Odds and Ends
LAWRENCE, Kansas – Two months have passed since my hectic schedule last allowed me an opportunity to vent. I’ve seen a lot of television in these eight weeks, so here’s what I’ve concluded:
The first year back to multi-network coverage of the Triple Crown was disappointing at best. NBC’s telecasts at Churchill Downs and Pimlico Race Course were almost entirely comprised of cuts (rather than dissolves or other effects) that were exceedingly jarring, and director David Michaels seemed to be cutting out of sync with the field. His cutting during The Preakness Stakes, when jockey Edgar Prado was forced to pull up heavy favorite Barbaro, at least provided a silver lining in the cloud over the first two races. ABC/ESPN’s coverage of The Belmont Stakes, however, had no such upside. As The New York Times‘ Richard Sandomir pointed out in his June 13th column, “an inferior ESPN production showed how unprepared it was to carry a Triple Crown race.” Indeed, there was nothing positive to be taken from the broadcast except for the hope that it can’t possibly get any worse next year.
Fortunately, ABC/ESPN does not have the opportunity to mar this summer’s World Cup nearly as much as its thoroughbred racing ventures. The tournament, which is currently being held at 12 different sites around Germany, is being broadcast worldwide to an estimated 3 billion people as an international pool feed. In other words, during a given game every viewer around the world sees the same shots and replays at the same time. The fact that ABC/ESPN has no control over the look of the game itself is still no excuse for graphics that cover nearly half the field or the somewhat controversial presence of ESPN’s Bottom Line during games.
Speaking of graphics, NBC’s NHL graphics leave much to be desired, particularly in contrast to those on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN). OLN, soon to be renamed Versus, is still very new in the sports television universe, but whoever developed their graphic look deserves a pat on the back. At a time when many networks oversaturate their programs with what I call “crazy moving graphics,” OLN managed to have the movement without sacrificing readability or the audience’s ability to watch the game. NBC throws too much information on the screen in fonts too small to read on a home television set without squinting.
On the opposite side of the coin, ABC’s NBA Finals have been all the glitz and glamor you’d expect from professional basketball, unless you watch the opening teases. I’m a purist when it comes to TV coverage, and I still think that ABC’s graphics take minimalism to an almost-archaic extreme. At least do something befitting the league’s championship series, or maybe that was another concession in Al Michaels’ contract negotiations.
Right now, sports television resources are spread thin with two professional playoffs still in progress, the biggest event in all of soccer, a major golf tournament, the College World Series, and Wimbledon only weeks away. There’s plenty to watch this summer, and the networks just might pull it off.
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