Ok, let's not be hasty and make the title a binding contract. If the blind squirrel finds a nut and if anyone at the network level actually likes any of these ideas I'll need a very exorbitant consulting and creativity fee even though I negotiate like Kramer in the Hot Coffee episode.
I was inspired to write this by the always excellent Jonah Siegel, who along with Mike in Boston have created Toronto Sports Media, a widely read site about sports media in Canada. On social media Jonah is probably one of the best media insiders in the business, and often is able to break stories that involve sports media. His tweet today from his account @yyzmedia was about impending cuts coming to TSN and RDS that likely will affect highlight shows, and non-live content.
It is the way of the world right? Currently there is not a whole lot of live sports, and no highlights so it makes sense to shelve these types of shows and the on and off-air talent that work on it. However there is much more to the story. Highlight shows have been on the wane for a while due to the quick dissemination of highlights to social media platforms immediately after they happen. It kind of makes highlight shows somewhat redundant, and no amount of personality from the on-air hosts can draw significant eye-balls. That said, if you can still leverage that personality, and add new content beyond the highlights, you can retain , or even grow your audience.
I will break down my suggestions into three different categories. One will be ways to improve Sportscenter or Sports Central, the second will be about live event enhancement, and the other will be new shows/content that can be developed.
NIGHTLY HIGHLIGHT SHOWS:
Less highlights and more analysis. I would certainly keep the coaches press conference because generally speaking they say more than the players and you get the odd Tortarella rant, or when Mike Babcock was coaching, he could provide some good content too. I'd focus less on the players and their content which more often than not drift into cliches.
Add in a mini-panels. Say Sportsnet has Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto playing at the same time. Have their correspondents or on-air crew in a three or four box with or without the host, and have them banter about their respective games. It can be a good 4-5 minutes of free flowing conversation if you could get three play by play guys, or three colour commentators together. You can also utilize the studio panel for this too like the networks do now.
Have a little fun with things like the "TSN Turning Point" or "Sportsment Momentum Shift" (if they so choose). Don't make it the obvious goal or save, though that's ok to do too. Was there an off court/ice/field moment that could be looked at?
Cover off over sports that do not get features. CEBL Basketball, U Sports, CPSL soccer, AHL, OHL ECHL. Given that teams are linking their AHL/NHL content, no reason highlight shows can't do that too.
Keep things like Top 3 Plays, or Mistakes of the Night- but keep it lighthearted . I'd look at old tapes of Sportsline with Jim Tatti and Mark Hebscher. They took a simple bit about the plays of the week or month, added natural personality and a creative name and it was must watch TV. That can still work in today's world.
I realize that I'm not exactly re-inventing the wheel here, but you can have a good and more importantly unique on -air nightly sports show if you add in all, or some of these creative elements. Hosts need to be personality driven, and I don't mean Sportsnet's attempt to be hipper by putting their hosts in jeans. Though, I think Brian Burke in a pair of Lucky Star skinny jeans could be compelling in its own way. The new leagues that desire more coverage need to do their part. Cut your own highlight packages ready for voice over and pitch your own content on a continued basis.
LIVE EVENT SHOWS
We know that live sports are what is craved right now by advertisers and stations alike. I would argue that Sportsnet values its regional properties just as much as their national stronghold when it comes to hockey and TSN works hard to keep it's regional properties. Certainly innovations such as "Inside the Glass" and "Between the Benches" have worked well for both networks and are the kind of things that bring viewers closer to the game.
I thought the World Juniors by TSN did a great job in putting a little spotlight on the refs when you could audibly hear the referees give final instructions before dropping the puck and I think things like that should continue. Putting a mic on the refs would add some compelling content at certain times in the game.
I would ditch the player and coach interviews between periods and either increase the time that the panel has or interview a scratched or injured player who might provide a bit more depth in their answer.
I would add goalie cams/ goalie microphones more exclusively as well, as I find goalies to among the more unique personalities. Hopefully one of the networks snaps up Roberto Luongo who could add much needed humour or depth
I toyed around with the idea of incorporating scouts into the broadcasts or intermissions, but they really can't say a whole lot about who they are watching. Teams keep that close to the vest, but I think a feature on scouts and their day to to day life, or in general what they look for could be interesting too
NETWORK SHOWS/CONTENT
Bring back sports trivia shows to the networks. Who doesn't love Jeopardy? Sports Jeopardy had a nice run back in the day. Bring it back, with a Canadian spin. Buck Martinez used to host "Knock Out" on TSN way back in the day, and I cannot for the life of me remember what the show was about, probably because I was lost in Buck's outstanding black/chestnut brown hair and Trebek like moustache.
Develop some sort of sports reality show. I know that MTV did a show with a bunch of retired wrestlers living in a house, which was hit and definitely miss, but something like Showdown or the old Battle of the Network Stars being rebooted could be a success. Who wouldn't want to see Actor Dan Levy compete in the shotput vs Darren Dutchysen or Ken Reid? Ok, maybe a better example, but you see where I'm coming from.
Bring back The Reporters, or some other show featuring on-air broadcasters (call it "The Broadcasters"- clever eh? ) on a weekly basis. I would try to freshen it up with irreverent personalities. Mix it up with those people. I think the time is right for a new version of Off The Record too, but make it one-on-one interviews.
Bring back shows on The Business of Sport. Tom Mayenech'ts Sports Business show is syndicated along the TSN radio network and I'd make overtures to Bob McCown to bring back his Business of Sport show. If not McCown, then another host. I also think that there could be a sports media show with a similar vibe that would draw some eyeballs too.
It's pretty clear that people are not going to "stick to sports", which I'm more than fine with, then that should be leveraged into a show or creative content. I see Donavan Bennett be thoughtful and eloquent on matters of race in sports and he would be a perfect guy to lead a show based on that. Duane Ford, I think, would offer the same sort of compelling content. Kayla Gray is another bright light in sports. Want to take a real chance and cross sports with politics? Now is the time to develop a show like that.
You are going to roll your eyes, but I'd look at the WWE Network for content ideas. They need to fill a lot of time, and you can't do it with just wrestling, so shows like "Ride Along" (wrestlers travelling on the road) "Table For Three" (three legends sitting around talking about..well, anything). Those are just two new show ideas. WWE does a great job with their documentaries and I'd take ideas from what they do. 24/7 follows a wrestler around.
I enjoy having key drive home radio content on TV. It's inexpensive and the content is pretty good. I'd create an independent show and have the main hosts of TSN 1050, TSN 1290 TSN 1200 and TSN 1260 banter about their respective regions and have FAN 690, FAN 960, FAN 590 do the same. Do the same with your Podcasts like Ray and Dregs, or 31 Thoughts.
I realize that there is tremendous cost in developing new shows. There's a reason that poker is on a lot on sports channels. It's cheap, time filling content. Original production is a tremendous off-an on-air manpower cost, along with the equipment/production values needed, so picking and choosing carefully will be the order of the day, but you cannot sit idle in today's sports broadcasting world. Teams are creating channels on their own and churning out their own content, so there's competition out there too.
I'll have my people call your people. (which is, well, me hoping someone picks up)
Steve Clark- Veteran broadcaster with 13 years OHL and AHL play by play experience, and has called games at the World Jr/ FIBA/ U Sports level.
https://steveclarkmedia29.wixsite.com/sportsbroadcaster
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