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CFL On CBC Without Announcers??

J

Joseph_Gallant

Guest
I'm asking Radio-Info.com contributors in Canada or in border areas who can get CBC Television to tell me whether or not it's true that last night (August 20th), CBC carried the scheduled Canadian Football League telecast, but without announcers.

I do recall that in the early 1980's, NBC did an NFL game between the New York Jets and Miami without announcers, but that was not due to a labor dispute. Instead, NBC, worried that Miami would beat the (then) hapless Jets in a blowout in a game that would have little appeal to viewers outside of New York and Miami (it was a late-season Saturday matinee that was broadcast over the full network), decided to do a game without announcers to create a little "buzz" and attract viewers.
 
Seems management was a bit rusty in handling their old jobs. I only saw the final quarter, but I can confirm that Saturday's Edmonton-Toronto game did air as anticipated, using the stadium PA announcer Al Stafford to fill in for normal play-by-play man Mark Lee. There seemed a second PA announcer heard from time to time, though more muted. It was very similar to the "announcerless" game NBC carried some years ago, but with no host on the sidelines.

Also pared back substantially: the graphics. Few stat updates, and the scorebox appeared only before the play. It came down at or slightly before the snap as opposed to after the play ends (CBC doesn't leave it onscreen continuously).For those who hate those transparent "bugs", this one was free of them. Normally, one appears during replays, a practice increasingly commonplace these days.


And with no commentators present there was no way to properly throw to commercial, save for a theme cue and the customary lower-third scoreboard.

Since the CBC package airs in the US on AmericaOne TV, I wonder how they handled things.

Canoe has a Canadian Press writeup on the telecast here. A poll on that website asking how fans rated the telecast is proving inconclusive so far, in my view.
 
> Seems management was a bit rusty in handling their old jobs.
> I only saw the final quarter, but I can confirm that
> Saturday's Edmonton-Toronto game did air as anticipated,
> using the stadium PA announcer Al Stafford to fill in for
> normal play-by-play man Mark Lee. There seemed a second PA
> announcer heard from time to time, though more muted. It was
> very similar to the "announcerless" game NBC carried some
> years ago, but with no host on the sidelines.
>
> Also pared back substantially: the graphics. Few stat
> updates, and the scorebox appeared only before the play. It
> came down at or slightly before the snap as opposed to after
> the play ends (CBC doesn't leave it onscreen
> continuously).For those who hate those transparent "bugs",
> this one was free of them. Normally, one appears during
> replays, a practice increasingly commonplace these days.
>
>
> And with no commentators present there was no way to
> properly throw to commercial, save for a theme cue and the
> customary lower-third scoreboard.
>
> Since the CBC package airs in the US on AmericaOne TV, I
> wonder how they handled things.
>
> Canoe has a Canadian Press writeup on the telecast here. A
> poll on that website asking how fans rated the telecast is
> proving inconclusive so far, in my view.
>
I caught the telecast on Comcast SportsNet. It looked very much like a local telecast from the 80s -- sometimes shaky shots; unexpected cuts; audio that was mixed inconsistently. If you didn't know much about the players or didn't follow the two teams, the telecast probably didn't do the CFL much good.
 
> I caught the telecast on Comcast SportsNet. It looked very
> much like a local telecast from the 80s -- sometimes shaky
> shots; unexpected cuts; audio that was mixed inconsistently.
> If you didn't know much about the players or didn't follow
> the two teams, the telecast probably didn't do the CFL much
> good.
>

Did Comcast SportsNet (or CFL's American distributor) mention anything about the CBC lockout causing the subpar appearance?
 
> I'm asking Radio-Info.com contributors in Canada or in
> border areas who can get CBC Television to tell me whether
> or not it's true that last night (August 20th), CBC carried
> the scheduled Canadian Football League telecast, but without
> announcers.
>
> I do recall that in the early 1980's, NBC did an NFL game
> between the New York Jets and Miami without announcers, but
> that was not due to a labor dispute. Instead, NBC, worried
> that Miami would beat the (then) hapless Jets in a blowout
> in a game that would have little appeal to viewers outside
> of New York and Miami (it was a late-season Saturday matinee
> that was broadcast over the full network), decided to do a
> game without announcers to create a little "buzz" and
> attract viewers.
>
From what I've read, I think CBC would be better off handing the Labour Day Classic games to TSN.<P ID="signature">______________

Canada TV and College Radio</P>
 
> > I caught the telecast on Comcast SportsNet. It looked
> very
> > much like a local telecast from the 80s -- sometimes shaky
>
> > shots; unexpected cuts; audio that was mixed
> inconsistently.
> > If you didn't know much about the players or didn't
> follow
> > the two teams, the telecast probably didn't do the CFL
> much
> > good.
> >
>
> Did Comcast SportsNet (or CFL's American distributor)
> mention anything about the CBC lockout causing the subpar
> appearance?
>
Back in 1967, the American Federation of Television and
Radio Artists (AFTRA) struck the three U.S. networks.
While Walter Cronkite was on the picket line, a CBS lawyer
named Arnold Zenker filled in for him on the evening news,
became a minor celebrity, and (I think) anchored a local
newscast in Baltimore after the strike ended. Maybe CBC
Sports needs its own Arnold Zenker, a non-union employee
who knows enough about Canadian football to call a game.
 
CBC gives half of Labour Day Classic to TSN...

TSN will be covering the second game of the Labour Day Classic games on September 5th(Toronto and Hamilton at 4pm ET).

CBC will produce the first game, that being Edmonton at Calgary with CBC management production values in place at 1pm ET.

Rogers Sportsnet may step in and carry "The Masters" Show Jumping from Spruce Meadows in Calgary in a few weeks.<P ID="signature">______________

Canada TV and College Radio</P>
 
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