COMPUTERS,PHOTOS and PROFESSIONAL SPORT BROADCASTING

Human activity has always been prone to error but the chances of this happening in sporting events has been drastically reduced. All sports have referees, umpires and other officials whose job is to make sure that the rules of the game are followed but the officials are human and mistakes are made. The chances of this happening with modern technology has been drastically reduced. Photos make the difference. Take Tennis- Hitting the tennis ball within the lines is what tennis is about and as an avid tennis fan I can remember the linesmen making calls that I knew were wrong, because I was in a better place to see the ball fall. Nothing could be done.  Today for important tennis matches there are photo systems and the one I have heard of the most is called “Hawk-Eye”. This system was introduced in 2006 and is used in most grand slams and some other important tennis events. The cost of installing the system is a barrier to it being in place at all times for all games. Take Baseball- The umpires in a baseball game now regularly convene to make sure their calls are correct when a player is called safe or out in base-running and this is done because all the plays are recorded on a photo system. Calling balls or strikes with this system is not exact because I disagree with the umpires call as I see it in the photo, but the umpires rule stands. With football and hockey the system is important because it ensures penalties called are justified

There is another way that sports broadcasting has been affected. The broadcaster used to have a problem keeping the attention of the T.V. audience, and this is true especially in baseball which is a slow game. The computer and statistics have changed  broadcasting. The announcer can literally tell you anything of interest about the game, the players, the number of times that the teams met, what happened in each instance etc, etc. It is fairly common now for managers and players to be interviewed in the middle of the game which can make it more interesting. But to be honest sometimes in order to pass the time the information passed on seems irrelevant but there is a price to pay for everything and the announcer is looking for any excuse to pass the time.

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