Compounding the problem is the shortage of available sports TV talent. Hence the hiring of newspaper veterans such as Mark Spector and Grange. “A lot of the talent we have and that our counterparts (TSN) have comes out of the West, because the local stations there are still doing sports and junior hockey. Ontario's not. ... The new talent is harder to find in the East.”
Scott Woodgate- Vice President News and Information Sportsnet
Globe and Mail Wednesday July 13th 2011
I will say that there is a plenty of broadcasting talent dotted all over Ontario. 17 teams in the Ontario Hockey League produce live telecasts of games, so I dispute Mr. Woodgate when he says that there is no junior coverage in Ontario. No, its not on any commercial or network station, but the OHL Action Pak produces over 700 games of live coverage and in some markets would outdraw NBA broadcasts on the same Action Pack. Rogers TV, TV Cogeco and Shaw Cable is local cable, but its not the Mom and Pop coverage from year's past. Ours, and many other crews have been evaluated by John Shannon, legendary former producer over at Hockey Night in Canada, overseer of NHL broadcasts and Leafs/Raptors TV and currently gainfully employed at Mr. Woodgate's Sportsnet. His response to ours and other crews was rather favourable.
I urge Mr. Woodgate to cast his eye over to Ontario where there are hungry and talented broadcasters ready to make their mark at Sportsnet, TSN, CBC, and The Score . I happen to be one of them, and I know that I have to keep up with the broadcasting Joneses, so to speak so that I can attempt to differentiate and distance myself from the pack.
Ontario sports broadcasters are just that good.
Steve Clark
http://steveclarksportsbroadcaster.blogspot.com/
Very well put, Steve! I too have seen first-hand how many aspiring Broadcasters there are in Ontario, and I think these comments by Mr. Woodgate more reflect the poor job that he is doing finding said talent.
ReplyDeleteToo often nowadays, and I am speaking from experience, these Networks reach out to the print reporters, as they feel that this will give them some sort of crossover publicity.
Many print reporters have already established large fan bases through their work, which in many cases (such as Mark Spector) are published on a National or International scale already. They are sought out by people such as Mr. Woodgate ahead of those who are genuinely working in Broadcasting, as these Networks are always competing with each other for ratings, and want only the biggest names available, regardless of their field. Between that, and the ever-increasing amount of former players who try their hand at television, push 'real' Broadcasters down to the bottom of the resume pile, where people like Mr. Woodgate won't look.