ABC Sports No More

[leopard88]

I think for anybody over, say, 30, this means more than it would for younger viewers who grew up with ESPN. Those of us who remember Cosell ... Roone Arledge ... :"ABC Sports - the network of the Olympics" ... Jim McKay ... Wide World of Sports ... know what a sea change this is.

To the younger audience, it's more like "oh yeah, the broadcast network gets the finals of what we've been watching all year."

(yes, I'm with the first group.)

Well said. And I'm also in the first group.

[tomhunter8]

I think for anybody over, say, 30, this means more than it would for younger viewers who grew up with ESPN. Those of us who remember Cosell ... Roone Arledge ... :"ABC Sports - the network of the Olympics" ... Jim McKay ... Wide World of Sports ... know what a sea change this is.

To the younger audience, it's more like "oh yeah, the broadcast network gets the finals of what we've been watching all year."

(yes, I'm with the first group.)

Well said. And I'm also in the first group.

Ditto.

I know that change is inevitable, but it seems like almost every day a portion of my past simply disappears. Personally, I think this is a sad day.

ESPN has turned into a monster. They are to sports what Wal-mart is to retail and Microsoft is to IT.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

I vaguely remember Wide World of Sports from the late 80's/early 90's. It was probably way different than what the old-timers remember -- bowling, boxing (I was excited by a particularly loud "Buuulll--:censored:!" chant), strongman competitions, etc.

I don't really like the official "ESPN on ABC," thing, but that has been the de facto status of ABC Sports presentation for some time now anyway. `

[OMMF]

I am amazed that Alabama and Utah have both scored without a second of gametime being played yet.

That's the new ESPN soccer clock. It's an attempt to get more Europeans to watch college football.

[leopard88]

I vaguely remember Wide World of Sports from the late 80's/early 90's. It was probably way different than what the old-timers remember -- bowling, boxing (I was excited by a particularly loud "Buuulll--:censored:!" chant), strongman competitions, etc.

Dear God! When I was 5-10 (1972-77), I used to live for Wide World of Sports, especially when it had something out of the ordinary, like Evel Knievel, the Globetrotters, Acapulco cliff diving or those New York volunteer firemen competitions.* Have things changed that much?

* -- Off topic - Does anyone remember those competitions and, if so, does anyone know whatever happened to them?

[DG_ThenNowForever]

I vaguely remember Wide World of Sports from the late 80's/early 90's.  It was probably way different than what the old-timers remember -- bowling, boxing (I was excited by a particularly loud "Buuulll--:censored:!" chant), strongman competitions, etc.

Dear God! When I was 5-10 (1972-77), I used to live for Wide World of Sports, especially when it had something out of the ordinary, like Evel Knievel, the Globetrotters, Acapulco cliff diving or those New York volunteer firemen competitions.* Have things changed that much?

* -- Off topic - Does anyone remember those competitions and, if so, does anyone know whatever happened to them?

Blame cable TV. We've got choices now.

I don't know that we're better off, but we do have choices.

[Titanole]

This is interesting. I caught a commercial for ESPN's MNF broadcasts this morning and started thinking about the shift in NFL networks with MNF's shift from ABC to ESPN and NBC getting their Sunday night games. I thought specifically about the Super Bowl and who does the broadcasts. For the next six years it will switch between CBS, Fox and NBC, with NBC taking ABC's spot in the rotation. Since the Super Bowl won't be on a cable network like ESPN and ABC might want to get back in the Super Bowl game, I wonder if "ESPN on ABC" is a way to accomplish that down the road.

Or not.

[Mingjai]

I am amazed that Alabama and Utah have both scored without a second of gametime being played yet.

That's the new ESPN soccer clock. It's an attempt to get more Europeans to watch college football.

Does the ref get to arbitrarily add on injury/substitution time as well?

[whitedawg22]

Does the ref get to arbitrarily add on injury/substitution time as well?

Only on Fox games... they light up an extra dot on the score bar for each minute the ref's going to add.

Seriously, though, in my opinion this whole network branding thing is way, waaaaay overrated. Does anybody remember what network the Super Bowl was on 2 years ago? The only time I even notice who's broadcasting the game is during the ESPN Sunday Night Football (now on Monday night!) broadcasts when Joe Theismann says something so incredibly inane that it makes me question my faith in the intelligence of humanity.

I could care less who's showing a game. And this "ESPN on ABC" rebranding won't even change anything... they still have all the same employees and everything. It reminds me of ABC's farewell tour for Monday Night Football last year... Monday Night Football isn't going away, it's just switching networks. To the majority of America that gets cable/satellite TV, nothing changes. I understand the tradition of MNF on ABC, but they haven't even had the same booth crew for more than a few years at a stretch since the Al, Frank, and Dan days, and the presentation has changed even more frequently than that.

Networks need to make a big stink about branding changes to try to distinguish themselves, but when they're all showing the same product, it's just fluff.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Networks need to make a big stink about branding changes to try to distinguish themselves, but when they're all showing the same product, it's just fluff.

I agree with all of what you said except for the last paragraph. I don't think it's all fluff. I think CBS, NBC, Fox and ESPN make conscious choices about their football programming and are targeting different segments of the same audience. Ultimately network exclusive rights means that we'll have to watch the actual games on their particular channels, but I think pre- and post-game shows are an extension of their branding choices.

It's why I avoid ESPN's pregame coverage in favor of CBS. It's why I'm sure to watch Bob Costas on NBC and James Brown on CBS instead of Chris Berman on ESPN and Terry Bradshaw on Fox. The calmer, more sane approach to the game appeals to me and that is extended throughout the broadcasts. Can you see a robo-turkey charging through a scoreboard on CBS's Thanksgiving broadcasts? Of course not (although I do miss that seven-legged turkey...)

The way the networks broadcast their games lays a blueprint for the rest of their NFL coverage. To me, that's important and I make my choices accordingly.

[kurtman62]

I'm really not concerned one way or the other, but I'll bet Ed Noble[who bought the Blue radio network from NBC-RCA] and Leonard Goldenson [the longtime CEO of ABC] are probably spinning in their graves.

[spyboy1]

On the one hand the loss of "ABC Sports" is sad in the same way losing the brands Oldsmobile and Plymouth were, it really is a smart idea to increase the brand ESPN, which is not just a sports division of a network, it's a freakin' LIFESTYLE now days.

Let's just hope they trot out the old gold Monday Night Football Cosell/Gifford/Meredith blazers for

"throwback night" once in awhile.

Didn't they actually do that once already??

[Rocky Mts]

I guess "ESPN" stands for the Endless Self-Promotion Network. But no big deal, really.

[buzzcut]

I guess "ESPN" stands for the Endless Self-Promotion Network. But no big deal, really.

No, the letters ESPN really stand for Egotistical Self-Promoting Nutcases. Unfortunately, no other company wants to seriously challenge the Bristol Boys(FSN and [Mojo JoJo]VERSUS[/Mojo JoJo] will ultimately fail in the long term).

Oh, shouldn't we move this thread to Sports In General?

[thegame4219]

I guess "ESPN" stands for the Endless Self-Promotion Network. But no big deal, really.

No, the letters ESPN really stand for Egotistical Self-Promoting Nutcases. Unfortunately, no other company wants to seriously challenge the Bristol Boys(FSN and [Mojo JoJo]VERSUS[/Mojo JoJo] will ultimately fail in the long term).

Oh, shouldn't we move this thread to Sports In General?

its a monster we created by watching it. ESPN on ABC wouldn't have came to be if we all didn't make it one of the most watched cable networks

[2mr41h]

ABC lost its audience by not providing anything new or different. If they'd put the proper bid in for NASCAR for the 2001 contract, they could've been at the head of that pheonmenon and raked in the cash.

Instead, the ABC Sports brand has dwindled over the years, MNF lost ratings like air out of a balloon and ESPN has grown to be the trusted sports media entity in America.

[WJMorris3]

It might be two weeks later, but it deserves a bump, as the last "ABC Sports" broadcast will be the Little League World Series final, this afternoon at 3:30 PM Eastern.

Now, maybe this is too much to ask, but given it's the last time that ABC Sports will broadcast, would it be too hard to suggest they take the first 30 seconds of the broadcast and make it a tribute?

I'm suggesting they start this last broadcast with the words and images most associated with ABC Sports:

Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport...

the thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat...

the human drama of athletic competition...

This is ABC's Wide World of Sports.

(Yes, I expect them to show Vinko Bogataj during this sequence in his proper spot.)

Also, I propose that they revive the yellow jackets for this game for the broadcasters (not sure who they are at the moment.)

It is only appropriate that they end this chapter of their history this way. Will they do it? I'm betting on no. But one can only hope.

[sacker12]

It is sad to see ABC Sports go. However, the graphics package they have for the Little League World Series is sweet.

[StevieY19]

Well, ABC Sports is now over. The LLWS last game was rain-delayed until tomorrow, so the broadcast was just three hours of the US championship game and highlight montages. It ended with Brent Musberger waxing poetic about ABC Sports turning into ESPN without officially mentioning it, and the camera zooming in on the logo of an ABC Sports production truck, followed by the usual ABC Sports closing montage of the most recent championships they've covered plus the Bogataj clip to end it all.