I may be in the minority here, but to me the primary value of announcers is less about narrating the event and more about providing insight on the things we aren't able to see on our screen. If the only view and sounds of the event announcers have is the exact same thing we get at home, then announcers' presence loses value to the point that they almost detract more from the event than add to it.
If FOX is all about cutting costs - and I can't imagine the cost of a couple plane tickets and a night in a hotel amounts to much in the grand scheme - then just do away with announcers altogether and pipe in the public address feed.
I would think if the conference is that unhappy about this, now would be the perfect time to address it with media rights in negotiation.
Bully for the kids. Off-site broadcasting and streaming will become the norm. One has to wonder with the cord-cutting going on as JC so well noted, whether FOX/ESPN will have the money to pay their respective various contracts already in place. I expect more terminations at both ESPN and FOX.
For youngsters out there, the norm back in the day when live sports were first broadcast on black and white TV on ABC, CBS, and NBC (the 3 available channels at the time that all shut down at midnight) you had one announcer on site in the booth. No color commentator in the booth or on the field.
The typical comment between plays in a football game: 'Bears, 3rd down and 6 to go." That was it.
No replay, and no review of any play calls. No sideline interviews or post-game interviews.
Growing up in Boston, we learned the results of the college games that were played west of the Mississippi on Saturday in the newspaper on Monday morning.
FS1 was doing this for PAC-12 football games as well. The Thursday night Utah vs. Washington State game in Pullman last fall was called remotely — and that was the game Petros Papadakis was so offended that he wasn’t told that Cam Rising wouldn’t start. I would have felt worse for Petros had he been in Pullman. But if FS1 is going to half-ass its broadcast, why should the Ute coaches or Sports info people go out of their way to help them.
Thank you for reporting on this. I do think the viewer experience is less when broadcasters are remote.
Remember last fall when fox did Utah - Washington State remote? They were completely blindsided by Cam Rising not playing due to injury. The announcers whined about it. Had they been there they might have been better prepared.
Also I remember that game because it was cold in Pullman . When they showed the announcers rubbing and blowing on their hands I don't think it was because of the air conditioning in their L.A. studio. I felt they were purposely trying to mislead the public.
If they try and hide the fact the broadcast is remote that tells me they think it is something less than being on site.
Maybe we could eventually have (ala Madden type advanced technology) remote players, bands, cheerleaders, fans and zoom the "cook your own burger" tailgate party. Who knows what technology could eventually produce!
I'm guilty too. I watched church online last Sunday. Think about it.....Once we remove face to face in every aspect of life, we cease to be human.
Nature abhors a vacuum John. I bet Amazon or another streaming service would find a lot of value in on site announcers. The arrogance of FOX towards our conference is astounding, maybe it's time to move on from them and choose another media partner, one that cares.
I definitely relate to those ASU college announcers as I had the privilege of calling Santa Clara vs BYU basketball last night. The thrill of announcing as a college student almost leaves you speechless when all you're doing is talking incessantly.
It was so clearly terrible from the jump last night. The audio balance was way off, the announcers weren't talking with near the excitement level that announcers who are actually in the building do, and they generally rambled in a way announcers are unable to in a loud building. I switched to listening to the radio broadcast synched with my DVR midway through the first half, and that was perfectly fine aside from having to stay off twitter.
And there just can't be THAT much money saved here. Round trip tickets from LA for Jacobsen and Seattle for the PBP guy to Sky Harbor + a night in a hotel + per diem can't be much more than $2k all in. Ridiculous for any game, especially a game of that magnitude.
If they really want to save money on travel in college, and payrolls in the NBA, then basketball can be played by AI with CGI generated players with a certain skill profile. People will watch on TV and probably not know the difference. The AI will determine who wins and who loses based in myriad variables like the player skill profiles, home court advantage, fictional side-stories about player problems or motivations like a father who has just passed away or a player with a significant injury who overcomes to win the big game. The possibilities are endless. Who needs humans, anyway?!
The other issue here is how "chatty"all these announcers and "analysts" are during the event. There must be a rule that anything beyond three seconds of silence from the booth is unacceptable. And a majority of the times, rather than what is going on in the game the chat is about who changed one of the players diapers when he was a baby and we have a visual on that? As sports fans who enjoy viewing the games for the contest involved (the teams sure as hell don't have anything to do with the University, other than as mercenaries playing ball). There is, unfortunately, an answer for us, while not the one we would hope for: "granting me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change". C'mon,
Thank goodness for the ESPN broadcast team of Dave Pasch and Bill Walton! Pasch is solid, and very caring. Class guy. Walton Riffs were difficult to follow at first but now I have learned to just drift along and not worry about trying to connect the dots. Best broadcast team in America!
This seems so wrong. FOX, I was told, is demanding such an increase in fees, my local DISH network blacked out the games! At kick-off of Oregon's bowl game, I realized I would not have the capability to watch! I live 12 miles from Eugene, have supported the Ducks and occasionally the Beavs, for 75 years! I'm verklempt! Thanks, I feel better.
I may be in the minority here, but to me the primary value of announcers is less about narrating the event and more about providing insight on the things we aren't able to see on our screen. If the only view and sounds of the event announcers have is the exact same thing we get at home, then announcers' presence loses value to the point that they almost detract more from the event than add to it.
If FOX is all about cutting costs - and I can't imagine the cost of a couple plane tickets and a night in a hotel amounts to much in the grand scheme - then just do away with announcers altogether and pipe in the public address feed.
I would think if the conference is that unhappy about this, now would be the perfect time to address it with media rights in negotiation.
The kids had a great time!
Bully for the kids. Off-site broadcasting and streaming will become the norm. One has to wonder with the cord-cutting going on as JC so well noted, whether FOX/ESPN will have the money to pay their respective various contracts already in place. I expect more terminations at both ESPN and FOX.
For youngsters out there, the norm back in the day when live sports were first broadcast on black and white TV on ABC, CBS, and NBC (the 3 available channels at the time that all shut down at midnight) you had one announcer on site in the booth. No color commentator in the booth or on the field.
The typical comment between plays in a football game: 'Bears, 3rd down and 6 to go." That was it.
No replay, and no review of any play calls. No sideline interviews or post-game interviews.
Growing up in Boston, we learned the results of the college games that were played west of the Mississippi on Saturday in the newspaper on Monday morning.
Back to the future?
FS1 working hard to make the PAC12 Network look good!
FS1 was doing this for PAC-12 football games as well. The Thursday night Utah vs. Washington State game in Pullman last fall was called remotely — and that was the game Petros Papadakis was so offended that he wasn’t told that Cam Rising wouldn’t start. I would have felt worse for Petros had he been in Pullman. But if FS1 is going to half-ass its broadcast, why should the Ute coaches or Sports info people go out of their way to help them.
Where’s Walton when you need him? Love his court side telecasts!
Thank you for reporting on this. I do think the viewer experience is less when broadcasters are remote.
Remember last fall when fox did Utah - Washington State remote? They were completely blindsided by Cam Rising not playing due to injury. The announcers whined about it. Had they been there they might have been better prepared.
Also I remember that game because it was cold in Pullman . When they showed the announcers rubbing and blowing on their hands I don't think it was because of the air conditioning in their L.A. studio. I felt they were purposely trying to mislead the public.
If they try and hide the fact the broadcast is remote that tells me they think it is something less than being on site.
Increasingly, sadly, college sports and our culture are about the buck.
The Trailblazers are doing some of this too!
Maybe we could eventually have (ala Madden type advanced technology) remote players, bands, cheerleaders, fans and zoom the "cook your own burger" tailgate party. Who knows what technology could eventually produce!
I'm guilty too. I watched church online last Sunday. Think about it.....Once we remove face to face in every aspect of life, we cease to be human.
Nature abhors a vacuum John. I bet Amazon or another streaming service would find a lot of value in on site announcers. The arrogance of FOX towards our conference is astounding, maybe it's time to move on from them and choose another media partner, one that cares.
I definitely relate to those ASU college announcers as I had the privilege of calling Santa Clara vs BYU basketball last night. The thrill of announcing as a college student almost leaves you speechless when all you're doing is talking incessantly.
It was so clearly terrible from the jump last night. The audio balance was way off, the announcers weren't talking with near the excitement level that announcers who are actually in the building do, and they generally rambled in a way announcers are unable to in a loud building. I switched to listening to the radio broadcast synched with my DVR midway through the first half, and that was perfectly fine aside from having to stay off twitter.
And there just can't be THAT much money saved here. Round trip tickets from LA for Jacobsen and Seattle for the PBP guy to Sky Harbor + a night in a hotel + per diem can't be much more than $2k all in. Ridiculous for any game, especially a game of that magnitude.
If they really want to save money on travel in college, and payrolls in the NBA, then basketball can be played by AI with CGI generated players with a certain skill profile. People will watch on TV and probably not know the difference. The AI will determine who wins and who loses based in myriad variables like the player skill profiles, home court advantage, fictional side-stories about player problems or motivations like a father who has just passed away or a player with a significant injury who overcomes to win the big game. The possibilities are endless. Who needs humans, anyway?!
It's FOX. Always expect less.
The other issue here is how "chatty"all these announcers and "analysts" are during the event. There must be a rule that anything beyond three seconds of silence from the booth is unacceptable. And a majority of the times, rather than what is going on in the game the chat is about who changed one of the players diapers when he was a baby and we have a visual on that? As sports fans who enjoy viewing the games for the contest involved (the teams sure as hell don't have anything to do with the University, other than as mercenaries playing ball). There is, unfortunately, an answer for us, while not the one we would hope for: "granting me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change". C'mon,
Man.
Thank goodness for the ESPN broadcast team of Dave Pasch and Bill Walton! Pasch is solid, and very caring. Class guy. Walton Riffs were difficult to follow at first but now I have learned to just drift along and not worry about trying to connect the dots. Best broadcast team in America!
This seems so wrong. FOX, I was told, is demanding such an increase in fees, my local DISH network blacked out the games! At kick-off of Oregon's bowl game, I realized I would not have the capability to watch! I live 12 miles from Eugene, have supported the Ducks and occasionally the Beavs, for 75 years! I'm verklempt! Thanks, I feel better.