Split screen views of the game - ya know the actual game which I assume viewers want to see - and broadcasters interviewing people that during a game I neither want to see or hear.
Broadcasters interviewing players during the game itself and worst, wiring them for sound and in MLB baseball, actually chatting back and forth with them while they are on the field. Somebody please explain to me how this makes an ounce of sense.
Camera switches from the game to focus on the broadcasters themselves. “Ain’t nobody come to see you Otis!”
Camera angles of the game that show everything except what a fan is interested in seeing. Flying drone cameras high above the floor during NBA games! WTH?
Closeups of player/coach/manager reactions right at the moment someone is picking their nose, spitting, or adjusting themselves.
Cameras showing celebrities, parents, spouses/partners, children during live action.
The one thing I’ve been able to control during the last few years is what I’ve been doing - I have pretty much muted the entire broadcast of any game I watch.
Baseball has a lot of down time, and as such, broadcasters need to fill it with something. You seem to be annoyed by that. That’s fine, but it should be obvious to you that you hold a fairly extreme view on this, right? That people enjoy some banter, some random statistics, to get a glimpse of other aspects of the game apart from what is strictly on the field?
Most of my sports-watching has been football, and over my lifetime I’ve probably seen close to 100 live football games and probably twice that many on TV. Both have their advantages, and I can’t say one is obviously superior to the other
Live advantages:
Live atmosphere is better. There are chants, songs, the “Wave”, etc… all of which make for a unique and fun experience.
The sound is the actual sound- you hear the crash of the helmets and the bats, the crowd noise can be intense, etc…
You have interaction with the fans near you, for good or ill.
It’s an experience in its own right- there’s stadium food, weather, etc…
No commentators spouting nonsense.
TV advantages
The weather’s always good. Sometimes being at a live game sucks when a cold front comes in during the second quarter and it gets cold and rainy, for example. Or when it’s just oppressively hot at a baseball game in July.
The camera angles are always good. I loathe sitting in the end zones/center field- it’s hard to see/judge the end-to-end axis of the field from that angle. Low seats are bad as well- it’s hard to see players on the far side of the field. High seats are far away, etc…
Sometimes the commentators are actually insightful and wise and enhance the experience.
It’s nice to be able to see different angles of the play.
Being able to rewind DVR-style is amazing. So is being able to pause it to go to the bathroom, get a beer, etc.
I kinda like the personal interest stuff about the players, coaches, schools, etc…
I can watch games that are a thousand miles away live.
There are lots of disadvantages to both, but I’m not going to list them all. Suffice to say that I enjoy both- I like going to live games, but I don’t think they’re inherently superior to watching games on TV.
Sideline reporters in CFB games talking to the coach at halftime. Always inane questions, always boilerplate answers. Gotta give the token female reporter something to do.
Shots of the crowd cheering when the home team scores. Every crowd looks the same. Always a boring shot.
Talking to players while on the field. Let them do their fucking job. If you must interview a player mid game, catch them in the dugout while their team bats.
Of course going to a game is more fun, but it’s also nice to watch at home where you can switch from game to game, walk away from a dog of a game, and eat one hell of a lot cheaper.
My biggest beef with game coverage this year has to be in ESPN’s blatantly biased announcing of Pacers vs. Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Stephen A. Smith, the world’s most annoying Knicks fan, was allowed to actually give New York a pre-game pep talk prior to Game 7.
And when my Pacers whipped their asses, he was all, “This wouldn’t have happened if they were healthy.” Yeah, die mad about it.
At Seahawk and Mariner games, the powers that be think any quiet moment is a major sin. Constant loud (and often bad) music. Scoreboards telling me when they want me to “make noise” or clap my hands. (fuck that).
And don’t get me started on the “wave.”
But despite all that, I’ll agree that there is something compelling about attending in person. A couple games per year is all I need, as watching on TV is better for pure observation of the game itself.
I don’t mind seeing the parents of a MLB player in his first game, or even first season. It’s touching. (not during the actual action, of course, but between pitches, or after a hit or something).
I am old enough that most of the college games I attended in my youth were not broadcast.
In my opinion, the act of broadcasting them has much diminished the experience of attending a live football game.
The numerous TV timeouts destroy the nature flow of the game, and make the games overly long.
You are describing the UFL broadcasts! I agree the “Mic’d-up” horseshit is most annoying. I mean, you hear the refs discussing a penalty, and then a second later the ref announces to the stadium and the home viewers, in the exact same words, what the call is. I am failing to see how, in any way, that enhances anything. And hearing the coach call a play - how is that even remotely interesting? And please stop with the sideline hotties and their inane questions of the breathless players as they come off the field, or the poor coach trying to duck into the locker room at halftime - totally un-interesting.
Near the beginning of the season, Braves second baseman, Ozzie Albies, was wired. It was interesting to hear his take on the game, as it was going on. It was hilarious when a grounder was hit to him, and he interrupted the conversation with, “Hang on guys, I gotta get this ball.”
I love it. I’ve very rarely seen it done outside of Spring Training or the ASG, but it’s a great insight into the game. Every now and then you’ll get a player who clearly can’t concentrate or hear the announcers - and they shouldn’t sign up for it again. But mix up Mookie Betts or Freddie Freeman or Jazz Chisholm, and I’ll watch all day. The 2022 ASG had Alek Manoah mic’ed up, and he was excellent - had a great rapport with Smoltz (maybe the worst current announcer in the game right now), and the real-time pitch breakdown was amazing.
I assume most people who hate it are Giants or Dodgers fans whose entire fandom appears to exist to simply gripe and complain, because they clearly don’t actually enjoy baseball.
To the OP’s list I will add that since Bally is no longer broadcasting NBA games, we are subjected to the inane babble-fest that is Shaq, Barkley and the rest of those incoherent idiots. Most of the chatter isn’t even about the game. I mute it.
We watch a lot of pro tennis. The best viewing experience is when the raw feed is available. No commentators, no commercials, no distractions. It’s perfect.
Some matches (typically finals) are only on a commercial network. Those are so painful to watch.
Like it’s been mentioned, baseball has a lot of nothing time. Why can’t they show some more replays?
For example, there is a check swing and a ball is called. The catcher appeals to one of the other umps. No change. But they don’t show a replay of how close it was! It only takes a couple seconds, they got time to fill, the announcers don’t have to say a word, etc.
We stream games, so technically we could replay it but the app sucks big time, the angle is poor and there is no slo mo.
I’m not so sure baseball has that much more down time than football or basketball (hockey and soccer are different matters). In football you have down time after every play, and in basketball there is the endless trudging to the foul line.
Interviewing players while they’re on the field is an abomination. I keep waiting for one of the interviewees to make an egregious error, but I haven’t seen that happen yet.
First off, there is no meaningful down time in basketball whatsoever. Secondly, I didn’t say there was more down time baseball than other sports, just that there’s a lot of it that needs filling.
The type of down time in football doesn’t need much filler - it’s a constantly changing environment as there’s a vast meaningful difference between 1st & 10 and 2nd & 10, let alone after a 60 yard gain as the offense and defense scramble downfield to reorganize their game plan.
In baseball, the down time is between an 0-0 pitch and a lazy 0-1 foul ball into the stands. I honestly can’t comprehend comparing the two, let alone being under the impression that basketball players have a moment to even catch their breath.
the local stations used to do that al the time …i wondered why they stopped … basketball does have a small amount of downtime during fouls free throws and ball outs …
