The NFL’s new policy of placing microphones on centers or both guards this season is “going over with players and coaches about as well as Dennis Miller’s turn in the Monday night booth did with viewers,” according to Greg Bedard of the BOSTON GLOBE. Both the Competition Committee and the full ownership group “had questions about the policy during the recent fall meeting in Houston, because the reaction hasn’t been positive among the rank and file.” The NFL and the players union agreed in the CBA that “either the center or both guards would be miked during games,” and failure to do so “would result in a $5,000 fine.” NFL Senior VP/Broadcasting & Media Operations Howard Katz said, “This is important for our network partners, and we think people at home want to hear the sounds of the game. They want to hear what’s going on. So we’re just trying to strike that balance between hearing enough and not hearing too much. We make tweaks to this every week.” But Falcons C Todd McClure said, “I don’t know if you call it stealing signals, but I’m sure there are teams that are watching TV copies to see if they can pick up on some things. If you can get any advantage, I don’t see why not.” Bedard noted the new policy is “strange, because the audio enhances the at-home experience at the same time the NFL wants more people to come to stadiums.” Katz said, “You are right to point out that there may be some great in-stadium applications, and we’re certainly aware of that and trying to figure out how to make that in-stadium experience even better, and audio may play into that.” The “overriding problem is the NFL is providing information without any context.” It is “neat but useless information for the people it’s aimed at -- the general public -- unless you’re telling them what they’re listening to.” Bedard wrote it “seems pointless,” but the results "are not going away soon.” Katz: “We’re working on a system that’s going to work for everybody. I don’t anticipate it going away. I sure as hell hope it doesn’t go away. There’s a lot of work we’ve put in to make audio an important part of the telecast and fan experience’’ (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/23).
LISTENING IN: On Long Island, Bob Glauber notes “concerns have been raised about the possibility of teams listening in and gaining a competitive advantage by matching the calls to the plays that are being run.” The NFL Competition Committee at last week's NFL owners meetings in Houston “was apprised of the situation, and the league is working with the television networks to reach a compromise that will satisfy both sides.” Giants President & CEO John Mara, who serves on the committee, said, "There has been discussion about this, and it is a concern. The networks want the mikes, so we're trying to figure out a solution" (NEWSDAY, 10/22).
