Sports Media Spotlight: Steelers struggling with inconsistency both on the field and in the booth
It’s hard to know what to expect from the Pittsburgh Steelers on the field at this point of the season, but that’s mostly a matter of age, inconsistency and injuries — typical football stuff, and no doubt frustratingly familiar for die-hard fans.
What’s worse are the clearly low expectations and performance of the Steelers’ radio broadcast team.
In fairness, fewer fans probably listen to radio than ever before, but those black-and-gold fans who do tune in — most likely because they have no other way to access games — know it’s really bad radio.
Ironically, the reasons for the struggles are similar to those on the field: age and injury. And there’s a lack of talent in the booth as well.
Foremost, 80-year-old play-by-play man Bill Hillgrove, beloved by many in Pittsburgh, has passed his prime. He just not sharp or serving listeners well. He’s the second-oldest play-by-play man in the NFL and has been only the job 27 seasons. Only Brent Musburger, the Las Vegas Raiders’ play-by-play man is older. He’s 81, and has been on the job for three seasons (a convenient mesh of the team’s move to Sin City, where he lives, and his departure from ESPN).
Hillgrove, who was propped up by former Steelers lineman Tunch Ilkin in recent seasons, has struggled more this season because Ilkin himself is struggling. The one-time TV network analyst who was engaging and sharp during most of his time on the radio team was diagnosed with ALS earlier this year. It was kind for the Steelers to leave him in his radio role, but it’s unkind to listeners.
The bright spot of the team, and that’s not shining-light bright, more the-only-light-available, is former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch. He’s charitable and apparently a nice guy, but he’s not a No. 3 guy on a top-notch radio team — and this season he’s had to play “up” to help carry things. It’s been heavy lifting and hard listening as a result.
As much as the media has focused on whether this will be Ben Roethlisberger’s last season (barring some crazy injury in what remains of the season, it will not), the real fan-facing story for next season will be if the radio team gets reconstituted. Loyalty has led the current situation. It will be interesting to see how much that matters going forward.
Bad, business
As we begin the new year, it seems appropriate to point out the most important sports-media moment of 2020 — and that was when Tony Romo was offered (the signing was an obvious reaction) a $17 million contract.
He’s been the darling of many since he joined CBS Sports as an NFL game analyst, but Romo is not worth that much money. No analyst merits that kind of compensation because no analyst brings in viewers. It’s the games themselves, the matchups and the people on the field, that matter. That’s what drives viewership.
Sure, Romo was different and interesting, but he rarely offers much beyond the obvious on a weekly basis. Plus, with he and play-by-partner Jim Nantz supported by both individual and network-provided spotters and statisticians, the broadcast crew can include the support and research of at least five people. Maybe more. There’s no excuse for anyone in that situation to falter.
Additionally, Romo’s deal will reset the market. Nantz already wants a raise. He will not be the last.
It was just a silly move. Had Romo gone to another network, hordes of viewers would not have followed. Only more cash would’ve flowed to him.
It was an important move, though, because it reset the market. And because is showed just how much money the NFL’s broadcast partners have to spend, despite supposedly tight times.
Losing Le Batard
“The Dan Le Betard Show with Stugotz” ends it run on Monday on ESPN, and the show will be missed.
As ESPN Radio reconstitutes its lineup, the loss of Le Betard will be significant. Without him and his on-air team, there’s just not much substance left in the daily lineup. Even if you’re not a big fan of his radio work (and, admittedly the show had its hits and misses for me), there’s no mistaking it could be different, engaging and entertaining. It was good radio. In fairness, it could also be juvenile and self-centered.
That combination made it work, though. It was not a typical sports-talk radio show, and that’s a reason it mostly merits praise.
Yes, his me-against-the-big-bad-company schtick got old, and often felt contrived. Then again, it was a consistent issue and led to Le Batard’s eventual departure from ESPN. So there was a basis in fact there.
Le Batard and Co. will make their South Beach Podcasts work and will end up somewhere else. There are things that will be missed about the show more than others (Zoo Miami wildlife expert and spokesman Ron Magill was always a hit for me while the condescending nature of some conversations for hard-core fans always seemed disrespectful), but the biggest losers as a result of this change will be ESPN and listeners, not Le Batard.
Regarding Rofkin
It will be interesting to see what happens with what have been monthly pay-per-view events presented by the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club on the Rofkin site once the Penn State wrestling season begins.
While it’s hard to expect college wrestling to come back in the same form as before, the Rofkin events have worked well. They have been well produced, featured compelling matches and been a seemingly cost-effective option for wrestling fans.
Many wrestling clubs have taken similar approaches, albeit often on different platforms. The politics of who wrestles where offers another interesting aspect of the approach. Still, it’s been good programming at a time when certain fans are probably seeking out such access.
It’s just not clear how well a college season (in whatever form) and the ongoing pay-per-views can exist. My sense is there’s room for both, but broadcast infrastructure and support, as well as separating college student-athletes from those who are more geared toward the Olympics could provide at least a small logistical strain at times.
Kudos to all who have taken the initiative and ingenuity to make the monthly session a success so far.
Tuner tidbits
Ongoing kudos to Penn State play-by-play personnel — Steve Jones (football, men’s basketball), Brian Tripp (men’s hockey), Justin Antweil (women’s basketball) and Jeff Byers (wrestling, the season is coming, honest) — for their work. Of course, none of it would be possible without the behind-the-scenes personnel, folks like versatile engineer Bob Taylor, and their various analyst/color commentator partners. They’ve all done a great job keeping fans informed and entertained during seasons that, like so many other things, have been disjointed at times.
Despite a shortened NHL schedule overall (56 games, down from the usual 82), broadcast partner NBC plans to televise 16 Sunday afternoon games this season — its most ever. The schedule begins with a Capitals-Penguins matchup Jan. 17. The Caps will appear in five Sunday afternoon games while the Penguins will be included in four games. Those two teams will be featured on NBC more than any other teams.
Losing Le Batard will be big, but the departure of Tom Rinaldi from ESPN to Fox will be significant as well. Rinaldi, an almost unparalleled storyteller, worked his last ESPN assignments around the New Year’s Day bowl games. He’ll join Fox and handle college football, baseball, golf, the NFL and more. A delightful and respected pro, he made the move for more opportunity and not because of any detrimental experience at ESPN. His former colleagues all praised him, a sign of their respect. He’s always worth watching, and the opportunity seems exciting for him.
Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN’s lead college football analyst, made his appearances on “College GameDay” and worked the Sugar Bowl from his home New Year’s Day because he tested positive for COVID-19 early last week. He was asymptomatic throughout, though, and should be able to be on site when working the College Football Playoff championship game Jan. 11.
When the NFL playoffs begin watch for a “megacast” approach to ESPN’s wild card game. It will air on five networks (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Freeform and ESPN Deportes) with slight tweaks on each outlet for that specific audience.
Similarly, CBS’s late-afternoon wild card game will be broadcast on Nickelodeon as part of an effort to reach children. The broadcast team will include a 14-year-old sideline reporter.