So, I am sitting on the couch watching basketball. It is the third day of the first weekend of March Madness. The phone rings and it is a friend of mine on the other end. No “hello”, “How’s it going”, or “you watching the game”… just the truth, “CBS has their head up their a$$”.
In their infinite wisdom, at that moment, the networks have decided to show half times at various arenas and a few highlight clips. Mean while, there is that one game in process but why in the world would the East Coast want to watch the number one seed in the Midwest. It is not irrelevant, but also not crucial that you understand that is MY team. My friend is right, neither the network nor the NCAA has a grasp on their audience.
Adding to the bad attitude stew that is brewing in my head, I now must grab my shoes and coat and drive to the only local sports bar. This bar is a teenage strip mall cavern that does not serve a single acceptable beer. Sports without a good beer is just, well, sports.
If you ever wanted proof that the networks are wondering lost, you can find it this weekend in the CBS broadcast of NCAA men’s basketball.
There are (at least) two types of fans that this network is ignoring.
First, most of us did not go to Brown and upon graduation buy a little place on Slater Avenue. Most of us have moved away from our alma mater (wait, does Brown even have a basketball team?). And, by the way, it would be cool if we could see our team play an entire game. The regional broadcast of games based upon rank and metro area TV markets is sooo not customer centric.
Second, IMHO, this is the greatest sporting event in the world. Many of us, favorite teams aside, are fans of the event. And we would like to watch the event… the whole event. People take vacations days to watch this first weekend where sixty-four teams so of which we’ve never heard of compete. Let us see the ‘whole’ tournament.
Plain and simple, this event is too large for a single channel. And, it is to important for one that has their head, well, you know.
