USOC TV Network to debut in '10

[dknj]

After more than two years of negotiations, the U.S. Olympic Committee is ready to introduce a network devoted solely to Olympic sports.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090708/...y_usoc_network

[silver2e]

New York Times has a story today that USOC jumped the gun in announcing this. Apparently, IOC has not agreed about giving USOC rights they need. Protecting NBC's Olympics investments and Universal Sports Channel.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/sp...r=1&ref=sports

[dknj]

Considering this is the USOC, I'm not surprised. Disappointed, but not surprised.

[pillow]

After more than two years of negotiations, the U.S. Olympic Committee is ready to introduce a network devoted solely to Olympic sports.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090708/...y_usoc_network

Wow. This is the best news I've heard since the introduction of visor masks. Just fantastic. An incredible waste of time and money. Unless of course you want to watch beach volleyball as per the last Olympics.

We all know that the only possible way for fencing to be transmitted in any meaningful way is via internet streaming video of World Cups and World Champs, etc, not on a TV network. Go check out the financial success of the Tennis Channel or Versus. On the other hand, if it is not USFA money, who cares? Unless of course, that money would be better spent on fencer training and serving the membership.

[Applesauce and Foils]

But it might be easier to get fencing on this channel than on regular channels. Sounds like a good idea to me.

AF

[Dan H]

Well, it looks as though the IOC, perhaps at the urging of NBC, mothballed the plan: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090816/...usoc_network_2
Putting aside the question of if the network would be a good use of money, I'm a little annoyed by how this seems to have gone down. Am I misinterpreting this, or is the "problem" here a perceived threat to NBC's revenue stream from its ownership of Olympic broadcast rights by televising any competition in small Olympic sports such as fencing?

[Catseye]

Why would a USOC tv network be better than access online anyway? Especially when there's a chance that it wouldn't come as part of a standard cable package.

[silver2e]

Why would a USOC tv network be better than access online anyway? Especially when there's a chance that it wouldn't come as part of a standard cable package.

Universal Sports doesn't look like it's going to give any online access. No video streaming of the fencing World Championships as far a their schedule shows. Take a look-- they list one day (OCT 16th if I remember right) after the tournament is over to show highlights. At least when there was WCSN, we could get some live coverage.

[10000Fencers]

WCSN was bought by NBC and converted to NBC Universal Sports. I know they plan to air the fencing world championships, but what to extent I don't know. I think they've wanted to air a national fencing competition this year, but the USOC owns our television rights since former ED sold those to them for an undisclosed amount of money.

NBC Universal has been airing Olympic sports and growing the number of households where its carried significantly this year.

[DavidX]

What needs to happen is total upgrade of the content of streaming video - MUCH better commentary - better angles and replay - with a faster paced tempo and a healthy injection of some drama.
When we all watched phelps in beijing it was like we were all part of this thing - this great nationalistic thing where we were totally sticking it to the rest of the world - phelps became a totem for all our not so latent feelings of superiority and rightness and we all felt that we got a little of what was taken from us by 8 years of being the butt of political jokes back - I mean even freaking Macedonians were clowning us. And than this one dude comes out and is like - say what you want you jealous taint-ferrets - we're still the best - and here's proof.

We need that with fencing - and if it doesnt exist - we need to make it the **** up. We need to have funny dynamic commentary like a panel of three - and have one of them be european - so the undercurrent of nationalistic tension and drama can be played out in what is said as well as seen. We need more player interviews and backgrounds - and enough of this g rated scripted sportsmanship nonsense
"oh you know - we just train hard and give a hundred and ten percent - and our opponents played a really good game and were just happy to be here"
****ing BORING
it needs to be down and dirty and personal - like " I gave up on a lucrative international business career to play swords with a bunch of ass clowns in a dirty basement for six years to get here and as soon as I get on that strip im gonna tear that greasy little guido a new canoli hole"

When you watch streaming olympic video from NBC its like watching some kind of big brother voyeur cam in a gym full of white clad fairies - the average american has no idea whats going on or what is going to happen and than all of a sudden two guys are on the strip with like 2 sentences to introduce them (if there is any commentary at all) and than they are doing something barely visibile for a few seconds at a time and than its over.
W
T
F
thats not good tv - thats not even passible if you love fencing more than your own children.
Millions - MILLIONS of people watch golf every week - and its nothing but some crotchety old crackers whacking around a tiny ball around a big tree studded lawn where you know they wish they still had seperate drinking fountains. but people watch it
why? production value and commentary - I mean some of these shots are nothing but minutes - MINUTES- of some goofy mayonaise sandwhich staring at a ball and than a hole in the ground - and than back at the ball and than back at the hole in the ground - and on sunday it can be one of the highest rated things on network. But people watch it - because they CARE about the individual - they have been following them and they want to see how they do - they know things about them and it makes them feel personally invested in how they perform.

Fencing is a very individualized sport and it should be presented as such - its a patently european sport and that fact should be used to up the drama - not make it look like some limpwristed past time for over priviledged diletantes - like good ol fashioned american grit overcoming this culture of european quasi aristocracy.

Fencing needs to be Rocky-fied.

And can someone like take a ****ing night class in video recording and come up with some new camera angles - new ways to present the sport. The same tired angle isnt going to win over people who have never watched it before.

And the site where its presented at needs to be interactive - with descriptions of the bouts and tournaments and what their reprecussions are - even to experienced fencers - how certain people are selected for certain tournaments is mostly viewed as a mixture of theoretical calculus and voodoo. Also a space for the actual fencers of the bout to comment or give their own play by play - what they were thinking when this person did that and how they formulated their tactics and summoned their will.

A high end site that provided all that - combined with an aggressive and sexy and mainstream campaign to bring attention to the site (fencing is a sexy sport is the right kind of idea but maybe a little TOO overt for anyone with more than an 8th grade education - SHOW not tell) bring the emphasis back on the fact that at the end of the day its a duel with swords between countries that dont like eachother - put much more emphasis on the fighters themselves with better commentary and backstory and make it quick and easy to get up to speed on whats going on in the sport and where its immediately going and for **** s **** -ing sake call them something other than ****ing "touches".

Also an emphasis should be put on how easily one can get into the sport - and that with a little practice it could be YOU on tv stabbing douches from countries you dont like - unlike gymnastics you dont have to fence since you were a first trimester zygote in order to do well and there are few sports that are so fun to practice.
The rise of the UFC has shown how willing people are to get on board for some good ol combatives if its packaged in the right way - fencing could be so much more than it is now if someone other than a bunch of stuffy out of touch crackers were responsible for its fate.

So speaketh DavidX.

will/love/baconcheezburgers

[ivlobane]

Look here http://www.usfencing.org/video

The Junior Men's epee was commented by Brandon Baby and some saber guy. Baby was completely on the right track, very nice tidbits of info before the bout starts. The bout itself was followed decently by the camera.

Baby was taking it pretty seriously and the banter was great

Saber guy:
-Some people are not a fan of epee since it's much slower pace

Baby:
-Mike, I believe that's YOU.

In general, Baby was making intelligent comments that were timed well. He also used fencing specific words, "Opposition eight" ect... Had an office mate watch it, it made them curious as to what that is. I explained briefly and it took off from there. He is now signed up to try it with his kid.

We need to treat our sport like a sport and not a hobby on par with video gaming or stamp collecting! The intensity from Josh Silver didn't hurt either, it was a nice bout.

[nahouw]

...and some saber guy...

Mike D'Asaro Jr.

[ivlobane]

Ok, I don't know him. Not impressed by the ADD comment. Not being able to follow an epee bout due to ADD or something. I guess he was trying to recover from an earlier comment and be funny, but it fell flat. Do we really need to display our goofy little inter-sport laundries in public like that?

[DavidX]

Look here http://www.usfencing.org/video


We need to treat our sport like a sport and not a hobby on par with video gaming or stamp collecting! The intensity from Josh Silver didn't hurt either, it was a nice bout.

Yeah - that commentary was pretty solid. I wish there was slow motion replay though - one of the things eurosport does so right is there slow motion commentary. I mean - lets face it - even to experienced fencers - sabre goes so quick its hard to really appreciate all the subtle tactics and techniques that can go down in less than a second - but when you have slo mo replay its like

"oh YEAH - that IS pretty awesome - much more than someone just taking a whack at someone else whilst hoping not to get whacked themselves"

and I know that the background content for a junior may not be as robust as an adult but more should be said about the actual fencers - how one goes about actually getting that information about every fencer is not my job to figure out - but like I said in sports where the action is quick and minimal - like in golf - you have to make it more about the actual individual.

Also slo mo replay with the one scoring the hit facing the camera is super awesome - you can really see all the subtle hand movements and with the new face guards you can see their crazy braveheart faces as they come charging in.