Joe: We are locked and loaded at the corner bar in Ostrander’s man cave for our latest deliberation. Chris and myself would like to tackle the Sabres broadcasting efforts. If you guys watched this weekend, you saw the Sabres were tinkering a bit with their broadcast by having RJ call the game at the 200 level and show his face in a smaller box at the bottom of the TV screen while the rest of the action was above it in a much larger screen. I’m sure this was just an experiment as this was the perfect time to do it since the Sabres aren’t making the playoffs and its a time where these games don’t really mean much in the W/L column. Any ideas we spit out here would probably be for the next time they decide to do some experimenting. How did you feel the RJ Cam went?
Chris: Probably a mixed bag when it’s all said and done. A cursory Twitter search during the game turned up quite a few negative reviews (roughly 2:1 I think) and even those who really said they loved it tended to be people who exclusively say good things – making their opinions slightly skewed. That being said, the result was overwhelmingly successful in my opinion. It’s a very cool and unique addition and Eichel’s winner allowed fans to see RJ’s priceless reaction after the goal was scored. Something I pointed out on Twitter was that this is a perfect feature to continue using but to be used as an online or secondary asset fans can access as they see fit.
Joe: Yeah, the game-winner really saved it IMO. I wasn’t that impressed with it mainly because I felt the screen of RJ was too much in the screen of play. If it was proportioned a little better, I think it would have been better. I do applaud the effort though. I think having these types of special game presentations during broadcasts can lead to a number of decent ideas. Do you have any ideas for what you’d like to do besides an RJ cam? I actually thinking having a star player cam at the bottom of the screen (See: Eichel, Jack) would be really cool. Just have a camera follow him around since you normally see that sort of bird’s eye view of a player during intermissions when May breaks it down.
Chris: We’re on the same page with RJ cam. I didn’t get to watch the game live but I caught the replay and found the size and location to be distracting during live gameplay. I think a star cam would be awesome. If there was a way for the team to have access to an iso cam of a certain player, Eichel for example, that could be streamed online or through their app during a game, it would be an awesome addition. Something I’d love for the Sabres or league to offer is an NFL-style All 22 product that gives multiple camera angles and other features that would let fans watch game film in an entirely different manner.
Joe: I think different angles during a game would be something they could work on a little more. With the star cam, I think having the player mic’d during it would be even cooler. I also think having a game where instead of having your traditional play-by-play/color commentators, maybe try having like 3-4 ex-Sabres players talk about the game as if they are at a bar. Don’t even bother doing play-by-play since we can already see the game on our TV, but maybe add more analysis and maybe stories about how a certain situation in a game reminds them of a time during their playing career.
Chris: So you’re thinking of something like what ESPN has started doing for the NCAA Football Championships. An alternate broadcast/analysis team type set up. I wonder how they would be able to work that in.
Joe: Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking. My idea in a perfect world would be for it to be an online feature through MSG. Now, if we can’t get that, I think maybe trying it for a period in a game would be fun. Maybe do it in the 1st period.
Chris: I suppose the challenge is finding an outlet to produce these different features for. The website makes the most sense I think as you can keep the primary broadcast untouched while giving new features to fans who want them online. The biggest hurdle probably winds up being the broadcast rules and agreement from the league.
Joe: Well, like I said I would do it during a period of a game then. Just try it. I mean, the Sabres had 3 shots on goal in the 1st period against Carolina Saturday. God knows it would have been more interesting if we had 4 guys talk during that period. Another idea would be to have real-time stats going during the game and actually have a graphic at the top that tells us who is on the ice. I know at times NBC sports would do that, but I think have it on all the time would be beneficial. I’d even incorporate some Twitter stuff during breaks maybe. Have someone ask Ray or RJ a question from Twitter or even have a crawl at the bottom of the screen of what is going on with social media.
Chris: I think a Twitter crawl has the potential to be disastrous. Just going off the corner of Sabres Twitter I often interact with, there would be some choice phrases offered. Just think if a goaltender is playing poorly, that could spiral out of control quickly. If anything, I think I’d want to see them add some sort of game-based metric as opposed to an interactive addition like a social media crawl or even fan questions for the broadcasters.
Joe: To be clear, a crawl would be where someone from the Sabres would pick the tweets to be aired. Obviously you cant have them air out unfiltered or we’d have you trolling Craig. What would be the game-based metric you would want?
Chris: Your point on adding stats or something tracking ice time is something that would be intriguing. One aspect that could be cool to keep track of would be matchups. Let’s say Bylsma is using the Larsson line or Ristolainen against Brad Marchand’s line. Track the matchup form a shifts/minutes standpoint and maybe a shots allowed/suppressed standpoint. That would also give either Rob Ray or the intermission team another large chunk of information to reference when they do a period breakdown.
Joe: Yeah, that would be some great info to have on screen. I mean, when you watch NFL games, the stats never stop running on the screen. Why shouldn’t that be the same for NHL games? Is there anything else you’d like to add? I think showing player intros and having the open they do for games at the arena on the broadcast would be a nice touch.
Chris: The in-arena intros are pretty bland these days as the team comes out in unison and the starters are announced while they’re waiting for the anthems. It doesn’t have that college feel.
Joe: Well, this is where you would enhance it and make it better. Half these games just start with the anthem and ZERO video package about the game itself. I know they kind of do that at the Arena and I think showing it on the full screen would work. Also, how about having intros like you do at NFL games with your starting 5 coming out to the ice after the team already made the entrance?
Chris: I’m against the player intros as you describe it. Not my personal taste. I also don’t know what that adds. When you reference the video open I think you at least give the people at home something extra, something to set the scene. Plus, starters in hockey aren’t as important as starters in football. I like the Sabres broadcast, so I don’t think they need to get too gimmicky when it comes to what they’re doing. If the team produces a really awesome video open, showing that pregame could be really cool. I would also like to see them add a third man to the crew. I always though Ray was much better as a between the benches analyst as opposed to the lone color commentator. But that’s not exactly the the vein of what we’re discussing here.
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