It’s so simple, so basic, so easy, I can’t believe it’s never come up before. I can’t believe I never before thought of this. I can’t believe no companies have actually done it! How many times have you had to press the mute button on your TV because a play-by-play guy or analyst was ruining the game for you? How many times did you wish a mild case of food poisoning would send one of the broadcasters into the bathroom for the duration of the event? I know it’s happened with me, I know it’s happened with many friends, and I certainly know there’s an entire website based on this dream, and one based on their blunders. So check it: how awesome would it be if networks allowed you the option to choose your audio feed for a game, giving you the ability to mute the play-by-play guy, the analyst, the crowd noise, whatever you want.
Imagine a world in which ESPN gave you the ability as a viewer to mute Joe Morgan on Sunday nights and just let the soothing sounds of Jon Miller tell the story. How happy would you be to hear him say, “and what do you think about that, Joe?” only to hear silence. I know that would put a smile on my face. Can’t stand homer calls by guys like Rex Hudler? Select just the Steve Physioc audio. Had enough of Bryant Gumbel botching names? Cut him out. Sick of Billy Packer pronouncing games over before halftime? No more! I might not be an audio engineer, but I know all the different audio sources are fed into the same audio mixer — the broadcasters, the crowd sound, etc. Now if they separated each of them and then allowed the viewer to choose his/her own feed of choice, how money would that be?
I know it can be done — and networks are always looking for new ways to get their audience to be interactive, so this would be perfect. They could even market a new gadget or something and get people buying special sound systems that allow this option. Whatever. I just know that sports fans across the country would be clamoring for the opportunity to hit the mute on Morgan or Madden or even Gumbel. How awesome would that be?
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 and is filed under Policing the Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
One thing I LOVED during some NFL on FOX broadcasts was how they aired an “announcerless” track on the SAP audio. All you’d hear was the game and the crowd. It depended on whether the crew covering the game, the network, and the local station airing the game all passed through the SAP audio. It was refreshing to just hear the game and not the announcers.
I wish the “nat sound” option would be offered on the SAP track more often for sporting events.
Larry, this might be the best idea you’ve ever had.
What I wouldn’t give to put the mute button on Vitale in college basketball season
[...] Good read over at LB’s site about being able to mute certain broadcasters during ball games. That is a great idea. The thing i would like to see is different angles mainly for football. I don’t care about all the closeups. I want the option of seeing the entire offense and defense in one frame to see who is open and how the secondary is shutting down a start receiver. Watching many high school playoff games from the mezzanine at the Georgia Dome has spoiled me. I like that view and would like that option during tv broadcasts. I know it will come one day but don’t know why it should not be soon. The technology is there. How to Improve Sports Broadcasts | Larry Brown Sports [...]
[...] response: I’d rather have Vin Scully calling my game with a few slipups than some scrub ruining the game with horrendous commentary. Scully’s a legend, and there’s good reason why. He’s a story teller, he has a [...]
[...] out for it. Such is the story with Joe Morgan, who continues to prove once again why he needs to be put on mute. If you remember last year, Morgan was caught telling a blatant lie on air. He placed himself in a [...]
[...] of the Angels broadcasting team mimicking Little Miss Sunshine. I’ve already expressed my distaste for Rex Hudler as a broadcaster, primarily because his game analysis is so off. Moreover, it strikes me as if Hud [...]