TNT Gets Positive Reviews For First Run Of Wide Open Coverage
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Writers Laud TNT For Use
Of "Wide Open Coverage" |
NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon introduced TNT's "Wide Open Coverage" before Saturday's Pepsi 400 at Daytona Int'l Speedway. Toasting with a Pepsi, Gordon said, "As someone who knows a little something about running wide open, it’s only fitting that they asked me to introduce this revolutionary new concept for NASCAR coverage. The fact is, the majority of you are still watching the race on a 4-by-3 television. You guys get this (draws box on screen). Unfortunately, this doesn’t leave much room for in-race stats like running order and other race information. The graphics must be superimposed over the footage. So the director and camera operators are left with very little real estate to capture the action. Now, if you’re cool enough to have an HDTV, you get this (draws another box): a 16-by-9 image, or 22% more picture. And if you know anything about watching NASCAR, that 22% makes a huge difference. So TNT has found a way to give you guys complete coverage, whether you’re watching a standard or high definition television. The idea was to still have that 16-by-9 action, strip away all the graphics, and give it to the 4-by-3 viewers. Now when you watch a 16-by-9 image on a 4-by-3 TV, it gets you that letter box effect. TNT plans to make use of that letter box space by moving the footage up and filling in the leftover area with all the stats and information you want to see, but without it getting in the way of the action” (TNT, 7/7).
REVIEWS: In Charlotte, David Poole writes viewers “didn't miss much racing” Saturday night thanks to the "Wide Open Coverage." There were “issues with how everything fit onto the screen, and anchor Bill Weber sounded like he was doing minor-league baseball on some AM radio station, reading a sponsor's pitch every at-bat.” But “tweaked the right way, the concept has merit for fans. The question, though, is will advertisers feel it has merit for them too?” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 7/9). USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand writes, “This coverage should be used on more races.” TNT “missed just three laps of green-flag racing – local TV ads still ran – and the vignettes weren’t annoying” (USA TODAY, 7/9).
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