Comments on: FOX Scores with Champions League Coverage

By: This One Guy In Detroit

This One Guy In Detroit — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:26:25 +0000

“I’m not saying I love Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth. I’m just saying that Max has been vilified for years. Why is he all of a sudden great?”

Max Bretos has been “vilified” by no one but a small minority of Euro-snot viewers. So he’s not “all of a sudden great.” He’s always been good, and has been generally recognized as such.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:02:26 +0000

LD,

I think it’d be more accurate to say that far more people are interested in watching the game at the highest levels, regardless of the country of origin. Far more people are NOT interested in their local MLS teams, if they were I doubt Fox would have shelled out $$$ for Champions League rights. The Gaffer is 100% correct – FOX wants ratings and this is the best way, they believe, to get them.

By: dstorm

dstorm — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:06:36 +0000

Agree 100% – There will be some technical glitches along the way, but with int’l feed commentary and video feed from every game, there is no comparison – especially if you have Direct TV.

Great day for Fox – and soccer fans across America.

By: Ian

Ian — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:26:58 +0000

I loved the access to more games (I don’t get Setanta), and I once again loved to get a game in HD with Celtic-Arsenal, but I didn’t find the pregame show to be all that helpful. McMahon was excellent as usual, but I think Warren Barton only has four catchphrases, and I hurl in my mouth every time Max Bretos talks.

I’m not saying I love Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth. I’m just saying that Max has been vilified for years. Why is he all of a sudden great?

The audio problem better not be a recurring issue.

All in all, it was fine. Actually, it was the same as I’m used to, but in HD. So it’s a mild improvement. But let’s see if Fox can provide better over the long run.

By: Peter James

Peter James — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:23:50 +0000

You would prefer to watch only one live and one delayed game per match day (espn) versus being able to watch every game live and or delayed same day? Doesn’t make any sense. The next 3 years will be great, thank you Fox and Directv?!

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 06:28:06 +0000

UEFA produces and distributes the game telecasts to broadcasters worldwide. Audio problems were via UEFA’s problem to fix on the production end – FSC and I am sure other broadcasters carrying the telecast were let to cover however they could. I have DirecTV and was annoyed the Timisoara-Stuttgart and Copenhagen-APOEL were available in HD but not the match on FSC. Yes I know FSC isn’t available yet – but the game is produced in HD by UEFA – FSC just has to take the feed and make it available to DirecTV for the bonus coverage. They did this for the Timisoara-Stuttgart that aired on standard def FOX Sports en Espanol. I was able to watch the HD feed from UEFA on one of the bonus channels in HD.

By: Panda

Panda — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:31:34 +0000

I thought FSN/FSC did a great job with the coverage. Warren Barton and Bobby McMahon offer instant credibility and Max Bretos does a good job as the host (thank god they didn’t get Nick Webster or Christian Miles).

The thing that sucked about the FSN coverage was they only had the pregame show but not the halftime or postgame. John Herz did a great job, but would have been nice to hear Bobby and Warren’s take on the A game. I thought they’d do something like the FOX NFL halftime show since all the games go to halftime around the same time.

Also, it may have not been noticed but a lot of people but the audio issues in the first half (for American audiences at least) was not the only technical difficulty they had. For most, if not all, of the first half the game was not broadcast in HD.

By: eplnfl

eplnfl — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:24:09 +0000

Missed the games due to work but have the DVR to check out. We all hope the FSC production qualities are good. It is good to hear that the pre-game show was a good product. My thought is that FSC can give the viewer a better insight since it stays with the story more. ESPN had the CL as a filler and never devoted the other resources necessary to allow a fan to real follow the story line. For FSC the CL is there story and not a side show. ESPN in my opinion got lucky in the the last few years the product sold itself and ESPN benefited by default. Is the FSC recap show only that late tonight due to the Concacaf CL coverage or is that it’s regular time. 10:00pm Eastern would seem to be the best time for it.

By: Liverpool John

Liverpool John — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:18:21 +0000

K-

You are usually spot on, but FSC sucks. Bretos instead of Derek Rae? Warren Barton? John Herz?

I want my ESPN back.

Thankfully, ESPN has some EPL this year and La Liga also. Oh and La Liga is more watchable than EPL sadly because GOL TV > FSC.

By: The Gaffer

The Gaffer — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:54:36 +0000

It’ll be interesting to see what the TV ratings are for these Champions League games so we can get a better idea of how they compare to MLS TV ratings on Fox. As we know, FSC’s TV ratings for MLS have been dreadful.

Ratings are the name of the game for Fox and their advertisers. There’s nothing wrong with promoting the local game, but Fox and its advertisers care more about eyeballs and revenue than promoting the local game.

Cheers,
The Gaffer