REALLY FOX 4

[lu cards]

NOT EVEN A HALF,REALLY.GLAD ME AND SOME BUDDIES PLANNED OUR DAY AROUND WATCHING SOME LU FOOTBALL.

[05BigRed]

I hear ya...and what little bit there was...commentating was horrific...

[Lamar Pride]

I agree. It was a very disappointing performance by FOX and the Cards.

[Bruce]

I've got to agree here, even if I catch some flak for it.

We're a program in its infancy, with a lot of hope that it can "go places" in time. I eagerly looked forward to watching the Cards on TV as did many others, and with the buzz around the program, I'm sure viewership would have been solid.

Instead, we get treated to two hours of infomercials for the Hair-O-Matic and the Ronco 5th Cousin, Twice Removed of Ginsu Knives.

I understand setting up for these remote broadcasts is rather complicated, but it's hardly as if it isn't ever done. And while Mobile may not be confused with Houston or New York City in terms of infrastructure, it's a hell of a lot more developed than... well, any other current full-time Southland football's home town. I mean, if you can't get this stuff to work in Mobile, I've got no confidence in your ability to broadcast a game successfully from some of the even smaller Southland markets. Which is a shame, as I feel that eventually all of the road games ought to be TV broadcasts at some point if the program is really going to reach the level of success most of us would like to see.

What's worse, though, is that the ability of Fox 4 (or any broadcaster) to justify the expenses associated with broadcasting a game is dependent on the willingness of advertisers to pay for ads to support these undertakings. I hope the advertisers are willing to give you a mulligan on this, although I fear otherwise--I'm sure they are not amused. Sadly, this hurts our chances of having future games broadcast, and, again, I think this is vitally important.

Another post on this board referred to people getting up at 5 AM to leave for Mobile for this. Really? Wouldn't there be some desire to get folks to the game more than four hours before kickoff to make sure the equipment worked and that any bugs could be taken care of prior to the game? Would a night at the Mobile LaQuinta really have set the network back that much?

Since I moved to this area 15 years ago, I've noticed a lot of what I consider a lack of professionalism amongst the broadcast industry. From radio stations that simply go off the air for hours at a time, to (not Fox 4 i this case) TV stations that routinely pre-empt significant sporting events (NCAA 2nd Round games, World Cup Soccer games) to show infomercials or taped church services, to newscasts with sloppy reporting, I am amazed at some of the stuff that people "get away with" here in broadcasting. The fiasco yesterday was an extension of this: if the conditions at Mobile were like they were in Beaumont last week, it might be one thing... but to not be able to get a broadcast going on a sunny day from a metropolitan area of 400,000 people is unacceptable.

I'm way, way too old to use the phrase "epic fail", but it seems *awfully* appropriate here.

[BigRedTrack]

"Since I moved to this area 15 years ago, I've noticed a lot of what I consider a lack of professionalism amongst the broadcast industry. From radio stations that simply go off the air for hours at a time, to (not Fox 4 i this case) TV stations that routinely pre-empt significant sporting events (NCAA 2nd Round games, World Cup Soccer games) to show infomercials or taped church services, to newscasts with sloppy reporting, I am amazed at some of the stuff that people "get away with" here in broadcasting. The fiasco yesterday was an extension of this: if the conditions at Mobile were like they were in Beaumont last week, it might be one thing... but to not be able to get a broadcast going on a sunny day from a metropolitan area of 400,000 people is unacceptable."

Most media in this area is the minor leagues - so I except all the grammatical and spelling errors in the local papers, sportscasters that report in cliches, and the other nonsense that goes on (like Saturday's Lamar broadcast). It really does not bother me, since these folks are trying to eke out a living and the OFF/MUTE buttons work on my remote.

[becktobigs]

If it had been Fox News I would have preferred the infomercials but this was important. I kept checking back to see if they would still miss plays by being in commercial too long (sort of--they quickly reran plays to catch up). You'd think if they ran 30 minutes of consecutive commercials at the beginning, they could get back on time during the game. Watching grown women clapping and giggling like valley girls over a hair case product is better if you can listen the Lamar game on the radio. For that matter, the Fox 4 broadcast is better if you listen to it on the radio.

[boomer]

All I know is FOX better get this fixed now. Thanks to them I have all of my Christmas shopping done. What happens next time ...well my wife does have a birthday coming up. HOPE YOU LOVE KNIVES THAT CUT CANS HONEY.

[CardAmbassador]

So did Fox broadcast the game tonight in the Golden Triangle?

I just looked at the box score we had 15.3k tickets sold, not bad for a game against a DII school.