The Blues play their first game on Saturday night and those watching on Bally Sports Midwest may notice a drop in coverage.
Multiple production crew sources said two manned cameras are being eliminated this season for home contests to save money as BSM's parent company, Diamond Sports Group, is in bankruptcy. This is a 25% reduction from the eight used last year.
BSM officials declined to comment, but Diamond is believed to be trying to standardize camera deployment across the 11 NHL teams it televises.
A person who works at the broadcasters, who did not want to be identified to avoid possible retaliation, said the cut would affect viewers as well as broadcasters who would lose their jobs. Most people on the crew are freelancers.
“It's going to hurt,” the person said, adding that a camera on the third-base side was dropped from BSM's late-season Cardinals telecasts.
People also read…
The source said the hockey cameras that were eliminated were at the senior level and are primarily used for bench shots and replays. “We're not going to get that look in the end zone,” the person said, unless the visiting team's crew can be convinced to put a camera there that both crews would use.
The source added that one of the affected cameras was added last season, which “was like a bonus. So we thought we'd give it a miss. But losing our other camera, that will hurt.
“I understand that Bally's filed for bankruptcy and they are trying to cut costs, but there are so many other places that could cut costs and not on this end. You are talking about a camera and a camera operator. These are peanuts. Ultimately it will affect emissions, there is no way around it.”
A member of the ice cleaning crew sweeps a television camera inside a net in the third period of Game 6 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, in which Boston beat the Blues 5-1 Sunday, June 9, in St. Louis.
Bruce Bennett, Associated Press
Apparently not affected are the 10-15 unmanned cameras mounted in fixed positions, plus another three or four that can be shared by the away team's production.
A different person on the production team was philosophical about the developments.
“It's not what we want and I don't like it, but it's their decision, their company. … It's the ebb and flow of freelance work.”
The camera situation comes after the departure of Darren Pang, the lead analyst on Bally Sports Midwest's Blues telecasts for the past 14 seasons. He has stepped into a similar role covering the Chicago Blackhawks. He is now employed by the team, not the telecarder as was the case in St. Louis. Additionally, the owner of the Blackhawks' local television rights (NBC Sports Chicago) is not part of the Diamond business.
Pang said contract talks with BSM were slow to begin and when he finally received an offer, it was for a very minimal raise, and added that Diamond's shaky financial situation was a factor in his departure.
Pang has been replaced by Jamie Rivers, who filled in the past two seasons when Pang left for national television with TNT. Rivers will make his home debut in the leadoff role on Saturday when BSM hosts the Blues-Seattle game beginning at approximately 7:10 p.m.
The pregame show begins at 6:30 p.m., with Alexa Datt as host and Bernie Federko as commentator for a program that will include coverage of the home opener festivities. Andy Strickland will be the reporter then, as well as for halftime and post-match coverage.
BSM for the second season is selling its Blues telecasts directly to customers who do not watch the channel through a multi-channel package provider such as a cable or satellite company.
The Bally Sports+ The streaming option can be purchased either monthly ($19.99), annually ($189.99) or just for the hockey season (through the first round of the playoffs provided the Blues qualify) for 124, $99. It is only available in the area served by BSM, which does not currently offer this service for its Cardinals telecasts.
A one-week free streaming trial of Bally Sports+ is currently on offer.
