Sportsnet has ruined hockey

[Poe969]

I dislike it but I also like it a lot. I dislike that the quality is terrible and most of the hosts are just guys who weren't that good. I do like it because there's always hockey on. I don't live in Calgary so I'd rarely get to see games if I didn't buy CI and with the time change even when I did buy CI there were a lot of games I couldn't watch. Now the Flames are on TV a lot more than they used to be and even when there isn't a Flames game on, there's usually something on. I do openly prefer TSN and wish they'd do more games but at this point beggars can't be choosers.

[Toonage]

In regards to the quality of HD, thats a tricky one. Smarter people than me can fill in the blanks, but isn't this more dependent on your own service provider, and then your own TV calibration? What I mean is, if rogers broadcasts the signal at 1080i, and then Bell (for example) rebroadcasts that at 720p to conserve space and then the home user has a box set to upscale the signal or their TV does it. Its hard for Rogers to look at individual complaints such as resolution I'd imagine. This may be a bit off topic and can be moved if deemed unrelated.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by Toonage

And thats even before we address the on ice camera work.

If you're talking about camera operation then it wouldn't change no matter which network had the NHL deal. I am under the impression that the camera operators are not employed directly by the broadcast and are the same that work at the arenas for the individual teams.

If you're talking about directing and camera shot choices then I agree that Sportsnet doesn't seem to be able to put together great visuals.

[Toonage]

Originally Posted by Reaper

If you're talking about camera operation then it wouldn't change no matter which network had the NHL deal. I am under the impression that the camera operators are not employed directly by the broadcast and are the same that work at the arenas for the individual teams.

If you're talking about directing and camera shot choices then I agree that Sportsnet doesn't seem to be able to put together great visuals.

Yes, directing and camera shot choices. The All Star game was a good example of this.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Toonage

In regards to the quality of HD, thats a tricky one. Smarter people than me can fill in the blanks, but isn't this more dependent on your own service provider, and then your own TV calibration? What I mean is, if rogers broadcasts the signal at 1080i, and then Bell (for example) rebroadcasts that at 720p to conserve space and then the home user has a box set to upscale the signal or their TV does it. Its hard for Rogers to look at individual complaints such as resolution I'd imagine. This may be a bit off topic and can be moved if deemed unrelated.

Across the board, on anyones TV TSN and cbc broadcasts are of higher quality than Sportsnets. The Flames is worse then the national one too. It's not just the picture, it's the sound as well.

Mike Ball and Kelly Hrudey have been excellent additions. That is all.

[Senator Clay Davis]

"Ruined hockey" is a little bit hyperbolic, but yes their overall presentation has been poor. Given how ratings are down and the prospects for the Canadian teams in the next 3-5 years aren't all that good, the quality will likely get worse as they cut costs to try and make some kind of return on their $5.2 billion investment with the expected ad revenue likely lower than anticipated.

[HotHotHeat]

Their production is garbage, everything down to the in game graphics lack any feel of modern design. Their camera calibration is worse than what smartphones can produce, and the sound is not even close to professionally mixed.

Bottom line is that the quality issues are not mistakes, they are business decisions.

[Sutter_in_law]

Originally Posted by savemedrzaius

How can anyone not like Ferraro? Guy comes across as humble

Humble is the last word I would use for him.
also his voice annoys me, and he is awful on twitter too

maybe I am in the minority though.

[Erick Estrada]

You know things have got bad when national CFL broadcasts are noticeably more polished than HNIC.

[habernac]

I watch all the Habs game on RDS, the picture is noticeably better. I don't really care if I can't understand half of what the announcers say, they usually make the game more exciting than their english counterparts.

[nik-]

Overpay by a ridiculous amount for the rights. Slash costs anywhere you can to recoup.

10 more years!

The only thing that's improved is Ball and Hrudey and I don't even want to talk about or compliment them because I'm sure it will just end up in Sportsnet moving them to another market.

[Corral]

I agree the quality of the SN broadcast is inferior - but it seems better than it was before the big contract - I remember the local Flames broadcasts were really low quality back then.

Personally - I still miss Ron Maclean on the HNIC broadcast - and I miss watching some of the ladies on the TSN crew.

[bax]

Three words here.

Crowd noise and atmosphere

[nik-]

oh, actually less Ron MacLean is a good thing imo

[1991 Canadian]

I might be in the minority, but I have found the coverage to be pretty good this year.

When the saturday night panel has been Strombo, Friedman, Kypreos and Hrudey, I've actually thought they meshed really well together. You can tell they actually enjoy working together.

I think Rick Ball and Hrudey are the best regional Sportsnet duo by far. I'm sure at some point Rick Ball will be promoted to a more prominent national position with Sportsnet.

I like Leah Hextall as a host. She's a homer (which I don't mind for regional feeds) and knows her hockey.

I think the replay and all the fancy graphical analysis they do sometimes is for the most part interesting.

Honestly, I think the biggest problem Sportsnet has is most of the Canadian teams just aren't worth watching right now.

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

I don't get the hate. TSN was fine but how many times did they cut in late to a nationally broadcast Flames game so we could watch the final minutes of a Leafs 5-2 loss?

Sportsnet has a lot of errors but certainly their broadcasts are not ruining hockey for me.

The one downside of PVRing a Wednesday night game. If the early game goes late, you miss the start of the Flames game. Pisses me off every time.

[TheScorpion]

I honestly don't care about the diff. between 720p and 1080p. How big a difference is it, really?

[nik-]

I don't know how perceivable that difference is. What is incredibly perceivable is the difference between TSN's broadcasts and Sportsnet's broadcasts ... even from the same building.

TSN is the Sony

Sportsnet is the Suny, the noticeably worse Chinese knock off.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Across the board, on anyones TV TSN and cbc broadcasts are of higher quality than Sportsnets. The Flames is worse then the national one too. It's not just the picture, it's the sound as well.

Mike Ball and Kelly Hrudey have been excellent additions. That is all.

Does anyone else notice that the CBC Calgary feed is always the worst? I've shown it to people before and most of them are really surprised.

When the Flames play on a Sat night and are on all the CBC channels when I go from channel 100 (CBC Calgary on Telus) to CBC Toronto or Vancouver the broadcast is noticeably crisper. By a fair margin.

Anything on SNW/SN1 or whatever usually look kinda crappy but the worst is always Sportsnet Flames. It seems to broadcast in mono even though my receiver says 5.1.

[Benched]

I love how I get 'regionally blacked out' for Oilers games from Calgary. (why would I watch them? Sometimes I like the visiting team )

They can't even split up cities, it's "Alberta teams" all blacked out...


I also hate the gamecenter doesn't ask you your cable provider, so you can't watch it on a mobile device even if you have a valid cable provider with the SN channel...not sure if that's a SN contract thing, or a fail NHL thing. But it still sucks.