# Could VERSUS crew Please watch some Euro Road Racing



## mik (Jan 15, 2008)

Unbelievable how CRAPPY today's coverage was....Don't give me the "oh the weather was so terrible" or "we should be grateful for the coverage" blah blah blah excuses... This is supposed to be a "professional" production.It's not like they aren't gettin paid to povide the coverage... When they did get pictures, I saw more of Mancebo's ass than I care to and more long shots from the helicopter that looked like coverage of a police chase than of a bike race. How 'bout an interview of the stage winner after he crosses the line, set Bob "the Bull Dog" Roll on that one.

Director and or producer need to watch a few races and train there motorcamera operators and drivers how to get "into" the race....And how bout givin the moto camera men/women a sham-wow so we could actually see the person they are trying to shoot.....I've seen Paris Roubaix's, Tour of Flanders, Giro stages, Tour stages etc. with just as bad of weather with better coverage than today's effort... TELEVISION 101 by VERSUS or Tour's production company get a F today. Let's hope the rest of the week is better


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## waldo425 (Sep 22, 2008)

It was absolutely horrible. If I had known that was going to happen I would have just come back at the end of the race or not even have watched it at all. I could have been out riding and not watching all the commercials.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

I was getting better news from the cyclingnews text feed. Are they listening to race radio, or what?

But yeah, Frankie Andreu, who you'd think would know a bit about pro bike racing, can't even remember who's in the break and who's chasing, much less have the presence of mind to take a stopwatch to the gap at the finish line.


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## ProRoad (Oct 13, 2008)

I totally agree. With all the money, advertisers and planning at stake, you would think they would learn from the best, but no....

I really hope that we don't get that shaky camera work this year. Im still nauseous from the last one.


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

Creakyknees said:


> I was getting better news from the cyclingnews text feed. Are they listening to race radio, or what?


They get their stuff from several different sources including taking the expense to have people in the race caravan. I found it pretty rich that Phil and Paul were lifted some of their commentary straight from CN, occasionally when they do that too much CN will pass em some wrong info just to keep em honest.


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## moabbiker (Sep 11, 2002)

Pitiful coverage that brought shame upon this race and the entire host state and country. Everyone around the world watching this artificially hyped-up race because of one man entering yet the coverage is on the extreme side of amateurish.


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

every year there's a thread like this - get used to it. Just wait for Milan-San Remo when they go to a four minute commercial break (Saab-born from jets) right when they hit the Poggio...


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## FondriestFan (May 19, 2005)

Wow. The whiners are out in force.



> Pitiful coverage that brought shame upon this race and the entire host state and country.


LOL. Talk about silly hyperbole. The only shame is that I wasted the time to read your post.


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## Mootsie (Feb 4, 2004)

stevesbike said:


> every year there's a thread like this - get used to it. Just wait for Milan-San Remo when they go to a four minute commercial break (Saab-born from jets) right when they hit the Poggio...


+1 I've said it before, I'll say it again. Watching live bike racing on my big screen in February. I've got nothing to complain about.


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## moabbiker (Sep 11, 2002)

FondriestFan said:


> Wow. The whiners are out in force.
> 
> 
> 
> LOL. Talk about silly hyperbole. The only shame is that I wasted the time to read your post.


Yet you wasted even more time to respond. Not a good day for you.


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## quickfeet18 (Mar 2, 2007)

seriously, what a bunch of babies... if you want great coverage go to an easy sport like basketball


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## Dolamite (Feb 27, 2008)

FondriestFan said:


> Wow. The whiners are out in force.
> 
> 
> 
> +1:cryin:


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

From what I understand, there were problems with the signal relay aircraft flying today so it was more complicated than it appeared. I'm surprised that when a network commits two, two hour slots every day for a domestic bike race that the peanut gallery still comes out to complain. I liked less that stellar TV footage better than reading live feed from VN and CN.


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## mik (Jan 15, 2008)

davidka said:


> From what I understand, there were problems with the signal relay aircraft flying today so it was more complicated than it appeared. I'm surprised that when a network commits two, two hour slots every day for a domestic bike race that the peanut gallery still comes out to complain. I liked less that stellar TV footage better than reading live feed from VN and CN.


This "PEANUT GALLERY" was simply pointing out what a less than a professional job they did covering the race...You can bet if it was that crappy of coverage for THE DAYTONA 500, or THE MASTERS, or THE SUPERBOWL there'd be a lot more complaining....

Ummm, they are committing to that air time cause they have "sold" advertising for PROFIT for it based on the veiwership to be generated and the demographic of that viewership...IT"S BUSINESS AND MAKING MONEY not charity by the network.....

AND THEY PUT OUT A PRETTY CRAPPY PRODUCT TODAY.


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## bigpinkt (Jul 20, 2006)

mik said:


> This "PEANUT GALLERY" was simply pointing out what a less than a professional job they did covering the race...You can bet if it was that crappy of coverage for THE DAYTONA 500, or THE MASTERS, or THE SUPERBOWL there'd be a lot more complaining....
> 
> Ummm, they are committing to that air time cause they have "sold" advertising for PROFIT for it based on the veiwership to be generated and the demographic of that viewership...IT"S BUSINESS AND MAKING MONEY not charity by the network.....
> 
> AND THEY PUT OUT A PRETTY CRAPPY PRODUCT TODAY.


The Daytona 500, Masters, or Superbowl do not take place over a point to point, 100 mile course, covered in remote mountains roads.


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## mik (Jan 15, 2008)

bigpinkt said:


> The Daytona 500, Masters, or Superbowl do not take place over a point to point, 100 mile course, covered in remote mountains roads.


Umm, How bout RALLY then, or Powerboat racing, or America's cup yatch racing....

It's not the technology that's the issue here people...Yes, weather plays a role in not getting signal from point a to b.... it's the basics of simply camera work and directing....when they had picture the shots were from behind the rider or with a wet lense not being wiped off or focused to be even close to see who the rider was or from the helicopter with the lense zoomed out...their best pictures were from the static cameras on the finishing circuit......


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

Actually, they have been lucky to sell advertising for bike racing outside of July. When they stopped covering the Giro and Vuelta the cyclists emailed into Versus (OLN at the time). We found out that bullfighting and fishing shows sold more advertising outside of July than cycling if Lance wasn't riding. This may very well be charity by the network. Like I said, way better than reading live updates, I'll take it.


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## fast ferd (Jan 30, 2009)

I'm not so grateful for the television coverage that I'll kiss Versus' toes just yet. Nor will I condemn them. This is a tiny race, compared to the grand tours and classics in Europe. Those events utilize experienced cameramen and choppers/motorcycles. And probably throw way more money at it than Versus. Hopefully they just had a bad day.

So give Versus a break and quit whining.


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## PG_Gary (Jan 21, 2008)

bigpinkt said:


> The Daytona 500, Masters, or Superbowl do not take place over a point to point, 100 mile course, covered in remote mountains roads.


Exactly. If a pro race were in a stadium, we may get cameras on wires flying alongside the leaders, cameras buried in the ground, and some cute blond getting the DS' reactions to each break.

Apparently race radio wasn't very good. Johan Brunyneel commented on it a few times, mid-race, via his Twitter feed. At different points, they didn't know how many where in the break, who was in the break, or how far off the front they were. He was obviously frustrated.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

creeky, i dont think VS had FA there. it was the impecable stylings of craig hummer that was driving you nuts.
i was counting how many different ways he pronounced names. its "cute" when phil and paul do it. just flat out "ignorant american" when he does.



Creakyknees said:


> I was getting better news from the cyclingnews text feed. Are they listening to race radio, or what?
> 
> But yeah, Frankie Andreu, who you'd think would know a bit about pro bike racing, can't even remember who's in the break and who's chasing, much less have the presence of mind to take a stopwatch to the gap at the finish line.


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## Gregpape23 (Jul 29, 2008)

Mootsie said:


> +1 I've said it before, I'll say it again. Watching live bike racing on my big screen in February. I've got nothing to complain about.


amen to that


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## Guest (Feb 16, 2009)

This is why I Tivo the races and watch them later. FFWD through the 1.5 hours of no coverage till Mancebo suddenly appears on the sceen a couple of laps around town and I'm done. Doesn't mean the coverage wasn't crappy, it was but at least I didn't sit through all the commercials they show or have to watch the race not being covered.


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## SwiftSolo (Jun 7, 2008)

Creakyknees said:


> I was getting better news from the cyclingnews text feed. Are they listening to race radio, or what?
> 
> But yeah, Frankie Andreu, who you'd think would know a bit about pro bike racing, can't even remember who's in the break and who's chasing, much less have the presence of mind to take a stopwatch to the gap at the finish line.


If I were you guys I'd refuse to watch (that'l teach'em to be more like urp). I mean with poker, bowling, and golf on the other channels, why would you bother?


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## BunnV (Sep 7, 2005)

kytyree said:


> ... I Tivo the races and watch them later. FFWD through the 1.5 hours of no coverage till Mancebo suddenly appears on the sceen a couple of laps around town and I'm done.


That is EXACTLY what I do. Very enjoyable! :thumbsup:


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## SwiftSolo (Jun 7, 2008)

mik said:


> This "PEANUT GALLERY" was simply pointing out what a less than a professional job they did covering the race...You can bet if it was that crappy of coverage for THE DAYTONA 500, or THE MASTERS, or THE SUPERBOWL there'd be a lot more complaining....
> 
> Ummm, they are committing to that air time cause they have "sold" advertising for PROFIT for it based on the veiwership to be generated and the demographic of that viewership...IT"S BUSINESS AND MAKING MONEY not charity by the network.....
> 
> AND THEY PUT OUT A PRETTY CRAPPY PRODUCT TODAY.


It's simple---Don't watch


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## danahs (May 24, 2008)

thank god for dvr. ffw x64 speed until about 30min left


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

How about the website that didn't have the rider tracking working all day. Don't put stuff on your webiste if it doesn't work. Makes you look even more amateurish. They couldn't even post time gaps on the website, yet every rider has a gps chip on their bike.


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## desmo13 (Jun 28, 2006)

I had the same experience. * terrible coverage.* The rain kept running down my neck because some lady next to me was angling her umbrella and so the steady stream was pouring on me. I need a hat that provides *better coverage* for the back of the neck.


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## Chef Tony (Mar 2, 2004)

1. The commentary on the Amgen tourtracker site is _really_ bad. During yesterday's prologue Andreau was going on about the cool tricks on the website and I'm thinking "uh, was that Boonen starting? doesn't he deserve a mention?"....

2. Now we know that next year the DVD release won't be worth buying...


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

I think it's cool that practically the entire communications apparatus went south. Old fashioned racing! The peloton disappears into the murk.... Forty minutes later, Francisco Mancebo miraculously appears. (Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit, but you get the idea.)


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## sbsbiker (Mar 29, 2008)

"....And how bout givin the moto camera men/women a sham-wow so we could actually see the person they are trying to shoot....."

No excuse for not wiping the lens, Sham Wow should be a sponser!!


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## bigmig19 (Jun 27, 2008)

Same arguement every year. This was pee-poor coverage on all accounts. And contrary to popular belief, some outlets DO get cycling right, so its not impossible as some have argued. Suggesting that we be thankful for shoddy coverage (again) just because they are the only game in town is a sure way to never improve. So your answer is "just dont watch"? Im glad you dont run a business.
Im glad VS gives us anything, but that doesnt stop free thinking individuals from demandng some degree of competance.


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

BunnV said:


> That is EXACTLY what I do. Very enjoyable! :thumbsup:


Me too. Who doesn't use a DVR now? If commercials and hokey attempts at "humor" bother you, and you would like the ability pause, replay and rewind to see how many different ways Hummer could say the same name (three) then join the rest of us in 2009 and get a DVR.


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## funktekk (Jul 29, 2006)

I think the shoddy Versus coverage does a huge disservice to the sport of cycling. By being the soul video coverage source in the USA Versus holds a huge responsibility of showcasing the sport in a medium that is not only palatable to the diehard fans, but also enticing to the causal viewer. 

It is in their best interest to see the tv viewing of this sport grow. There is a lot of hype built around this race with the Armstong comeback story, and such they should expect a lot of new viewers. Versus should be bringing their A game and if this is there A game then they need to step aside and let someone else pick it up.

First off, why not HD? The excuse with the Euro races is that they are picking up Euro network feed and the Euro’s haven’t gone HD yet. But this in their back yard, with their cameras. Cycling is the perfect sport for HD, between the colors of peleton and vistas that they travel through.

I can understand that the weather can always complicate things, and that the aircraft couldn’t fly, but why don’t the cameramen have harddrives that they can record to. That way at least they can piece together some highlight coverage. 

Then we come to the wiping of the cameras. Why put those shots on air when all you see is refracted light through the rain drops on the lens? That picture can’t look any better in the production room. 

To say that we shouldn’t complain because we should be happy we have anything at all is wrong. Coverage of this quality does a huge disservice to the sport and drives more potential fans away than no coverage at all.


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## bigpinkt (Jul 20, 2006)

mik said:


> Umm, How bout RALLY then, or Powerboat racing, or America's cup yatch racing....
> 
> ..


No way Powerboats or the Americas cup goes off in these conditions. Most rally racing is on a defined course with fixed camera points.


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## FondriestFan (May 19, 2005)

funktekk said:


> I think the shoddy Versus coverage does a huge disservice to the sport of cycling. By being the soul video coverage source in the USA Versus holds a huge responsibility of showcasing the sport in a medium that is not only palatable to the diehard fans, but also enticing to the causal viewer.
> 
> It is in their best interest to see the tv viewing of this sport grow. There is a lot of hype built around this race with the Armstong comeback story, and such they should expect a lot of new viewers. Versus should be bringing their A game and if this is there A game then they need to step aside and let someone else pick it up.
> 
> ...


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

It was bad, but the worst part is that when they did finally get a picture of actual racing, they concentrated on the Armstrong group, which had eased up and were just riding tempo. How exciting that was. We rarely saw the leader and never saw the junction of the two guys who bridged up to him. Then, at the end, we saw the final "sprint" for the win. Lame. Luckily, I watched it off my DVR and could watch the whole show in minutes. The weather still sucks today, and they are going into heavy tree cover when they hit the mountains, so I'm sure the coverage will be worthless today as well.


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Creakyknees said:


> I was getting better news from the cyclingnews text feed. Are they listening to race radio, or what?


There have been some great twitter feeds worth following for some interesting color as well. Fredcast, Neil Road, Bike Radar, Roadbikeaction, testrider,


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*I'm imagining with the rain and high wind*

they may not have had their signal relay planes aloft or in very limited areas
folks this is California near the coast. These storms are fresh, brand new right off the Pacific, by the time they have made it to the midwest they have dumped on
a) CA and then the Sierra Nevada
b) took a break over Nevada and western Utah
c) Dumped on the Wasatch
d) Dumped on the Rockies
when they kick the snot out of the MW they are mere fractions of their former selves

weather reporting out here stinks because the storms are so unpredictable, not even professional meterologists know what they are going to do.


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## SwiftSolo (Jun 7, 2008)

Let me start by making it clear that I have only the highest respect for all of you because
this entire thread has got to be an assembly of the most brilliant minds in tricycling.

In addition to your red faced tantrum that caused you all to poop your pants, you've provided keen insight into your understanding of icing, line of sight communication, GPS data transmission, and even the more complex issue of wipeing a camera lens in a torential downpour.

Eventually, you'll all be big enough to reach the on off switch on your TV and you can solve this problem by turning/pushing either one of the switches (your mothers obviously don't let you play with the remote).

Run along and play so the adults can watch the TOC in peace. It starts in 7 minutes!


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## fast ferd (Jan 30, 2009)

Let's not forget that we saw the racing LIVE. Almost the entire route in a driving rain. I guess they show the TdF live in Europe, but don't we end up seeing a cleaned-up version (tape delayed) most of the time? It'd be interesting to hear how well they do in Europe when the weather goes bad during a live feed. Especially during the Spring classics, which often encounter some nasty weather. 

Who said that this kind of coverage drives away more fans than no coverage? WTF? My gawd that's a silly statement. Better to complain about the cold rain driving away fans along the race route. You can count on that occurring.


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## Miiles (Oct 25, 2008)

I love this whole wiping off the lens madness.


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

mik said:


> This "PEANUT GALLERY" was simply pointing out what a less than a professional job they did covering the race...You can bet if it was that crappy of coverage for THE DAYTONA 500, or THE MASTERS, or THE SUPERBOWL there'd be a lot more complaining....
> 
> Ummm, they are committing to that air time cause they have "sold" advertising for PROFIT for it based on the veiwership to be generated and the demographic of that viewership...IT"S BUSINESS AND MAKING MONEY not charity by the network.....
> 
> AND THEY PUT OUT A PRETTY CRAPPY PRODUCT TODAY.



None of those events cover 100 miles of roadway, require planes/helicopters to transmit video.

The AIRCRAFT were GROUNDED because of the WEATHER/FOG.

Therefore NO PICTURE.


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## cbuchanan (Mar 6, 2006)

For those of you that are complaining about the "bad/amateurish" coverage as you call it, be thankful for what you have. When I started watching the racing on TV, which would have been the mid-1980's BTW, we were lucky to have a 30 minute segment on ABC's Wide World of Sports each weekend that would wrapup that weeks racing from the TdF. The internet also did not exist at that time so getting results from any race taught you to be patient. We would still sit at that TV every week in July, greatful for what we had. The coverage today is WAY better and I have zero complaints about it.


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## rogger (Aug 19, 2005)

The same happens in Europe, when you can't get a relay aircraft up, you can't. I have spent more time watching live coverage of a rain-sogged finish line than I care to remember. I also have fond memories of an extremely foggy Amstel Gold Race.


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## funktekk (Jul 29, 2006)

fast ferd said:


> Who said that this kind of coverage drives away more fans than no coverage? WTF? My gawd that's a silly statement. Better to complain about the cold rain driving away fans along the race route. You can count on that occurring.



My point was we, people who post on cycling message boards, are not the people Versus should be worried about. We would watch, or DVR, any professional cycling no matter what the quality of coverage (Tour of Georgia last year for example). Our demographic does not generate enough rating force to justify a broadcast. Versus needs to pull in the less avid cyclists and non cyclists in order to generate comerial revenue. 

Say I had never seen a professional cycling event before and had tuned in yesterday since I heard Lance was racing. What do you think my impression of the sport was based on that broadcast? What do you think is the likelihood of me watching the next stage or any other race?

Fans that come out to a race don't pay the bills to keep this sport going. Its TV coverage that draws in sponsors that pay the teams bills. If you want this sport to thrive in the US it needs to get good ratings on tv. In order to get good ratings it needs to get good coverage. And therefore Versus has an obligation to the sport to cover it at a high level.


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## fast ferd (Jan 30, 2009)

funktekk said:


> My point was we, people who post on cycling message boards, are not the people Versus should be worried about. We would watch, or DVR, any professional cycling no matter what the quality of coverage (Tour of Georgia last year for example). Our demographic does not generate enough rating force to justify a broadcast. Versus needs to pull in the less avid cyclists and non cyclists in order to generate comerial revenue.
> 
> Say I had never seen a professional cycling event before and had tuned in yesterday since I heard Lance was racing. What do you think my impression of the sport was based on that broadcast? What do you think is the likelihood of me watching the next stage or any other race?
> 
> Fans that come out to a race don't pay the bills to keep this sport going. Its TV coverage that draws in sponsors that pay the teams bills. If you want this sport to thrive in the US it needs to get good ratings on tv. In order to get good ratings it needs to get good coverage. And therefore Versus has an obligation to the sport to cover it at a high level.


Okay, fair enough, that would be most unfortunate to lose fans. Phil and Paul and Craig occasionally threw an apology our way, for the foul weather wreaking havoc on our picture. You can only hear that so many times before it becomes old and obvious. Then it would've given us something else to complain about: too much dumbing-down by the commentators.

A real accurate analogy they could make would be how most sports cancel in this type of weather, including golf, American auto racing, baseball, etc. These cyclists and race workers suffered to bring this entertainment to us.

Perhaps some day they can move this event to May/June so it can really shine. Meanwhile, we ought to just curse mother nature.


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## sbsbiker (Mar 29, 2008)

funkteck Do youthink that VS does not know this and would do anything in their power to put on the best show possible. Live coverage is live coverage, and **** happens that is beyond the control of the producers.

Ligthen up, and reallly do you belive that the sparce TV coverage of cycing is what is holding back cycling in the USA? I have non-cycling friends that say watching live coverage of the Tour de France is as boring as NASCAR. Some argue that it's even more boring, cause NASCAR at least has great crashes from time to time. Cycling is just guys on bikes riding for hours on end. They won't ever get it, neither will most american viewers.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Two things:

1. Get a chammy for the lens

2. Cutting away from the three man breakaway as they approached the finish line - with no camera set up to cover the winning move - was inexcusable.


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## husonfirst (Jul 15, 2006)

Did the Hummer (I think that's who it was.) have food in his mouth as they came back from a commercial?


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## FondriestFan (May 19, 2005)

il sogno said:


> Two things:
> 
> 1. Get a chammy for the lens
> 
> 2. Cutting away from the three man breakaway as they approached the finish line - with no camera set up to cover the winning move - was inexcusable.


Wait, they did have a camera that covered the Mancebo attack after the underpass.


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## Gregpape23 (Jul 29, 2008)

Stop complaining everyone, no one is forcing you to watch it. It is a privilege, not a right to watch cycling in feb.


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## bigmig19 (Jun 27, 2008)

The rain is irrelevant. This poor production has been VS trademark since they started showing cycling. For those of you who will always accept the lowest common denominator in life, you must also run our banks and auto industry. VS basic inadequacies are easily overcome by watching just ONE other sports show and seeing how its done. Dont we all accept picture breakup? Thats the tip of the iceberg though. Someone having a monopoly on coverage and mailing it in is weak. 
Let me ask this (in good humor): The race was called at the finish line lap one......Astana (et. al.) sit up and cruise for three laps (understandably)....Not one guy who works for VS (the only US coverage) knows this!!! Phil and friends are stuck asking why they wont chase for like 15 minutes. That doesnt even take a radio. NOBODY at VS knew the race was over, time-wise! Thats comical. Someday they will invest in a cell phone and that problem will be fixed.


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## BDB (Jul 8, 2002)

hooray more rasika mathur today.. l


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## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

BDB said:


> hooray more rasika mathur today.. l


An experiment gone wrong, and an embarrassment. I hope they air the segment where someone not as nice as Tom Zirbel will tell her to go away, in not so polite terms.


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## wheezer (Sep 21, 2004)

I just don't know why the commentators don't even have race reports by the minute. Not only do they not have any race footage, but they can't even TALK about the race, which is what they're PAID to do. If cyclingnews can have a report every minute, why cant versus have a couple of motos following the action and relaying developments just to give these guys something to talk about? WHAT would it take to have a flippin RACE REPORT every couple of minutes?!?! 

OTOH, give the girl a break. She's funny and cute, and there's obviously no race footage to watch, so what are you complaining about?


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## zosocane (Aug 29, 2004)

*Before We Crucify Versus Upsidedown ...*

I agree the production is awful and the camerawork is pathetic. I got tired of looking at Paco Macebo's butt for a half hour as he descended yesterday into towns and didn't understand why there wasn't a motorbike -- with a camera -- in front of Paco.

But do we know for a *fact* that the production yesterday and today consists of Versus cameras??? My hunch is that it's the Amgen Tour of California that has its camera crew and sells rights to the video feed to the outlets that want to purchase it (e.g., Versus in the USA, Eurosport in the UK, and I'm sure other firms in Continental Europe). 

For instance, when we watched the Tour de France last Summer, that wasn't a Versus-paid cameraman going up Alpe d'Huez in front of Carlos Sastre. And when you hear Phil say "we apologise, but our cameras . . . ." He doesn't literally mean cameras of Versus.

So, does someone out there really know for a fact that every aspect of the low quality we are viewing is production fully and exclusively assembled by Versus?


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## husonfirst (Jul 15, 2006)

I don't know who owns the cameras but I do know that it's Versus who airs a string of commercials every 4 minutes.


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## pedal2tahoe (Nov 10, 2006)

:cryin: From someone who stood out in the elements for 2 hours yesterday @ stage 1, and got absolutely drenched, and worse yet, had to listen to the wife complain about her dew as she got drenched, 
GET OVER IT!!!
I could listen to Paul and Phil all day........It's an HONOR to have them covering this race.

When Ryan Seacrest takes over next year, THEN you can complain-


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## real stonie (Mar 30, 2006)

What's up with Versus' audio? I'd love to blame my tv, but I've watched the coverage on three different sets and each sound as if they're broadcasting from a coffee can.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

pedal2tahoe said:


> :cryin: From someone who stood out in the elements for 2 hours yesterday @ stage 1, and got absolutely drenched, and worse yet, had to listen to the wife complain about her dew as she got drenched,
> GET OVER IT!!!
> I could listen to Paul and Phil all day........It's an HONOR to have them covering this race.
> 
> When Ryan Seacrest takes over next year, THEN you can complain-


the coverage is not bad. The weather is bad, and when it's bad, the coverage suffers too - I recall many euro races, including TdF where coverage was bad, they couldn't get chopper in the air, the lenses were foggy or covered in rain drops etc. But it's also likely that TdF can afford to have multiple professional cameramen on motorbikes, fancier chopper coverage etc.
Tour of California is not in the same league as TdF (even though the roster this year is outstanding), and it's hard to blame Versus for this - just like you don't give Versus credit for great coverage of TdF - they just buy into the same feed that everyone else is getting. Paul and Phil are "completely and utterly" great as commentators.

As to stage 1 rules - nobody, including cyclingnews and velonews etc. know what was going on. Apparently DS were notified about rule change, but I guess press wasn't informed - hard to blame Versus for this. Even some teams may have been confused - Landis' time for stage 1 was about 10 sec ahead of peloton - but he was clearly waiting for them. Had he known that the time will be at the entrance to the circuit, he probably would have pedaled ahead, trying to catch Armstrong group.

The coverage is not perfect, but it's pretty good and is up to normal Versus standards.


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## simplyhankk (Jan 30, 2008)

Well I'm sure a lot of us were disappointed AGAIN today by Versus...just when stage 3 was about to finish, they cut off the broadcast for a hockey game. HOCKEY GAME? ugh. I dunno, I wanted to see the finish of the race so bad but couldn't find it on any other channel! 

Here's an extended article that was posted by one of the editors from Bicycling.com:


Boulder Report Stage 3 Wrap: Dear Versus


Dear Versus,

Welcome to the United States of America. Upon entry to the U.S. you will be fingerprinted and photographed by the Department of Broadcast Security. In the event that you make stupid broadcast decisions, you will be arrested and thrown in jail along with other broadcast executives who made stupid decisions, such as cutting away from the last 65 seconds of a three-point football game to bring us the start of the movie Heidi.

Let us review the calculus of cutting away from the finish of the third stage of the Tour of California to cover the puck drop of the Toronto-Buffalo NHL game, a riveting matchup featuring the eighth and twelfth-placed teams in the NHL’s Eastern Conference in a late-regular season game. I realize you’re contractually obligated to switch to that game, but let’s think about several things here:

-Hockey is a minor sport. If it weren’t a minor sport, it wouldn’t be on Versus. The other sports Versus has broadcast rights to include the Professional Bull Riding tour, Ultimate Fighting (in which you can be a star with a name like Kimbo Slice), and various WAC and Mountain West conference football games. Believe me, with the exception of Boise State and Utah, WAC/MWC football is a minor sport.

Now, granted, the Buffalo Sabres happen to have the highest Nielsen ratings in the NHL with an average 8.9 share, but let’s remember that a whopping 300,000 people live in Buffalo, so a nine share would be, at most, a local broadcast audience of 27,000 people… if EVERYONE IN BUFFALO WAS WATCHING TV AT ONCE. Put another way, that’s 1/18th the monthly circulation of this magazine. I realize this is subversive to even suggest, but just as it’s possible that people outside of Buffalo might not give a **** about the Sabres, it’s possible that some people in Buffalo might be cycling fans. The 2.5 million people in Toronto? That’s Canadia. What they watch on TV is their problem.

-Cycling, like hockey, is also a minor sport. In fact, we have a lot to be thankful for here. A decade ago, Versus was a fledgling network known as Outdoor Life, which struggled to fill programming until it lucked onto pro cycling, which offered hours and hours a day of relatively cheap video feeds from Europe. And cyclists were spoiled with live coverage of events like the Giro d’Italia, which most Americans think is a new sandwich at Quizno’s. And we appreciate it. In fact, I’d prefer you guys go back to using the captioned feeds from RAI Sport for the Giro, so we could see the Italian-language graphics that accompany the broadcast instead of learning via Versus’ constant crawl that Dominique Rollin is in 41st place overall.

-However, cycling in the past decade happened to produce one of the most iconic sportsmen of the last 100 years in Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor and seven-time Tour de France winner. I realize this may be a stretch, but I think that more people probably know who Lance Armstrong is than, oh, Jochen Hecht, to name a current Buffalo Sabre. Or is that saber? Jesus, they can’t even spell it right.

-Thus, in cutting away to broadcast a minor sport at the expense of people watching a bike race featuring the highly anticipated return to U.S. competition of one of the most popular athletes in history, you may encounter a wee bit of viewer angst over that. In fact, to be helpful, I’m going to make sure my readers know that they can send any thoughts or feelings they like to:

[email protected]

You’re welcome. Oh, and just in case you cared, when Thor Hushovd of the Cervelo team rode a masterful leadout to a convincing stage win as Columbia appeared unable to find their collective ass with both hands and a map, there was 8:22 left in the first period at the Air Canada Centre (at least Canada has an excuse for wacky spellings since they’re in the Commonwealth) and Buffalo had scored two goals to Toronto’s zero.

Random, Unconnected Thoughts: What’s with the blazing red shirts the Versus broadcast crew is wearing? They look like they work at the local Cabela’s. Note to Levi: if you’re being passive-aggressive and are trying to wreck Lance, you put YOUR rear wheel across HIS front wheel, not the other way around. Did Rock Racing tag the UCI headquarters? Whatever else, they seem very angry; almost like people don’t believe what they say. Speaking of the UCI, will they kibosh just about everyone in the time trial by enforcing a 2010 rule in 2009?

Today’s Winners: Francisco Mancebo - obviously going for the KOM jersey now and he should be building a commanding lead there.

Epic Fail: Columbia - You’ve got the best sprinter in the world and your leadout train looked about as ferocious as Thomas and Friends. Quick Step - Did Boonen’s cocaine get wet? Sorry. (Not really, but I have to say it.)

Final thoughts: I’m not alone in live-blogging race coverage anymore! Elden Nelson, aka Fat Cyclist, is heroically trying to cover every stage live. Not easy what with grounded repeater aircraft and rogue hockey games. As well, Elden just successfully raised $5,000 for Bob Roll’s LiveStrong Challenge, and made Bob make good on his bet that, if Elden did, Bob would shave what was left of his hair. Elden, this would’ve been a great idea for the Bobke of several years ago when Versus let him get away with those long, flowing, Chester A. Arthur muttonchop sideburns.

At any rate, Elden’s a fast typist, good wordsmith and astute observer as he caught something I’d been wondering about too. From yesterday’s coverage: “Between the LiveStrong helmet, LiveStrong jacket, LiveStrong glasses, and Mellow Johnny’s bike hat, it’s not especially easy to tell that Armstrong races for Astana. As in, there is no physical evidence of it on camera.”


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