COULD BE REALLY HOT MIC!
Broadcasters have been hit hard by MLB shutdown. Will they show it on air?
Rob Manfred all but guaranteed baseball will return this season. Here are a few things, from a broadcasting perspective, to consider when/if it does.
• Will baseball broadcasters return to the airwaves and speak up about what went down during the greed-infested owners-union negotiations? Or will they verbally restrain themselves when they return to the booth?
On his ESPN-98.7 soiree, Michael Kay said ESPN cut his salary when the coronavirus pandemic kicked in but YES, where he serves as the TV voice of the Yankees, was paying him, and his colleagues, in full even though there were no games to call.
So, the Yankees could cut 45 minor leaguers in June but could afford to pay their YES broadcasters.
Sources said the majority of local baseball voices were not so lucky.
They have not been paid while they have been on the shelf. While the owners have been pleading poverty and squabbling with players, they have not been rushing to pay quarantined broadcasters.
When the voices return to the microphones, they will be happy to be gigging again. But there will also be opinions and emotion on how the negotiations were handled by both sides.
“Sure, there will be plenty of resentment. Some of these guys are already ticked off. They weren’t getting paid and will now be paid on the basis of a drastically shortened season,” one baseball TV producer said. “Whether they will express their feelings publicly, on the air, is another issue.”
There will be plenty of raw emotion remaining on both sides of the aisle, some tender nerve endings too. A voice could tick off the players and the owners if they express themselves during a game broadcast.
We hope they do.
• If the schedule is limited to under 80 games, will YES be able to use its menagerie of analysts and reporters during the truncated season?
If YES is to do this, and practice social distancing at the same time, its booth would stretch from the Bronx to the Delaware Water Gap.
Seriously though, look for YES to find a way to work its 10-person broadcast crew into the rotation during different games this “season.”
There is no way most of them will work every game of whatever the full schedule turns out to be.
On his ESPN-98.7 show, Kay said he expects to be behind the play-by-play microphone for all the games. If true, how will this sit with his backup, Ryan Ruocco?
• Will on-field reporters like YES’ Meredith Marakovits and SNY’s Steve Gelbs become a thing of the past?
They won’t become extinct, but will have to be used in a different way. An MLB source said TV reporters won’t be able to roam the stadiums freely like they usually do. So, they have to be creative, especially if they are confined to the studio. They still could wind up getting plenty of facetime on the pre- and postgame shows.
• Could no fans lead to new TV innovations?
Yes. How about SNY or YES using Zoom fans? The Bleacher Creatures on YES during games on Zoom providing noise. Members of The 7 Line doing the same on SNY. As far as players wearing microphones, well, there’s a big obstacle.
Unless it’s part of the settlement, players, ticked off over the result of the negotiations, would be fools to allow some stranger to get close enough to place a microphone on their uniforms.
BABY BOOMER
For a tough guy, Norman Julius Esiason sure is sensitive.
On his WFAN morning gabfest, Esiason, in breakingnews tones, said former Mets bust Matt Harvey “reached out” and “has definitely been in contact” with the Mets about a possible return.
“I think the Mets would consider it,” NJE said.
At least two Mets scribes followed-up on his report. MLB.com’s Tony DiComo wrote there is “no truth to the rumor;” another, Newsday’s Tim Healy wrote “the two sides have not spoken.”
Esiason sounded like the writers were not only attacking him and his credibility, but treating his report as if it were an affront to them.
Sorry, Norman. The reporters were just doing their job. They were not attacking your incredible reporting skills and inside sources. Lighten up!
‘STICK TO SPORTS’ OVER FOR THE SHIELD?
There is no doubt Roger Goodell’s recent flip-flopping on social justice issues, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, will have a trickle-down affect to how the NFL’s TV partners cover the story as it continues impacting the league.
The league influenced how Fox Sports, CBS Sports, NBC Sports and ESPN covered the original Colin Kaepernick story. Judging how the coverage ended up looking, would anyone be surprised if Goodell, and specific owners responsible for negotiating network TV contracts, discouraged comprehensive coverage after Kaepernick first took a knee?
Now Goodell’s sudden awakening has changed all that. While the networks covered some national anthem ceremonies in 2016 and beyond, they did not show all of them. If there is a season in 2020 played in empty stadiums, the anthem will be performed. But instead of focusing on the players who are kneeling, the cameras will zoom in on the players who are standing.
In pregame shows, the participants should finally be given the room and minutes to focus on how the NFL could be used as a fulcrum during the presidential election. Goodell, through his own words, opened the door to mixing football with far-reaching discussions. The time has come.