ESPN & ABC XFL Full Broadcast teams announced

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Sounder
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Re: ESPN & ABC XFL Full Broadcast teams announced

Post by Sounder »

Well.....one way to get a little more revenue would be to have your network partners foot the bill for an East/West all XFL game post championship to showcase the league's stars and maybe have a live season awards ceremony for individual achievements at halftime. This would actually be a competitive game played by guys looking for their shot at the big dog (NFL). One more date for exposure.....and revenue.
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Re: ESPN & ABC XFL Full Broadcast teams announced

Post by steinerfhc »

Good teams IMO. Good to see them get some football people in the booth.
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Re: ESPN & ABC XFL Full Broadcast teams announced

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Yeah, the point of my post wasn't to mean it would be IMPOSSIBLE for the XFL to come out with new innovations; just that in 2001, the NFL was kind of ripe for the picking as far as not seeming to have embraced a different look for their broadcasts, which is where the XFL stepped in. I'm not sure I can say that here in 2019 as the NFL has done a nice job embracing new technology in terms of how to present the games.

I'm wondering if Fox will have a McAfee-equivalent on their broadcasts; that is, sort of a roving reporter on the sidelines, or if that will be ESPN/ABC exclusive. Similarly, I wonder if innovations in how the game is broadcast will be shared between Fox and ESPN/ABC, or if each network will bring its own flavor to the table with its own innovations. We see that a bit with the slight differences between NBC, ESPN, and others airing NFL games, but for the most part, it's the same.
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johnnyangryfuzzball
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Re: ESPN & ABC XFL Full Broadcast teams announced

Post by johnnyangryfuzzball »

Sounder wrote: Thu Nov 07, 2019 3:00 pm How highly anticipated is it? I hope it's something the coaches and players are ready for.....to play a solid game given the new league, new rules, new gimmicks and the fact they're not playing at least one exhibition before the season and the dire need to make that great first impression. In most brand new ventures, there is an expectation of early ragged play.....does the XFL have that luxury or will viewers defect once March madness begins?
Oh, there will probably be defections to March Madness no matter how good the play is. That's the peril of running a football league this time of year. March Madness has far more cultural caché than second-tier pro football... and that's why there's a game on FS2, which hardly anyone actually gets, that week.

As for your broader point... yeah, I think the XFL is under the gun, probably even moreso than the AAF. There's definitely a sense of "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice..." given that the 2001 XFL went over like a damaged zeppelin over the Oakland Estuary. The new XFL marketed this as exciting, innovative football. They know it won't be WWE, something that'll benefit the league this time around as opposed to the expectations that the 2001 XFL set for itself.

But it has to be better, or at least more watchable, football than most of week 1 of the AAF. People want some good football after the Super Bowl ends. The AAF's ratings proved that last year. They were able to gussy up the TV product to make a sketchy product watchable. If the XFL can do the same (something they failed at miserably in '01), they'll hang on.
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Re: ESPN & ABC XFL Full Broadcast teams announced

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GregParks wrote: Thu Nov 07, 2019 8:55 pm Yeah, the point of my post wasn't to mean it would be IMPOSSIBLE for the XFL to come out with new innovations; just that in 2001, the NFL was kind of ripe for the picking as far as not seeming to have embraced a different look for their broadcasts, which is where the XFL stepped in. I'm not sure I can say that here in 2019 as the NFL has done a nice job embracing new technology in terms of how to present the games.

I'm wondering if Fox will have a McAfee-equivalent on their broadcasts; that is, sort of a roving reporter on the sidelines, or if that will be ESPN/ABC exclusive. Similarly, I wonder if innovations in how the game is broadcast will be shared between Fox and ESPN/ABC, or if each network will bring its own flavor to the table with its own innovations. We see that a bit with the slight differences between NBC, ESPN, and others airing NFL games, but for the most part, it's the same.
I do believe the XFL has a LOT more leeway to try something new compared to the NFL or college ball, where tradition reigns supreme. Things the NFL can't get away with, the XFL can.

Of course, my tastes are a little different. Today's NFL coverage is zoomed out way too far. It doesn't matter how high your resolution is, unless you have a huge TV, the players still look like ants. Compare it to the 1980s college telecasts that pop up now and then on ESPN Classic: tight to the players. So I liked the skycam/backfield camera angles because you could actually see the players, and it works better than it did in 2001 now that most TVs are 16×9 instead of the old 4×3. But as usual, the media played up the naysayers and we're stuck with All-22 all the time. (Save that stuff for instant replay. Come on.)
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Re: ESPN & ABC XFL Full Broadcast teams announced

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GregParks wrote: Thu Nov 07, 2019 8:55 pm Yeah, the point of my post wasn't to mean it would be IMPOSSIBLE for the XFL to come out with new innovations; just that in 2001, the NFL was kind of ripe for the picking as far as not seeming to have embraced a different look for their broadcasts, which is where the XFL stepped in. I'm not sure I can say that here in 2019 as the NFL has done a nice job embracing new technology in terms of how to present the games.

I'm wondering if Fox will have a McAfee-equivalent on their broadcasts; that is, sort of a roving reporter on the sidelines, or if that will be ESPN/ABC exclusive. Similarly, I wonder if innovations in how the game is broadcast will be shared between Fox and ESPN/ABC, or if each network will bring its own flavor to the table with its own innovations. We see that a bit with the slight differences between NBC, ESPN, and others airing NFL games, but for the most part, it's the same.
All true. Harder to reinvent the wheel this time around. Although something tells me that the xfl may try to.
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MikeMitchell
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Re: ESPN & ABC XFL Full Broadcast teams announced

Post by MikeMitchell »

GregParks wrote: Thu Nov 07, 2019 8:55 pm Yeah, the point of my post wasn't to mean it would be IMPOSSIBLE for the XFL to come out with new innovations; just that in 2001, the NFL was kind of ripe for the picking as far as not seeming to have embraced a different look for their broadcasts, which is where the XFL stepped in. I'm not sure I can say that here in 2019 as the NFL has done a nice job embracing new technology in terms of how to present the games.

I'm wondering if Fox will have a McAfee-equivalent on their broadcasts; that is, sort of a roving reporter on the sidelines, or if that will be ESPN/ABC exclusive. Similarly, I wonder if innovations in how the game is broadcast will be shared between Fox and ESPN/ABC, or if each network will bring its own flavor to the table with its own innovations. We see that a bit with the slight differences between NBC, ESPN, and others airing NFL games, but for the most part, it's the same.
I think that Luginbill or Russini could fill the field analyst role during the ABC games. Luginbill has a ton of personality and is smart. Former coach/player. So he will know what to ask if called into that role. He’s also good with X’s and O’s.

That’s a good question about Fox. They also have two broadcasts every week. We know about Curt Menefee and Joel Klatt in the booth for Fox. No word yet on the second team. It stands to reason that the XFL is going to have a field analyst for every game.

The other question is whether the league has an in studio halftime show. Now with smaller leagues. You don’t have other games going on at the same time. So the focus is usually on the game at hand and previewing other upcoming games. These broadcasts have 3 hour windows. So I don’t see any pre game shows, at least not as leads in on ABC and Fox. Since every telecast is a doubleheader. I don’t see any extensive post game shows but a studio team can be a bridge to the next game if a game ends in that 2 hour and 40 minute window.
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Re: ESPN & ABC XFL Full Broadcast teams announced

Post by johnnyangryfuzzball »

MikeMitchell wrote: Fri Nov 08, 2019 1:18 pm
GregParks wrote: Thu Nov 07, 2019 8:55 pm Yeah, the point of my post wasn't to mean it would be IMPOSSIBLE for the XFL to come out with new innovations; just that in 2001, the NFL was kind of ripe for the picking as far as not seeming to have embraced a different look for their broadcasts, which is where the XFL stepped in. I'm not sure I can say that here in 2019 as the NFL has done a nice job embracing new technology in terms of how to present the games.

I'm wondering if Fox will have a McAfee-equivalent on their broadcasts; that is, sort of a roving reporter on the sidelines, or if that will be ESPN/ABC exclusive. Similarly, I wonder if innovations in how the game is broadcast will be shared between Fox and ESPN/ABC, or if each network will bring its own flavor to the table with its own innovations. We see that a bit with the slight differences between NBC, ESPN, and others airing NFL games, but for the most part, it's the same.
I think that Luginbill or Russini could fill the field analyst role during the ABC games. Luginbill has a ton of personality and is smart. Former coach/player. So he will know what to ask if called into that role. He’s also good with X’s and O’s.

That’s a good question about Fox. They also have two broadcasts every week. We know about Curt Menefee and Joel Klatt in the booth for Fox. No word yet on the second team. It stands to reason that the XFL is going to have a field analyst for every game.

The other question is whether the league has an in studio halftime show. Now with smaller leagues. You don’t have other games going on at the same time. So the focus is usually on the game at hand and previewing other upcoming games. These broadcasts have 3 hour windows. So I don’t see any pre game shows, at least not as leads in on ABC and Fox. Since every telecast is a doubleheader. I don’t see any extensive post game shows but a studio team can be a bridge to the next game if a game ends in that 2 hour and 40 minute window.
Regarding halftime, there won't be any stripper cheerleaders this time around, but if 2001 was any indication, the live look-ins at the locker rooms might very well make a comeback.

There's an unsubstantiated rumor that McMahon wanted to get rid of halftime altogether, which probably won't happen, but it wouldn't surprise me if the "less stall, more ball" approach shortens halftime substantially.
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Re: ESPN & ABC XFL Full Broadcast teams announced

Post by Sounder »

If you were to look into maybe dividing the game into two 20 minute halves instead of four 15 minute quarters....you could effectively fit every game into a neat two hour package. And maybe that would help draw in some short attention span watchers which there are so many of now due to all the tv glut. Yeah football purists would scream but this IS the 21st century and the XFL could try just about anything if they want.
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Re: ESPN & ABC XFL Full Broadcast teams announced

Post by Tank55 »

johnnyangryfuzzball wrote: Fri Nov 08, 2019 2:26 pm There's an unsubstantiated rumor that McMahon wanted to get rid of halftime altogether, which probably won't happen, but it wouldn't surprise me if the "less stall, more ball" approach shortens halftime substantially.
That wasn't really a rumor -- McMahon specifically referenced potentially eliminating halftime at least twice during the debut press conference. But it does seem that the idea has landed on the cutting room floor.
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