RSNs like SNY and YES Network "lost significant revenue" this MLB season by only airing 60 games, and moving forward, network execs are "going to be looking for ways to drastically cut costs," according to Bob Raissman of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. One broadcasting exec said, "The way baseball is broadcast during COVID-19 could easily become the new norm." Raissman noted that means play-by-play voices and analysts "would continue broadcasting from remote locations." There "would have to be uniformity across baseball to do this but when the savings can amount to millions, are any of these networks going to balk over NOT having their voices on the scene?" Raissman: "Face it, no one is tuning in to see Ron Darling, Keith Hernandez and Gary Cohen live from the site of a game." Broadcasters' physical presence on the scene "does not impact the ratings, nor the quality of the telecast." Does it make "economic sense for YES or SNY to send broadcast teams, and an entire crew, to Seattle to air" a 10:00pm ET start of an early-season series? The local talent "have shown they can work off a monitor efficiently and dish with fluidity, even when they have been sitting in separate booths for social distancing" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/27).
