Scrap Commentary/PBP and just mic on-ice action

[nilan30]

As someone who can't stand 98% of hockey colour and play by play guys, I gotta say without them, the game is hard to watch on tv. Not because you don't know what is going on but it just is not what we are conditioned to be used to. I've watched many a game in French over the years and I still find you need the play by play even though I don't speak the language. Those guys are actually my favourite because even though they are probably saying dumb stuff too, at least I don't know it.

 

[powerstuck]

Well before implementing it, lets test how many people and for how many games can they watch with MUTE enabled ?
After one period, I expect 60% to quit, after two periods I expect another 30% to quit...so all this for 10% ???

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

It's degrading over there. How many times can people beat the dead horse over 1-2 year old topics?

I thought it was about wins and loses. You would think the team was in the bottom of the standings. But hey, what do I know.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I'd love to have the option to choose my audio streams. If something crazy happens, turn on commentary, then go back to rink sounds when play resumes. Or have multiple pbp streams you can choose from, and which anyone can make. I'd tune in to someone like Bill Burr doing the odd game, maybe integrate it into VR.

Bill Burr commentating hockey games would be incredible. lol. His voice would be perfect and he actually knows about the game too, huge sports guy.



Anyway, OP, I 100% agree. I'm usually stingy when it comes to entertainment, but I would pay a hefty premium if I could just watch games without commentary and only on-ice mics. I've always thought that one day sports viewing will evolve to the point where we will be able to choose the angle and audio for the broadcasts, but I'm sure the price will be ^^^^^^^.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The HBO thing is incredibly produced, my guess do this live on the fly and its not so compelling unless you are into hearing guys do pretty much nothing but swear. As I'm sure the NHL doesnt want to be known as the pottymouth league to the general public.

we all revel in the rare " suck it phaneuf"'s but having every game like that would get old quick. And to be honest, if its not live I'm not interested. to me, seeing a recap of a game I know the result of where the only new aspect is on ice commentary has no appeal not matter how savage the chirps.

but then again my ass isnt in the jackpot.

TBH, I don’t think it would be such a bad marketing ploy for the NHL to become the “adult” sports league.

This is a league that built its image for generations on fighting, blood, missing teeth, broken bones. Most of that stuff is gone and not coming back, which is fine, except that it was what drew a lot of fans into the game for the first time. While we might not be able to safely replace bench-clearings and enforcers and flying open-ice hits, there is still that opportunity to portray the NHL as a league with a sharper edge than the NFL or NBA.

IMO the execution would need to be more than hot mics. Those would be an important component, but you’d also need PBP that trends more toward Jack Edwards than Doc Emrick; color analysts closer to Mike Milbury than Eddie Olczyk; and an expectation that the language involved will be PG-13 rather than G rated. Yes, this does mean the league would get a dumber image. That’s fine. We live in a world full of dumb people.

Intermission dressing room access is also important. Fans want to see what the players are processing emotionally. People care whether a team is smashing sticks or just sitting there stoically. Hearing the refs sort out penalties, same thing. People want to be on the inside of those dialogues. There’s no reason not to do that, other than making it network-TV-friendly.

At the end of the day, it’s an entertainment industry. As far as the in-arena experience and the network-TV experience are concerned, that means an atmosphere where all members of a family household can enjoy the product without anything inappropriate happening. But for the very large and very valuable demographic of adults that’s watching from home without kids in the room, it’s downright silly that no league has managed to develop an adult-targeted product.

 

[sandysan]

TBH, I don’t think it would be such a bad marketing ploy for the NHL to become the “adult” sports league.

This is a league that built its image for generations on fighting, blood, missing teeth, broken bones. Most of that stuff is gone and not coming back, which is fine, except that it was what drew a lot of fans into the game for the first time. While we might not be able to safely replace bench-clearings and enforcers and flying open-ice hits, there is still that opportunity to portray the NHL as a league with a sharper edge than the NFL or NBA.

IMO the execution would need to be more than hot mics. Those would be an important component, but you’d also need PBP that trends more toward Jack Edwards than Doc Emrick; color analysts closer to Mike Milbury than Eddie Olczyk; and an expectation that the language involved will be PG-13 rather than G rated. Yes, this does mean the league would get a dumber image. That’s fine. We live in a world full of dumb people.

Intermission dressing room access is also important. Fans want to see what the players are processing emotionally. People care whether a team is smashing sticks or just sitting there stoically. Hearing the refs sort out penalties, same thing. People want to be on the inside of those dialogues. There’s no reason not to do that, other than making it network-TV-friendly.

At the end of the day, it’s an entertainment industry. As far as the in-arena experience and the network-TV experience are concerned, that means an atmosphere where all members of a family household can enjoy the product without anything inappropriate happening. But for the very large and very valuable demographic of adults that’s watching from home without kids in the room, it’s downright silly that no league has managed to develop an adult-targeted product.

but the thing is, if you had guys who " spoke their minds" and really let loose, half of every game you would have fans HOWLING about it. Think of coaches corner level of complainers then times that by 10.

jack edwards is liked ( by those who like him) because he knows who butters his bread. the people who hate jack edwards hate him for the exact same reasons that the people who like him do, they just don't live in new england ( generally). if the NHL wants to be "edgier" than the NBA or the NFL, we are really going to have to turn the misdemeanor and felony meter up to 11 for a while.

As for the dressing room, I may be exposing my " old guy card" but what happens in there should stay in there. there are just too many lines to cross by throwing a camera in there. I don't want to see a couple I know in a fight, and have no desire to pull back the curtain as to what goes on in the room. Again it might be old guy but not knowing is strangely part of the appeal, at least for me.

And it is far more entertainment, but the WWE tried doing precisely what you suggested ( go adult themed) and found ( quite unsurprisingly) that if the idea is to continually push the boundaries in order to keep viewers, then ultimately the last push forces you off the cliff. then where are you ? the product now is a pales in many ways to 10-20 years ago.

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

You can easily watch hockey and turn off the commentary and still have the sounds from the ice rink and the crowd.

All you need is a center channel speaker and a receiver with Dolby Digital.

I have a 5.1 speaker set up, if I unplug the center speaker it simply removes the commentary since it all comes out of the center speaker and I'm left with the on ice sounds from the front stereo speakers and crowd/ambience from the rear surround speakers.

You could even just have a 3.0 system aka stereo fronts and a center, unplug the center and voila.

Just put some banana plugs on your speaker wire so it's not a PITA to hook back up.

 

[tarheelhockey]

but the thing is, if you had guys who " spoke their minds" and really let loose, half of every game you would have fans HOWLING about it. Think of coaches corner level of complainers then times that by 10.

Coaches Corner has been around for some 35 years as the most recognized component of the HNIC brand. Don Cherry has made a personal brand out of it. This forum has a permanent sticky every season just to discuss episodes of that 5-minute segment. I’d guess that it’s the highest-rated fragment of the HNIC broadcast.

If anyone can multiply that brand presence by 10, good for them. It would be the most valuable asset of any NHL media platform, specifically because people will flock to something controversial.

jack edwards is liked ( by those who like him) because he knows who butters his bread. the people who hate jack edwards hate him for the exact same reasons that the people who like him do, they just don't live in new england ( generally). if the NHL wants to be "edgier" than the NBA or the NFL, we are really going to have to turn the misdemeanor and felony meter up to 11 for a while.

And I’d guess that Edwards is among the top 5 media personalities that the average fan could name and recognize, despite merely being one of 31 regional PBP guys. I don’t see too many of those 31 guys getting threads around here or having compilation videos posted to YT.

And it is far more entertainment, but the WWE tried doing precisely what you suggested ( go adult themed) and found ( quite unsurprisingly) that if the idea is to continually push the boundaries in order to keep viewers, then ultimately the last push forces you off the cliff. then where are you ? the product now is a pales in many ways to 10-20 years ago.

Pro wrestling became one of the most popular sports in North America without even BEING a sport. They have no competitive product but manage to exceed hockey TV ratings on sheer pageantry and presentation. I’m not saying the we need an XHL type of over-the-top branding, but the NHL’s current product has definitely lost the blue-collar audience that used to buy in for the hits and fights and raw emotion. An edgier presentation (on a separate media platform like HBO, not as a replacement for the network broadcasts) would help them get back into those demographics again.

 

[iamjs]

But how are you going to hear "this pp is presented to you by...".

you mean the little ad that flashes above the onscreen scoreboard for 3-5 seconds isn't enough for you?

 

[iamjs]

The Penguins used to (still might?) do this with their preseason online feed. They'd run the scoreboard feed without announcers.

 

[ACC1224]

World Cup has made me appreciate how nice it is to just have just one commentator who only speaks at the appropriate times.

 

[John Price]

Dude this goes on all the time when I'm at the game, when you're watching and there is no accompanying explanation of what's going on or why play has stopped, you realize you do miss the voices that do commentary