Linehan to have coachs show

[RamWraith]

Media Views: KTVI is ready to start partnership with Rams
By Dan Caesar
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
08/12/2006

KTVI took a hit Thursday when it couldn't show the Rams' exhibition opener, against Indianapolis, because it wasn't sold out. Channel 2 thus was prohibited from picking up the Fox net-work's feed, which went to the rest of the nation.

But Channel 2 officials are confident of a sellout next Saturday, allowing the station to air a local production of the Rams-Houston exhibition game, as it begins a three-year partnership with the team.

In addition to televising the team's locally produced exhibition games, it has a weekly show with Rams coach Scott Linehan at 6:30 p.m. each Monday through the season beginning next week.

KTVI sports director Martin Kilcoyne is a big beneficiary of the team's expanded Rams coverage, as he will serve as host of the Linehan show and also do play-by-play of the club's three remaining practice contests. (The final two are on the road, so no blackout problems lurk.)


Rams exhibition telecasts in recent years often have been a comedy of errors, as the productions in many cases have been substandard.

But St. Louis-based Bud Productions has been hired to do the technical work this year, and that means a big upgrade.

Former Rams receiver Ricky Proehl serves as analyst, and KTVI news anchor Randi Naughton, a former sportscaster there, will be the sidelines reporter.

"People have looked at the preseason games the last few years and at times it's been laughable,'' Kilcoyne said. "So the onus on us is to make it a lot better broadcast. With the pieces in place now, it should be better -- unless I totally tank it.''

Kilcoyne, who has an irreverent approach as co-host on "The Morning Grind'' show on KFNS (590 AM, 100.7 FM), says he won't be treating these exhibition games like they're brain surgery.

"One of the goals is to try to keep it fun,'' he said. "It's preseason football, so hopefully you find a way to make it entertaining.''

But it won't be as racy as the aforementioned radio show.

"I can't go that far,'' Kilcoyne said, chuckling.

Coach's corner

A weekly coaches' show on local TV will be something that hasn't been seen since the days Rich Brooks was guiding the Rams.

And it will be on in a feature slot, shortly before "Monday Night Football'' begins in its new time slot of 7:30 p.m. on its new outlet, ESPN.

Another plus is that it will be live.

"I'm excited about having it in that time slot,'' Kilcoyne said. "A lot of times, coaches shows get buried on Saturday nights when nobody sees them. But the Monday night crowd wants answers, and wants football talk. We'll try to keep it lively.''

Sideline pattern

The NFL has created a big stir among local TV stations by banning most of their cameras from the sidelines this season.

In the past, stations could shoot their own video for use in sportscasts and for feature stories. But the NFL now is allowing just one station to serve as a "pool'' provider of coverage to supplement what is shot by the network televising the game. One intent is obvious -- to drive viewers to the league's NFL Network.

KSDK (Channel 5) news director Mike Shipley is an outspoken critic of the policy, which still allows newspaper and magazine photographers to work on the field.

Shipley could not be reached Friday, but addressed the matter on the air recently.

"We provide a certain point of view that our viewers have come to expect that people are not going to get now because we don't have the creative control of the video," he said. "It's fair access. It should be open access and we don't feel we should be discriminated against. Other media are not given the same rules.''

KTVI general manager Spencer Koch, whose station has the bulk of the Rams' regular-season telecasts as well as the Linehan show, had a more moderate view.

"The solution has been to offer a pool among the stations,'' he said. "I think some of the stations have their noses out of joint because there may be special considerations for stations like ourselves that have the ability to do things for the coach's show.

"There has been a solution, it's pool coverage. That's better than nothing. When people try to put their own slant on what it looks like -- hey, the angle of the game is the game.''

KPLR (Channel 11) general manager Bill Lanesey dislikes the policy and points to a logistics problem -- all local stations aren't fully integrated technically.

"There are some practical reasons why that's not a real good solution beyond the philosophical ones that don't make any sense,'' he said.

[UtterBlitz]

But Channel 2 officials are confident of a sellout next Saturday, allowing the station to air a local production of the Rams-Houston exhibition game, as it begins a three-year partnership with the team.

In addition to televising the team's locally produced exhibition games, it has a weekly show with Rams coach Scott Linehan at 6:30 p.m. each Monday through the season beginning next week

That is nice for the locals. They should have more access to the caoch and his comments.

The NFL has created a big stir among local TV stations by banning most of their cameras from the sidelines this season.

In the past, stations could shoot their own video for use in sportscasts and for feature stories. But the NFL now is allowing just one station to serve as a "pool'' provider of coverage to supplement what is shot by the network televising the game. One intent is obvious -- to drive viewers to the league's NFL Network

So lame....The NFL should not own the video coverage. Let the local stations have a piece of it. :confused: