Comments on: A Tour Of The ABC/ESPN Compound

By: Brian McKay

Brian McKay — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 03:32:28 +0000

I’m sleep-deprived and not thinking too clearly now, but I’ll chime in and say that if 59 cameras, three boring talking heads and the given directors and board operators aren’t effective in entertaining the TV sports fans, CHANGE variables! ESPN could have fewer off-car cameras, different directors (who CARE about and KNOW the sport), DIFFERENT play-by-play guys, color commentators and analysts, MORE pit & paddock reporters, cameramen and antenna-holders…
If the who and what that are used are ineffective, CHANGE!
This is not the first week that anyone has complained publicly about Reid, Goodyear, or Cheever or praised the predecessors & alternatives. ABC/ESPN doesn’t care enough.
I want to see Comcast’s Versus crew produce race broadcasts that’re shown on NBC and pre-race, post-race and lifestyle/behind-the-scenes shows for Versus.

By: H.B. Donnelly

H.B. Donnelly — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 19:55:47 +0000

At this point in my career in TV, I can hardly comprehend 59 cameras, plus the replay, tape, and graphics machines needed to put this show on…it’s fairly mind-boggling from a technical standpoint.

My issue doesn’t lie with the technical aspect of the show, though — that part is plenty fantastic. My issue is with the producers putting the show on who just seem to not comprehend some of the complaints that are being raised by the fans who have to watch the broadcast. As important as Mr. Hall’s title sounds, I would say it’s a fair bet he doesn’t hold as much sway over the producers as any of us would like, and that’s a problem.

By: redd

redd — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 15:08:58 +0000

I don’t wanna pile on, I’m sure it’s a difficult production, but it just seems like there’s a basic unfamiliarity with Indycar. And I’d rather have Darrell Waltrip in the booth because at least he could fake some enthusiasm for the event.

By: Bent Wickerbill

Bent Wickerbill — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:14:31 +0000

I suppose my question would be, why would ABC/ESPN, bother to even go through that entire undertaking if what they plan to offer up is nothing more than mediocre. Why would they even be interested. I think it is the cart before to horse scenario. Does the IRL need to offer a more compelling product before ABC is willing to offer a higher standard of production (how about lets start with at least letting us know who dropped out of the race and why)…. Or perhaps if ABC began by putting the type of folks calling color for the race in the booth that don’t need to take a vial of no doze to remain alert during a 4 hour race. My second question is, is the scale of INDY out of the reach of Versus at this time, or is this simply a matter of ABC being capable of offering the IMS folks more fiscally than Versus…. ?

By: Scott Simmons

Scott Simmons — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:24:12 +0000

As someone who works in tv myself i know well what goes into these live broadcasts. It is HUGE for an event like Indy. But make no mistake, if ESPNs ratings for Indy car racing was better, their production would be better. It’s all directly related. Versus is (i hope) trying to build something with Indy so it just feels like they are putting more effort into the broadcasts. The best thing for them and us would be more eyeballs. That’s going to be the responsibility of the series itself i guess.

By: Mike Silver

Mike Silver — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:40:54 +0000

While I am impressed by Mr. hall’s kindness toward you,I have only watched 20 laps of the race on DVR and am thoroughly unimpressed. The pace laps were nothing but talking heads. They missed both passes for the lead. The opening was way too weird for words. Whoever told Eddie Cheever to cool it obviously doesn’t know what good televisiion is. I guess Andy will be calling me soon.

By: Bent Wickerbill

Bent Wickerbill — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 10:22:17 +0000

As manager of media relations, clearly, a great portion of Mr. Halls duties at ESPN are to keep his finger on the pulse of public opinion. One other thing that is clear is that Mr. Hall has a great deal of “respect” (read that as fear of and or, apprehension for what you may write in the future) for your blog George, perhaps more “respect” than for others, as you tend to have a much more reasoned and factual approach to evaluatiing a situation. Make no mistake, Mr. Hall has not continued his correspondance with you for his personal health, nor has he gone out of his way during the pre-production of the 500 to both introduce himself and offer you the cooks tour, because he had some time to kill and thought it might be fun.
It is no secret that many of us feel much as you do about the ABC / ESPN run production / calling of IRL racing. The real thorn in their side is that they have consistantly been juxtaposed unfavorably with Versus. I do not wish to seem paranoid, but there is no question that individuals in Mr. Hall’s position would like to keep the negative opining to a minimum. His apparent openess and even handedness are the well practiced methods of a media professional.
So, George please continue to make your observations about ESPN’s coverage, you see many of the same things that we see, and truthfully, it is the only way that we will ever get improvements made to the coverage of this sport.