Facebook is full of sass. Almost every day there is someone that wants to discredit or disrespect media sources with a Facebook comment or Tweet, whether its directed at CARDINAL NEWS, CBS Chicago, NBC Chicago, ABC 7 Chicago, WGN, Fox Chicago, the Daily Herald — whatever.
And who profits from the Facebook sass? Facebook (Yahoo! Finance: FB), but that’s another story.
Yesterday CARDINAL NEWS published a ‘tongue in cheek’ article about FOX Sports blowing it with their choice of broadcasts for the Chicago market — by not playing the best contests, involving the best teams with the best records. CARDINAL NEWS explained that “Last week FOX Sports chose to broadcast the first place NFC North Green Bay Packers (9-3) vs the last place NFC East New York Giants (2-10) instead of the first place contenders in the NFC West, who last week were tied for first place in the NFC West — The San Francisco 49ers (10-2) vs the Seattle Seahawks (10-2).”
Then this past weekend CARDINAL NEWS explained that on “Sunday, December 8, 2019 FOX Sports has poorly chosen to broadcast the first place NFC North Green Bay Packers (9-3) vs the third place NFC East Washington Redskins (3-9) instead of the first place (tied) NFC West San Francisco 49ers (10-2) vs the first place NFC South New Orleans Saints (10-2).”
So following the CARDINAL NEWS article, a few Packers fans responded that they were glad the Packers were on TV. That’s fine, I would expect that from Packers fans because the Packers are still in it. But if I am going to spend my time sitting down with family with the best chips, dip and beer I can find, I also want to see the best football teams executing how the best NFL football is played.
Now back to Facebook, and here is where I explain how a “Fake News Sham Shamer” took a shot at CARDINAL NEWS. You see it’s in vogue now for readers (“Fake News Sham Shamers”) to try to point out when they think media sources published Fake News.
Here is what Mr. Sasser wrote in the Facebook comment section …
“Pretty sure whoever runs this page doesn’t understand how NFL broadcasts are done, and doesn’t know that the local FOX station has no choice in which game they air.”
— Mr. Sasser
Well, CARDINAL NEWS is “pretty sure” that Mr. Sasser didn’t carefully read the article, which published FOX SPORTS blows it again (NOT “the local FOX station” as Sasser expressed it) … FOX Sports gives us the Packers games, instead of the teams with the best records because there are a lot of Packers fans sharing this market area with Chicagoans. So FOX Sports thinks they will get greater market share and make more money by broadcasting the Packers game. You see, the article was really just some ‘tongue in cheek’ fun, and CARDINAL NEWS is “pretty sure” we know that Fox Chicago sometimes has no control of what football game they can broadcast.
FOX Sports has a right to choose what games they think will make the most money in a market. However, FOX Sports missed out giving our market share “Chicagoland” the 49ers-Saints game, which could turn out to be a preview match of an NFL Conference championship game. So lately, the true Bears fans in Chicagoland have to “suffer” being offered a Packers game, miss out on their Arlington Heights hometown star SF 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo executing great plays, and miss the opportunity to lament — while munching on chips — about the Bears giving up Robbie Gould while watching him play like a real placekicker with the San Francisco 49ers.
FOX31, Denver’s local FOX affiliate, explained this whole TV NFL broadcasting thing on November 8, 2013 when Bronco’s fans were upset about some of the games they were being offered. How this all works (and how decisions are made) is fairly interesting.
FOX31 Denver (KDVR) explained that “rules about what games local TV stations are allowed to air are crafted between the NFL and networks which carry the games (FOX, CBS, NBC, ESPN and NFL Network). Local affiliates (i.e. FOX31 Denver) have little control in the process – and are sometimes at the mercy of the decisions made on-the-fly by the network.”
So Mr. Sasser was correct about the local FOX station not having a choice, but why did he have to give CARDINAL NEWS sass and twist it that CARDINAL NEWS was criticizing the local FOX station? CARDINAL NEWS wasn’t … there’s no need to disrespect CARDINAL NEWS because CARDINAL NEWS is CARDINAL KNOWS.
FOX31 Denver explained that FOX Sports assigns the games, “based on regional interest or national importance” — involving an amount of flexibility. Ahh, so the regional interest of the Green Bay Packers fans beat out the national importance of the San Francisco 49ers – New Orleans Saints game. Yes, FOX Sports blew it. The Green Bay Packers with a current 10-3 record beat the Washington Redskins with a current 3-10 record 20-15, so “big deal.”
FOX31 Denver further explained that “local stations have no control over the flexible scheduling. With the exception of games that FOX and CBS are allowed to protect, for the last seven weeks of the year, the NFL may decide to change games to give NBC a more attractive game in its Sunday night time slot. Games may also move between the early and late doubleheader slots.” FOX31 Denver added, “Thursday and Monday night games, however, do not change.”
FOX31 Denver also explained that “FOX and the NFL may opt to change FOX31 Denver’s broadcast away from “blowout” games to more competitive games being played at the same time. Again, we do not have local control over these decisions.” However, as the home market station for the Denver Broncos, if a Broncos game is being broadcast by FOX, then affiliate FOX31 Denver is guaranteed to show the Broncos game.
It’s just too bad money decisions take priority over viewers’ ability to see the games with the teams with the best records that are likely to play the best football.
By the way, the Seattle Seahawks got beat by the Los Angeles Rams 28-12 on NBC’s Sunday Night Football. That loss seals the decision that the 49ers-Saints game was the best game to view for NFL Week 14, and brings the San Francisco 49ers (11-2) led by Arlington Heights native and Rolling Meadows High School grad Jimmy Garoppolo (#10: 26/35 C/Att, 349 Yds, 4 TD, 1 Int) back in first place in the NFC West. Fortunately, as soon as the Packers – Redskins game ended, FOX Sports cut over to the 49ers – Saints game and viewers got to see Robbie Gould’s winning field goal.
“The NFL coverage map for Week 14 makes clear what CBS and Fox consider the best games Sunday’s NFL TV schedule has to offer. That’s especially the case this week.”
If you check the coverage maps for FOX Sports available on SPORTINGNEWS.com, you can see that FOX Sports has the capability to select very small areas of markets to select a particular game via their affiliates, but most of the United States viewers got to see the 49ers-Saints game and that includes the southern third of Illinois, where viewers got to watch the 49ers-Saints game.
See also …
SPORTINGNEWS | NFL Week 14 coverage map: TV schedule for CBS, Fox regional broadcasts
This represents the opinion of Mark Bostrom, and I am sticking with it — and yes, this is still tongue in cheek.
CAME IN AND TOOK IT#GONINERS pic.twitter.com/mLrevxTbWG
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) December 8, 2019
^^ MOBILE? USE VOICE MIC ^^
facebook …
Please ‘LIKE’ the ‘Arlington Cardinal Page. See all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages at Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …
Help fund The Cardinal Arlingtoncardinal.com/sponsor
20240105-1435future
THANKS FOR READING CARDINAL NEWS