24 Hour Networks Leave Something To Be Desired

Since being home from school I've had more time on my hands to check out some TV. ESPN has always been a staple of  my channel surfing menu, but recently the MLB Network has been on in my house and I've even caught glimpses of the NFL Network. While watching these channels, it's become abundantly obvious that they really don't have anything to say. Maybe, maybe the three of them together could put together a semi-decent station but apart, they waste so much airtime its just about not worth watching them.

The MLB Network is good for exactly two things: out of market baseball games and MLB tonight, a clear take-off of Baseball Tonight, but a decent substitute if that program isn't on. The NFL network is hilarious to watch. They show highlights of unimportant week 10 games between two non-playoff teams just to fill time between Warren Sapp spouting off about something nobody cares about, not even him. Outside of sports bars and Applebee's-type restaurants that have to keeps sports on all the time, I have no idea who watches the NFL Network in May while a lockout is going on and there's no football anyway.

ESPN is shameless in its time wasting strategy. SportCenter is on for literally half the day everyday and has the exact same highlights over and over again. During football season, we get endless overanalysis of games either three days old or four days away. I love the ESPN corporation, the content on the website is top notch. Guys like Jayson Stark, Tim Kirkjian, and Buster Olney are great and they are always on top of breaking news and recent stories but hours of telling me that Dirk Nowitzki is good and the Heat are playing well is just a waste. ESPN TV is good for Sportscenter once to see highlights, PTI for good commentary and Baseball Tonight to keep up on games around the country and to get in-game highlights. Other than that, ESPN does very little for me.

It's really not the fault of these guys though. It's a tough business model, something that Fox News, CNN, CNBC and others have shown. The constant talking without saying anything on sports networks is the the equivalent of kitty-in-a-tree stories or other fluff on the news networks. I happen to have very strong opinions about 24-hour cable news stations. I think they are playing a large part in the crippling polarization of the political sphere in this country and are doing exponentially more harm than good. In order to fill air time and increase ratings, these networks resort to clearly biased and slanted programming that places greater emphasis on shock value and fear mongering than actual facts. Entertainers such as Glenn Beck that try to pass themselves off as newsmen are rapidly eroding the political discourse in the U.S. and contributing to the partisan gridlock that today characterizes the government. Beck is only on T.V. because Fox has got to show something at 5 p.m. every weekday.  In terms of sports networks, I kind of just think they are a waste of time and energy and probably provide jobs to a lot people that normally wouldn't have them. The point of this post isn't to propose lasting change in the infrastructure of television sports news, it's just to comment on the lack of content on cable sports news networks. Perhaps we could have longer than 10-second highlights or something.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know

-Max Frankel, Off The Bench, maxfrankel.com