Sportsnet Production Quality

[Vulcan]

I watch on Centre Ice so maybe the show between the 1st and 2nd period was different for those of you watching in the region but yesterday instead of discussing the Flames, they spent the whole intermission discussing the Canucks.
WTF

[StAlbertFlame]

Sorry, I was not aware the Jets were being covered by TSN. Listen...I do not want to get into a big thing over this. I know that Kerr sucks, and I know that SN production is not the best.

I am just happy that SN broadcasts a Flames schedule. Growing up, I did not have this. With CBC, I watched Toronto and Montreal. With TSN I watched even more Toronto.
Maybe you are right, maybe TSN would have taken on the Flames schedule if SN did not already have it. Maybe TSN has changed their way of thinking since the Jets re-entered the NHL.

I guess, I would be OK with whoever broadcast a Flames schedule, just as long as they keep it up. Quality is secondary to me.

[Tailgator]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I don't think you get it that SN isn't doing any of us favours by broadcasting the Flames schedule. If they weren't broadcasting Flames games TSN wold be doing all of them. CBC doesn't do regional broadcasts and TSN doesn't have the rights for regional Flames broadcasts so I'm not sure how you could single them out for not doing every Flames game when they don't have the rights or don't do regional.

He seems to get it, I'm not sure you do. Favors? No, they bid on the rights to make money from advertising revenue. TSN could have, but didn't, or at least didn't bid as much.
You said earlier that the Flames pay Rogers a lot of money which is backwards. Rogers pays the Flames for broadcast rights.
Where do you get that if SN wasn't doing Flames games that TSN would? The last time renewal for rights came up, SN out bid them again. I'm not 100% sure TSN really cared at the time, but maybe they will now. Who knows?

[HotHotHeat]

At this point there is no reason to complain to Rogers. It needs to be brought up at public forums with Ken King and Flames ownership. Rogers is representing the Flames' brand in this agreement, and it looks just as bad on the organization as it does on Rogers.

I also am amused by people that genuinely feel consumers should be grateful to Rogers for going to the trouble of providing us a broadcast. As if the business model isn't a guaranteed revenue stream for 12 years.

[skeena1]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Why would they do the Jets schedule but not a bigger market in the Flames?

They charge fans 9.95 a month for those games. They production value is no better than the Flames. Would fans be willing to pay this?

Also, try this for feedback to Rogers:

http://sportsnetnhlfans.msch.ca/

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

At this point there is no reason to complain to Rogers. It needs to be brought up at public forums with Ken King and Flames ownership. Rogers is representing the Flames' brand in this agreement, and it looks just as bad on the organization as it does on Rogers.

I also am amused by people that genuinely feel consumers should be grateful to Rogers for going to the trouble of providing us a broadcast. As if the business model isn't a guaranteed revenue stream for 12 years.

I'll bring this up at the fan forum this summer (I imagine they'll have at least one)

[sun]

I hate to pile on, because I am sure that they are two great guys in real life. Kerr has a clear passion for the game and Simmer was a hell of a player.

Viewers actually have the ability to get people fired, so I don't say this flippantly, but these guys are not good at their jobs. Kerr I can actually live with, since he's entertaining (but probably not in an ideal way - snowballs, etc).

Simmer though... is painful. I would prefer silence to his commentary. It doesn't seem like he works on his craft or enjoys his job. He just drones on and on about absolutely nothing. "And again..." "...at that point" etc. Once you notice it, it's all you can hear. He is so dull and monotonous.

He's the vuvuzela of colour commentary.

A former Flame like Terry Crisp doing colour would be nice. Again, I know it's a TOUGH job, but there has to be other options out there.

[hwy19man]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

I'll bring this up at the fan forum this summer (I imagine they'll have at least one)

"Rogers Communications will be embarking on a tour of 10 cities across the country. Representatives from both Rogers and the National Hockey League will be going to local minor hockey associations, sports pubs, and even into the homes of people who are interested in becoming “fan advisers.” The “listening tour” will include all seven cities with NHL teams, plus three other markets where hockey has a strong foothold. Red Deer, Alta., Sudbury, Ont., and Kingston, Ont. are on the list of possible stops."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/how-do-you-watch-hockey-rogers-nhl-launch-listening-tour-to-find-out/article16695957/

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by sun

I hate to pile on, because I am sure that they are two great guys in real life. Kerr has a clear passion for the game and Simmer was a hell of a player.

Viewers actually have the ability to get people fired, so I don't say this flippantly, but these guys are not good at their jobs. Kerr I can actually live with, since he's entertaining (but probably not in an ideal way - snowballs, etc).

Simmer though... is painful. I would prefer silence to his commentary. It doesn't seem like he works on his craft or enjoys his job. He just drones on and on about absolutely nothing. "And again..." "...at that point" etc. Once you notice it, it's all you can hear. He is so dull and monotonous.

He's the vuvuzela of colour commentary.

A former Flame like Terry Crisp doing colour would be nice. Again, I know it's a TOUGH job, but there has to be other options out there.

I haven't watched their broadcast for a couple of years but Terry Crisp was (is) working on the Nashville broadcast and I thought he was awful. He was unprepared and didn't seem to have a clue who the Flames players were or anything else about the team. Remember this is the team he won the Cup with, so I can't imagine he was any better with other teams. If anything their show was worse than our local RSN.

[killer_carlson]

Put me in the camp of liking Roger Millions.

[sun]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

I haven't watched their broadcast for a couple of years but Terry Crisp was (is) working on the Nashville broadcast and I thought he was awful. He was unprepared and didn't seem to have a clue who the Flames players were or anything else about the team. Remember this is the team he won the Cup with, so I can't imagine he was any better with other teams. If anything their show was worse than our local RSN.

I'll take your word for it. I remember a Preds games a few years ago and thought he was decent. Twas a while ago though and only one game.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by sun

I'll take your word for it. I remember a Preds games a few years ago and thought he was decent. Twas a while ago though and only one game.

I like your idea of a former Flame, just not Crisp.

I don't understand why fans are so against the colour guys telling stories during the play though. If it was radio where you rely on describing the action, okay but this is TV where we have our own eyes to see what's going on. I just think Simmer has run out of interesting thoughts and stories, it happens.

[Northendzone]

TSN Jets is a separate channel, that viewers have to specifically purchase. I believe that about 60 or so jets games are on this channel

[taxbuster]

Originally Posted by Two Fivenagame

This may be over simplifying things but why can't they have Peter Maher do play by play for radio AND TV? Just use the same audio? People do it anyway?

I often have the Flames on SN, and Maher on the computer -- just sync up the sounds. No Kerr, no Simmer - and eventually, I guess, no Maher either.

Personally, I get most of the games when I'm in BC over Bell Express Vu which is crappy enough on signal to begin with, so the HD quality doesn't really bother me.

When I'm in Calgary I'm on Telus Optik which is better, but I still watch/listen the same way. Half the time I'm working at night anyway while I'm watching, so Maher's cadence alerts me to the interesting bits. Works fine.

[Machiavelli]

I know a lot of you don't care about basketball, but Sportsnet just randomly cut away from the Raptors game with Toronto up 2 points with a few seconds left in the game. Then when they came back it was Sportsnet Connected and they tried to blame it on the other team not paying their electricity bills.

Clown shoes.

[gvitaly]

Personally I am just happy that all 82 games get televised! I am just watching hockey on mute now, only turn the sound on during a couple of interviews; meanwhile I just turn some music on. I actually started doing that because I couldn't bare listening to all the commercials over, and over, and over...

[djsFlames]

I vote they have a colour guy (NOT named Charlie Simmer) in between the boxes, cause that's always an awesome part of the TSN broadcasts. First hand reporting on what's happening on the ice and the benches. Really like that.

I don't hate Kerr, but I CAN NOT STAND Simmer. Sorry Charlie, but you were never good at the colour commentator thing. Listen to Loubo's on SN960 for a game, and you hear the difference. Loubo goes into depth on all the young/younger players that he personally followed in junior, gives us background stories from his own personal dealings with them. He talks about team systems, and what the opposing coach is directing his players to do to counter our attack or try to break through our defense, which is extremely insightful, cause I never hear about those sorts of system details in the NHL typically. The TV broadcast quality can't even compare to the radio, and that's just unacceptable.

Charlie talking about blocking shots being "good", keeping players to the outside being "important", whether or not a player is playing with confidence, that the team needs to shoot the puck more, is all just describing everything we can see with our own EYES. It got old a handful of games after he first started, and has been mind numbingly horrible to listen to since, to the point where my brain tunes out 90% of what he says all the time now, it just comes through as annoying mumbling, because I so badly cannot stand to listen to what he has to add to the broadcast (which is nothing of value). Please fix this, Sportsnet. It's ridiculous. Get some better personalities in there, keep the panels during the breaks interesting, and guys with opposing opinions or personalities can actually really liven the panels as well. When everybody sits and nods and agrees with eachother it just makes it a complete bore to sit through. You gotta up the personality.

And Charlie Simmer is the worst possible guy you could give us in that regard. If I were to sit down in real life and have a conversation with the guy, he would literally put me to sleep within 5 minutes. You don't go and hire people like that to broadcast a local sports team, FTLOG man..

It can't be hard to find someone who can make the broadcasts more exciting. Even get a younger personality in there, someone who's as passionate about these kids coming in as we are, someone who actually follows them. The people in that booth should be as crazy about the team as any of us on here. The way those two do the games gives off such a "meh" feel, that it actually turns me off of watching my favorite team. This should never, ever happen.

Fix it!

[Flames89]

Originally Posted by FlameZilla

I would also complain about the quality of the High Definition Sportsnet is using. It seems really grainy to me compared with what NBC, CBC & TSN are using.

This is the only glaring thing for me.
On GameCenter there is no sound delay. Seems to be an Alberta/Shaw thing.
And as for on air talent, that will change though I don't mind Kerr

[mikeecho]

On the theme of things I do like about the Flames broadcast... At least we don't have to suffer through Principe!!!!

[browna]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

I heard someone once say that with the best hockey announcers. you don't even need to be able to understand the words to know if something mundane, exciting or important is happening on the ice. Even if you don't know English, you can listen to Bob Cole tone and cadence and understand if its a big moment or the game has gotten exciting.

Kerr doesn't have this skill. He starts screaming at wacky point and gets caught in stories with Simmer during a breakaway. If you didn't understand English you'd literally have no idea what is going on or why the announcer is screaming when the net comes off (PENALTY SHOT! when there isn't one).

English speakers can probably get this when you catch a soccer game or even pro wrestling broadcast in a foreign language. You have no idea what they are saying but you can tell when something is about to happen.

This.
As I have complained about, the way the game is called is horrible, no flow or build up by Kerr to properly match the intensity of the game or of the in game flow.
That comes with experience, something he has none of outside of AJHL games, calling the fights on the radio, and 10ppv Flames games a few years back.

However outmatched he is calling games, and generally awkward personality wise in trying to learn something he isn't cut out for, I will say he is as prepared and knowledgeable as there is;makes me think Snet figured they had to move him up or lose him from the Calgary market. It's the only thing that makes sense why he got this job.

On top of Kerr, Simmer seems to have felt the need to prop up Kerr and his inexperience by talking more, and it's clear the more of "feet moving, pucks to the net" Simmer is making things, if possible, even more unwatchable. Kerr burying his head in his notes, always with an eye in them, distracting him from the mechanics of pbp (and the above mentioned "feel for the game") , and then Simmer droning on and on, and the broadcast gets bogged down and it really is a chore to watch and hard to keep up in listening to if you can't watch every second of play.

One hopes that the growing talent pool of Snet employees that jump over there in the offseason pushes Kerr back to radio; that the increased coverage Snet will be having means he can get a more prominent radio or TV analysis show. Simmer can join him.

Millions better stay as host at very least (have zero problem with him back as pbp). Francis can take a hike as well when there is a decent credible insider, not just a guy enjoying the sound of his own voice and forcing himself to be controversial.