Sean: Also did not sing "Macarena."
In actual news, Fox has announced plans to create their own SportsCenter. It's called "Final Score," and it'll air nightly on FSN. Supposedly the focus will be on the highlights, and the press release takes a few shots at ESPN for making their shows about the hosts instead.
I'm cautiously optimistic about this. I don't really have a problem with the Sportscenter anchors being minor celebrities; the good ones make the show a lot better. I just think that a little competition will help to keep ESPN focused. Currently, if I want anything sports-related, odds are I'm watching ESPN to get it. If FSN's show leads them to become more direct competitors with ESPN, it will provide a viable alternative, which will mean ESPN will be able to see clearly what works and what doesn't. Everyone switches over to FSN when ESPN's college football studio team gets on the screen? Lou Holtz and Mark May finally get replaced. A significant portion of the viewing audience watches women's semi-professional darts on FSN over a Bill Walton clip? Maybe that ex-hippie gets the boot.
Odds are, this is gonna be a pretty half-assed attempt to compete with ESPN, just like a lot of FSN, and everyone will ignore it. But if it takes off, it could be fantastic, something that pulls ESPN away from mobile phones and their own movies and TV dramas and focuses them more on actual sports reporting and analysis. It's a long shot, but it's better than nothing.
I'm cautiously optimistic about this. I don't really have a problem with the Sportscenter anchors being minor celebrities; the good ones make the show a lot better. I just think that a little competition will help to keep ESPN focused. Currently, if I want anything sports-related, odds are I'm watching ESPN to get it. If FSN's show leads them to become more direct competitors with ESPN, it will provide a viable alternative, which will mean ESPN will be able to see clearly what works and what doesn't. Everyone switches over to FSN when ESPN's college football studio team gets on the screen? Lou Holtz and Mark May finally get replaced. A significant portion of the viewing audience watches women's semi-professional darts on FSN over a Bill Walton clip? Maybe that ex-hippie gets the boot.
Odds are, this is gonna be a pretty half-assed attempt to compete with ESPN, just like a lot of FSN, and everyone will ignore it. But if it takes off, it could be fantastic, something that pulls ESPN away from mobile phones and their own movies and TV dramas and focuses them more on actual sports reporting and analysis. It's a long shot, but it's better than nothing.
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