They are some of the most identifiable voices in sport anywhere in the world, those men and women who literally call the games. All have their own style, personality and in many cases identifiable emotions and signature calls and phrases.
Yet until this past Thursday, even having been in some of those booths, I never really realized what it’s like to see the calls being made. It became an “Aha’ moment when SNY TV offered up Gary Cohen’s call of the Mets improbable and exciting ninth inning comeback win over the Phillies in Citizen’s Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia. While hearing Cohen call the winning hit from Starling Marte was great, SEEING him to is was even more amazing.
So, as we move to more and more streaming and custom viewing and listening for fans, why not more of announcer cam? Granted it may not always be animation and high fives, but for the ability to see in a very visual world what and how a voice acts and sounds on calls good and tough would make for really compelling content for fans, both on a local level and even on a national one.
Now it certainly won’t be perfect, and maybe for some voices it will be a distraction, but micro cameras give us the ability to see in without being distracted, and smart direction can no what to, and hat not to show from time to time. In an era where we want more content, where the signing of signature voices and personalities is becoming more and more part of the content schedule, wouldn’t it be fun to see and learn more than to just hear?
And by the way as SNY showed us, it’s also more content to provide value add for brands, as we see with Dunkin.
Great call Gary, great idea SNY, lets see who else is up!
