TSN cameras

This has been a sore point with me, if we had the camera work or close to it like the NFL the game would be alot more professional looking. Even that new car commercial has better cameras then the CFL.

I agree. The following should be mandatory for every game:

  1. Cable cam
  2. On field down graphics
  3. Post-game interviews

Any other suggestions?

And if the CFL had the per-team revenue of the NFL a lot of other things would be different too. Unfortunately that will likely never be the case, which means TSN cannot afford to spend millions on cameras (more, better, newer), multiple new mobile HD trailers, and all the associated network equipment to support it. Given that TSN isn't a charity, I presume their is a cost/profit trade-off that is not at all favourable to expending this sort of on remote broadcast equipment.

The on field graphics can’t be that expensive. Its a piece software right? And the post-game interviews? No cost. The cable cams could be a shared cost between TSN, CFL and owners. At the very least there could be a Game of the Week which features these extras.

I don’t know about that. TSN picked up the CFL not knowing that their viewership would be better for any one CFL game than for any NHL game.
They have to be pulling in some pretty good bucks out of this for advertising and all. I can’t see where any of their on air talent (except Shultzy) could be pulling in big bucks. Most of their hosts and play by play guys are staffers that do hockey too.

Maybe they need to discuss a shared cost deal for buying and installing this stuff with a buy back plan for one side of the deal.

So, better cameras for all Riders games? :wink:

Hey does anyone know why the lions stopped using the cable cam, they did the first year when they came back to BC place . Maybe it was there for the Grey Cup but i wish they would have kept it around.

The Rider fans have earned it!

According to the latest online poll, that is. :smiley:

I happen to be a big fan of TSN's blurry Bigfoot closeup on replays, especially the 50,000 x magnified circle when a regular closeup just won't do.

i hate on-field down graphics. combined with the on-field advertising, things will get even more messy.

i, too, hate those blurry close ups of the sideline players/coaches. horrible.

I don’t mind the first down line, even if it is an approximation. But the stuff they display over the field in the NFL? I already know which way the team is trying to move the ball. And there are much better ways to show the down and yards to go - like on an unobtrusive bar at the bottom of the screen that also includes the clock. Like what TSN does.

Now if TSN could just figure out how to show the official time on the screen…

Its a classic. Very useful…LOL

Apparently the Sky Cam is very expensive which is why we only see it in the playoffs and Grey Cup. I don't even think every NFL game uses the cable cam. It would be nice to see the CFL have one game a week where we can see all the bells and whistles like the Sky Cam.

On field graphics should be doable like adding the line of scrimmage line and the current down and distance for that play. It would be cool to see them have the starting players introduce themselves along with the college they came from like they do in the NFL. There are a lot of things the CFL can do for the future without breaking the bank.

It was only used in 2011 for the first game back at BC Place on Sept 30 to show off the renovations and celebrate the stadium. They brought it back for the West Final and obviously the Grey Cup. For the regular season games following the Sept 30th game they didn’t have the cable cam.

The first game back at BC Place was pretty magical though. I wasn’t a season ticket holder then so I watched at home. The extra production that TSN put into that game, including the cable cam plus the stadium being sold out was over the top! It was like watching an NFL game. I wish that my PVR didn’t crash so I could still go back and watch it.

Overall I’m happy with how TSN presents the game. If there was more money to work with then I’m sure there would be better production. They do a good job with what they have to work with. I don’t think there are any other 8 team leagues out there that would get the same kind of coverage that the CFL does so I’m happy with it.

I just want them to learn to adjust their audio levels, though depending on who is talking, lot's of drown out from fans can be a good thing.

I'm great at visual scanning and processing so I always amaze my friends by accurately and quickly assessing yardage attained and to go. Now I can only do that at the live game due to the 1st down line graphic on TV. Sigh.... :cry:

The cable cam is brought in for the Grey Cup, and might be in the stadium earlier than that in some cases, so they could use it. But it’s an expensive piece of hardware and they can’t afford to use it every game.

As for post-game interviews… they have lots of those on TSN.ca and in the mobile apps.

There was one game this year where the TSN time was actually a camera pointed at the game clock. That was great.

My favourite one is the one on the space station. You can almost make out the players.