The Announcers Thread

I must hand a compliment to the NBC crew and staff this season as I do see a little progress on several annoying items.

1 - The production staff is now lowering the racing/engine noise from the track when playing team/driver radio chatter. It’s hard enough to understand but with loud roaring competing with that, we always struggled to understand. Thank you!

2 - Gerbils aren’t walking all over each other as much.
 
Daytripper said:
Ditch Burton and have Allen bestwick call the race and NBC would be damn near perfect. You don't even have to ditch Burton. I would be fine with him on pit road just keep him out of the booth.
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Burton on pit road is a good idea. The engine noise would drown out his chatter..
And Bestwick would be awesome anywhere...
 
So....no more gerbils or FOX for the Xfinity races after 2024. I wonder what this means for Cup and Truck? Will NBC get a new contract for Cup and Truck stay with FOX? Or are they just not ready to announce a move to The CW for Cup yet? As much as I have disliked FOX lately (and finally am starting to like NBC), I'm not sure how good it would be to have a different network for each series.

I have to think the current FOX/NBC arrangement will stay the same for Cup otherwise Harvick wouldn't have taken the job on FOX if he thought it was going to be for just one year.

I wonder who the Xfinity announcers will be on The CW?

sports.yahoo.com

NASCAR: All Xfinity races will be broadcast on The CW starting in 2025

NASCAR's Xfinity Series will move to over-the-air TV for all events starting in two years.
sports.yahoo.com sports.yahoo.com

 
More info. She must have read my mind and addressed some of my questions. At first impression, it sounds fine but still a lot of questions without answers yet.

NASCAR productions in partnership with The CW will be broadcasting the races, qualifying and practices and hiring the broadcasters. So......this appears to be our chance: Quote from the video below..."If you have a dream broadcaster you would like to see hired for these races, this is the time to let the networks know!"

 
I know, another post in a row but the more I am learning about this, the more excited I am becoming about it. The first shoe in Nascar's new broadcasting strategy has clearly just dropped and I see the possibility of a lot of good things maybe happening next.

It's clear that the Nexstar/CW/Newsnation/Nascar strategy is to radiate Nascar broadcasts out to as many new and younger fans as possible of trying to limit their broadcasts to a service such as Amazon Prime (like the NFL was just so dumb in doing and with disasterous results). All of the broadcasts will be free and reach nearly 100% of US homes for free via OTA, cable packages or the CW App. That means we won't have to see coverage split between mulitiple stations (such as NBC, USA and Peacock for example). It's also rumored that Nexstar will be bringing soccer coverage on board.

From Wikipedia: "The CW covers just over 98 percent of television homes in the United States, with network affiliate over-the-air coverage in all of the top 100 Nielsen-ranked markets." There is a list of The CW affiliates and more detail of the coverage. The only thing I don't like about the network so far is that they include LIV Golf. That's more a gribe for the Podium so I won't discuss it here.

List of The CW affiliates (table) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

Nascar is clearly getting in on the ground floor with an outfit (Nexstar/Newsnation/The CW) that is just trying to establish itself as a player in both the broadcasting and sports fields. This means that there is not a lot that's cast in concrete yet (even though the new Xfinity contract term has now been established for 7 years), there's still not a lot of detail finalized in it yet. This also means that as a new, growing operation Nexstar/CW will be much more willing to listen to new ideas and much more motivated to make the arrangement work than an older, more established network such as FOX.

The fact that we have an opportunity to suggest who we want as the announcers is one example of this. Another example would be what people want to see in the type of cars raced, race schedules, etc. It sounds like this is all stuff yet to be figured out. It also shows that Nascar is willing to try more new things just as it did with the Chicago street race.

I just see a lot of good things possibly coming from this, including the fact that both the Cup and Truck series may also be worked into the new broadcast arrangement and with the same free broadcast coverage that Xfinity will have, since their contracts are still being worked on. It would be neat having all 3 series under one roof so to speak, and with that roof being an organization that's in the process of building something new, highly movtivated to listen to its viewers, establish itself as a player in a new field and succeed overall.


"https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mo...p&cvid=31638621c2bb4b1fa55bbcafd82ef7c6&ei=18"

 
No doubt that Cup is staying on FOX/NBC, hopefully with more network races on the schedule. Adding Amazon to do the summer races will probably make this deal bigger than the current TV contract. Trucks will probably stay on FOX/FS1 and I hope the teams will get a bigger piece of the pie of the TV deal.
 
OTA broadcast television and OTT streaming are the most important pieces now.

The CW has both.

ION Television is entering the sports arena too.

Sports leagues want to be seen by as many eyeballs as possible, and with cable dying, it’s clear that they want to be on broadcast and streaming.

MLS went with Apple TV and Fox.

Xfinity Series on The CW.

The NFL’s recent deal with YouTube.


I wonder if we’ll see several more Truck races land on Fox. Doubtful since they already have so many other properties, and Fox is still invested heavily in FS1.

To me, the best deal that involves Fox staying would see them put the races on Fox with a few on FS1, and simulcast those races on Amazon Prime like they did their old Thursday Night Football package.

I kind of hope the Truck Series goes exclusively to streaming. FS1 gives more eyeballs now, but what about five years from now?
 
I watched some of the Xfinity race from Road America. Jeff Burton was on the call with Dale Jarrett and Dave Burns. Burton wasn't as high pitched as he usually is. I think Dale Jr. has a bigger influence on his tone than we realize.
 
MRM said:
I watched some of the Xfinity race from Road America. Jeff Burton was on the call with Dale Jarrett and Dave Burns. Burton wasn't as high pitched as he usually is. I think Dale Jr. has a bigger influence on his tone than we realize.
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I don't think Gerbil Jeff was the anchor. Burns and Jarrett seemed to be carrying the show I thought. (Jeff was saving his screeching voice for the cup race)
 
My nomination for the booth in the new CW Xfinity broadcasts are Allen Bestwick and Kurt Busch. I will add one more name who really probably isn't viable because of his current executive position at Hendricks and that would be Chad Knaus. He did a great job with the races I've heard him do in the past although as I said, he is probably not a realistic choice.

Another choice might be Ricky Carmichael or even just have two people in the booth for a while. That wouldn't give you a crew chief in the booth however.
 
StandOnIt said:
I don't think Gerbil Jeff was the anchor. Burns and Jarrett seemed to be carrying the show I thought. (Jeff was saving his screeching voice for the cup race)
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No, he wasn't the "anchor." But he was a bit more reserved. I think Dale Jarrett had a lot to do with that.
 
MRM said:
I think Dale Jr. has a bigger influence on his tone than we realize.
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I recall Jeff as being screechy before Jr. joined the team.

I think it's the booth environment. Jeff was less hyper when he was in the studio before moving to the booth.
 
Um....Hailey Deegan is the sport's most popular driver?

Also, FOX is apparently now broadcasting truck races with the announcers at the Charlotte studio instead of at the actual tracks.

"https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mo...p&cvid=b221bf1ea90f4434b7794b22058d6465&ei=32"

>>Fox Officials Decline Comment on NASCAR Broadcasts but Network Reveals How Much It Cares About Coverage Compared to NBC in a Single Embarrassing Move With Its Announcers...​


...When the broadcast returned from the commercials, there had been a three-truck accident involving the sport’s most popular driver, Hailie Deegan. It was bad enough that fans watching at home had to miss the accident live, but it was even worse when Fox showed three replays of the incident and none of the angles showed how it started. Not a single camera around the short .686-mile track caught it...<<

>>...Interestingly, since the Cup and Xfinity races moved to NBC, Fox has sent its pit road reporters to the Truck Series venues, but the booth announcers have not traveled to the track. Instead, they remain at the Charlotte studios and try to make it appear that they’re at the track by standing in front of a wall of TVs with the track showing in the background...<<
 
Tumbleweed said:
Um....Hailey Deegan is the sport's most popular driver?

Also, FOX is apparently now broadcasting truck races with the announcers at the Charlotte studio instead of at the actual tracks.

"https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mo...p&cvid=b221bf1ea90f4434b7794b22058d6465&ei=32"

>>Fox Officials Decline Comment on NASCAR Broadcasts but Network Reveals How Much It Cares About Coverage Compared to NBC in a Single Embarrassing Move With Its Announcers...​


...When the broadcast returned from the commercials, there had been a three-truck accident involving the sport’s most popular driver, Hailie Deegan. It was bad enough that fans watching at home had to miss the accident live, but it was even worse when Fox showed three replays of the incident and none of the angles showed how it started. Not a single camera around the short .686-mile track caught it...<<

>>...Interestingly, since the Cup and Xfinity races moved to NBC, Fox has sent its pit road reporters to the Truck Series venues, but the booth announcers have not traveled to the track. Instead, they remain at the Charlotte studios and try to make it appear that they’re at the track by standing in front of a wall of TVs with the track showing in the background...<<
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On top of the coverage, the graphics on Fox are probably the worst graphics I've ever seen for a sports broadcast in my life.

Fox is obsessed with enormous, in-your-face, ugly, comic book graphics right now. Which is a shame, because the graphics they used for NFL prior to the Super Bowl, and the 2018-2021 Fox NASCAR graphics package were actually pretty nice.

With the exception of the ticker, and then the pylon, NBC's graphics are unchanged through eight seasons and they still work.
 
I thought at the beginning of the truck race at Richmond the announcers were in a studio. That shows you what they think of the product.
 
****** "radio style" bull**** this weekend. Bagley stroking himself this morning with Burton. Dear God that **** is bad. Bagley's call last year was pathetic.
 
NBC had more balanced coverage throughout the field,
Bull ****.gif
 
Of course NBC is more focused on the playoffs than Fox. Seeing as the playoffs are on NBC, and not on Fox.

What do y'all expect them to do? Talk about a battle for 23rd place among two non-playoff drivers instead of an exhilarating battle for the win involving drivers trying to advance to the next round of the playoffs?
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Of course NBC is more focused on the playoffs than Fox. Seeing as the playoffs are on NBC, and not on Fox.

What do y'all expect them to do? Talk about a battle for 23rd place among two non-playoff drivers instead of an exhilarating battle for the win involving drivers trying to advance to the next round of the playoffs?
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Andy, it is the screaming, none stop hi pitch little girl screaming, repeating the obvious over and over and over. The inaccuracy of Ricks incessant blabber about passes and lead change attempts.
 
sdj said:
Andy, it is the screaming, none stop hi pitch little girl screaming, repeating the obvious over and over and over. The inaccuracy of Ricks incessant blabber about passes and lead change attempts.
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This. It's not so much what they're discussing as it is how they do it.

There's a show on Golf Channel with a guy giving lessons. I don't play and likely never will, but he's entertaining enough that I'll leave him on if there's nothing I'm actively interested in. Millions of people who will never pick up a paintbrush buy tons of Bob Ross merchandise because of his on-air persona. It's possible for an on-air personality to keep people interested even if they don't give a hoot about his subject.

Indeed, John Madden demonstrated a commentator can be excited and enthused on the air without running people off like flatulent skunk. The Gerbils are more like Dick Vitale - a parody of a commentator, way too over-the-top for human consumption.

EDIT - 'Flatulent Skunk' would be a great name for a garage band.
 
I'm just glad I found a solution that works pretty good for me. I listen to either MRN or PRN from the Nascar site and I have the TV's sound off. They announce the race, and not a bunch of make believe.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
I liked Rut. It was the lightweight 'lifestyle' nonsense he was assigned that wasn't worth the electrons used to generate it.
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Rut is both a hard core car guy (he has builds happening all the time, mostly import) AND approachable. He's not for the hard-core bench racers, but for new and casual fans I thought he was a good fit.
 
StandOnIt said:
I'm just glad I found a solution that works pretty good for me. I listen to either MRN or PRN from the Nascar site and I have the TV's sound off. They announce the race, and not a bunch of make believe.
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How well does the TV and radio sync up? Do u gotta play around with play/pause much to get the delays to be the same?
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Of course NBC is more focused on the playoffs than Fox. Seeing as the playoffs are on NBC, and not on Fox.

What do y'all expect them to do? Talk about a battle for 23rd place among two non-playoff drivers instead of an exhilarating battle for the win involving drivers trying to advance to the next round of the playoffs?
Click to expand...

Ummm....have you been watching the broadcasts???

Points points points! Oh, there's a battle up front? Nah, let's focus on the guy in 14th who is trying to stay above the cutoff line with two races left in the round! Wait, what's the current points as they run? Make sure you show that graphic 24327462 more times during the race!

Rick the game show host with his ridiculous hyperbolic statements and dumb questions setting up loudmouth Burton to tell us what the drivers are thinking and feeling at every moment and what they will do next and how difficult and important everything is.......ughhhhh. It's unbearable.
 
2 Sweet said:
Ummm....have you been watching the broadcasts???

Points points points! Oh, there's a battle up front? Nah, let's focus on the guy in 14th who is trying to stay above the cutoff line with two races left in the round! Wait, what's the current points as they run? Make sure you show that graphic 24327462 more times during the race!

Rick the game show host with his ridiculous hyperbolic statements and dumb questions setting up loudmouth Burton to tell us what the drivers are thinking and feeling at every moment and what they will do next and how difficult and important everything is.......ughhhhh. It's unbearable.
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We probably should pin this one. ^I can't fault their camera work except to say they have it aimed at the wrong cars quite a bit. Fox Sports almost every day of the week has an hour of Race Hub where they give their opinions on drivers and the race. That is the place for that, not in the middle of the race.
 
2 Sweet said:
Ummm....have you been watching the broadcasts???

Points points points! Oh, there's a battle up front? Nah, let's focus on the guy in 14th who is trying to stay above the cutoff line with two races left in the round! Wait, what's the current points as they run? Make sure you show that graphic 24327462 more times during the race!

Rick the game show host with his ridiculous hyperbolic statements and dumb questions setting up loudmouth Burton to tell us what the drivers are thinking and feeling at every moment and what they will do next and how difficult and important everything is.......ughhhhh. It's unbearable.
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It’s a crime a boob like Rick Allen gets to do play by play for this sport when Allen Bestwick is just sitting there. Id launch Rick to WWE, put Burton in a nbc studio and roll with Earnhardt Jr and Letarte as analysts. Maybe because it’s only 2 races left and I’ve about had my fill of them, but this round the NBC Crew has been grating on me. Which is a shame because I think everything else on their coverage is top notch.
 
Harv's coming out party on Fox today with the preview show. This will take some getting used to......
 
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