The explanation I have read on a 4:00 PM start is threefold: >From a spectator perspective, having a 4:00 PM start gives NYC ticketholders a fighting chance of making the makeup date. Too early, and you have people eating tickets. This, of course, does not explain why they couldn't have a 7:30 PM start.
>From an operations perspective, since you now have to get a reasonable amount of staff available to actually run the event. As an aside, I volunteered six years ago at the Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills in suburban Detroit. The weather looked iffy for Sunday at the start of the week, and I asked the volunteer coordinator what would happen if there was rain on Sunday. His response: "Don't even ask that question." >From a TV perspective, 4:00 effectively threads the needle between the soaps and prime time. Of course, had anyone visited a weather site, they would've seen that it was the absolutely worst time on that particular day. This was the third straight year of a Monday finish, so acting surprised is a bit out of the question. On Tue, Sep 14, 2010 at 2:08 PM, Adam Bowie <[email protected]> wrote: > > Fair points. But in which case, why is CBS even covering the event? If > it's not popular enough then perhaps it should be left to another > network, or ESPN. And it's not as though over-running until Monday is > unheard of given the failure of the USTA to put a roof over Flushing > Meadows. > > CBS and the USTA should have started the game much earlier in the > afternoon - 1pm for example. There wouldn't have been a rain delay and > most people would have been happy. I note that baseball games seem to > regularly start much earlier - I can watch the Nationals play the > Braves live tomorrow in the UK at 5pm local time here (so midday in > Atlanta) on ESPN America - one of the UK ESPN channels. > > To my mind, you either cover something properly, or you leave it to > someone who will cover it properly. You don't do half-hearted jobs. > > I wonder what the USTA's reaction will be? While NFL's much more > popular, can you imagine their reaction if CBS or Fox didn't push back > their Sunday programming as I believe they regularly have to do when > games run long? > > I just find it unfathomable from this side of the Atlantic. > > > Adam -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
