Jun
09
Guest Column: How To Improve NBC Sports Network
Our next-to-last day of guest columns concludes with this one from Jesse Karangu who has this thesis on how to improve NBC Sports Network.
When NBC Sports Network came into the forefront of sports fans’ viewpoint, many were excited that there would finally be a serious alternative to the all-powerful ESPN. Fox had tried with a regional sports network but failed and besides sports blogs and websites, there has been no other voice in the sports world other than the omniscient force located in Bristol, CT. Sadly for all of the bigwigs at Comcast, most of that buzz has been lost, and many sports fans have not been convinced to change their ESPN habits. The ratings for the network have gotten even lower than they were when Versus was on air and a lot of scrutiny has been placed on Mark Lazurus (president of NBC Sports) for the lackluster performance.
To NBC Sports Network’s credit they’ve made a lot of positive moves from expanding their coverage of hockey, to keeping events Versus was known for such as IndyCar and Tour de France, bringing in Bob Costas to host his own monthly talk show, starting a nightly news/talk show, hiring Michelle Beadle and even utilizing NFL Films for a series. But in my opinion, that is not enough. Here are some of the things I would do if I was in charge of NBC Sports Net.
- At 5am, NBCSN can have a highlights show which separates itself from “NBC Sports Talk” and just run through highlights with no opinion for an hour to remind viewers of everything that occurred the night before.
- Create a live morning alternative to “SportsCenter” under the same moniker “NBC Sports Talk” but with a “Morning Joe” type set-up. You would have 3 people who would be the main hosts which would be Erik Kuslieas, Michelle Beadle and Warren Sapp or Bill Romanowski, who was recently released from “Inside the NFL” but will continue some work with the NFL Network. Beadle is already very experienced with making loudmouth personalities seem likeable and she would be the main lead of the show. The show would air from 6-9am and would feature a different roundtable of guests every morning. They would have the ability to go in depth on various subjects and also bring in some of the same, light-hearted and corny type of segments that Beadle was used to with “SportsNation”. It could be very similar to FSN’s successful show “Best Damn Sports Period”. The show doesn’t also necessarily have to always talk about sports.
- Embrace your Comcast SportsNet family and broadcast some of their local show nationally to give national viewers a perspective of each region from CSN Chicago’s Chicago Tribune Live to CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Sports Talk to CSN Philly’s Philly Sports Talk etc. and use these shows to fill up time with relevant sports talk instead of repeats of outdoors programming all day. You can also use these network’s personalities to begin an “Around the Horn”-type show with each city with a CSN affiliate represented. They would each pick a topic to talk about affecting their local teams and everyone on the panel would analyze it. You could also include sports bloggers as well.
- Continue to invest in original programming. Develop shows with your own personalities such as Cris Collinsworth, Al Michaels, Michelle Tafoya or famous sports talk personalities such as Chris Russo, Steve Czaban, Sid Rosenberg, the 2 Live Stews, Tony Bruno, Artie Lange, Rob Parker, Buzz Bissinger or internet superstars like Will Leitch, Brooks, Drew Magery (who could give a weekly or daily behind the scenes look at Deadspin), The Basketball Jones, Bomani Jones, Jason McIntyre, Will Carroll, Real Cold Hard Football Facts.com, Smart Football.com etc. Team up with the journalists at Yahoo Sports! and begin an investigative “Dateline” meets “Real Sports” meets “Rock Center” type of show. Show an SNL-highlights show with the best sports skits and skits involving athlete celebrity guests. Rerun full episodes of SNL that had athlete guests on as well (although SNL may be tangled up in syndication deals with VH1). Start a sports comedy/sketch show with popular sports comedy geniuses like all of the Meme FB sites, Eric Stengel etc. License online content from YouTube content providers such as the NOC and SBNation, which Comcast owns some percentages in. Expand on your sports documentary series’ such as the “36” show to feature other sports even if NBC doesn’t own the rights to it. It was very wise of them to acquire MLS and USA Soccer and their bases, but the reason those viewers don’t stay is because there’s no supplemental programming besides live games. The point is, bring the nation outspoken, diverse voices they’ve never heard before, target personalities who already have a base they can bring in and also begin more long-form journalism which ESPN has a weakness in.
- Acquire more live sports!!! You can only do so much if you don’t have any actual sports that people want to watch. Make sure you overpay to steal ESPN’s baseball and Big East packages. Hopefully, by doing so, you can also get more Bob Costas on the network by broadcasting some of his interviews from Studio 42 on MLB Network. Maybe you could even convince Pac 12 Network to simulcast some games and shows on the network in exchange for more carriage on Comcast subs (very unlikely).
- Very, very unlikely scenario:
Comcast gives up control of G4 to DirecTV which turns the station into “The Audience Network”
Gives “The Audience Network” some access to NBC’s library of content
Adds a clause saying that “The Audience Network” must keep some G4 original shows such “American Ninja Warrior” and “Attack of the Show” as well as G4’s personalities
In exchange, NBCSN gets exclusive television rights to the Dan Patrick Show and Nick & Artie Show
“The Audience Network” and Comcast RSN’s can re-air DP Show as soon as it’s done broadcasting live on NBCSN.
Jessie Karangu is an 19-year-old who reps for his hometown of Baltimore, MD and the Baltimore Ravens. He is a sophomore in college and he hosts his own radio show online as well as on the air in Salisbury on 96.3 WXSU. He also is an avid blogger and used to intern for BET Digital. He is proud of his Kenyan-American heritage and dreams of one day becoming a radio and television show host and producer. His idols are Oprah and Ryan Seacrest, believe it or not and you can follow him on Twitter @BeBreezyMan and check out his blog at http://www.thejmanproject.wordpress.com
One more day of guest columns. Check out what we have tomorrow.
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Forgot to include Mike Florio….he already has a 12pm show that airs daily on his website that should be given it's own timeslot on national TV who can't get enough of football………….A Monday Morning QB show with Peter King would also be cool……..NBCSN should continue to expand on studio football programming for college and the pros which is easy and cheap to make and gets some traction during the season.
Other guys to consider giving a program too with an established fan base: Spider and the Henchman formerly of ACE Broadcasting, Danny Picard of UStream and CSN New England, Sklar Bros., Jason Whitlock, MMAJunkie.com crew, Sports Junkies of CBS Radio, Slate's Hang Up and Listen crew, the Football Guys.com, Sirius NFL Radio guys etc…….you won't gain immediate ratings like magic but by proving to the public that you're serious about providing great sports content people will be inclined to tune in.
Keith Olbermann would be great but that's almost guaranteed to never happen……..I would also start game shows, trivia shows, talk shows, reality shows featuring athletes during the offseason
One more idea…..give Al Michaels and Bob Costas a weekly podcast together that debuts on NBC Sports Network with a video version and then airs on NBCSports.com, ITunes and Yahoo Sports Radio….with them sharing opinions on sports and interviewing pop culture icons, politicians, sports figures etc. It can be similar to the old Van Pelt/Tirico show where Tirico was on whenever he didn't have another task to deal with. Al Michaels can be the main host since he doesn't have much he's doing while Costas appears when he's not busy with the NBCSN show, MLBN show and NBC Sports tasks.
Considering that FSN has the rights to simulcast The Dan Patrick Show, then The Audience Network couldn't give it up. Also Bomani Jones is in a contract with ESPN's Around the Horn. And NBCSN has acquired more live sports, if you consider acquiring CAA football and CAA and Ivy League basketball more sports.
A blend of talk shows and live events would really help the channel out. I remember coming home from school and ESPN would show some event (taped) in the afternoon worlds strongest man, or a swim meet or track meet, I miss that. Espn's over kill would be a benefit on NBCSN. If they snag one or two of the big ticket items up for grabs (MLB or big east) great, but don't forget about rarely covered events rugby maybe an MMA series.
Well once those rights w/ FSN are up, I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard to do but that is very unlikely……..also contributor contracts like the one Bomani has or other big contributors are very easy to break especially compared to a hosting gig, I doubt ESPN would keep him or any other contributors hostage if they got a hosting gig somewhere…….with all due respect to the CAA and the Ivy League, those college leagues aren't big enough to draw viewers….they need some Big East and MLB rights!