Whose Stupid Idea Was the Split Screen During the Broadcast?
For those of us who were unable or unwilling to watch the Spring Game in person, we were treated to long stretches of the B1G Network broadcast in which announcers Devin Gardner and Jake Butt took up 30 percent of the screen. Whose dumbass idea was this? Was this a student-produced broadcast, so some kid came up with this?
This was just as bad as the 2016 Michigan-Ohio State basketball game, when ESPN broadcast the entire game from the court-level camera.
But I think we all want answers from the B1G Network. Whose idea was this, and do you promise it'll never happen again?
Already discussed within the game thread. Personally I’m just happy that BTN has upgraded from 480i.
Given all the acts stupidity going on in the world these days I can not summon up the energy to be moved by this one.
Agree. I today am trying to emotionally process the scientific reports that bees are sentient, have emotions and feelings, and suffer PTSD. (If you havent seen the news… google it, the interwebs are … ahem … buzzing with it) (sorry) (but so not sorry).
“I’M DEEPLY MOVED!”
-Lou, Manager from Major League
It wouldn't be MGoBaord without someone bitching about the announcers, or the refs, or the other players, or the other coach, or the coverage, or the commercials.
Fire Harbaugh?
No. Fire Bakich...wait, he doesn't work at UM anymore. Fire Warde. Wait, no, that's old. Fire Juwan. Yeah, that's it.
If Michigan fans ran the athletics department, there would be no employees.
Yup. And look at all the screen space around the game and booth shots they're wasting because they're doing this. It would've been fine as an occasional brief thing, but this was frequent and for loooong stretches of game action. Yes, Gardner and Butt are ex-Michigan players so it was nice having them announce. But we didn't have to see them announce. ESPN does this kind of announcer focused stuff on their baseball broadcasts and it drives me nuts then too. No one is tuning in to watch the announcers; show me the game, please. Half the time I'm tempted to turn the sound down so I don't have to hear them.
It was mine. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I agree it was awful.
Ok, but don't do it again. You might consider passing these things by the MGoBloggery before you commit another grievous error in judgement. I feel confident in saying that you'll get feedback!
Thanks for fessing up, brose. I thought it was you, but I didn't want to assume anything.
How many times have we been over this? Come to us first! Get the MGoBlog Board more heavily involved, EARLIER in the process. No decision is too small. This goes for all corporations, not just BTN.
Wait until the OSU spring game. I heard that Urban Meyer and his shirtless co-host are going to be broadcasting from their hotel room.
Nothing is as bad as the 2016 Michigan-Ohio State basketball game, when ESPN broadcast the entire game from the court-level camera. Nothing ever will be as bad. Except perhaps a Pistons game.
Most of these sports television producers aren't very smart. They think we are turning in to watch a broadcast production when most of us just want to watch the game.
It is a rare event when a broadcast innovation is an improvement. A few are such as slow motion, the yellow line showing us where the first down is, and the graphics showing the score and the clock.
Most just aren't. They should have tested the court-level camera on a low ratings telecast with a focus group if they couldn't figure out for themselves the idea was idiotic.
We also do not want to miss game play for interviews.
Totally agree. You summed this up well. On the list of bad ideas, I would also add the glowing puck that I believe NBC once tried with hockey broadcasts.
The glowing puck was Fox. But they did at least also have those cool robots!
Nothing is as bad as the 2016 Michigan-Ohio State basketball game, when ESPN broadcast the entire game from the court-level camera. Nothing ever will be as bad.
During the 2016 Michigan-OSU football game, my local ABC affiliate interrupted the game (in the 4th quarter!) to give extensive coverage of LSU hiring Ed Fucking Orgeron. They moved to a full screen view of the press conference, with a small screen of the game in the bottom-right corner. I was so pissed.
I'm sorry you missed it - J.T. was short
"Most of these sports television producers aren't very smart"...you got that 100% correct, see my comments down below.
Those on-field interviews done were far too long and we missed a few big plays during the game.
Did anyone miss any action while the split screen was up? If not stop complaining. Damn yall are making a post whining about a spring football game production. They were experimenting with an idea that maybe didn't go well. I for one didn't notice because I was watching the football side of the screen. At least they didn't show interviews while the game was going on making us miss some plays like they had in past spring games
I got a truth for you that might hurt, your take is idiotic.
The plays were way more difficult to follow and trying to watch what players were doing what.
I can already hear the fucking announcers, I don't need to see them.
Another stupid thing producers/directors do is span the reaction of the crowd while the play is going on, stupidest and most annoying thing to do.
It’s spring game. Stand down.
I tried watching just the highlights and found it frustrating as it was hard to see the game even on my big screen.
Jake Butt and DG are both fine looking young men, I get it, but most people are tuning in for the football.
Who's idea was it to not go to the spring game?
I wish they’d do this more, but only for commercials not broadcasters, with game action continuing…like the “look in” or whatever they call it for golf productions - get game times back under control, no outrageous and frequent breaks during game play, etc, etc.
Also, please allow me to “buy out” of the split screen on a per game basis so networks can afford to pay the schools under the TV contracts but not force me to watch a 1/2 screen full of dick pill and diet drug ads…
Sometimes you have to wonder if sports broadcasters sit around, like the Cable Company in South Park, and plan countless ways to make the viewing experience worse.
Blame the people behind the scenes on this "idea". They would be the producers of the telecast. While not inside their heads, they probably thought this would liven up some of the dull moments of the game. Given how animated Devin was, they may have liked that and thought Devin added a lot of spice to the telecast. Producers in TV have a mind of their own.
IMO, it was way too much exposure and it seemed that Jake Butt was unsettled at times during those long "Two Box" screen shots. Jake was mostly looking at the field and watching the plays and Devin was not fully engaged as he should have been, at times.
Many of the on-field interviews from Brooke were waaay too long and there were times we missed a few big plays that were made.
BTN must have had their 2nd, 3rd and 4th string production staff working yesterday at this game.
The worst part of it was that there was some video/audio delay where their mouths frequently weren't synched up with the sounds coming out of them.
I wish I could have muted Devin Gardner. Dude needs to dial it back big time when he's announcing. He is painfully annoying. He did some Lions preseason games last year that I had to turn off as well
DG was really obnoxious I got the impression that Jake wanted to slide his chair over a few feet.
GO BLUE
All I know is I love Devin Gardner
"Taking all bets!"
I'm sure he's a good dude, just don't like his work in the booth
I turned on the game after having read many of the comments here. I didn’t mind Gardner at all. I was prepared to be annoyed, as I almost always am with any announcer, but I wasn’t. I guess what separates it for me is the quality of analysis he gives. Maybe I’m too forgiving on the loud parts. Or maybe my lowered expectations were set low enough.
Devin’s analysis is elementary. He failed for the most part to identify who had the ball who caught the ball who tackled the ball carrier. We’ve got new numbers new roster and he’s busy talking about old times and giving amateur analysis. He stinks
What next? Punctuation issues and misspellings…oh the humanity!
Some attempts at change fail.
Devin needs to drink four or five less monsters before the broadcast.
Devin needs a sedative and focus on what his job is. New rosters new numbers. I was trying to figure out who made the tackle who had the ball who caught the ball but Devin is more interested in talking about old times with his buddy Jake. How in the world did Devin even get a job and broadcasting.
He’s just a non stop blabber kinda guy not a true broadcaster.
Whoever the producer and or Director of this show was I think needs to regroup and rethink.
Somebody at the big found a new setting on the Amiga.
Producers are always reinventing the wheel out of boredom. Wasn't there also a recent football game where they tried to broadcast the whole thing with endzone-facing shots from those wire-riding cameras?
Get a bigger tv
…and a smaller country.
Brilliant
my screen is 55 inches. 33% of the screen doesn’t need to be filled up with the Devin and Jake “look at us”.show.
I have never seen any broadcast of a football game do that. It’s because it’s an extremely dumb idea. About as dumb as your comment to get a bigger TV that totally misses the point.
That is one of the dumbest most annoying TV broadcasts I have ever watched.
“ I know guys, let’s shrink the screen down 33% so we can watch Devin and Jake talk about everything under the sun except the game” It’s not the Devin and Jake show it’s a freaking football game.
Devin never shuts the F up and watching him amplifies it. Jake has some talent for the broadcasting field Devon sounds like a childish goofball who loves talking about himself an old times rather than the game. They need the nix that idea.
Find someone who actually has talent in broadcasting and pair them with Butt who is actually pretty good but KEEP THEM OFF THE SCREEN during the action.