Great article on the TV innovations for XFL games

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MikeMitchell
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Great article on the TV innovations for XFL games

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Many of you may have already caught this article but just in case you missed it. This is from The Morning Consult site. Here are some direct quotes from the article and the link at the bottom.
In its quest to bring football fans closer to the game than any other league, the soon-to-launch second iteration of the XFL is giving broadcast partners ESPN/ABC and Fox Sports access to an unprecedented amount of on-field audio to integrate into live action. That includes electronic communication between coaches and multiple skill position players on the field during play. By contrast, NFL coaches can only communicate with their quarterback in the huddle, and that audio is not shared with broadcast partners.

Bill Bonnell, a coordinating producer for ESPN and ABC and an industry veteran who helped NBC Sports present the original XFL’s lone season back in 2001, got his first glimpse of the new league last week during a series of interteam scrimmages at training camp in Houston. He left with an initial philosophy on how he plans to leverage the abundance of audio at his disposal.

“Our goal is to try to make sure we capture as much live as we can, and the things that we don’t capture live, we’ll probably bring back and play on tape,” he said.

“We’ll slowly, organically bring in the audio, where maybe for a drive we’ll listen in to a head coach, or listen to the offensive coordinator talking to the quarterback. The biggest thing is we have to organically integrate the audio into the telecast without taking away from the fact that we have some really great announcers in the booth and on the sideline.
According to Bonnell, league owner Vince McMahon and XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck have made it clear to everyone involved in the league that anything they say or do during a game could end up on TV. That’ll help ESPN avoid conflicts with teams and players — like when the New York Jets cried foul in October after “Monday Night Football” aired taped audio of quarterback Sam Darnold saying he was “seeing ghosts” on the field during a blowout loss to the New England Patriots.

“Everybody is aware and prepared for the fact that there’s not going to be anything held back here,” Bonnell said.

In addition to picking up on-field audio, broadcasters in the booth will at times be able to speak with coaches and players on the sidelines. During the league’s abridged 10-minute halftimes, cameras will capture coaches briefing their teams for the second half.

Replay booths will be wired for sound during reviews of close plays, and instead of employing a rules analyst like on some NFL telecasts, ESPN talent will be able to speak on air directly with an officiating supervisor at the league who can explain officiating decisions based on the league’s unique set of rules.

ABC and ESPN will employ a five-second delay to ensure profanities uttered by coaches and players on the field don’t make it on the air. The networks will also use a system that enables censors to drop the audio from a player or coach’s microphone without interrupting natural sound like crowd noise.

From a content standpoint, Bonnell said viewers might be surprised by the telecasts’ “aggressive” incorporation of betting odds through ESPN and ABC’s association with Caesars Entertainment Corp.

“We’re going to have the point spread and odds on our graphics and the over/under number will probably be on our graphics,” he said. “We’re not going to shy away from gambling — that’s part of the game — and the league has embraced that and told us that they’re fine with that, as well.”
https://morningconsult.com/2020/01/30/h ... telecasts/
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jjnova
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Re: Great article on the TV innovations for XFL games

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It will be busy in the editing room. Integrating live audio is a pain, even with a short time delay, due to the offensive nature in which people tend to talk when pushing themselves to perform their best.

High tension moments could lead to some fines. I'm sure the audio feeds will be minimal due to this.
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MikeMitchell
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Re: Great article on the TV innovations for XFL games

Post by MikeMitchell »

jjnova wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2020 12:25 pm It will be busy in the editing room. Integrating live audio is a pain, even with a short time delay, due to the offensive nature in which people tend to talk when pushing themselves to perform their best.

High tension moments could lead to some fines. I'm sure the audio feeds will be minimal due to this.
It’s a good point.

This article doesn’t even delve into the video innovations of the league. We are going to get quite a few of those.

I am not a gambler myself but I like the approach of putting the point spreads and over/unders into the actual broadcast on screen. The announcers will probably talk about it too during games.

It’s like ABC wants to do all the stuff that they never get to do during NFL and college games and the XFL is down for all of it.
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Regular Joe
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Re: Great article on the TV innovations for XFL games

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MikeMitchell wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2020 12:32 pm
jjnova wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2020 12:25 pm It will be busy in the editing room. Integrating live audio is a pain, even with a short time delay, due to the offensive nature in which people tend to talk when pushing themselves to perform their best.

High tension moments could lead to some fines. I'm sure the audio feeds will be minimal due to this.


I am not a gambler myself but I like the approach of putting the point spreads and over/unders into the actual broadcast on screen. The announcers will probably talk about it too during games.
I remember that CBS used to do this every week with the NFL.

Jimmy the Greek used to pick the games in the 70s based off the points.

I was like 10 and remember being sad they cut that segment.

10 and sad they cut the gambling portion out of the football broadcast.
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jjnova
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Re: Great article on the TV innovations for XFL games

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MikeMitchell wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2020 12:32 pm
I am not a gambler myself but I like the approach of putting the point spreads and over/unders into the actual broadcast on screen. The announcers will probably talk about it too during games.
I can just picture people frantically adjusting their bets while watching the broadcast, laptop at their side. I don't gamble, so I don't mind it, but people who do might find it a bit distracting. I shared this with a friend of mine (who does bet on sports) and his response was, "Ugh. I don't want to watch a game while staring at changing odds and spreads every second."
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MikeMitchell
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Re: Great article on the TV innovations for XFL games

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jjnova wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2020 7:59 pm
MikeMitchell wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2020 12:32 pm
I am not a gambler myself but I like the approach of putting the point spreads and over/unders into the actual broadcast on screen. The announcers will probably talk about it too during games.
I can just picture people frantically adjusting their bets while watching the broadcast, laptop at their side. I don't gamble, so I don't mind it, but people who do might find it a bit distracting. I shared this with a friend of mine (who does bet on sports) and his response was, "Ugh. I don't want to watch a game while staring at changing odds and spreads every second."
That's not the point. There is no changing odds or spreads during the game. If Tampa is favored by 4 at kickoff and the over/under is 41. That's the spread that will be mentioned during the game. ABC will be using whatever lines Ceasars has.

Part of the storylines with some games is how much a team is favored by or how much a team is favored against.

NFL broadcasts or college never discuss the spread during the game. Al Michaels will joke about it from time to time when a late score happens.

It's not so much about the graphics on the screen. It's the broadcasters actually focusing in on what team is covering and what team isn't. The point spread itself is always a part of the game and part of the reason millions of people watch the games, sometimes to the very bitter end. I have a lot of family and friends that gamble on football. Many people within the communities that I have lived in.

If your friend has Tampa minus 4 and they are only up three. He will be hoping that Tampa scores again to cover. The announcers will be talking about the spread itself. It's going to be a part of the storyline.

Gambling is the ultimate elephant in the room. ABC/ESPN doesn't want to ignore it. As evidenced by the words in this very article.
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Re: Great article on the TV innovations for XFL games

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Regular Joe wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2020 7:48 pm
MikeMitchell wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2020 12:32 pm
jjnova wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2020 12:25 pm It will be busy in the editing room. Integrating live audio is a pain, even with a short time delay, due to the offensive nature in which people tend to talk when pushing themselves to perform their best.

High tension moments could lead to some fines. I'm sure the audio feeds will be minimal due to this.


I am not a gambler myself but I like the approach of putting the point spreads and over/unders into the actual broadcast on screen. The announcers will probably talk about it too during games.
I remember that CBS used to do this every week with the NFL.

Jimmy the Greek used to pick the games in the 70s based off the points.

I was like 10 and remember being sad they cut that segment.

10 and sad they cut the gambling portion out of the football broadcast.
[/quote

LOL. I remember Jimmy The Greek. His segments were so popular. They were taboo and separated from the rest of the broadcast.

I am not a gambler myself. I am not sure about the statute of limitations but as a teenager back in the Bronx. I used to play "sheets". These were given out in high school. You played for as little as a dollar per sheet. If you picked all the weekly games correctly. You could win five hundred bucks. I would always take a chance on that.

There's no getting around it. Millions upon millions of people gamble on football. Millions of people take an interest in the games just based on the spread and the over/under of each game.

I am just a football fan. My interest is in who wins and loses and watching a good game. The modern-day version of gambling is fantasy football. For those who play in prize leagues.
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Re: Great article on the TV innovations for XFL games

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MikeMitchell wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2020 9:00 pm
Regular Joe wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2020 7:48 pm
MikeMitchell wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2020 12:32 pm



I am not a gambler myself but I like the approach of putting the point spreads and over/unders into the actual broadcast on screen. The announcers will probably talk about it too during games.
I remember that CBS used to do this every week with the NFL.

Jimmy the Greek used to pick the games in the 70s based off the points.

I was like 10 and remember being sad they cut that segment.

10 and sad they cut the gambling portion out of the football broadcast.
[/quote

LOL. I remember Jimmy The Greek. His segments were so popular. They were taboo and separated from the rest of the broadcast.

I am not a gambler myself. I am not sure about the statute of limitations but as a teenager back in the Bronx. I used to play "sheets". These were given out in high school. You played for as little as a dollar per sheet. If you picked all the weekly games correctly. You could win five hundred bucks. I would always take a chance on that.

There's no getting around it. Millions upon millions of people gamble on football. Millions of people take an interest in the games just based on the spread and the over/under of each game.

I am just a football fan. My interest is in who wins and loses and watching a good game. The modern-day version of gambling is fantasy football. For those who play in prize leagues.
I have been on a quest for years to find sheets. I am not much of a gambler. I've been to Vegas 7-8 times the past few years (EDC!!) and only bet maybe $20. $5 on the Raiders to win the AFC because the odds were so good. 50:1 or something. Then they signed AB, thought I had something!

Someone was talking about interesting live audio. Listen to the Million Dollar Game. First Quarter. N-Bombs. F-Bombs. How NBC didn't get fined is beyond me. Nobody hit the dump button? That's more then one. They will have a dump button on a 3-5 second delay set up on it's own pot/channel/line-in (whatever tech language you speak) Similar to NASCAR just gotta watch out for the cussing!! Looking forward to that audio.
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Re: Great article on the TV innovations for XFL games

Post by Firecop »

Mike brings up (as usual) another interesting point that I hadn't thought of. Whether you are into gambling, fantasy football, stats or whatever; the networks i.e. ABC are now free to do many things that the NFL would never allow. Think about that for a moment - the network(s) have been unfettered and some innovations may actually come down the line from the network(s) themselves. The possibilities could be very very interesting. Obviously some things wont work, and will likely be dropped as others are added - kinda amps you up doesn't it?
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Re: Great article on the TV innovations for XFL games

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Firecop wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2020 11:31 am Mike brings up (as usual) another interesting point that I hadn't thought of. Whether you are into gambling, fantasy football, stats or whatever; the networks i.e. ABC are now free to do many things that the NFL would never allow. Think about that for a moment - the network(s) have been unfettered and some innovations may actually come down the line from the network(s) themselves. The possibilities could be very very interesting. Obviously some things wont work, and will likely be dropped as others are added - kinda amps you up doesn't it?
Producers & directors taking their NFL ideas and implementing them in the XFL. 👍
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