Another Dumb Idea

As a guy who watched a hockey team make the inexplicable decision to simply walk away from a radio contract that had brought the team some popularity in its market, it was hard to understand what the Columbus Blue Jackets were trying to achieve by not renewing the contract of radio play-by-play broadcaster Bob McElligott. McElligott had 17 years of experience calling games on the radio, and he was a trusted voice for Blue Jackets fans. Starting this season, that voice will be absent as the team looks to simulcast its TV broadcast on the radio which may lead to no radio in the future.

As per the announcement today, "all Blue Jackets game broadcasts will be simulcast across television and radio platforms, allowing fans to experience the same live game coverage whether watching on television or listening on the radio". Steve Mears and Jody Shelley will be calling the action on both mediums now, but this idea seems to forget that these two mediums are significantly different in how the actual broadcasts sound. TV is not radio, so this could go poorly.

As you likely know from watching hockey on TV, the action on the TV doesn't always have to be described because you, as the viewer, can see it. It's part of the reason why every ticket to a game doesn't come with a guy who sits besides you and describes the action. You're able to process what's happening on the ice because you can see it, and the TV broadcast will call the play and fill in the analysis gaps.

You don't get that same benefit with radio because there is no visual component. The audio hardly lends itself to knowing what's happening on the ice, so the radio play-by-play person does a lot more talking to describe what's happening on the ice at all times. There's a signficant difference in how the game sounds when there are big gaps between plays called on radio whereas TV can handle that with its visuals. That's why TV-to-radio simulcasts don't work.

If the Columbus Blue Jackets are letting Bob McElligott as a cost-cutting move, there are likely hundreds of other things they could have done to save a few bucks because there is no way their product will sound better on the radio by using the TV broadcast as its play-by-play. No longer will be there be different analysis done by different people because the single broadcast removes those other voices who bring a different perspective and different experiences to the game. Losing those voices doesn't make the game better.

My hope is that Bob McElligott gets picked up by another team because he was very good at his job. For the handful of games that I heard him call, he was always professional, sounded well-prepared, and called the game with passion. Wherever he lands, he'll bring those traits to his new job, but I really hope he finds his way back to a hockey broadcast booth. His talents make the game sound great!

Oscar Wilde wrote in The Picture of Dorian Gray, "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." It appears that the Columbus Blue Jackets are fully prepared to test that famous quotation this season.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!