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Talking Balls: WC 2018 TV Coverage

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    Talking Balls: WC 2018 TV Coverage

    US viewers who have any appreciation of the game (and are not boycotting) have a dilemma: how the fuck do I watch a World Cup covered by Fox? It made the Champions League unwatchable and is likely to make the World Cup a comedic event in which the rules are misunderstood and pundits are clueless.

    It might be better to tune to a Spanish station or have the sound off while following the match on a thread such as these we have on here.

    I am looking forward, however, to horror stories about other nations' coverage, including ITV (although I recall some comments here in 2014 saying that the Beeb was now worse).

    #2
    The Spanish language coverage is by far the best option here, but then I’ve been doing that when in the US since 1982.

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      #3
      As a non speaker of Spanish, my solution to watching Champions League games has been to watch Fox with the sound off. Are there any non-offensive anglophone options in this country?

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        #4
        Canadian or Antipodean streams, perhaps

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          #5
          In New Zealand we get the official FIFA feed (John Helm and co). It's actually pretty good for the football itself. But off-field is off-limits.

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            #6
            John Helm is 76 so might be the oldest football commentator currently working.

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              #7
              That international feed combines an anonymous invisible host (in English) with post-match interviews in players'/coaches' own languages. Good chance to test your Spanish, Portuguese etc. Something campo something mas, said Diego Costa.

              The lone commentator takes some getting used to, now we're conditioned to sidekick-banter. But it works OK, I provide the astute analysis in my head, to universal approval.

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                #8
                Isn't commentary in a language you don't speak far preferable?

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                  #9
                  What's the verdict on the volkswagen idents on ITV, the "complete confidence" chap. I've seen 2 and am already annoyed.

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                    #10
                    They're shite, aren't they? And they really stick out like a sore thumb compared to most of the media coverage of England this time, which has been pretty realistic on the whole. Even ITV have sussed that England's talented-but-inexperienced squad isn't going to be pulling up any trees this summer.

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                      #11
                      Guy Mowbray, commenting on the Iceland celebrations, called them 'Vikings'. I mean, surely he's done the most basic research?

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by Satchmo Distel View Post
                        John Helm is 76 so might be the oldest football commentator currently working.
                        Even though he takes the FIFA shilling, I’ll forever love John Helm
                        Mostly for “Have you ever seen a better goal and have you ever seen one better timed?”
                        But also for “And welcome to Hillsborough where the news is that Carlton Palmer has pissed his fatness test.”

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by blameless View Post
                          They're shite, aren't they? And they really stick out like a sore thumb compared to most of the media coverage of England this time, which has been pretty realistic on the whole. Even ITV have sussed that England's talented-but-inexperienced squad isn't going to be pulling up any trees this summer.
                          I'd like to think it's all a piss take, and if England get knocked out in the second round our hero appears in a Germany top, claiming he'd always supported them cos he's got a VW. Either that or he pretends he was never interested in football anyway and starts banging on about RU or cricket.

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                            #14
                            Fox error, stating that 1982 was Brazil's last previous non-winning opener. Should be 1978.

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                              #15
                              TV coverage here in Australia has today become very political. A few years ago, free to air broadcaster SBS had thought they'd secured exclusive rights to broadcast this & the 2022 World Cup. As the go to channel for all previous World Cup coverage, it was something we all took for granted.

                              Then in 2015, the Government cut their funding big time, so SBS sub-let two thirds of their rights to telecoms company Optus. Optus had just secured exclusive rights in Australia to broadcast the Premier League, so in return SBS got 1 live Premier League game per round. No matter how much spin SBS put on it, we all knew it was a bad deal.

                              Fast forward to today and after a barrage of criticism over the Optus app crashing & viewers only getting a blank screen, the Prime Minister has forced Optus to let SBS show all games for the next 48 hours whilst Optus sort their shit out.

                              Needless to say, we're all blaming the government whilst they say it was purely sbs's decision to sell off their rights in exchange for the Premier League.

                              So now i'm watching Sweden-South Korea on the tele rather than having to mess around with the VPN.


                              http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-1...tep-in/9882152

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                                #16
                                Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post
                                The Spanish language coverage is by far the best option here, but then I’ve been doing that when in the US since 1982.
                                Aw come on, ESPN was pretty decent in 2010-14.

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                                  #17
                                  I will grant you that with respect to 2014 (wasn’t here for 10), but they weren’t good enough to have me change tradition.

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                                    #18
                                    Dear Points of View, tell your colleagues the England game kicks off at 7pm, not 6.15pm. We understand you'll start broadcasting the buildup before 7pm, but we'll join when we're ready, thanks.

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                                      #19
                                      "Where's the referee from?" asks Mark Lawrenson, 15 minutes into Belgium-Panama. Lazy, life-sapping sod.

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                                        #20
                                        Peter Drury fans can find him on the international feed, he did the England game tonight. Less florid than usual, and minus Beglin.

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                                          #21
                                          Originally posted by Benjm View Post
                                          "Where's the referee from?" asks Mark Lawrenson, 15 minutes into Belgium-Panama. Lazy, life-sapping sod.
                                          There was one bit where the commentator gently admonished him for not reading the research book and he just says “Put me to sleep.”

                                          My licence fee shouldn’t be going to pay Yer Da Goes To The World Cup.

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                                            #22
                                            In today's edition of "Commentators: Where are they now?", here is a list of those doing the global feed:

                                            Paul Dempsey, Peter Drury, Daniel Mann, John Helm, Mark Tompkins, Ian Darke, John Roder. Plus others?

                                            John Helm got the scoop for BBC radio when Clough was at Leeds, so he's seen a few seasons.

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                                              #23
                                              And as sure as night follows day, Optus couldn't sort their shit out within 48 hours, so SBS now have free to air coverage of the entire group stage. Just give SBS the entire bloody rights back.

                                              http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-2...to-sbs/9891118

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                                                #24
                                                Lmao

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                                                  #25
                                                  Originally posted by Flynnie View Post
                                                  There was one bit where the commentator gently admonished him for not reading the research book and he just says “Put me to sleep.”

                                                  My licence fee shouldn’t be going to pay Yer Da Goes To The World Cup.
                                                  Although the media is littered with ropey pundits, it staggers me that somebody as piss poor as Lawrenson has managed to carry this schtick for a couple of decades now. He really is one of the worst out there.

                                                  I can only assume he's kept his hand in and retained any sense of popularity by doing that celebrity 'guess the score' thing every week on the BBC website (which is where he should at least be confined to).

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