TBS

    After the Rockies-Padres wildcard playoff game last Monday, there was much criticism of TBS and their coverage.   They were called  "boring" and  "afraid to criticize", but after watching their coverage this past week, I have to give them a thumbs up.

  • I’ve had HD for about two years, and sometimes the picture quality hasn’t been as good as it should be, particularly on Directv’s channels.  I know that Directv launched some extra satellites recently, as we just got TBSHD in time for the playoffs, and I have to say, the picture quality was phenomenal, as good as I’ve seen it.  In game two of Indians and Yanks, with all the bugs flying around, maybe the picture quality was a little too good.
  • They used more camera angles, for instance, an overhead camera on different plays at the plate.
  • They didn’t overdo it on shots of fans like FOX usually does, although at times, it was a little more than I’d like.  Still, it was an improvement over FOX’s use of fan shots to create false drama.  We don’t go to a game to look at other fans, we go to games to actually see the game, and TV has the ability to take us closer than we can ever get at the game.  It seems that TBS might actually understand this.
  • Not broadcasting games on free tv in local markets is a bad idea that one would hope could be remedied.  In the past, WGN had broadcast local playoff games that were on ESPN, but that isn’t the case this year.  I understand TBS paid for exclusivity rights, but while most people have cable, not everybody does.   Shutting out people who cannot afford cable is no way to grow your business, or create goodwill.  In this politically sensitive era, you’d think they’d understand that.
  • The only negative I saw, was that early in the week, both video and audio would skip pretty regularly, every few minutes.  I’m not sure if this was a problem on TBS’s side of things, or the satellite, but whatever it was, it was fixed by game three of the Cubs series.

    When last week started, people were complaining about TBS, but overall, I liked what I saw from them so far.  Now that we’ll have FOX for the ALCS and WS, we’ll be begging for more TBS.

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