tournament) will call all his matches from France beginning with the France vs Romania opener on June 10. Jon Champion and Stewart Robson will also call their assigned matches in France. Fernando Palomo and Tato Noriega will be in France during the tournament and will call 16 matches - including the opening match - two quarterfinal matches - one semifinal match and the final match. Ricardo Ortiz and Mario Kempes will be on-site in France to call two quarterfinal matches and one semifinal match. http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2016/05/177157/
Thanks! So all the other English commentators, Rae, Bretos and Healey are not on site but doing it from a video feed? When they can only see the transmitted video, they miss a lot of the action going on off screen. I don't understand this. How much more would it cost to have them at the stadium? I guess ESPN must not expect large viewer numbers in the US for the games done from video feed in studio. PH
A lot. And I'm not even sure about the logistics for acquiring your own commentary position in the stadium. I don't think the equation here is quite right. ESPN has already paid for the rights, they've been paid for the advertising. Yeah this is a cost cutting move but ESPN is probably betting that it won't have an impact on ratings at all. We also have to keep in mind, as always, what matters to the serious BigSoccer fan and what matters to the casual fans who make up the vast majority of the audience. Will they care that Bretos is not on site?
espn has been covering more college football and basketball via monitors in Bristol. They may have done it for some professional games this past year too.
Disney is not pleased with the amount of money ESPN has to shell out on many things and cost cutting has gone in to effect. Broadcasts via monitor is chintzy, but it does represent some savings. And they're still able to have announcers promote ESPN products through the broadcast, unlike a pool commentator.
Thanks for the info. Then what determines if they use a stadium commentator or a video commentator? They must consider some matches to be more significant than others. About Bretos, it would be better if he were somewhere else entirely! PH
Bretos is probably the worst thing about the euros besides Abby. I would expect someone like Bretos from FOX, but not ESPN.
I would say weekend and later afternoon weekday matches are prioritized, and marquee match-ups (Belgium-Italy today -- which is also later afternoon) so yeah they'd like for Darke to call the matches that will be seen most in person.
The Euros are my first major tournament with the full power of iptv. I know this makes me the biggest geek in the world but enjoying a diverse selection of commentary. First of all, nothing beats ESPN's video quality via DirecTV so that is what I project on to the big screen for the matches. On the second TV I put on a channel via iptv for the audio. Today, for example, I put on Telecinco/Spain for the Spain vs Czech Republic match. Then for the middle match I went to SVT-2 from Sweden. Now I have RAI-1 on for the final match which is about to start. The ESPN video is anywhere from 10-45 seconds ahead of the iptv channels so I have to 'pause' the ESPN video and synch it to the iptv picture (couldn't be simpler). So today I got to enjoy Spanish commentary for the Spain match, Swedish commentary for the Swedish match (have to admit I only lasted 1 half with SVT2 before I switched the audio to BBC-1. I can handle Spanish and Italian just fine but Swedish was just a little strange. Nonetheless, very happy to have the experience). Simply great to get a very wide range of experiences from across Europe. For the first 2 days, I mainly put on the espn3 tactical/aerial video on the 2nd TV but that needed a "synch' as well as they are nowhere near the ESPN video signal. Thing I'll stick to this method for most of the rest of the tournament. I know its not everybody's cup of tea but wanted to throw it out for others who may have iptv or other sources of tv/audio to follow the matches. SA (the geek) www.soccertvblog.com
Awww. I had to miss it. I've mentioned it before, but I know he certainly has his detractors, but even they have to admit that Tommy would make a GREAT pub partner...especially if one uses Ray Hudson as a benchmark.
Derek Rae has the ability to make the most pointless statements seem dramatic. "And the corner-kick count keeps rising and rising!!!" Not saying its good or bad, its just amazing.