Many of you have been asking for it, now you’ve got it. Dr. Jerry Punch is out as play-by-play man for ESPN’s Cup coverage, and Nationwide announcer Marty Reid is in.
I know the topic is not about racing itself, but as a radio sportscaster by day, and a football and basketball play-by-play guy by night, the discussion is quite interesting to me. I’m quite intrigued to hear what the fans think on the subject, because I think we on the inside fall prey to making decisions in a vacuum and aren’t as savvy about the wishes of the fan as we think we are.
I think this move- announced on Wednesday- will be good on two levels. First, I think Reid provides the spark the Cup team needs. He communicates excitement without being over-the-top, he’s got a very listenable set of pipes, he’s something of a known quantity without being so familiar his presence breeds contempt.
As for Punch, he will return to his old role as pit reporter. I wasn’t a serious fan back in those days, but I thought he was brilliant in that position. His background as an ER physician may come in handy in the event of a serious crash, with the ability to skillfully articulate what an emergency crew is doing and what may happen next with a driver. Furthermore, while his understated approach may not have made him the best fit for the booth, it’s not hard to imagine his professionalism and calm may serve him well in driver interviews. Up to this point, I’d say I have those I like, and those whose work I don’t care for. The presence of Punch will be an upgrade.
The secret of a good team is plugging the right people in the right places. Many have argued Punch was miscast as a play-by-play man, and I wouldn’t disagree. Putting Punch back on pit road upgrades ESPN there. This is just an opinion, but I think re-assigning Shannon Spake to the studio would complete the trifecta. I think her studio work is solid, while at the same time I don’t think pit reporting suits her skill set.
For the fans, this is a good move, but by no means is it a magic bullet. In my visits to the Daly Planet website, I’ve read many complaints about camera angles, ill-timed commercial breaks, and the broadcasters themselves. You’d think the camera work would be an easy fix, and moves have now been made to put better pices in better places.
I suspect, well, I know the matter of commercials is a more complicated affair. In terms of the number, I can tell you the amount of minutes per hour is no different than it is during your favorite prime-time show (generally in the neighborhood of 18-20 minutes per hour). Making it more difficult is the fact there are no time outs on the track per se, and you can’t predict cautions. At some tracks you may only have a handful.
I’ve heard fans ask for the side-by-side commercial breaks like you see in IRL racing. I’ve never been in on a meeting between the network executives and the advertisers, but I suspect there’s a reason it hasn’t been done. Now again, I’m just speaking for myself, I wouldn’t be too jazzed about my spot shown on the same screen as the racing. I know what the fan is paying more attention to.
So what do you think of this move? Does it help a little? Do you think it will make your viewing experience a LOT better? Does it really not make it better at all?
At the end of the day, it’s still about the race. I believe fans will endure a somewhat shaky broadcast is the racing’s good. If it’s not, then the broadcast had better be VERY good.
Hey, if you’re going to be the “Worldwide Leader In Sports,” you need to conduct yourself that way. I think this move helps.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
“Well, Folks” there really must be a Santa. Getting rid of Punch may not be a cure all, but it’s a damn fine start. Funny things those TV ratings. They almost make you believe the networks are actually listening. Unfortunately, we still have ‘Ole DW, and FOX ain’t ’bout to git rid of what dey think is high class ‘tainment.
The only real cure will be the ratings continuing to drop and contract renewal comes. Perhaps with the quality of the “Show” being in the bucket, the networks won’t be so eager to mortgage the farm. Then us fans will get what we want, race coverage without all the fluff. Sure worked for ESPN in the early days. Digger can entertain at the unemployment line.
Punch out of the booth is a good start but I would have rather seen Bestwick in the booth calling play-by-play. He is one of the best out there and I think he is underutilized in his current role. I think Punch is perfect for pit road as he proved that through the years. Spake is pregnant and I’m guessing she will be out on leave at some point in 2010 so Punch fills that hole too. Now if we could just improve the racing on the track, we might be headed in the right direction.
I liked Marty in the booth in Nationwide, he worked well along with Randy. My first preference would still have been Bestwick, but I’ll take this. I’m glad that Dr. Punch will be back on pit road, he did a great job there for so many years, PXP was just NOT his thing.
Now ESPN needs to get the rest of their act together and put together better camera work, less “scripted” garbage and more actual race coverage and seriously they need to work on their pit reporters skills (other than Punch”). You can tell the drivers think the blond bobblehead twins are asking foolish questions, so why take them seriously.
ESPN bills itself as the “worldwide leader in sports”, well, not with regard to NASCAR. Fox’s coverage is at least enthusiastic, although I think DW is tremendously unprofessional with all the cheerleading he does for driver’s he likes and the make of car his brother drives. The dratted gopher needs to get run over at Daytona and never be seen again.
Now Daley Planet needs to attack DW, Larry and Hammond with the same furor they used on Dr. Punch. He may have had some weakness, but these guys are just plain terrible on so many levels. So many things in broadcasting that they do so poorly. Of the many, the worst to me is when Larry, DW, start raising their voices to a high pitch and try and make something on track more exciting than it really is, that’s so insulting. I know when things are becoming exciting. Too many more to list here. I do think Marty will be very good so people should be happy. Now if the self anointed expert Daley really wants to do what he claims he’s doing, he will go after the real problems with FOX , pont them out, and really help make TV watching better.
I agree with Wayne^ ’s post. Dr Punch is ok, he didn’t bother me with his announcing. Lest where he will be he’ll be appreciated more. YES, they should get Alan Bestwick to call the races also.
I agee with Wayne^ about oleDW, Hammond, Larry. They have their favorites that they give kudo’s to wether the person needs kudos or not. Hammond was speaking well of Jeremy once, than after the bogas charges by nascrap, said some nasty things about Jeremy. That don’t sit to well with fans. They should Thank Goid that they have a job…and let’s hope that DIGGERthe animal has moved on…that is the most stupid thing on tv…I don’t mind the ‘boggity,boggity, boogity..let’s go racing boys’…but Digger and the kiss-up to some drivers should go bye-bye.Hopefully nascrap hasn’t ruined racing anymore than they have…or soon we will see not a lot of people in the stands. Maybe than nascrap will change some things back the way it was.I doubt it tho….they are to self-centered to do that….