Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Where's The Game At?

Following up on July 2's post on the creeping hucksterism on the Red Sox broadcasts...

To this listener, it is out of control. OK, so the Maine Governor's appearance is a traditional spot on "State" day. It's fun to hear how they try to be familiar with the team, while displaying gaps in understanding. And, you can't begrudge a Jimmy Fund guest dropping in once and a while.

But, the has been an increase in shilling (in contrast to Schilling) during the games this year. Think: Alyssa Milano, and last night's Celtic extravaganza. On top of all that, there are a minimum of two sponsor dropins during each half inning: Enjoy the Jack Daniels 7 run seventh inning and enjoy your booze responsibly; the Hess Express dropin where sometimes the announcer says "we've got you covered" and sometimes he says "Hey,we've got you covered"

And then, of course, the run-on spots for Volvo [Joe is a safe guy now], Dodge, Ford, VW [VW isn't special enough to be able to use the name of Fenway Park or The Red Sox]

And then, of course, the spots for the spots "Fan loyalty equals brand loyalty". I heard two of those back to back last night.

We are half-way through the season...does the network still have to try to hawk its own airtime during the airtime?

All this clutter, coupled with the amateurish nature of the call, particularly when Glenn Geffner gets to play in the sandbox, is frustrating.

Yes, I know, I listen way too much....

lc

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm definitely with ya on Geffner, but when it comes to 'drop-ins' and visits, that happens with every team's local broadcasts. Do you ever listen to out-of-town games on the radio? Neither you or I like this crap but it's not only happening in Boston...unfortunately it's MLB in the 21st century.

LC said...

I honestly think the Red Sox load up their broadcasts with more baggae than other teams. I have XM, and hear a lot of out of market games. They all have fallen into the trap, but the RS network maximizes the amount of paid content during the game, in my opinion.

lc

kzfone said...

NESN has increased the in-game interviews as well. They take away from the game, but the owners want to plug something whether it be Roush-Fenway Racing or another product that will put money in their pocket. It's a necessary evil.

Rob said...

I live near Portsmouth NH and one of the AM stations up here (1270 WTSN, if you're ever in the area) does the Yankee games. The advertising drop-ins for the Red Sox broadcasts pale in comparison to how many name drops and ad-drops fall into the Yanks Radio Network... And that was the fifteenth out of the ballgame and fifteen minutes can save you money on your car insurance... All of their pitching changes are advertised, and at least the first pitching change has advertisements on BOTH ends! "This call to the bullpen is being brought to you by..." then after the break, "The call to the bullpen was brought to you by..." Two different sponsors.

And oh, by the way...

John Sterling: "Were coming at you live from the Lowe's Broadcasting Booth. Lowes, let's build something together."

Less ads. More Yankees losing baseball? Mkay? Mkay.