BT Sport - General Discussion

Skelton did some reporting for 5 Live during Wimbledon.

Sky had quite a bit of negative feedback when they did that with the football. I assume they won't be making the same mistake.

But it's almost as if the lower thirds are designed for the scorebar to be in the bottom left, and they've already broke with tradition with regards to the DOG.

To be honest, I think you'll always get a reaction to a changes like that because it's not what people are used to. Sometimes if you want to innovate you've got to make people get used to it.

Not sure I agree there. Everything out of Germany, whether multi- or uni- appeared to be black-lifted quite noticably. Surprisingly so - and it didn't look like an amazing quality feed. The Rugby from the UK looked a lot sharper and much better quality. (Charitably I presume they were at the mercy of the rights-holders for both multi and uni facilities?)

Didn't see the need for two logs on the mic - both on the windshield and on the triangle below it.

Studio pictures looked pretty good (though one camera in the studio didn't appear to match as well). Not sure about camera work - both jib and steadicam were a little bit less than assured. Not sure the Steadicam offered that much - and it could have been working a bit tighter than ideal (i.e. further away) which didn't do it any favours.

LED screen behind the main set seemed to be a bit juddery, but the background panels worked very nicely I thought.

Studio felt a bit empty at times. Doesn't need to be that big.

Audio leaked between the studios to a slightly annoying extent.

Graphics were a bit basic. The tennis kit of parts didn't look like it had been given a lot of creative love.

At times it was a little dull - and whilst Jake and Craig are both safe pairs of hands and good live broadcasters, some of the supporting cast were a little less than assured.

On the other hand. It wasn't Sky, and was all the better for that. Sky are a very slick operation, but they are becoming a self-parody of over-produced bloke-ish-ness at times.

The DOG's on the online feeds don't' match up with the name Astons. Need to be moved down abit.

See SSN's attempt to eat itself today.

Really impressed with how the first day went. Slick studio, sound team. Nice to see Macnanaman back as a pundit moreover.

Totally agree.

Besides, under the Sports News Access Code, any broadcaster showing sports footage in a news bulletin is required to provide their own on-screen credit anyway, along the lines of 'Pictures from Sky Sports' (etc). So BT Sport won't really miss out even if the DOG is obscured.

Also, out of interest though, is there any reason why ESPN hasn't been rebranded? I thought the UK operation was now owned by BT, so half expected it to become BT Sport3. It just seems a bit distracting having sports channels being cross-promoted with distinct brands. It's not as though ESPN was ever really a major brand in the UK anyway?

Isn't it because of rights issues. The FA Cup deal is with ESPN, therefore it will remain on ESPN for another season?

In relation to the score bug and innovation. The whole reason Sky tried the lower left score bug is to innovate. The innovation was so disliked by fans, and I expect, TV directors, that it was changed back. Good on BT for trying, but Sky have already been down this path and it didn't work for them...and they like pushing innovation more than anyone (3D for example).

Video of the launch:

Yes - but the on-screen "Pictures from" credit isn't up for the duration of the clip, whereas the DOG is if it is visible. It is also in the brand of the broadcaster, and so a useful re-inforcement device. I think given a choice, most broadcasters would rather their dog was visible rather than masked when clips are shown.

However on the main BBC One and ITV bulletins, the dog is likely to be visible (as these broadcasts don't have permanently lower-third stuff). These bulletins are the ones, presumably, that matter as they are the ones people actually watch.

One thing that did annoy me last night was Craig Doyle referring to Worcester Warriors as a team from the 'West Country'. It seems to be a rugby belief that Worcester is in the West Country, as I've heard Gloucester vs Worcester referred to as a West Country derby on ITV's highlights show and this link does something similar. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-2276146/Bath-32-Worcester-9-Warriors-wounded-West-Country-battle.html

At most you could say Worcestershire is on the doorstep of the West Country, but I certainly doubt anyone who is from there considers themselves from the West Country.

I guess it's a lot to do with the fact it's not an official term.

Would have made more sense for Doyle to state 'team from the West Midlands'.