It could make a bit more of an effort though. My point was that the presentation hasn't changed much in several years and is a little tired as a result. Similarly, i'm not saying don't mention the Wembley games, just keep it more in proportion. There is a danger that they are broadcasting too much to a narrow band of fans (who are attending the Wembley games or interested in the related fan rally hoo hah that Neil Reynolds gets so excited about - and i've been to around 5 of the Wembley games)
Agreed. I'm not bothered by the lack of access to players and coaches, but the Sky studio team is really not very good, and as you say don't seem to improve. Cadell's expertise is basketball, not NFL, and as noted above, the number of fundamental mistakes he makes is just embarrassing - referring to the wrong players, teams, scores, what happened in a highlight, etc. Neil Reynolds seems like a good guy and is very enthusiastic and knowledgable, but he has no presence. He's like the geeky friend who knows the sport inside and out, but you'd never put him on TV.
Towards the end of the season, when Jeff Reinbold becomes available following his coaching commitments, there is a marked imrovement. Surely between them Sky and Fox could find a couple of up and coming American studio hosts/ex players, and let them develop for a few years over here. They had Mark Tauscher on either last year or the season before for a couple of games, and he was really good (besides the dodgy haircut and moustache). Presumably there is some good reason why they don't go for the likes of Mike Carlson or Gary Imlach, either would be an instant and significant upgrade.
Haven't seen it mentioned above, but Sky will also be showing from next Wednesday and also on Thursday before the game, Showtime's Inside the NFL with JB, Cris Collingsworth and Phil Simms - it's consistently rated as one of the best NFL recap shows on TV.
For those who want to watch NFL Network - you can subscribe for £2.99 a month / £29.99 per year through https://network.nfl.com/nfln/secure/packages and watch online 24/7, not ideal but a possible option.
Haven't seen it mentioned above, but Sky will also be showing from next Wednesday and also on Thursday before the game, Showtime's Inside the NFL with JB, Cris Collingsworth and Phil Simms - it's consistently rated as one of the best NFL recap shows on TV.
I thought there were legal difficulties with showing it on air, due to product placement or something...
Didn't Sky used to show all Sunday games (all but two on the red button)?
Why did they stop doing that? I'm a casual Sunday viewer but would love to be able to watch every 49ers game on Sky.
I imagine its all the constant product placement in the US pre game and half time shows that stops them being shown here.
They can show both live. It is recorded shows that feature undue promotional prominence which are a problem, because the broadcaster then has the ability to edit out such content. A good example of this was the hideous extended Pizza Hut ad during Fox's Super Bowl pre-game show that aired on Sky Sports in February.
But only the half time shows are included in the rights to games sold by the NFL. To show the Fox or CBS pre-game shows they would need to buy the rights separately. I cannot see them doing that on a regular basis as Sky prefer to tailor their coverage of all sports for a British audience. And they are not going to aim their coverage at hardcore fans who will watch anyway at the expense of turning away general sports fans.
Although CBS are producing the regular Thursday Night Football games this year it is for NFL Network, even though they will also air half of them. So the rights to that can be covered by their existing contract. And going out live avoids undue prominence issues, whilst there are not many general sports fans flipping between channels at 1am.
Didn't Sky used to show all Sunday games (all but two on the red button)?
Why did they stop doing that? I'm a casual Sunday viewer but would love to be able to watch every 49ers game on Sky.
They have never done that.
In 2006 they started showing an alternative game in each slot on the red button. This was ahead of the first Wembley game in 2007 for which they needed the opportunity to show all of Miami's home games in the lead up in return for them giving up a home game to play in London.
As this was not required the following year the service was dropped in 2009 at the start of a new contract, at a time when Sky Sports were making cuts across all sports.
In 2010 in week 15 they decided to air Red Zone instead of a regular game at 6pm for the remainder of the season as a better way of covering the playoff race. This lead to heavy complaints from those who had no interest in Red Zone and wanted to watch a full game, and those who wanted to watch Red Zone and did not like the commercial interruptions. As a result the following week they went back to showing a game, but aired Red one on the red button instead. It has aired like that ever since.
So they have by now been showing Red Zone on the red button for longer then they aired alternative games.
I imagine its all the constant product placement in the US pre game and half time shows that stops them being shown here.
The half time shows have the presenters actually introduce ads from the sponsor- Toyota last year- which I'd certainly imagine would be frowned upon here.
I'm a casual Sunday viewer but would love to be able to watch every 49ers game on Sky.
The good news is the first 49ers game is on Sky this weekend, Sunday at 9 pm. They will probably get their fair share of Sky coverage because a) they're a good team with a fairly large UK fan base and b) they are based in the Pacific time zone and there are generally fewer games played at 9 pm UK time, so the chances of the Niners being selected are that much higher than teams based in the Eastern or Central time zones.
And you can always just leave the red zone channel on (behind the red button), this shows all the scores and some of the drives from every game across the league. Your head might spin, but it's comprehensive and well presented.
The half time shows have the presenters actually introduce ads from the sponsor- Toyota last year- which I'd certainly imagine would be frowned upon here.
As similar thing happened a few years ago with Sky not being able to show NFL Total Access due to advertising breaches.
The half time shows have the presenters actually introduce ads from the sponsor- Toyota last year- which I'd certainly imagine would be frowned upon here.
Ofcom rules say it's fine during sports events as long as the event is live and it's completely unavoidable. They're also allowed whatever ad pattern they want for live sports, but they still have to keep to the 12 minutes per hour limit.
The good news is the first 49ers game is on Sky this weekend, Sunday at 9 pm. They will probably get their fair share of Sky coverage because a) they're a good team with a fairly large UK fan base and b) they are based in the Pacific time zone and there are generally fewer games played at 9 pm UK time, so the chances of the Niners being selected are that much higher than teams based in the Eastern or Central time zones.
And you can always just leave the red zone channel on (behind the red button), this shows all the scores and some of the drives from every game across the league. Your head might spin, but it's comprehensive and well presented.
Fantastic logic apart from the fact that they are away at Dallas this week and the only other game in that slot is Carolina v TB.
This weekend is a bit messy because it is opening weekend but generally speaking there aren't massively more game games in the 1pm ET slot than the 4pm ET slot..
For the record I can see the Dallas game coming down to who's D is least bad
Fantastic logic apart from the fact that they are away at Dallas this week and the only other game in that slot is Carolina v TB.
This weekend is a bit messy because it is opening weekend but generally speaking there aren't massively more game games in the 1pm ET slot than the 4pm ET slot..
Eh? Week two there are eight 1 pm games and five at 4 pm, the rest of the first half of the schedule (I can't be bothered to check all 17 weeks) it appears to be ten 1 pm games and three 4 pm games. Each year, if the 49ers play on a Sunday afternoon, there is at least a 5 in 8 chance that game will have a 4 pm kick-off, more depending on their non-divisional opponents.
Despite the time zone and number of competing games, west coast teams are not any more likely to be shown than their quality and matchup would dictate.
The late 4:25pm ET slot is a (mostly) national showcase one, the highest rated, and gets the best of the afternoon's games either scheduled for or moved into it. The only time Sky would not show those in favour of another game is if they felt the main game would not be competitive and the alternative would be.
The 49ers are likely to be shown a lot because they are one of the top teams in the league, arguably the second best. Their location is irrelevant.
Incidentally, from next season week 1 will have a more normal balance as ESPN take over coverage of the the US Open from CBS. Because the men's single final is played at the same time as the late games, the schedule has had to be design so all their games are played in the early slot.
Incidentally, from next season week 1 will have a more normal balance as ESPN take over coverage of the the US Open from CBS. Because the men's single final is played at the same time as the late games, the schedule has had to be design so all their games are played in the early slot.
I think it's the Women's final on Sunday this year because the Men's final has been on Monday night for the last couple of years. Though if memory serves this is just a transitional arrangement and they are putting the Men's final back to Sunday as part of wider schedule changes in the next year or two.
Despite the time zone and number of competing games, west coast teams are not any more likely to be shown than their quality and matchup would dictate.
The late 4:25pm ET slot is a (mostly) national showcase one, the highest rated, and gets the best of the afternoon's games either scheduled for or moved into it. The only time Sky would not show those in favour of another game is if they felt the main game would not be competitive and the alternative would be.
The 49ers are likely to be shown a lot because they are one of the top teams in the league, arguably the second best. Their location is irrelevant.
I disagree, the location of where a team plays is very relevant. Looking at this season's schedule, most weeks, of the three late games, at least two will be played in the Pacific time zone, which means they are hosted by one of seven teams (all the AFC Est, plus 3/4 of the NFC West). Sky does not, regrettably, always pick the "best" game, presumably because they try to show as many different teams as possible.
Ofcom rules say it's fine during sports events as long as the event is live and it's completely unavoidable. They're also allowed whatever ad pattern they want for live sports, but they still have to keep to the 12 minutes per hour limit.
Presumably Ofcom are fine with preview shows like Monday Night Countdown which was aired live on ESPN UK when ESPN UK had the rights to MNF.
I disagree, the location of where a team plays is very relevant. Looking at this season's schedule, most weeks, of the three late games, at least two will be played in the Pacific time zone, which means they are hosted by one of seven teams (all the AFC Est, plus 3/4 of the NFC West). Sky does not, regrettably, always pick the "best" game, presumably because they try to show as many different teams as possible.
Think you may mean AFC West?
If so you are down to five teams as only the Raiders and Chargers are on PDT. The Broncos and Chargers are not in the PDT zone
If so you are down to five teams as only the Raiders and Chargers are on PDT. The Broncos and Chargers are not in the PDT zone
Yes, I missed a "w". And you're right about the Broncos not being on PST, along with, presumably you meant, the Chiefs.
But the point remains the same, the teams in the NFC West and AFC West tend to have the majority of the limited number of 4pm Sunday games, so they are more likely to be one of the Sky late games than teams which play most of their games in the early kick-off slot.
If so you are down to five teams as only the Raiders and Chargers are on PDT. The Broncos and Chargers are not in the PDT zone
I assume you mean Broncos and Chiefs not being in the Pacific time zone?
Not wading into the debate, but NFL rules state games can't kick off before 12pm local time so not only do games being played in the pacific time zone have to be played in the later Sunday afternoon slot but also those in the mountain time zone.
Presumably Ofcom are fine with preview shows like Monday Night Countdown which was aired live on ESPN UK when ESPN UK had the rights to MNF.
I never saw the ESPN telecasts, but if it's non-commercial advertising it doesn't count. So when Eurosport used to play College American Football, they'd cut to an ad break at the same time as the US, which would mostly consist of a promo reel, but because the promo reel wasn't paid for, it didn't count against Ofcom's quotas.
I think Monday Night Countdown might be classed as part of MNF, which may let them get away with it...
I never saw the ESPN telecasts, but if it's non-commercial advertising it doesn't count. So when Eurosport used to play College American Football, they'd cut to an ad break at the same time as the US, which would mostly consist of a promo reel, but because the promo reel wasn't paid for, it didn't count against Ofcom's quotas.
I think Monday Night Countdown might be classed as part of MNF, which may let them get away with it...
Ofcom rules say it's fine during sports events as long as the event is live and it's completely unavoidable. They're also allowed whatever ad pattern they want for live sports, but they still have to keep to the 12 minutes per hour limit.
Comments
Agreed. I'm not bothered by the lack of access to players and coaches, but the Sky studio team is really not very good, and as you say don't seem to improve. Cadell's expertise is basketball, not NFL, and as noted above, the number of fundamental mistakes he makes is just embarrassing - referring to the wrong players, teams, scores, what happened in a highlight, etc. Neil Reynolds seems like a good guy and is very enthusiastic and knowledgable, but he has no presence. He's like the geeky friend who knows the sport inside and out, but you'd never put him on TV.
Towards the end of the season, when Jeff Reinbold becomes available following his coaching commitments, there is a marked imrovement. Surely between them Sky and Fox could find a couple of up and coming American studio hosts/ex players, and let them develop for a few years over here. They had Mark Tauscher on either last year or the season before for a couple of games, and he was really good (besides the dodgy haircut and moustache). Presumably there is some good reason why they don't go for the likes of Mike Carlson or Gary Imlach, either would be an instant and significant upgrade.
For those who want to watch NFL Network - you can subscribe for £2.99 a month / £29.99 per year through https://network.nfl.com/nfln/secure/packages and watch online 24/7, not ideal but a possible option.
I thought there were legal difficulties with showing it on air, due to product placement or something...
I imagine its all the constant product placement in the US pre game and half time shows that stops them being shown here.
Nope, that was NFL Network's Total Access, which is available to all for free 6 days a weeks on the Sky Sports website.
Okay, thanks, I knew there was something they put online last year, because it wasn't broadcastable.
Why did they stop doing that? I'm a casual Sunday viewer but would love to be able to watch every 49ers game on Sky.
They can show both live. It is recorded shows that feature undue promotional prominence which are a problem, because the broadcaster then has the ability to edit out such content. A good example of this was the hideous extended Pizza Hut ad during Fox's Super Bowl pre-game show that aired on Sky Sports in February.
But only the half time shows are included in the rights to games sold by the NFL. To show the Fox or CBS pre-game shows they would need to buy the rights separately. I cannot see them doing that on a regular basis as Sky prefer to tailor their coverage of all sports for a British audience. And they are not going to aim their coverage at hardcore fans who will watch anyway at the expense of turning away general sports fans.
Although CBS are producing the regular Thursday Night Football games this year it is for NFL Network, even though they will also air half of them. So the rights to that can be covered by their existing contract. And going out live avoids undue prominence issues, whilst there are not many general sports fans flipping between channels at 1am.
They have never done that.
In 2006 they started showing an alternative game in each slot on the red button. This was ahead of the first Wembley game in 2007 for which they needed the opportunity to show all of Miami's home games in the lead up in return for them giving up a home game to play in London.
As this was not required the following year the service was dropped in 2009 at the start of a new contract, at a time when Sky Sports were making cuts across all sports.
In 2010 in week 15 they decided to air Red Zone instead of a regular game at 6pm for the remainder of the season as a better way of covering the playoff race. This lead to heavy complaints from those who had no interest in Red Zone and wanted to watch a full game, and those who wanted to watch Red Zone and did not like the commercial interruptions. As a result the following week they went back to showing a game, but aired Red one on the red button instead. It has aired like that ever since.
So they have by now been showing Red Zone on the red button for longer then they aired alternative games.
The half time shows have the presenters actually introduce ads from the sponsor- Toyota last year- which I'd certainly imagine would be frowned upon here.
The good news is the first 49ers game is on Sky this weekend, Sunday at 9 pm. They will probably get their fair share of Sky coverage because a) they're a good team with a fairly large UK fan base and b) they are based in the Pacific time zone and there are generally fewer games played at 9 pm UK time, so the chances of the Niners being selected are that much higher than teams based in the Eastern or Central time zones.
And you can always just leave the red zone channel on (behind the red button), this shows all the scores and some of the drives from every game across the league. Your head might spin, but it's comprehensive and well presented.
As similar thing happened a few years ago with Sky not being able to show NFL Total Access due to advertising breaches.
Ofcom rules say it's fine during sports events as long as the event is live and it's completely unavoidable. They're also allowed whatever ad pattern they want for live sports, but they still have to keep to the 12 minutes per hour limit.
Fantastic logic apart from the fact that they are away at Dallas this week and the only other game in that slot is Carolina v TB.
This weekend is a bit messy because it is opening weekend but generally speaking there aren't massively more game games in the 1pm ET slot than the 4pm ET slot..
For the record I can see the Dallas game coming down to who's D is least bad
Showtime does not have product placement as they are a premium network
Eh? Week two there are eight 1 pm games and five at 4 pm, the rest of the first half of the schedule (I can't be bothered to check all 17 weeks) it appears to be ten 1 pm games and three 4 pm games. Each year, if the 49ers play on a Sunday afternoon, there is at least a 5 in 8 chance that game will have a 4 pm kick-off, more depending on their non-divisional opponents.
I was thinking of Total Access from the NFL Network, which would put up on Sky's website because of concerns over product placement...
The late 4:25pm ET slot is a (mostly) national showcase one, the highest rated, and gets the best of the afternoon's games either scheduled for or moved into it. The only time Sky would not show those in favour of another game is if they felt the main game would not be competitive and the alternative would be.
The 49ers are likely to be shown a lot because they are one of the top teams in the league, arguably the second best. Their location is irrelevant.
Incidentally, from next season week 1 will have a more normal balance as ESPN take over coverage of the the US Open from CBS. Because the men's single final is played at the same time as the late games, the schedule has had to be design so all their games are played in the early slot.
I think it's the Women's final on Sunday this year because the Men's final has been on Monday night for the last couple of years. Though if memory serves this is just a transitional arrangement and they are putting the Men's final back to Sunday as part of wider schedule changes in the next year or two.
I disagree, the location of where a team plays is very relevant. Looking at this season's schedule, most weeks, of the three late games, at least two will be played in the Pacific time zone, which means they are hosted by one of seven teams (all the AFC Est, plus 3/4 of the NFC West). Sky does not, regrettably, always pick the "best" game, presumably because they try to show as many different teams as possible.
Presumably Ofcom are fine with preview shows like Monday Night Countdown which was aired live on ESPN UK when ESPN UK had the rights to MNF.
Think you may mean AFC West?
If so you are down to five teams as only the Raiders and Chargers are on PDT. The Broncos and Chargers are not in the PDT zone
Yes, I missed a "w". And you're right about the Broncos not being on PST, along with, presumably you meant, the Chiefs.
But the point remains the same, the teams in the NFC West and AFC West tend to have the majority of the limited number of 4pm Sunday games, so they are more likely to be one of the Sky late games than teams which play most of their games in the early kick-off slot.
I assume you mean Broncos and Chiefs not being in the Pacific time zone?
Not wading into the debate, but NFL rules state games can't kick off before 12pm local time so not only do games being played in the pacific time zone have to be played in the later Sunday afternoon slot but also those in the mountain time zone.
I never saw the ESPN telecasts, but if it's non-commercial advertising it doesn't count. So when Eurosport used to play College American Football, they'd cut to an ad break at the same time as the US, which would mostly consist of a promo reel, but because the promo reel wasn't paid for, it didn't count against Ofcom's quotas.
I think Monday Night Countdown might be classed as part of MNF, which may let them get away with it...
Or that it was live?