News Article: Changes to TV Announcers Thread

[groovejuice]

Television 101, be very careful how you handle changes to iconic shows. These changes must be made slowly, a little bit at a time or you could alienate your core audience. Not surprising, the boys at Rogers must have skipped that class.

It all went downhill when CBC wouldn't buck up for the opening anthem renewal. An omen of ill tidings to come. I miss that so much.

 

[killer1980]

It all went downhill when CBC wouldn't buck up for the opening anthem renewal. An omen of ill tidings to come. I miss that so much.

Who was running CBC Sports when that happened?

 

[Doc McKenna]

I kind of feel like Rogers in the beginning at least tried to distance themselves from HNIC and were going to rebuild the mousetrap. What they failed to realize is, "if it aint broke don't fix it". Canadians like things to remain the same, Bob Cole still being popular is a testament to that fact. I actually hated the whole bros and dudes vibe of the rogers broadcast and it will be a welcome change to have Ron giving his insight into topics and it will also be cool to hear him interview the leagues top weasel once again.

Hockey has so few traditions since Bettman took over in 93 that HNiC was one of the last vestiges of the past. Yet ROgers deal pooped all over that.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

I kind of feel like Rogers in the beginning at least tried to distance themselves from HNIC and were going to rebuild the mousetrap. What they failed to realize is, "if it aint broke don't fix it". Canadians like things to remain the same, Bob Cole still being popular is a testament to that fact. I actually hated the whole bros and dudes vibe of the rogers broadcast and it will be a welcome change to have Ron giving his insight into topics and it will also be cool to hear him interview the leagues top weasel once again.

It's not even all about remaining the same (though familiarity breeds trust... and contempt, but whatever) as much as remaining "accessible" to all ages. Hockey has grown almost from tradition to religion because grandkids can watch/follow/go to games and discover heroes with their parents and grandparents, and the appeal must come from the product, not the production, first and foremost. But when it comes to the production side, again, we grow up learning to respect the integrity of those who bring the games into our home, and indeed "inheriting" the respect for those who have earned it from older generations. You already mentioned Bob Cole, but I'll raise you a Foster Hewitt. Even if you've never heard a game they've called, you know these guys are respected for the role they've played in getting the production from the rink to your living room.

It's not easy to earn that respect when it comes to our national sport, and you can't simply plug hiply packaged demographic magnet A into these roles and call it a production day. Takes more than just a media personality plucked from non "cred-establishing" waters - no matter how super fan they might be - to facilitate the experience in this country. Heck, even someone like Mark Spector could have walked into Strombo's job with more cred, and probably wouldn't/couldn't have been any worse. But at least they've gone back to Ron, fixing the mistake.

 

[habsrule22]

it serves sportsnet right. Not being able to watch Habs games during the week ( here in northern ontario) while force feeding us every laff games is a joke. Hope they lose their shirt in that tv deal. Getting rid of pj stock was long overdue

 

[Kimota]

Television 101, be very careful how you handle changes to iconic shows. These changes must be made slowly, a little bit at a time or you could alienate your core audience. Not surprising, the boys at Rogers must have skipped that class.

You got it. The changes that Rogers made damaged HNIC and the relation Canadian fans had with this institution (and this game) so much that I think even bringing back Ron they will never bring it back to how it was.

 

[killer1980]

You got it. The changes that Rogers made damaged HNIC and the relation Canadian fans had with this institution (and this game) so much that I think even bringing back Ron they will never bring it back to how it was.

To be fair to Rogers (a bit), it really was a perfect storm with cord-cutting, the millennials with their short attention span, handheld devices, etc. But to be really fair, this situation had been evolving for a few years and television ratings had been in a slow but steady decline. The guys who made the deal and the BIG bucks, clearly, should have seen this all coming and had a much different and creative approach. This was the worst (and dumbest) idea since the New Coke. But for Rogers, I don't think they can just revert back to the old ways. They may have gone too far. I doubt the current management team is savvy enough to turn it around.

 

[groovejuice]

Who was running CBC Sports when that happened?

I believe it was Scott Moore.

 

[chaosrevolver]

They should bring Petrillo and Weekes back.

 

[killer1980]

I believe it was Scott Moore.

Bingo! Now, for 10 bonus points who has been in charge of Rogers NHL coverage?

 

[Adriatic]

I kind of feel like Rogers in the beginning at least tried to distance themselves from HNIC and were going to rebuild the mousetrap. What they failed to realize is, "if it aint broke don't fix it". Canadians like things to remain the same, Bob Cole still being popular is a testament to that fact. I actually hated the whole bros and dudes vibe of the rogers broadcast and it will be a welcome change to have Ron giving his insight into topics and it will also be cool to hear him interview the leagues top weasel once again.

I still love Cole too. I really enjoy listening to his broadcasts. Sometimes I just need a break from all these new announcers that can't go 3 seconds without talking or without constantly yapping about meaningless stats. And yes he makes mistakes with names but Cole still paints a nice picture, he can be subtle and let the game be the star. And the game just sounds better when his voice is there.