Sports Graphics Packages, Historically

[ChiCity95]

I was going to post this back on the 26th (which is when Opening Day would have been), but since it'll be a while before we get any baseball games again, I just want to point something out:

 

Since the start of the 2011 MLB season, the Nationals and Orioles have had the same graphics package with MASN. The other 28 teams have changed theirs at least twice in that span (granted, the Dodgers and Cubs moved away from regional sports networks to start their own channels, and the Astros went from FSN Houston to CSN Houston to Root Sports/AT&T Southwest).

 

Case in point, here's a screencap of the SNY graphic from a Mets game in 2014:

 

Then the score bug from from a game in 2016: 

 

And then the score bug that was seen in Spring Training (and possibly for the 2020 season whenever it starts):

 

Now, a MASN screencap from 2011:

 

And here's one from this year:

 

If you're too busy to read everything before this, the question is simple: How come the Nats/O's have the same graphics package after all these years while everyone else changes theirs every few years?

[TheBigFiz21]

16 hours ago, ChiCity95 said:

I was going to post this back on the 26th (which is when Opening Day would have been), but since it'll be a while before we get any baseball games again, I just want to point something out:

 

Since the start of the 2011 MLB season, the Nationals and Orioles have had the same graphics package with MASN. The other 28 teams have changed theirs at least twice in that span (granted, the Dodgers and Cubs moved away from regional sports networks to start their own channels, and the Astros went from FSN Houston to CSN Houston to Root Sports/AT&T Southwest).

 

Case in point, here's a screencap of the SNY graphic from a Mets game in 2014:

 

Then the score bug from from a game in 2016: 

 

And then the score bug that was seen in Spring Training (and possibly for the 2020 season whenever it starts):

 

Now, a MASN screencap from 2011:

 

And here's one from this year:

 

If you're too busy to read everything before this, the question is simple: How come the Nats/O's have the same graphics package after all these years while everyone else changes theirs every few years?

Just a heads up: that pic of the 2011 screencap didn't load

 

I'll assume you're well aware that the both teams (90/10 split that favors the Orioles) do indeed own MASN. If not, glad to have filled you in with new information 

 

Other than that, I'd like to assume the graphics department at MASN has been fallen lazy to some degree or the O's haven't invested in them too heavily. Maybe the legal battle between the two teams over this network might play a factor, but I doubt it's slowing them down as far as new graphics. What makes it more embarrasing is that it's the only team-owned RSN as far as the MLB scene goes whereas every other team is at least partially owned by a media company like a Spectrum or AT&T.

 

If anything, maybe the change in ownership might be motivated to push out changes with MASN soon. The current owner's getting old and passed most of his power down to his son after the 2018 season, who's already making some non-baseball changes around the team. My honest opinion is that once the MASN lawsuit is over, the Nats will find a way to move to NBC Sports Washington and the O's probably sell off MASN to another company or keep it around and begin to invest in new graphics, hopefully in 2021.

[AstroCree]

Does anyone have a story about this? It’s a Rangers-Islanders game from 2006. I don’t ever seem to recall MSG ever using the FSN scorebug. 

[TrueYankee26]

On 4/11/2020 at 9:11 PM, insert name said:

Does anyone have a story about this? It’s a Rangers-Islanders game from 2006. I don’t ever seem to recall MSG ever using the FSN scorebug. 

2006... So this was 2 years before FSN New York rebranded as MSG+. Could be MSG using the Fox Sports New York production crew and slapping MSG where the FSN logo would have been

 

[dmmdoublem]

I've been checking out a lot of the classic games that MLB and its teams have been uploading to YouTube over the past few weeks, and I've been kind of surprised how much I've enjoyed a lot of Fox's old packages.

 

First up is the package used for FOX regional telecasts in 2000. Kind of a shame this package only lasted a year and never made it to FOX's national telecasts.

 

 

Next, is the package FOX used for national telecasts from 2001 through the 2004 regular season. I also really enjoyed these graphics' use for NFL games.

 

 

Lastly, there's the FOX regional package circa 2004. The main score bar is essentially the same as the previous national one, but the graphics for batter lines, pitcher stats and whatnot were different. I still quite enjoy them, though. I'm also a bit biased since these were the graphics being used when I first started watching Giants and A's games here in the Bay Area.

 

 

After these, I didn't really enjoy a FOX baseball package until the 2014-2016 one.

[TrueYankee26]

I remember liking these

 

[neo_prankster]

USA Network's World League intro.

[Black Dragon]

which ESPN ncaa package is better 

[Raptorman415]

20 hours ago, Black Dragon said:

which ESPN ncaa package is better 

The top one brings me a ton of nostalgia while the bottom one is cleaner.

[NashConcepts]

KBO on ESPN- much cleaner than the MLB one

 

[dmmdoublem]

Here are a couple of more MLB graphics packages that have stuck out to me while watching old games. First is the FOX regional package from 1999. I'm not sure if I like it more than the 2000 one I shared earlier in the thread, but I think it's solid. Unfortunately, it's hard to find a high-quality upload of this package in action.

 

 

Also, the FOX scorebug from 2013 (and the 2012 postseason) was better than I remembered. However, I still prefer the package that debuted the following year.

 

 

[dmmdoublem]

I finally found some quality footage of FOX Sports Net's regional MLB package from 1999:

 

 

Also, I know this is really random, but there's something about that short intro from 2:34 to 2:43 that I really like.

[TrueYankee26]

6 hours ago, dmmdoublem said:

I finally found some quality footage of FOX Sports Net's regional MLB package from 1999:

 

 

Teams with FSN affiliates (FSN channel name) in 1999 (italics means no longer on FSN/Sinclair's Diamond Sports Group RSNs as of 2020)

• Diamondbacks (Arizona)
• Giants and Athletics (Bay Area (now NBC Sports Bay Area))
• Cubs and White Sox (Chicago (now NBC Sports Chicago), Cubs now on Marquee Sports Network which is owned by Diamond Sports Group)
• Tigers (Detroit (as seen above))
• Cardinals (Midwest)
• Mets (New York (now MSG+))
• Twins (North)
• Indians and Reds (Ohio)
• Pirates (Pittsburgh (now AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh))
• Rockies (Rocky Mountain (now AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain)
• Braves (South)
• Rangers and Astros (Southwest (Astros now on AT&T SportsNet Southwest))
• Angels and Dodgers (West and West 2 (now Prime Ticket), Dodgers now on Spectrum SportsNet LA)

 

[Eichs15]

On 4/11/2020 at 9:11 PM, insert name said:

Does anyone have a story about this? It’s a Rangers-Islanders game from 2006. I don’t ever seem to recall MSG ever using the FSN scorebug. 

This was indeed a thing. The Sabres used this scorebug for the 05-06 season with MSG graphics. The season after they switched to a brand new look. A weird in between year. Maybe MSG being the regional network was trying to work out a plan after the lockout? Who knows.

[TrueYankee26]

Knicks too.

 

[B3N]

Good look at the Madden 21 score package on the second slide.

 

[VandyDelphia Mike]

Blue Jays have tweaked

 

 

[dmmdoublem]

On 7/14/2020 at 11:56 AM, The AFC South said:

Good look at the Madden 21 score package on the second slide.

 

 

I like it better than Madden 20's, which is posted a bit earlier in the thread. Kind of strikes me as a cleaned-up version of the MNF score bar. Only things I dislike are the two random/unnecessary arrows next to the down & distance, and the lack of font uniformity.

[dmmdoublem]

Here's the college football version of the 1999 MLB FSN package I shared earlier in the thread. 

 

 

[Kramerica Industries]

The regional Fox Sports networks still using the same graphics packages for MLB that have been in use since October 2017.