OT: Announcers for Cal-Hawaii Weren't at the Game

Submitted by BursleyHall82 on

SIAP if this was posted in the Cal-Hawaii thread, but I just heard this discussion on the Dan Patrick Show. And forgive me if this was mentioned on the broadcast, but I didn't hear it. To save money, ESPN didn't send their announcers to Sydney. They were back in Bristol watching the game on TV like the rest of us.

http://awfulannouncing.com/2016/yes-the-announcers-of-the-cal-vs-hawaii…

Evidently this happens more than I realized, especially with low-level college basketball games. Still, I feel a little cheated knowing they weren't there soaking it all in.

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evenyoubrutus

August 30th, 2016 at 11:18 AM ^

I really believe that networks are realizing that the quality of the commentary has virtually no effect on viewership. What little impact it might have probably won't outweigh the benefit of these cost cutting measures. At least that's probably what these executives are deciding in board rooms.

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MileHighWolverine

August 30th, 2016 at 11:22 AM ^

I'm surprised it's taken them this long to figure it out, frankly. I'm going to watch Michigan no matter who is calling the game....and on the flip side, I'm never going to watch a game I don't care about even if you've got prime Keith Jackson making the calls. 

It's the game that matters, not the announcers.

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ijohnb

August 30th, 2016 at 11:44 AM ^

think that the announcers matter for me in non-Michigan games.  It is a tough sell for me to watch an entire sporting event that I have no rooting interest in due to a number of factors, and sometimes announcers that can almost heighten the stakes simply by way of their call will get me more invested than I otherwise would be.  I can barely stomach the NFL, but I often watched segments of Monday Night Football specifically because Tirico was on the call. 

The only problem is that there are really no announcers like that remaining on ABC.  When Michigan is not playing in the 3:30 timeslot this year, there is a good chance that I am going to be watching SEC games because of Nessler. 

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EGD

August 30th, 2016 at 11:54 AM ^

Same thing for me with college hoops. You can have Vaparaiso Tech taking on Manhattan Union, and I will tune in just to hear Gus Johnson say "Puuurrre!!!" when some dude sinks a 3.

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MI Expat NY

August 30th, 2016 at 11:45 AM ^

I don't know, maybe the difference between mediocre and good commentary doesn't matter.  However, bad commentary I think does have an effect on viewership.  I get frustrated when they're telling me something happend that clearly didn't happen, or are harping on stupid, irrelevant points, or talking about the latest hot take on sports radio.  If I have no interest in a game and that stuff is going on, I'm inclined to turn it off or switch to a different game.  

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I Like Burgers

August 30th, 2016 at 5:38 PM ^

Especially when you consider the cost of sending a broadcast team to a place like Australia.  A pair of first class tickets is going to run at least $25k, then lodging, per diem, additional support staff...it all adds up pretty quick.

Add in the fact that its a pair of turd teams in Cal and Hawaii and its a pretty simple choice.

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Other Andrew

August 30th, 2016 at 11:19 AM ^

A bad announcer will be just as bad in person. But a good one will surely see more than the TV footage shows.

 

So if a network is investing in a capable and talented announcer, they'd be best served to send them to the game. If they are not, then it say a lot about how they view their product.

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maizenbluenc

August 30th, 2016 at 2:45 PM ^

could annouce soccer in English. I might actually start watching on a regular basis. The current emotionless annoucing on most games broadcast in English makes watching paint peeling seem more interesting. Golf announcing gets more excited when something good happens. Flip it over to the Spanish broadcast, and it is exciting even without understanding the language.

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copacetic

August 30th, 2016 at 11:22 AM ^

Would be funny if they were blatanly obvious in trying to pretend like they were there, 
"Lovely weather we're having here in AUSTRALIA, right Allen?" 
"That's right mate, I ate a shrimp on the barbie earlier... here in Australia.. where we totally are."

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copacetic

August 30th, 2016 at 2:33 PM ^

Smith: That's great Allen. Hey Mike, what are you drinking over there?
Bellotti: Well Warren, I'm enjoying an ice cold Fosters, Australian for beer!
Bestwick: Cumong man, it's only noon! We've got a game to cover.
Bellotti: What're you talking about, it ten o'clock at... right ughh noon, definitely noon here down unda!
Smith: Do people here even drink Fosters?

*cuts to commercial*

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Clarence Beeks

August 30th, 2016 at 11:22 AM ^

This is really common, unfortunately.  If you watched the Olympics virtually none of the commentators were actually at the venues.  I don't really have an issue with it (frankly, most of the time I wish there was an option for NO announcers and just crowd/game noise), but I do think it'd be appropriate for the network to inform people when that's the case.

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Yeoman

August 30th, 2016 at 10:33 PM ^

 

most of the time I wish there was an option for NO announcers and just crowd/game noise

 

NBC made this option available for a lot of their streamed Olympics content, especially when they were just picking up the OBC feed. There was a toggle switch for language and the choices were English, Spanish, and No Announcer. If you chose the latter, they turned up the volume on the ambient sound.

I wish this was universally available--I'll probably make the suggestion at ESPN but I doubt anyone will take it seriously.

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