Broadcast Booth

[Hard Driver]

So what did people think of the broadcast?

I personally think it was mediocre at the very best. Those guys speak with NO passion. Seems like they are bored half the time. Over half of what they say is unrelated to the race at all, talking aobut shows coming up, or recapping the race every 5 minutes, talking about how power mountain bikes... blah blah blah.... meanwhile you have no idea if Bourdais is running down Wilson or not. Heck the pass for the lead was missed until a replay. Then after the pass, they went off on more blah blah blah, so you have no idea if Wilson was loosing time fast or going to catch up when his tires got warm, etc. It really seems like the annoucers aren't race fans and don't really even catch what is going on half the time.

They talked about Sabastians short fill, but fail to mention he did two laps more on the first stink, came in two laps earlier, so the short fill was for 4 laps. They don't tell the viewers who might be novice things like since sabastian came in first, he comes out on cold tires and full tanks while Wilson has a lap or two on hot tires and light tanks. They just say the in lap is key, but not why, etc.

I didn't listen on the Internet this race, but the international guys I've heard on other races seem like they have pasison and interest in the race. They should put those guys on the broadcast. Because these guys able to take a decent race and make it boring.

[RusH]

Agreed.
I just watched the CBS MotoGP race I DVR`ed...same thing going on :shakehead

It makes a big difference who is talking, and what they say in the enjoyment of any race.

[tantra]

Jon? No passion? Did you listen to the same guy?

[TravelGal]

At the risk of being drummer out of here, we had the 5 hunnert and Portland Tivo'd and watched them nearly back to back tonight. After enduring those booth dudes from the IRL, the CCWS guys sound like the best in the world. I think it was the race itself that lacked much flash.

[Hard Driver]

Jon? No passion? Did you listen to the same guy?

I'm sure he has passion personally, maybe the right word was excitement, or lack of... And some of it might have been the directing, I mean when you miss a pass for the lead, someone is not paying attention.

[Ziggy]

In a word, they suck

but then again, it's hard to get to worked up about this series

[mueber]

They are fine. If you want screaming, yelling and brown-nosing Watrip, Spenser and Wallace are on SPEED every 15 minutes.

[Hard Driver]

Baseball:

I compare auto racing to baseball. If you are a real fan of baseball, you get into the game. You realize that this is a fast ball pitcher and that the next batter likes fast balls. You look at how much of a lead off a bag a guy takes and know if he is a base stealer. If you don't know all that kind of stuff, then it is a rather boring game of pitch and catch.

Now it is the announcers job to talk about these details to get people into the game. Not to gloss over them as though the details will confuse the casual viewer. The casual viewer will not get into the game if he is not told.

I think auto racing is a lot like that. A real fan gets into who is on what pit strategy. They look at lap times and gaps and if Bourdais is chasing down Wilson, then they get interested. If you don't get into these details, then it is just a bunch of guys driving round and round.

And yes, I would like announcers to ooh and ahh, to get into it more.

I think the F1 guys did a good job in Canada. They explained basics, like about the option tire having a stripe. But they also talked about lap times and gaps, while getting all excited as the super aguri team passed Ferrari. Sure, not all races will be as "interesting" as canada was, but level of detail while explaining the basics was done well, and the focus of the broadcast was the race action. I did not get the feeling that half the time the guys in the booth were talking about other stuff than the race on the screen.

Just my impression.

[Methanolandbrats]

They did a good job. The camera angles and production were better than usual too. Give em a chance. Remember it's network TV too.............that means frequent breaks to pimp s***** TV shows and go to the "sports desk" to check in on other crap no racefans GAF about. That hurts the continuity of the coverage.

[Chief]

I thought the production was smooth, best in recent memory. From the look to the continuity it was good. Jon is the best at explaining wtf is going on, even when they miss action due to commercial breaks. I agree, that race was flag to flag and hard to mold into something it wasn't.

Why can't they get telemetry that works? For those who hate the broadcast, what are you comparing it to?

[cameraman]

I don't hate them but I do greatly prefer Jeremy Shaw & James Hinchcliffe.

[Hesketh]

All excuses for personal style and network obligations aside, missing passes and other action on the track or in the pits is inexcusable. Period.

[Insomniac]

All excuses for personal style and network obligations aside, missing passes and other action on the track or in the pits is inexcusable. Period.

That's not the fault of the broadcast booth though. That's production.

[beaner]

In a word, they suck

but then again, it's hard to get to worked up about this series

what? this series is the hottest thing since sunburns

KK and the gang are going to save it, just you wait and see

[Hesketh]

That's not the fault of the broadcast booth though. That's production.

Rubbish. I can frequently see incidents (passes, crashes, etc) happen on the monitor, but they're so busy blathering on about nothing, they don't make a comment!


:thumdown:

[JLMannin]

I still think the best broadcast crew was Bob Varsha and Derek Daley in the booth and Jon Beekius and Gary Gerrould in the pits. Of course, you guys complained about that crew as well.

[Andrew Longman]

Anyone want to trade them for Rusty and Goodyear?

Didn't think so

[Insomniac]

Rubbish. I can frequently see incidents (passes, crashes, etc) happen on the monitor, but they're so busy blathering on about nothing, they don't make a comment!


:thumdown:

In Portland, the passes they showed on replays were not shown live. I do not recall them missing any passes that were on the TV live. They also don't seem to run off on tangents and ignore what is on the screen in my opinion. A lot of the things they should be discussing should be on the TV with any helpful graphics for the viewer.

They need someone with more racing knowledge directing and informing the director what's going on and where potential action is on the track.

[Audi_A4]

the broadcasts are awful. They need to appeal to the average sports fan not the racing nut. I thought I was watching an atlantic race. :thumdown:

[oddlycalm]

If they are going to have that giant crawl taking up 25% of the screen they should at least stick to gap times instead of the useless crap they often post. I don't care how much push to piss time is left or how many years the crew chief has been in the series.

As for the talking heads Jon is just fine and the other guy is better than most US commentators. I can think of a dozen guys offhand that would make me stop watching.

oc