Announcing the game remotely
- Thread starter cyclonestate
- Start date
I think it lessens the production value. There are often things going on away from the camera that viewers at home benefit from knowing. Additionally, it is hard to have a great feeling for the crowd and intensity of the game as a non-fan sitting in front of a monitor in Charlotte. Some of the value they bring is being in the arena in advance of the game, talking to coaches and players. If all they're doing is sitting in a booth remotely and asking "who do we have next, Bob", can't imagine they bring much of a feel for the game.
I'd be fine with this if they could still be decent announcers, the guys the other night were confusing players all night. If you can remotely broadcast and still be professional, great! This crew wasn't.
ESPNU is headquartered in Charlotte. Even if they live somewhere else, they are probably located in Charlotte for most of the basketball season. It's cheaper to pay for lodging there than fly them to Ames one night, Columbus the next, Stillwater after that, etc.
I didn't notice a huge difference, but I can see situations where you would. A guy like Fraschila does a great job of explaining little nuance type things that he sees, whether it's a players emotions or little parts of the game. No way you get that from watching on TV. Also, you can't hardly describe the atmosphere.
At one point late in the game I got a chuckle when the announcers said "from our angle that sure looked like a foul", considering their angle was the same as everyone else watching on TV.
At one point late in the game I got a chuckle when the announcers said "from our angle that sure looked like a foul", considering their angle was the same as everyone else watching on TV.
Article from the ESPN ombudsman in December: http://www.espn.com/blog/ombudsman/...rent-as-it-experiments-with-remote-broadcasts. I'm not a fan, but can appreciate the cost savings. That said, I don't need someone else watching TV to tell me what's happening on TV, either. Not much value in that.
So another recruiting advantage the blue bloods and ESPN favorites will have over other schools? Hard pass.
I don't know if it is ISU that provides them, but I think local people run the cameras.
I doubt it. Most of these guys have day jobs that they have to be around for. Calling games is a side gig.
There is no reason they cannot use local talent. ISU and the Big 12 used to use guys like Walters, Murphy and Gary Thompson for home games in Ames. They would probably also work cheaper than ESPN's guys.
They would probably also do a better job too. I never really understood why they went away from regional announcers. I think baseball has a pretty good setup.
For the football national championship game, I watched the ESPN channel with the Florida coach, former Alabama QB, and former Mississippi DE. It was really cool. I much preferred hearing them talk about the game from their perspective than having someone tell me who is doing what as if I can't see that for myself.
I heard that as well. I was going to bring it up if no one else did. If they need to have remote commentators, fine. But don't lie about things to try to fool your audience. They are strongly implying that they have a view in the arena that the viewers at home don't have and basing comments on it. Have some journalistic integrity - I know, I know ESPN and journalistic integrity really shouldn't even be in the same thread.
If you're talking about just using the audio feed from the radio broadcast, that's a hard pass, especially for basketball. Those early games on Cyclones.TV with the radio audio feed are brutal to listen to. It has nothing to do with the talent, it has everything to do with how you have to call such a fast paced game on the radio.
When you're watching a game you don't need to hear "Morris to Thomas in the corner, back to Morris in the front court off a screen from Burton, back side too yada yada........" on every play.
I noticed that as well but I think sometimes they may need to get a pass. I'm sure they are used to saying things in a certain way and almost go on autopilot.
Like when I worked at Hy-Vee in high school and would do carry out (small hy-vee), you'd just say things the same way about a topic regardless of the situation just trying to small talk a customer.
Being a supposed journalist isn't like bagging groceries at Hy-Vee. There are serious issues of journalistic integrity that must be maintained, and misleading your audience is a huge no-no.
This is going to get more common I think. This might also make it easier for ESPN to thin out their announcers and get rid of some. ESPN is getting creative how to save money because the are not in good shape.