Not so crazy 'bout sports
When Penn State went to the Orange Bowl last year, all three stations pulled out the stops when it came to coverage. WBRE and WYOU sent their sports guys, and WNEP topped it off with a whole team of news and sports people.
I guess things were different this year. A blog reader e-mailed me to note that special coverage apparently wasn't warranted for Penn State's Outback Bowl victory over Tennessee. (Perhaps there was, which means someone in the promotions department isn't doing their job, or I'm not paying attention.)
It used to be that any Nittany Lions bowl appearance would bring out the big guns -- from live reports to pre-game shows. So, what happened? Is money so tight that nobody made an effort this year?
I guess things were different this year. A blog reader e-mailed me to note that special coverage apparently wasn't warranted for Penn State's Outback Bowl victory over Tennessee. (Perhaps there was, which means someone in the promotions department isn't doing their job, or I'm not paying attention.)
It used to be that any Nittany Lions bowl appearance would bring out the big guns -- from live reports to pre-game shows. So, what happened? Is money so tight that nobody made an effort this year?
posted by Howard Beale at 2:29 PM
19 Comments:
Maybe it's because Penn St. sucked this year. Their bowl game had no BCS implications whatsoever.
Interesting to see Nexstar send DeCosmo and Mehalshik to DC this week for Casey's swearing-in. Maybe that's where the $$ went. But then again, WNEP didn't go to that, either.
I think a lot of it had to do with the holiday falling at the end of a weekend, the fact that there are so many bowl games it would get lost in the shuffle, and that a major network was not airing the game. With all due respect to ESPN, if it was an affiliate station (some can make the case that WNEP is classified as that given ABC's relationship with the Sports Leader) you might have seen some action. Also, Jo Pa in the booth isn't as sexy as Jo Pa possibly getting kayoed like a bowling pin on the sidelines.
WNEP wasn't cheap in blowing off Washington Thursday, just lazy and complacent. I've noticed a lot of that lately.
No one cared about the Outback Bowl.
In talking with one of the sports guys from the WB/Scr market at the state football championships, it was an issue of a non-Top25 team facing an SEC powerhouse, and the fact that resources would be needed for spring training in March.
Nexstar had a very poorly produced package with Casey and Carney. Andy handled Carney, Dave did Casey, but they tried to flip-flop and have Andy separately voice one of Dave's questions and appear he was takling to Casey.
Nobody bothered to note the difference in background noise, so the question has plenty of ambient sound and the answer has none.
That'd be a "D" in the A-V Class at Columbia Montour VT but Nexstar ran it anyway
Too bad Penn State won
""Andy handled Carney, Dave did Casey, but they tried to flip-flop and have Andy separately voice one of Dave's questions and appear he was takling to Casey.""
It's nice to know Nexstar still has its ethical standards.
This is a company with no shame.
How about a comment on 16's live coverage in DC ?
Oh wait, that's right. Nothing to comment on.
Over the summer I read an article in (i believe) USAToday, concerning local TV stations cutting back on their traditional sportscasts. They had found other, more popular ways of doing it (cell phone updates, internet, etc.). I find it interesting that, quite possibly, stations in this market would be following that trend. Especially when they start looking at the $$ return.
Maybe I'm looking too much into it. The whole thing can be credited to Penn St. stinking. I'm sure the stations would have sent crews if they had been playing in the Rose Bowl.
If you begin a newscast with a thousand viewers(arbitrary figure, of course), you have roughly two-hundred- fifty viewers left by the time the sports open rolls. That's been an accepted fact of local news for decades, and I doubt that it's changed. Couple that with the fact that you can get more and better sports coverage on your cable and the internet, it really isn't surprising that locals are starting to diminish their committment.
BRE must have blown (kissed away?) all of its cash on the vaunted I Team. Speaking of the I Team, Andy might want to read the "predator" article in the latest issue of CJR.
"If you begin a newscast with a thousand viewers(arbitrary figure, of course), you have roughly two-hundred- fifty viewers left by the time the sports open rolls."
12:14 PM
You're right that sports never was a huge in local news--and has become less and less of a factor as the sources of sports coverage have multiplied.
You're wrong, though, about the audience dropping by three-quarters late in each newscast. A quick glance at the quarter-hour breakdowns in any rating book will show that your "accepted fact" isn't a fact at all.
You're wrong, though, about the audience dropping by three-quarters late in each newscast. A quick glance at the quarter-hour breakdowns in any rating book will show that your "accepted fact" isn't a fact at all.
Great! I'll fall on my knees in an act seeking forgiveness if, and only if, you can produce that book that proves me wrong. Let's have it, show us your quarter-hour breakouts, give us the numbers. We've been aching for some numbers here anyway, so if you got 'em, share 'em.
How can anyone say local sports in no important. Let's see, the Yankees moved thier team here. There are two NASCAR races. We have a PGA gold event. The most popular Minor league Hockey team....need I go on. Not to mention the countless football and basketball games with packed stands and bleachers. But your sports has taken a back seat. Wait..I have to go get my 53rd weather report of the newscast.
"Great! I'll fall on my knees in an act seeking forgiveness if, and only if, you can produce that book that proves me wrong. Let's have it, show us your quarter-hour breakouts, give us the numbers. We've been aching for some numbers here anyway, so if you got 'em, share 'em."
8:03 PM
Not the latest book--but I certainly have several I can share with you. I'll make you photocopies. Simply post your address and/or phone number here and I'll get in touch.
And don't worry about falling on your knees. You sound like someone who should think about getting OFF his knees!
I would NEVER say sports is unimportant, but would easily say it's not as important as the treatment its received in the past would indicate. For example; used to be a time when the locals were all over whatever NASCAR event took place at Pocono, while at the same time knowing that the vast majority of people coming to the track were from outside, far outside, this market. Meaning that most NEPAers ain't NASCAR fans. Yet, 16 and 28 used to hammer Pocono with specials, live shots, 3-4 hits in every news cast, etc.
NASCAR sucks
Should we tell the crowds at the Baseball Stadium and Arena that Sports has taken a back seat! Maybe all three stations should stop covering High School Football and things like that! Gotta run..WNEP has a story about a cat stuck in a tree.
For many years research showed that only 25% of viewers listed sports coverage as a deciding factor in picking a newscast. 75% didn’t consider local news coverage of sports an important “draw.”
Over the years—with the advent of cable (especially ESPN) and the internet—that number has dropped even more. Nobody sets the alarm for 6:00 a.m. to get up and catch the Diamondbacks score.
That means the only hope for local sports is LOCAL sports: something you can’t get off ESPN or the web. So it’s more important to cover the baby Pens than the Pittsburgh Penguins and to cover Berwick instead of the Bengals. Harder, though, than lifting highlights off the network feed and saying “Let’s go to the scoreboard.”
WELL HERE IS AN INSIDERS VIEW OF THE SALE OF WNEP AND OTHER NYT STATIONS. MAYBE THE CLIQUES THAT HAVE RULED THE "FAMILY" STATION WILL BE DISMANTLED. NOW, MAYBE THE PEOPLE WHO REALLY WORK AT THE STATION WILL GET SOME RECOGNITION INSTEAD OF THE "BROWN LIPSTICK" GANG. THE STATION HAS ALLOWED CERTAIN EMPLOYEES TO REACH A LEVEL OF "UNTOUCHABLE" BECAUSE THEY BLAME EVERYONE ELSE FOR THEIR MISTAKES. THIS IS A TREVESTY FOR A STATION LIKE WNEP. THESE ASS KISSERS MAY HAVE LOST THEIR ASS TO KISS. TOO BAD. SOME PRODUCERS AND ASSIGNMENT EDITORS MAY HAVE TO WORK FOR A LIVING, INSTEAD OF PUSHING THE BLAME ON THE EMPLOYEES WHO WORK AND DON'T KISS ASS.
Post a Comment
<< Home