GDT: Traverse City 2019 Tournament Thread

[Irishguy42]

Put me down as someone who is somewhat surprised they don't stream the games.

A tournament like this also seems like a golden opportunity for some on-the-job training for their younger production and broadcast talent, without necessarily expecting said talent to be completely ready for prime time.

Arena may very well not have the infrastructure for anything beyond the simple single camera setup they normally use.

Not even a small broadcast set up by any means.

 

[Leetch3]

if i had to pick, i'd rather they spent the $$ to broadcast pack games

 

[4thline]

Edit- came here off the "most recent posts" link, thought it was the Prospect board thread. Anyway, now you know about the Leafs lol.

Excited for the Leafs to be a part of this. Not a lot of flashy names this year, but some players to watch,

On D Teemu Kivihalme and Jesper Lindgren are two older players, established top pairing guys in Liiga that are dark horses to challenge for NHL minutes. Mac Hollowell is an undersized late bloomer with ++ mobility and great tenacity, was voted by coaches the top offensive dman in the ohl western conference over the likes of Bouchard and Boqvist.

Up front theres not a whole lot of excitement. Nick Robertson headlines the group coming off a strong wjss, and yegor korshkov will need to be dominant at this level (another older euro pro). After that we have a collection of undersized junior aged high upside mid rounders in Der-Arguchintsev, Stotts and Abramov, and three very interesting AHL contract invites in Justin Brazeau, Hudson Elynyiuk, and Giorgio Estephan. The former was one of the more sought after Udfa s this spring, and the latter two were unsigned draft picks (3rd and 5th round) that had very strong echl seasons. All three will be in the hunt for elcs this year.

In goal it's a great tandem of Woll and Scott, both arguably top 15 goalie prospects

 

[nyr2k2]

Arena may very well not have the infrastructure for anything beyond the simple single camera setup they normally use.

Not even a small broadcast set up by any means.

This is correct. Unless something changed very recently, there's no broadcast area. One rink I believe is configured with a remote-controlled camera in the center, the other in the far corner. One arena has a bunch of bleachers on one side, and the other, I'm not sure even has bleachers--just like an elevated concourse partly around the rink.

Again, maybe it has changed. But historically it hasn't been set up for anything from a broadcast perspective. If you wanted guys to announce, they'd have to sit in some weird location with no traditional equipment.

 

[Ken Lund]

OK. What draws in more viewers (either life or on demand)?

- an hour following our prospects
- reruns of games 25-30 years ago they showed a thousand times already

Unfortunately the reruns are much cheaper.
Hopefully they could give us a nice show from the studio at the end of the tournament with an in depth recap, maybe some highlights?

 

[Irishguy42]

This is correct. Unless something changed very recently, there's no broadcast area. One rink I believe is configured with a remote-controlled camera in the center, the other in the far corner. One arena has a bunch of bleachers on one side, and the other, I'm not sure even has bleachers--just like an elevated concourse partly around the rink.

Again, maybe it has changed. But historically it hasn't been set up for anything from a broadcast perspective. If you wanted guys to announce, they'd have to sit in some weird location with no traditional equipment.

Yep.

I really dislike the immediate need to bash MSG Networks just because they won't broadcast it on TV.

 

[egelband]

why couldn't MSG Networks show these games as a tape delay (prime time or later that night) without the announcers? at least give the fans something since some of these players will be Rangers in the 19-20 season? does it have to do with broadcasting rights?

Good point. Sending a crew to tape the game with three or four cams and then roughly editing it together isn't a huge expense. I'm sure plenty of diehards would watch.

 

[Irishguy42]

why couldn't MSG Networks show these games as a tape delay (prime time or later that night) without the announcers? at least give the fans something since some of these players will be Rangers in the 19-20 season? does it have to do with broadcasting rights?

The expenses/logistics wouldn't be worth it. It's not as simple as just sending a camera crew to tape a few games and then broadcast that.

 

[Irishguy42]

How about we get to the point where the stream we get every year actually works all the time and doesn't drop during the game or not work until right before puck drop, before we complain about not getting anything on TV from a broadcast team.

Because even the stream we get every year is still balls.

 

[Mike in Houston]

The games will be streamed on the Fox Sports Go app. Production by Fox Sports Detroit. Only Red Wings games will have commentary. Just like the last couple of years.

 

[Unusual Suspect]

Probably correct. I hear what many are saying here about live coverage viability but still don't entirely agree... at least from the standpoint that the last attempt was eight years ago, and if there was EVER a time to revisit the concept it is now. I am not quite so sure the fan base is as prospect-illiterate as has customarily been the case; the buzz around the rebuild and the Hughes-Kakko draft has been loud and long enough that it's penetrated a lot more crania than ever before. Possibly illustrative anecdote: I live so far west in Jersey that I can see Easton,PA dimly from my front porch. This is not great hockey country... My wife's working nearby in a retail location, and a few days ago some random guy in a NYR T-shirt tells her how much he's looking forward to seeing Kakko... AND Kravtsov, AND Fox. Three years ago your average fan would likely not have known the names of ANY prospects coming to camp. I still think it would have been a great RANGERS move to send a broadcast team out... but obviously in the greater MSG Networks context they weren't seeing ROI on the effort from the pure immediate dollar-and-cents perspective. I get it but I think I'm going to remain a little bit annoyed til I forget about it entirely the day after the tourney ends.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

I just don't think reruns will draw in more viewers than any original content.

I don't know why you'd feel that way since re-runs are shown for a reason. I mean, this is a basic media idea. There are diminishing returns with everything being new content.

 

[egelband]

I don't know why you'd feel that way since re-runs are shown for a reason. I mean, this is a basic media idea. There are diminishing returns with everything being new content.

Yep. Its the on demand era. I mean, we watch the Olympics on delay. And in the case of this particular tournament no one even cares about the scores. Which is the main argument against watching taped sport.
I'd argue that an event like this is closer to entertainment than live sport. No one is hanging on the result.
It's not whether or not it's live. It's all about first chance to watch. If it's a day or two after the fact the target audience won't mind.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Would want MSG doing the coverage with some play by play even. Biggest point in organizational history especially when it comes to the prospect pool

Is that dude legit?

Good news there will be more than one streaming option, unless he's talking about the Fox app.

 

[RGY]

Is that dude legit?

Good news there will be more than one streaming option, unless he's talking about the Fox app.

Vince Mercogliano is legit, he has done a good job covering the team all offseason.

But he may just be referring to the Fox Go app

 

[Vitto79]

When doesn’t practice start ?

 

[Edge]

Arena may very well not have the infrastructure for anything beyond the simple single camera setup they normally use.

Not even a small broadcast set up by any means.

This is partially true, but not entirely.

The set-up does not lend itself to an NHL style broadcast, but the basic dynamics aren't terribly far off from a lot of junior league arenas.

If the expectation is to have something that resembles a typical Rangers game on MSG, that's not going to happen.

But the basic premise isn't terribly hard and is something that's been discussed within the league for a few years now.

 

[Edge]

This is correct. Unless something changed very recently, there's no broadcast area. One rink I believe is configured with a remote-controlled camera in the center, the other in the far corner. One arena has a bunch of bleachers on one side, and the other, I'm not sure even has bleachers--just like an elevated concourse partly around the rink.

Again, maybe it has changed. But historically it hasn't been set up for anything from a broadcast perspective. If you wanted guys to announce, they'd have to sit in some weird location with no traditional equipment.

The layout isn't really the problem. These teams have worked with far less, trust me.

It's really a matter of whether MSG wants to make the commitment and investment to send personnel down there, and whether they feel the juice is worth the squeeze.

Logistics isn't the deciding factor, or at least hasn't been traditionally. It's ROI. They don't feel it's there. Personally, I think it is if you have someone who is forward thinking enough. But forward-thinking and large corporations aren't inherently soulmates.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

I get that an MSG broadcast may not be financially viable, but I don’t see how they NYR are still unable to workout a deal that allows them to broadcast a simple web stream.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I get that an MSG broadcast may not be financially viable, but I don’t see how they NYR are still unable to workout a deal that allows them to broadcast a simple web stream.

Exactly. And my point remains this:

You either hype up the rebuild and produce content focused on the prospects to build that hype, or
You stay the course and have a summer without any content

It doesn't even have to be on TV. Look at what Carolina and Chicago did in recent years. That's what I want.

 

[Edge]

I get that an MSG broadcast may not be financially viable, but I don’t see how they NYR are still unable to workout a deal that allows them to broadcast a simple web stream.

I think it is may be important to note the difference between viable and attractive.

Based on my experience, and in dealing with similar proposals over the years, I think the endeavor is probably viable. In other words, I don't think it would lose money.

How attractive is it from a financial standpoint? That's something I'm less sure of.

You very well could have a situation where the expenses are covered and any kind of monetary profit is minimal. In and of itself, that might not be something MSG wants to spend a lot of effort pursuing.

However, when you start to factor in training and experience for younger crew members, access to b-roll and footage for projects down the road, content creation, etc., I think there's something to be gained.

But it's not my money, not my time, and not my decision.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

I get it that it's a business, but c'on we are talking about MSG. They have more money than god, are they really that concerned about spending 10K on sending a crew and a couple cameras there?

 

[nyr2k2]

The layout isn't really the problem. These teams have worked with far less, trust me.

It's really a matter of whether MSG wants to make the commitment and investment to send personnel down there, and whether they feel the juice is worth the squeeze.

Logistics isn't the deciding factor, or at least hasn't been traditionally. It's ROI. They don't feel it's there. Personally, I think it is if you have someone who is forward thinking enough. But forward-thinking and large corporations aren't inherently soulmates.

I know they could make it work, if they wanted. My initial response was that MSG is a business, and that the decision not to broadcast it is a business decision.

The post you're quoting was just a response to what type of broadcast they could actually put together if they did decide it was worth it.

 

[Chaels Arms]

They're not covering the tournament because they can't see the possibility of anyone even watching it. Let's be reality here. If any of us were in MSG during a game and said to a random fan in the beer line, "hey that kid so-and-so looked awesome in Traverse" we'd get stared at like we had five heads. The only people that even know this tournament exists are actual scouts and the hardcore group of fans that post on here.

 

[Edge]

They're not covering the tournament because they can't see the possibility of anyone even watching it. Let's be reality here. If any of us were in MSG during a game and said to a random fan in the beer line, "hey that kid so-and-so looked awesome in Traverse" we'd get stared at like we had five heads. The only people that even know this tournament exists are actual scouts and the hardcore group of fans that post on here.

I feel like that was true maybe 10 or 15 years ago. If there's one thing that the draft parties and other endeavors have shown, it's that there's a bigger audience out there than many teams realized.

Now, is it going to do blockbuster business and became an enticing revenue stream? Not likely. And that's why it's a tough sell to a company like MSG.

What some teams would consider a nice little bonus is essentially pocket change to MSG. So while our size and resources can be an advantage, it does work against us when it comes to these cool events that are a little more of a niche.

People will watch, it's just not enough of a needle mover for a corporation that is looking for larger returns.