KIRO 7 has flashy showcasing graphics as usual and naming its World Cup coverage, but on the eve of the Seattle's USA game, NO special coverage at all at 11. Just anchor Elle Thomas voicing a story about Pulisic and a freelance reporter on parking confusion. Where's Eric Thomas? Not doing special duty? That was it? Ceding it all to Fox 13?
Well, no sports department, of course, so no nothing.
Embarrassing, even for KIRO. I tuned in specifically to see if there was any strong emphasis or commitment on the night before this huge event. I left shaking my head. Not much of a connection to the cup!
New ND didn't rise to the occasion. Or maybe she has started yet?
Haven't watched much coverage but Fox has good live reporting inside the stadium with Levine and Mayofsky, and Kong's The Ultimate Sports Show was stationed with a great vantage point outside. Nice overhead crowd shots.
KIRO seems to be treating the World Cup like its a normal story when it isn't. Is it just because they have very limited resources or is it because the Cup, at least so far, has been something of a dud? By that, I mean that there seems to be less buzz for the event among the general public than what might have been expected for an event of this significance.
ReplyDeleteI think they did everyone a favor not mentioning the Mariners and Red Sox
DeleteHaven't watched enough of the overall coverage from KIRO but the snapshot of World Cup Eve seemed to lack resources and commitment. The Mariners were going to open a series the same day as the big game, so there was a story there too.
DeleteThis week serves as a stark reminder that KIRO needs a dedicated sports department. Adding Nia Wong and Heather Bosch to the reporting roster were excellent moves to shore up KIRO's general news coverage. Now, the station's attention must be turned to rebuilding its sports department.
DeleteI have not seen the KIRO coverage so I am not going to comment directly on that except to say it really is not surprising KIRO is handling this story as it is. They most likely are ceding it to Fox as they are where the games are airing, but what makes this especially disappointing is that CBS is the rights holder for the European club league championship (UEFA) tournament and a lot of those European club teams' top players are on these World Cup national teams including many who have or will be competing in Seattle. So KIRO does need to up their game and here is hoping they do so even if it is using freelance guys to do it with.
DeleteI may be reading way too much into this, but as a CBS affiliate, KIRO should be helping to promote the people who appear on the network. In this case, that would be the UEFA players. The fact that they aren't makes me wonder how stable KIRO's relationship with CBS is right now.
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