“And I don’t think people are even going to notice it,” Dan Le Batard said of the change he expects in sports broadcasting.
On the October 13 edition of The Dan Le Batard Show, he used the Miami Marlins’ broadcast changes to explain his concern that team coverage would increasingly be judged by how effectively it promotes the product.
“They kept the people who have social media followings and they kept the people who are not critical of the team,” Le Batard said.
He was offering his assessment of the decisions, referring to reporting by the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson and others. His concern extended beyond one club’s choice of television voices.
“I believe it’s going to happen so gradually from market to market, slowly as everything changes,” he said.
Jackson reported October 12 that the Marlins had dismissed Kyle Sielaff, Jeff Nelson, Craig Minervini and Rod Allen. He described promotion and social-media reach as increasingly valuable under a model relying on subscriptions and advertising.
His account also identified other considerations. Jackson reported that replacing Sielaff was not about subscription sales, that executives rated radio announcer Jack McMullen highly, and that the club wanted analysts who could explain contemporary strategy. He did not report that analysts must agree with every decision.
A panelist asked Le Batard to distinguish between people working on Marlins television, including Jeremy Tache, and other reporters covering the club. Le Batard said he expected the pressure to spread across sports media.
“I’m saying all of this is creeping. I’m saying it’s going to happen everywhere,” he said.
Le Batard then described the stance he feared would replace critical coverage. He was imagining how the relationship could evolve, rather than quoting a policy issued by the Marlins.
“No, our reporters do not talk critically about the product. Our reporters are partners with the product.”
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Cover image: Awful Announcing, which credits MLB.tv. Original broadcast date unspecified.
