Sports Radio News
Dan Patrick on Kevin Brown Situation: ‘Sports Broadcasters Can’t Be Puppets’
“You build that up; you build up some house credit there where now, your voice means something more.”
Published
2 months agoon
By
BSM Staff
The reported suspension of Baltimore Orioles television play-by-play announcer Kevin Brown for what is being perceived as a relatively innocuous remark continued through Tuesday. During the Orioles’ matchup against the Houston Astros, the crowd at Oriole Park at Camden Yards erupted into a chant of “Free Kevin Brown,” expressing their displeasure at what team owner John Angelos and management has seemingly facilitated.
While Brown is supposed to return to the broadcast booth on Friday, media members around the major leagues are taking note of the team’s apparent suppression of commentary portraying them in a negative light. In his case though, Brown was simply using the Orioles’ recent struggles at Tropicana Field to make the point that the team was improving, citing statistics obtained by the team’s public relations department and placed in the game notes. Nonetheless, Angelos and the team deemed it was adverse to be highlighted on the broadcast and punished him for simply doing his job.
“You have to be so thin-skinned as an owner where you’re going, ‘Wait, he’s saying that we used to be bad,’” Dan Patrick said on Tuesday’s edition of his nationally syndicated radio program, The Dan Patrick Show. “Yeah, you did. That makes it even more special what you’re doing this year – instead of, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re harping on how bad we are.’ No, you’re good this year.”
Show executive producer Paul Pabst chimed in the conversation and expressed how the program reached out to the Orioles for comment, which the team decided not to return. Patrick “Seton” O’Connor believes the suspension for what he said is hard to believe superficially, instead surmising that the ordeal could probe deeper.
“The only reason is there has to be more to the story than just those comments,” O’Connell said. “I was even listening to it being like, ‘Well, maybe it’s a little heavy-handed. Do we have to point out all of the different times?’”
Patrick, however, did not feel the comment was made to denigrate the team, instead viewing it as providing the proper context to viewers of the game. He also mentioned how since the statement was made during the broadcast’s open, there were many other people involved in its approval and interpolation into the dialogue. MASN even created a graphic that was placed on the screen outlining what was being discussed, evidence of producers and directors signing off on the script. Even so, his temporary removal from the television broadcasts accentuates a larger issue related to the latitude broadcasters and other media members have when working for a team.
“You’ve got to be a broadcaster who at least is able to be a broadcaster – not a puppet,” Patrick articulated. “You’ve got to have somebody who’s going to be able to say what he feels or what he thinks, understanding what the parameters are [and] being professional; being the local broadcaster [and] being paid by the team that you might be critical of. You build that up; you build up some house credit there where now, your voice means something more.”
Todd Fritz, the show’s other executive producer, wonders whether or not he was pulled aside or warned before the suspension. Patrick agreed that the conventional protocol would have been to tell Brown he was straying towards a negative depiction of the team and to refine his approach.
Shortly thereafter, Pabst wondered if Brown could sue the Orioles for defamation of character, as Brown is a young broadcaster with assignments at ESPN and additional endeavors. If Brown decided to file a lawsuit, Pabst affirms that the team could not fire him during his time – evidenced by Sage Steele’s ongoing free speech lawsuit against ESPN and The Walt Disney Company. Front Office Sports reported that the incident has elevated Brown’s profile to where he will likely receive more coveted assignments from the “Worldwide Leader,” and broadcasters around the league conveyed his talent and seem to unanimously be in his corner regarding this incident.
“If I’m an owner of another team, do I want somebody who has filed a lawsuit against ownership because of what was said?,” Patrick replied. “I’d be nervous about that.”
Sports Radio News
‘The Dan Patrick Show’ Criticizes Sound on ‘Thursday Night Football’
“You pay all this money for that game [and] you can’t hear that it sounds like crap.”
Published
1 day agoon
September 22, 2023By
BSM Staff
Thursday night’s matchup between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers ended up being a compelling game to watch throughout the first several quarters and was enhanced by the stellar images and presentation from Amazon Prime Video. The Thursday Night Football property recently garnered record-setting streaming numbers from its season premiere, according to a custom integrated streaming report by Nielsen Media Research.
Even so, there was critical feedback from many fans watching regarding the sonic experience of watching the game. Viewers complained that there was an inherent lack of crowd noise and field-level sound, making it more difficult to fully immerse themselves in the atmosphere.
“You pay all this money for that game [and] you can’t hear that it sounds like crap,” Patrick “Seton” O’Connor, an executive producer of The Dan Patrick Show, said on Friday. “There’s no atmosphere – you’ve got no crowd sound; the mics are all over the place. It’s terrible.”
Show host Dan Patrick concurred with this point, relaying that his wife walked by the television and thought something was amiss with the sound. When she asked Patrick what was happening, he replied that it was due to the presentation from Prime Video. Although most viewers ended up watching the game anyway, the inadequate soundscape detracted from the aura of the contest and dampened the viewing experience.
“I love [Kirk] Herbstreit [and] I love Al Michaels, but when I have the game on, do you ever have your stereo in your car and you have the bass and the treble set and somehow it gets reset – and everything’s reset to medium?,” Paul Pabst, an executive producer of The Dan Patrick Show, said. “You’re like, ‘Where’s the highs? Where’s the lows? It has that feeling.’”
The lack of dynamic contrast and aggregate timbre caused some viewers to connote that the broadcast sounds flat despite the stellar, highly-experienced commentary team. Improving on the sound and other customer feedback will be critical in incentivizing non-ardent fans to return to the property or try it altogether.
“We’ve created the atmosphere that is so good that you don’t even have to go to a game,” Patrick said. “With the sound of it, the TVs, [and] the quality… it’s almost a better experience sometimes when you’re sitting at home.”
In addition to watching the National Football League, Pabst frequently consumes college football on Saturdays, including the prime-time presentations. When he is viewing those games, he can feel the noise of the crowd permeating through the speakers and be part of the crowd.
“It’s thunderous,” Pabst said. “The crowd noise almost overwhelms [Chris] Fowler, sometimes in a good way, and it’s hard to tell what’s going on there.”
Finding games on Amazon Prime Video has been a difficult proposition for some users, evidenced by O’Connor describing how it took him 10 minutes to begin watching the Giants-49ers game last night. The game was broadcast regionally on FOX for those in the New York metropolitan area, but for O’Connor, he noticed that the network had the baseball contest between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies on instead.
“I look and I’m like, ‘I swear there was a game tonight,’ and I see it’s in the first quarter.’ What the hell is going on?,” thought O’Connor. “Oh, that’s right. I forgot Amazon was a thing; it’s just not a TV destination all the time for me.”
Sports Radio News
Gregg Giannotti on Taylor Rooks: ‘Send in a 10’ to Get Players Talking
“I also thought, ‘Why don’t we use more attractive women in interrogation scenarios?'”
Published
1 day agoon
September 22, 2023By
BSM Staff
This week’s Thursday Night Football matchup between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers came off a record-setting week for Prime Video, according to an integrated streaming report by Nielsen Media Research. There were questions surrounding the impending contest off the field pertaining to injuries, and the TNF Tonight pregame show did its best to address pertinent information.
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley headlined the team’s injury report after suffering an ankle injury last week, something the team publicly called a sprain. New information was divulged on Thursday night from Barkley himself after features reporter Taylor Rooks asked him about his injury. He then proceeded to reveal that he was dealing with a mild high ankle sprain, an impediment more serious than originally thought.
WFAN host Gregg Giannotti watched the entire pregame show and watched the desk discuss the state of New York football, including New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson. The report from Rooks, a reputable source of information who formerly worked for SportsNet New York (SNY) occurred shortly thereafter. While she has a network of contacts and insider information about the league, Giannotti believes there was another reason she got the exclusive story.
“It’s funny because all we heard was, ‘It’s a regular ankle sprain; not a high ankle sprain,’” Giannotti explained Friday morning on WFAN. “Then Taylor Rooks gets over there and finds out it’s a high ankle sprain. I was thinking, ‘You know what? I’d tell her anything too. Whatever you need to know, Taylor, about me, I will tell you.’”
Giannotti watched the Giants lose the contest 30-12 and fall to a 1-2 overall record, but he also began to ponder over the manner in which Rooks was able to effectively do her job. It led him to make a proposition on the air that challenges the effectiveness of the team’s beat writers because of their collective age and appearance.
“I also thought, ‘Why don’t we use more attractive women in interrogation scenarios?,’” Giannotti said. “This is what I was thinking about after I saw this last night. Art Stapleton couldn’t get that out of Saquon Barkley – I love Art Stapleton, but there’s no way. Taylor Rooks got it out of him right away, so why don’t we send in some of these interrogation scenarios where people are just totally zipped up – send in a ‘10’ in there, [and the] next thing you know, ‘Yeah, it was him. He did it, and I did it. We did it together!’”
Giannotti’s co-host Boomer Esiason was surprised to hear Rooks get that information from Barkley, and has not seen anyone in the media react to the occurrence. The injury update changes the way in which people consider his timeline for a return and was a part of the Prime Video broadcast that Giannotti valued.
“Yeah, of course, great reporting,” Giannotti said. “I’m just thinking about all the Giants beat writers sitting around – old guys who look like me just stewing and trying to hide farts in the locker room.”
Sports Radio News
Arizona Sports Extends Deal With Coyotes
“We look forward to an exciting season delivering Coyotes coverage on-air, online and on the Arizona Sports app.”
Published
1 day agoon
September 22, 2023By
BSM Staff
Arizona Coyotes fans can keep their presets the same. The team has extended its relationship with Bonneville in Phoenix.
The new deal is a one-year extension to keep the Coyotes on the company’s two Phoenix-area radio stations, 98.7 Arizona Sports and ESPN 620 AM and on the statiations’ website and app.
“We are excited to continue our partnership with the Arizona Coyotes and the Meruelo Group,” Bonneville Phoenix senior vice president and market manager Ryan Hatch said in a statement. “We look forward to an exciting season delivering Coyotes coverage on-air, online and on the Arizona Sports app.”
As part of the extension, Burns & Gambo will welcome Coyotes president and CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez and general manager Bill Armstrong for weekly segments. Wolfe & Luke will be joined weekly by head coach André Tourigny.
“We are very pleased to extend our partnership with Bonneville Phoenix and are thrilled to have Arizona Sports 98.7 and ESPN 620 broadcast all Coyotes games this season,” Gutierrez added. “There is a tremendous amount of excitement about our team, and we look forward to Arizona Sports 98.7, the Valley’s sports leader, providing our fans with outstanding Coyotes coverage all season long.”
