2015 European Open coverage thread/split from Tournament thread

[Aim For The Chains]

Never be coverage of DG like ball golf? Probably not. Simply because ball golf had a several hundred year head start, and more importantly, was already well established as a professional sport by the time sports became a mainstay of the network broadcasting weekend schedule.

..........asdfasdasdfasdfasdf...........

Golf is boring as hell too.

The NFL is a money printing machine when it comes to coverage/events/WHATEVER-- all other sports dream of a similar situation. NBA is right up there but every other sport falls well behind in customers casuals fans participants (anything) ...

Most people do not sit at home on the weekend and watch golf. Sure its on 4-5 different channels but it is on mostly when nothing else is too for that matter. Golf VS NFL preseason? BAAAHAHAHA. and preseason sucks.

I am just being real here. Golf of all kinds is boring to watch on TV. (that's not just my opinion that's a fact in the USA) Sports need drama and some entertainment. Good play only goes so far to sell a product.

 

[RistoS]

So this was shown on public TV like local news stations or more in line with public access broadcasting?

YLE is similar to PBS. It's a symbol of status when a sports event has a live broadcast on YLE, and a guarantee it also makes prime time sports news. European Open was covered there on two consecutive nights.

I am just being real here. Golf of all kinds is boring to watch on TV. (that's not just my opinion that's a fact in the USA) Sports need drama and some entertainment. Good play only goes so far to sell a product.

It's also a pretty obvious cultural difference that us Europeans are less ADHD about sports

 

[coupe]

Golf is boring as hell too.

The NFL is a money printing machine when it comes to coverage/events/WHATEVER-- all other sports dream of a similar situation. NBA is right up there but every other sport falls well behind in customers casuals fans participants (anything) ...

Most people do not sit at home on the weekend and watch golf. Sure its on 4-5 different channels but it is on mostly when nothing else is too for that matter. Golf VS NFL preseason? BAAAHAHAHA. and preseason sucks.

I am just being real here. Golf of all kinds is boring to watch on TV. (that's not just my opinion that's a fact in the USA) Sports need drama and some entertainment. Good play only goes so far to sell a product.

Ball golf may be as boring as hell, but it still manages to rake in the TV audiences, electronic and print media coverage, and billions of sponsorship dollars. Heck, baseball is even more boring than golf, but that doesn't stop baseball from being successful on TV.

Get your head out of the current "lead card only coverage" paradigm and start asking, how would disc golf come across if it were covered like ball golf: multiple cameras and a field reporter following the top four groups, cutting away to different groups so there's no dead time between shots, instant replays, in-studio commentators to provide context and analysis, etc.? Ball golf on TV didn't start taking off until they started doing those things.

As to drama, if it doesn't exist, do what other sports do: manufacture it. Find a hook—doesn't matter what it is—and run with it. Nobody gave a tinker's dam about the Ryder Cup until the PGA and Ryder Cup Europe started marketing it as "USA against the World," and practically nobody in the US gave a damn about the Tour de France until Lance Armstrong started 'roiding up and winning the thing. Arnold vs. Jack, Bird vs. Magic, Tiger vs. Phil, "The Next Michael/Tiger/whomever," etc.: that's marketing 101.

 

[DinosaurThunder]

YLE is similar to PBS. It's a symbol of status when a sports event has a live broadcast on YLE, and a guarantee it also makes prime time sports news. European Open was covered there on two consecutive nights.


It's also a pretty obvious cultural difference that us Europeans are less ADHD about sports

It's why the US loves American Football. A commercial break every 5 seconds aligns well with our ADHD and gives opportune time to stuff our face with more food while our brain is melted by enough advertising to last a lifetime.

I appreciate the sports Europeans tend to favor and how they are widely broadcasted/presented. I favor my online streams of Sky Sports and the BBC over ESPN and my local news any day.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

well the profits from TV alone are insane...

Each of the NFL's 32 teams received a $226.4 million payout from the league's revenue-sharing program, a generous slice of the $7.2 billion pie pumped up by massive television

 

[jvphobic]

Play pretend

In this play pretend world where we are a regular on a major sports network, yes I think that Avery is a natural to have on there. My only complaint was that I thought he and JT needed to talk just a little less. Otherwise they were spot on.

But, I am in no personal hurry to get to that point, because I know that when that happens, the odds of Smashboxx.TV being taken along is slim to none.

We will continue to put out full round coverage. We will continue to invest in equipment that will make our show better. We will continue to do our after shows the way that we enjoy them.

We love what we are doing. Even if our Verizon bill alone this month was almost $1000.

 

[spinachd]

Is there any recorded coverage of the EO? Can whatever YLE was broadcasting be seen anywhere now?

 

[jvphobic]

Here is a link to the Finnish version. I haven't seen the English available quite yet.
http://areena.yle.fi/1-2737768

 

[walde]

I'd like to watch the YLE broadcast with JT and AJ commentating, I'm sure the duo did way better. The finnish one made me facepalm a few times.

 

[DiscJunkie]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to pop by real quick - we're working on the geoblock. YLE told us it would be disabled for 6 months so the link should work, but right now it's back up. One way or another we'll find a way to get the English commentary version for everyone to see.

The international deal came through at the 23rd hour so there were bound to be some hiccups. Please be patient with us. I'm disappointed to hear that the Finnish audio came through the English broadcast as well - it actually was in my headphones as we were talking live also so that was a trip. All in all, we want to give the best experience to everybody and even though the tournament is done we are still working to make that happen.

Jamie and the group is working on it (English Commentary, that is).

 

[JTacoma03]

Update: We will post the english version on SpinTV this week...and yes we will take out the simultaneous Finnish audio

Also final round coverage will be posted, and maybe even some bonus "cool" footage

 

[frasnow]

Also final round coverage will be posted, and maybe even some bonus "cool" footage

Great! Now I'll actually be able to provide feedback on your top ten from The Insider Show. #opendiscgolf

In the end this is all we wanted; to be able to watch people play disc golf. The talking heads and all the stats are nice, but they're more interesting when we've watched the action.

 

[Dr.Smooth]

Really excited to hear this. Thanks for putting up with all of us spoiled brats and naysayers who want "free lunches."

 

[Halcón]

As to drama, if it doesn't exist, do what other sports do: manufacture it. Find a hook—doesn't matter what it is—and run with it. Nobody gave a tinker's dam about the Ryder Cup until the PGA and Ryder Cup Europe started marketing it as "USA against the World," and practically nobody in the US gave a damn about the Tour de France until Lance Armstrong started 'roiding up and winning the thing. Arnold vs. Jack, Bird vs. Magic, Tiger vs. Phil, "The Next Michael/Tiger/whomever," etc.: that's marketing 101.

Truth.

Remember how figure skating exploded in popularity after Harding had Kerrigan whacked in the knee?

 

[hook_nuts]

Not sure if I understood what you meant, but there is basically less than ten non-paid TV channels in Finland and YLE2 which showed the EO is one of top channels, and everybody with TV (ie everybody) can watch it free. Basically that was best option in terms of channel choice.

Anyway, I was disappointed with the coverage overall, not much progress compared to last time. You don't get new people excited by jumping straight to final holes, you need more prehype and build-up just like in other sport events. Insider show was great but for casual disc golfer probably not. And it was all backwards, hype and speculation without actually showing the rounds...

Most Americans (maybe not on these forums) have no clue about other countries. I was just pointing out that the population in Finland is about the same as a medium populated state in the US so national tv there isn't reaching a lot of people. The crowds and enthusiasm in Finland are amazing though I don't want to downplay that.

Is YLE2 shown in other European countries?

I thought people in Finland got more live coverage than the last couple holes. That sucks...

 

[hook_nuts]

In this play pretend world where we are a regular on a major sports network, yes I think that Avery is a natural to have on there. My only complaint was that I thought he and JT needed to talk just a little less. Otherwise they were spot on.

But, I am in no personal hurry to get to that point, because I know that when that happens, the odds of Smashboxx.TV being taken along is slim to none.

We will continue to put out full round coverage. We will continue to invest in equipment that will make our show better. We will continue to do our after shows the way that we enjoy them.

We love what we are doing. Even if our Verizon bill alone this month was almost $1000.

Ya I would assume we are nowhere near this point, I was just pleasantly surprised by Jenkins commentary.

Even if disc golf went mainstream, people with experience will benefit. Would Smashboxxtv take over for espn, fox, etc? Probably not. Could Smashboxxtv be bought out, or given jobs for coverage in some capacity? Definitely possible. Just have to perfect the craft so if that time came there is demand for the brand. Easier said than done with limited resources, but the only guarantee is if you don't try it won't happen.

This is of course is just all speculation on my part, but since this scenario is nowhere near imminent I'd say you guys are good for the foreseeable future. ESPN is overrated anyway in many ways. YouTube has great viewing potential, and the unbiased more personal feel of coverage has great appeal imo. Now all these big disc golf companies need to support these crews even more! They showcase your product very well!

 

[onemilemore]

Even if disc golf went mainstream, people with experience will benefit. Would Smashboxxtv take over for espn, fox, etc? Probably not. Could Smashboxxtv be bought out, or given jobs for coverage in some capacity? Definitely possible. Just have to perfect the craft so if that time came there is demand for the brand. Easier said than done with limited resources, but the only guarantee is if you don't try it won't happen.

This is the way I view things with my site. It's small, and I don't make any money on it - in fact, I've spent plenty on it in few months it's been up and running - but I can't help but think that, if (and that's a big IF) disc golf does become more established in the mainstream, I'll have a body of work out there that may lead to greater opportunities.

Plus, I love doing it, so that helps. But you're right: If disc golf gets bigger, experienced people will be wanted.

 

[ChrisWoj]

I saw some talk about who would be best behind a microphone - anybody know why Barry Schultz doesn't do more play by play? I used to have saved the 2005 USDGC and Barry's shot by shot analysis trumps everybody else I've heard in the years since. I'm not a big Barry fan in general - I've watched him peel out, heard of him insulting fans that recovered his discs, and heard him intimidate TDs to get decisions so I'm not necessarily someone who'd compliment him out of order... But he is a FANTASTIC play by play guy, offers great insight, and would benefit coverage of a lot of events if he was willing to do it.

 

[@iDiscGolf]

Is he better than Crazy?!

He can't commentate because he's playing all the major tournaments himself. Maybe one day? I'd like to hear the tourney commentating your talking about.

 

[JC17393]

I saw some talk about who would be best behind a microphone - anybody know why Barry Schultz doesn't do more play by play? I used to have saved the 2005 USDGC and Barry's shot by shot analysis trumps everybody else I've heard in the years since. I'm not a big Barry fan in general - I've watched him peel out, heard of him insulting fans that recovered his discs, and heard him intimidate TDs to get decisions so I'm not necessarily someone who'd compliment him out of order... But he is a FANTASTIC play by play guy, offers great insight, and would benefit coverage of a lot of events if he was willing to do it.

Old schoolers may remember the old DiscTV show that Brian Sullivan used to produce that aired on various cable channels about 10-12 years ago. It was the true precursor to the Clash videos, youtube channel coverage, live streaming coverage and the Emerging Sports Network program. In each episode, they'd have video coverage of a final 9/18 at a given tournament. During the round, the commentary was live (even though the show was edited) just like Terry does on Smashboxx. Brian usually corralled a player who didn't make the cut to walk with him and provide color commentary.

Bar none, of all the episodes I watched, Ken Climo providing the color during the Masters Cup final was the best I have heard. I think it was the only time he did it, because it wasn't often Climo wasn't playing those final 9s if he was at the tournament. The way he discussed disc angles to negotiate the elevation and fast greens at Dela was educational to say the least.

I would love to see/hear him in a Johnny Miller type role if miracle of miracles occur and disc golf can get full on TV coverage, PGA-style.