The good, bad and ugly of live virtual games
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Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley won ESPN's H-O-R-S-E Challenge, whose videos - filmed by the players with their own cameras - were blurry and shaky. The sound quality was also poor and there was difficulty understanding the players' commentary.
PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW YORK • Mike Conley was pleased just to get in some good competition with the National Basketball Association (NBA) season suspended during the coronavirus pandemic.
That he won ESPN's H-O-R-S-E Challenge, beating Zach LaVine in the championship match on Thursday, was secondary to the entertainment value. It showed.
For all the talk that sports fans are starved of live content during the Covid-19 pandemic, the finale averaged just 372,000 viewers, reported Sports Media Watch.
In basketball parlance, the five-day virtual game - featuring current and former NBA and Women's National Basketball Association players - was an air ball.
The idea of the challenge involves matching baskets, and the player who makes shots that their opponent does not replicate, wins.
But the videos, filmed by the players with their own cameras, were blurry, shaky and oftentimes awkwardly lagged. Sound quality was poor, and it was hard to understand the players' commentary.
The biggest beneficiaries were arguably the players.
"It was a fun environment to be a part of," Conley of the Utah Jazz said after beating LaVine of the Chicago Bulls. "This gave us all something to do at a time we're all sitting around the house."
A Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) event in home isolation is also experiencing mixed results.
Two-time world darts champion Gary Anderson was forced to pull out on Friday due to his Wi-Fi connection not being "reliable enough". When the event got going, the images were blurred, and the Wi-Fi decidedly dodgy.
"This PDC Home Tour is an absolute car crash. Moon Landings had better picture quality," commented one Twitter user.
While the tournament, set to run over 32 consecutive days, can seek to address its problems, it is game over for Nascar driver Kyle Larson.
Chip Ganassi Racing sacked him on Tuesday, a day after sponsors McDonald's and Credit One Bank dumped the American over his use of a racial slur during a livestreamed virtual race.
Larson, 27, was in his seventh Cup season with Ganassi and was set to be one of the series' most coveted free agents when his contract expired after this season.
Instead, he is in wilderness following the Monza Madness iRacing exhibition race last Sunday.
The incident is a warning for athletes and advertisers across the United States, said longtime marketing executive Bob Dorfman.
"The relaxed nature of 'homemade' media makes it easier for jocks to let their guard down, be more natural and relaxed, and possibly let slip out something offensive and inappropriate," added Dorfman, creative director of Baker Street Advertising. "Every time an athlete is on an open mic or camera - whether it's a formal presser or casual Zoom event - he or she has to be aware that their words and actions matter, and are being scrutinised by millions."
REUTERS, NYTIMES, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BLOOMBERG
