Fox Sports and TBS renew with MLB

[downstairs]

Wait, where did you hear this about SPEED changing to Fox Sports Network?

I hope they keep the better NASCAR programming. NASCAR Performance is one of my favorite shows. Anyone that digs racing should tune in to that show every week. Very smart stuff.

[MARTINMVP]

Originally Posted by Lamp81

You can have Fox Sports Net as a national network and then have Fox Sports-City Name (like the old Fox Sports-Chicago).

I thought Comcast Sports Nets were going to be rebranded as NBC Sports-City name (NBC Sports-Chicago would be ours). I thought this was discussed either at the Comcast/NBC merger or the Versus/NBC Sports transition.

I don't quite remember the timeline, but I think the discussion of Comcast SportsNet being rebranded as, for example, NBC Sports Chicago was rumored or speculated while Dick Ebersol was in charge of NBC Sports. After he left, those rumors quickly died down, if memory serves correct.

I think having both a Fox Sports Network, and a cluster of separate Fox Sports regional channels (Fox Sports North, Fox Sports Detroit, etc.) is kind of confusing. I'm not sure I like that branding, which is why I suspect Comcast SportsNet has not changed over to NBC Sports Chicago (we have NBC Sports Network).

[AZChiSoxFan]

Originally Posted by MUsoxfan

Joe Buck is fine. He's the classic announcer. Sure he has his faults, but there could be more Berman's in the booth and nobody wants that.

Let's face it...It's really tough to be a PBP guy. As far as they go, Buck is among the best

I don't think it's asking too much for the guy to at least act like he's remotely interested in the game he's "broadcasting."

[SI1020]

I'd rather listen to paint dry than Joe Buck call a baseball game. When teamed up with McCarver I feel like it's a violation of the 8th amendment.

[vinny]

Originally Posted by asindc

Tim McCarver: "Now what this means is that some baseball games will be broadcast on Fox."

[tebman]

Originally Posted by MUsoxfan

Joe Buck is fine. He's the classic announcer. Sure he has his faults, but there could be more Berman's in the booth and nobody wants that.

Let's face it...It's really tough to be a PBP guy. As far as they go, Buck is among the best

Originally Posted by AZChiSoxFan

I don't think it's asking too much for the guy to at least act like he's remotely interested in the game he's "broadcasting."

I agree. Buck might have a deep interest in the game and be a fine fellow, but his delivery suggests that sometimes he'd rather be somewhere else. It's a chicken-or-egg thing: did the Fox network hire him because of his presentation style or did he tailor his style at the direction of the producers at Fox?

Ever since Rupert Murdoch assembled it in the mid-1980s, the Fox network has strained to sell itself as the cool and edgy corner of the TV world. No gimmick, no flash is too over the top for them. Glowing hockey pucks! In-dugout interviews! Loud audio! Bright colors! Swooping graphics everywhere! To be cool one must act cool, and maybe they think that Buck's laconic style relates better to the hipster crowd the ad agencies want to reach.

All I know is that I get tired and mildly annoyed watching a ball game on a Fox affiliate. All the wow wears me out and the relentless yammering and sideshows are irksome. But that's of no matter to anyone there. The Las Vegas strip is too bright, too loud, and too superficial, but it brings in a whole lot of money, the same way the Fox baseball broadcasts do for MLB. The reason Fox stations are carrying MLB games has nothing to do with the quality of their broadcasts and everything to do with the size of the check they handed to Bud Selig's office.

[SephClone89]

Originally Posted by tebman

Ever since Rupert Murdoch assembled it in the mid-1980s, the Fox network has strained to sell itself as the cool and edgy corner of the TV world. No gimmick, no flash is too over the top for them. Glowing hockey pucks! In-dugout interviews! Loud audio! Bright colors! Swooping graphics everywhere! To be cool one must act cool, and maybe they think that Buck's laconic style relates better to the hipster crowd the ad agencies want to reach.

I think FOX's sports coverage is anti-hipster, actually.

[doublem23]

Originally Posted by SephClone89

I think FOX's sports coverage is anti-hipster, actually.

I don't even know what makes a TV broadcast of a baseball game "pro-hipster" or "anti-hipster" (which is, by the way, the most ludicrous categorizational system ever), but I'm going to have to agree; someone who thinks loud noises, glowing pucks, and flashy graphics is supposed to draw in the hipster crowd (which is also not what any decent ad agency wants to target, either, BTW) is probably someone who has no idea what a hipster actually is.

[DSpivack]

Originally Posted by doublem23

I don't even know what makes a TV broadcast of a baseball game "pro-hipster" or "anti-hipster" (which is, by the way, the most ludicrous categorizational system ever), but I'm going to have to agree; someone who thinks loud noises, glowing pucks, and flashy graphics is supposed to draw in the hipster crowd (which is also not what any decent ad agency wants to target, either, BTW) is probably someone who has no idea what a hipster actually is.

Have Pitchfork-approved bands and BP analysis, and the announcers would be decided on by SABR might be a start.

[doublem23]

Originally Posted by DSpivack

Have Pitchfork-approved bands and BP analysis, and the announcers would be decided on by SABR might be a start.

Maybe give Joe Buck some skinny jeans and Tim McCarver some ironic T-shirts, too.

[DSpivack]

Originally Posted by doublem23

Maybe give Joe Buck some skinny jeans and Tim McCarver some ironic T-shirts, too.

"Joe, you know what's awesome? Portland. Portland is a city in Oregon."

[thomas35forever]

Originally Posted by DSpivack

"Joe, you know what's awesome? Portland. Portland is a city in Oregon."

And also in Maine!

[RKMeibalane]

Originally Posted by DSpivack

"Joe, you know what's awesome? Portland. Portland is a city in Oregon."

"Greg Maddux doesn't allow many base-runners, and he doesn't walk hitters, either."

[tebman]

Originally Posted by SephClone89

I think FOX's sports coverage is anti-hipster, actually.

Poor choice of words on my part. The irony I intended wasn't conveyed.

The point for me is that for my taste Fox baseball broadcasts try too hard to add flash and sizzle where none is required. I'm sorry too that NBC isn't picking it up.

[harwar]

I really hate everything about fox sports and news ..