FOX still sux

[mamajoan]

There was an article in today's Globe about kids who are Red Sox fans and whether their parents are letting them stay up for the games. In case I haven't mentioned, it really irks me that the damn games all start at 8:30pm. This pissed me off in 2004 and it pisses me off now. I get that they want to cater to the people on the West Coast, but why does that have to be at the expense of us here on the East Coast -- the people whose actual team is in the series?? And why 8 fucking 30??? Start the game at 6 and make the West Coast folks leave work early or miss the beginning of the game. Or, you know, put them on a time-delay. Who cares? Why do they get to hold tyranny over us?

Ahem. Anyway, so the point is that I really feel for the kids in the article who want to watch the games but can't (or aren't allowed to) stay up that late.

And this is the worst part:
Told that a bunch of 10-year-olds in Boston are up in arms, Fox Sports had some advice.

"A 10-year-old in Boston needs to know that they are on just one spot on the planet. There are other time zones," said Anita Bartlett, production administrator for Fox Sports.

Well, excuse the fuck out of you, Anita Bartlett, but a 10-year-old in BOSTON is also in one of two spots on the planet where the World Series is directly relevant. No offense to, like, Singapore, but you don't see the Singapore Red Sox in the World Series, and therefore, we don't give a shit about what time the games air in Singapore. This World Series is between the BOSTON RED SOX and the COLORADO ROCKIES, so people who live in BOSTON and COLORADO should be able to watch the games at a reasonable hour in THEIR respective time zones. The rest of the world can damn well stay up late or get up early.

OK...maybe I'm overreacting, but damn. You know, there are lots of reasons to hate FOX, but this...this whole bit about trying to maximize their profits while pretending it's an educational opportunity for Red Sox-loving kids, just really pushes my buttons. GRRR.

In cheerier news, check out this awesome Sox-related parody of Dr. Seuss's "Fox in Socks." Hilarious.

Comments

[metafrantic.livejournal.com]

I get that they want to cater to the people on the West Coast, but why does that have to be at the expense of us here on the East Coast -- the people whose actual team is in the series??

Well, you know... the Rockies? Colorado?

Although I agree that it makes more sense to have the Rockies fans leave work earler than it does to have the Red Sox fans forced to stay up until all hours. And let's face it - if Fox really wants to make the most money, shouldn't they pander to the Red Sox fanbase, which is enormous and nationwide? Not to knock the Rockies fanbase, but purely from a business standpoint, the Red Sox fanbase is much, much bigger.

[mogwar.livejournal.com]

They aren't Pacific time, though, are they? They're on Mountain, right? I know that doesn't make a huge difference, but it is one hour closer.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

right, but Colorado is in Mountain time, so even still they could start the games at 6 or 7 our time and it would still be at least semi-reasonable in Colorado time.

I note that the games in Colorado are scheduled for 8pm Eastern Time too; I wonder whether any Rockies fans are pissed about that. OTOH, if they scheduled those games for 8pm Colorado time, then I'd be even MORE pissed... ;)

[mogwar.livejournal.com]

I'm confused. We're in the same time zone as you, but last year when we were in the World Series, I believe our games started earlier. I know several of the kids I know went to games, and I remember the games interfered seriously with my commute to kidlet's school a few times (the stadium is less than a mile from school, and I tend to pick him up around four).

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

I think your memory must be faulty, because according to Wikipedia, the games last year started between 8 and 8:30pm, Eastern time.

Of course, it's also true that around here a game starting at 8pm could easily cause traffic problems starting at 4. So that's still plausible if your traffic is like ours.

[skreeky]

Yeh, WS starts at 8-whatever, as does the All Star Game and such.

The biggest difference this year is that not only is it a late start, but inning breaks are now 2:55 long. For comparison, normal inning breaks are 1:40, and in recent years when we're on national TV (ESPN or FOX), they are 2:05 to allow for more ads. Even 4 ads per half inning isn't enough this time, there have to be 6. FOX's greed adds 22:30 or more to the overall game length regardless of actual playing time this year.

Also, their director appears to be an inept dork, and I hate Joe Buck's smug face. Nyah.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Right -- that's a big factor and thanks for providing the actual numbers! Pretty telling when you put it that way.

Did you see the game during the ALDS, I think it was, where they showed Stephen King reading a book during the inning break, and then later they interviewed him and he said something like "I can read 18 pages in between innings, but if the game's on FOX, I can read 27 pages because there are more ads." LOL. Way to diss FOX while on air on FOX! :)

[hawkeye7.livejournal.com]

No offense to, like, Singapore, but you don't see the Singapore Red Sox in the World Series
A sore point in Singapore, I assure you. You have a "World Series" but unlike other sports, don't actually let anybody else play!

Of course the "time zones" referred to are those in the US. There is no concession to the international audience. But as it happens, 8:30pm in Boston is 10:30 am the next day here (Singapore is one hour behind us).

I cannot help suspecting (having at least as many reasons to hate FOX as you do) that this has more to do with the definition of "Prime Time", which runs from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm Eastern, and attracts higher advertising rates.

[jorend.livejournal.com]

...a 10-year-old in BOSTON is also in one of two spots on the planet where the World Series is directly relevant.

What happened to Red Sox Nation?