See what I did there? Called this week's installment "Episode 1"? Like a TV episode? Because I'm writing about TV? Man...clever stuff. I should be writing for television.
In all seriousness, this is actually a timely post (along with Episode 2, coming next week), what with the US Olympic trials on NBC these next two weekends. I'd like to say I had it all planned out that way, but let's be honest here...if you've seen my room, you know I'm not nearly organized enough to do that.
This week's post, Episode 1, is about TV time slots. Where do track meets fit into time slots on the TV schedule? The short answer: nowhere.
Track meets are different than the more mainstream sports (and perhaps that partly why track isn't so mainstream...hence the point of this series). Football games usually last a consistent 3 hours, so a 3 hour time slot is perfect for the NFL. Basketball games last 2-3 hours, so a similar time slot works out well, too. Baseball is a little less tied to the clock, but the games generally average out to about 3 hours. Again, an easy slot to fill. Soccer is the easiest of all (is anyone else enthralled by Euro 2012?); games are always 90 minutes, plus halftime, which equals an easy 2 hour time slot.
But track? Well, track doesn't have a running clock like 3 of those other 4 sports do (yes, that's a great pun. Or is it terrible? Should I be punished?). There isn't one single, constant action at a track meet. You've got prelims, semi-finals, finals; different heats. Sometimes there are multiple events going at multiple arenas: races, jumps, vaults, throws; all could be happening simultaneously, sometimes on the track/infield, sometimes in separate arenas. Sometimes there isn't really much going on at all, just a little downtime for the athletes. And track meets don't last for a certain set time frame; they last all day. Oh and I almost forgot: different hours all day for multiple days. The Olympic Trials now span 11 days between June 21 and July 1!
How can you possibly fit all that into a simple 2-3 hour block on network or basic cable, where broadcast time is super-competitive? These time slots are very linear, very one-dimensional. And mainstream sports easily fit into that. But with all-day competitions that can last over a week and have multiple events going on at the same time, track meets have way too many dimensions to be pigeon-holed into available time slots.
So what happens? NBC and ESPN basically put together an extended highlight show, packing these enormous track meets into maybe 2 hours. And with that, there can't be anything more than superficial coverage. Sprints get first billing because they are short and sweet...basically, the race fits perfectly into a highlight because, well, it is a highlight. Distance events come next, but are typically interrupted by commercials because they're long and boring (more on that later) -- they don't make for good highlights. And field events, perhaps the most complex of the competitions, get basically nothing. We get to see the winner jump or throw once, and that's about it.
The problem is, track meets don't really lend themselves to TV packaging, simply because they're so big and so complex. TV coverage amounts to essentially highlights. For die-hard fans, that's not satisfying. And for casual fans (who make up the bulk of sports fans), it creates too cursory and superficial a program to be interesting. The time slot is too superficial, which means that casual fans can't learn what they are watching. And if they don't know what they are watching, will they be inclined to watch again in the future? Doubt it. (Again, more on that later.)
Marathons are interesting. An elite marathon ranges between 2 and 2.5 hours (between men and women). You'd think that would fit perfectly into the time slot. No timeouts, no halftime, no overtime; it really fits perfectly. But let's be honest: 2 hours of people running? That's pretty boring. I mean, I'm a huge fan (heck, it's what I do) and even I'm admitting it can get boring to watch. Especially when you have commentators who have no idea what they're talking about...
...Oooh, what a segue into Episode 2...to be continued...
Coming Next: Track on TV, Episode 2
In all seriousness, this is actually a timely post (along with Episode 2, coming next week), what with the US Olympic trials on NBC these next two weekends. I'd like to say I had it all planned out that way, but let's be honest here...if you've seen my room, you know I'm not nearly organized enough to do that.
This week's post, Episode 1, is about TV time slots. Where do track meets fit into time slots on the TV schedule? The short answer: nowhere.
Track meets are different than the more mainstream sports (and perhaps that partly why track isn't so mainstream...hence the point of this series). Football games usually last a consistent 3 hours, so a 3 hour time slot is perfect for the NFL. Basketball games last 2-3 hours, so a similar time slot works out well, too. Baseball is a little less tied to the clock, but the games generally average out to about 3 hours. Again, an easy slot to fill. Soccer is the easiest of all (is anyone else enthralled by Euro 2012?); games are always 90 minutes, plus halftime, which equals an easy 2 hour time slot.
But track? Well, track doesn't have a running clock like 3 of those other 4 sports do (yes, that's a great pun. Or is it terrible? Should I be punished?). There isn't one single, constant action at a track meet. You've got prelims, semi-finals, finals; different heats. Sometimes there are multiple events going at multiple arenas: races, jumps, vaults, throws; all could be happening simultaneously, sometimes on the track/infield, sometimes in separate arenas. Sometimes there isn't really much going on at all, just a little downtime for the athletes. And track meets don't last for a certain set time frame; they last all day. Oh and I almost forgot: different hours all day for multiple days. The Olympic Trials now span 11 days between June 21 and July 1!
How can you possibly fit all that into a simple 2-3 hour block on network or basic cable, where broadcast time is super-competitive? These time slots are very linear, very one-dimensional. And mainstream sports easily fit into that. But with all-day competitions that can last over a week and have multiple events going on at the same time, track meets have way too many dimensions to be pigeon-holed into available time slots.
So what happens? NBC and ESPN basically put together an extended highlight show, packing these enormous track meets into maybe 2 hours. And with that, there can't be anything more than superficial coverage. Sprints get first billing because they are short and sweet...basically, the race fits perfectly into a highlight because, well, it is a highlight. Distance events come next, but are typically interrupted by commercials because they're long and boring (more on that later) -- they don't make for good highlights. And field events, perhaps the most complex of the competitions, get basically nothing. We get to see the winner jump or throw once, and that's about it.
The problem is, track meets don't really lend themselves to TV packaging, simply because they're so big and so complex. TV coverage amounts to essentially highlights. For die-hard fans, that's not satisfying. And for casual fans (who make up the bulk of sports fans), it creates too cursory and superficial a program to be interesting. The time slot is too superficial, which means that casual fans can't learn what they are watching. And if they don't know what they are watching, will they be inclined to watch again in the future? Doubt it. (Again, more on that later.)
Marathons are interesting. An elite marathon ranges between 2 and 2.5 hours (between men and women). You'd think that would fit perfectly into the time slot. No timeouts, no halftime, no overtime; it really fits perfectly. But let's be honest: 2 hours of people running? That's pretty boring. I mean, I'm a huge fan (heck, it's what I do) and even I'm admitting it can get boring to watch. Especially when you have commentators who have no idea what they're talking about...
...Oooh, what a segue into Episode 2...to be continued...
Coming Next: Track on TV, Episode 2
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