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The DumboTron (Skins try selling scores and highlights to fans.)


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The DumboTron

Skins try selling scores and highlights to fans.

By Dave McKenna

Posted: September 19, 2007

Click link for full article:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=8076

The Lord giveth; Dan Snyder selleth. Skins fans, open your wallets for KangarooTV.

That’s the new in-house narrowcast system now available at FedExField. For the season opener against Miami, kiosks inside the stadium rented out hand-held video monitors about the size of an iPhone.

For $24.95 per day or $149.95 for every Sunday home game this season, ticketholders can get scores and highlights of other NFL games while watching the Skins.

Of course, that sort of stuff comes with the price of admission almost everywhere else.

In big-time sports, for better or worse, the game-day experience is about more than the game at hand. It’s been that way for some time. No matter who the Skins were playing, nothing would incite more delirium at RFK than bad news about the Dallas Cowboys. A recent viral clip of a stadium full of Michigan State rooters going bonkers as word arrives that the hated Michigan Wolverines were losing to Appalachian State shows this isn’t a local phenomenon.

It’s not just about rivalries, either: Gamblers have always wanted to keep up with the world outside the stadium, and now the fantasy-football boom means more eyeballs than ever are wandering up from the field toward the scoreboards and big screens in search of scores and highlights.

In most stadiums, this sort of info is plentiful and free. But the introduction of KangarooTV shows that for Snyder’s customers, nothing is priceless.

KangarooTV isn’t local or new. The company is based in Mirabel, Quebec, and until a round of test-marketing at NFL stadiums last year, it had concentrated its narrowcasting products on auto racing, particularly Formula 1 and endurance racing events. The personal monitors make more sense in that realm, since racing fans (excepting those at some NASCAR short tracks) aren’t used to getting all the action from one vantage point.

Football fans are. But the Redskins have been softening up the fan base for a product like KangarooTV’s pay-per-view offerings, which will be provided by DirecTV, for some time.

At some point a few years ago, with no announcement or explanation, the FedExField scoreboard operators simply stopped rotating scores of other NFL games. Redskins spokesman Karl Swanson says the old system was done away with to make space for captions of the house PA announcer for the hearing-impaired; scores are now periodically posted on the stadium’s end zone Jumbotrons, he says, “when the action allows.”

Well, perhaps, but try to find somebody who’s seen ’em lately.And while the scores have become hard to find, there’s no shortage of scoreboard space for, say, fast food restaurants or financial institutions.

As for highlights, well, nobody goes to FedExField anymore for the highlights—and that has nothing to do with the quality of the Skins’ play since moving to the lamentable Landover outpost in 1997.

No, the scoreboard at FedExField is plain awful, with just two small sections of the five-section scoreboards located above each end zone devoted to fuzzy video fare. The other three panels are taken up by billboard advertisements.

Even without FedExField’s crappy video offerings, D.C. would still rank as perhaps the worst scoreboard town in the land. Look around: At Nationals games, it’s about impossible to see RFK’s old-school single screen from the outfield seats.

And though the Caps’ and Wizards’ home, now called the Verizon Center, isn’t even a decade old, it seems like it’s been years since landlord Abe Pollin admitted that its video system—which he himself installed—was bush league. (Another irony here: Pollin is hailed as a pioneer in the arena-video realm, because his Capital Centre, which opened in 1973, was the first coliseum equipped with a big screen TV, called the TelScreen.)

His whining convinced the D.C. Council to make taxpayers pay $50 million for a package of improvements to the arena, highlighted by bigger big screens.

And, in fairness to Snyder, he inherited the petite and analog Jumbotrons.

But he’s done nothing to improve the product since taking over, this despite years of complaints from fans and the fact that many other NFL stadiums have installed huge and hi-def screens. (Look up the road in Baltimore for some perspective.)

Even if Snyder didn’t have a gouging history, trying to get fans to rent little video screens to fans would seem cheesy—like a budget airline that charges for headphones. But, given his past, and throwing in the removal of scores and his sticking with a crappy scoreboard, it doesn’t take a great leap in logic to think KangarooTV is part of yet another devious plan to dig deeper into fans’ wallets.

In any case, KangarooTV represents the latest chapter in Snyder’s bid to control every bit of information the fans get. Since buying the team in 1999, after all, he has taken over Redskins fan newsletters, a Redskins fan message board, Redskins preseason television broadcasts, Redskins regular season radio broadcasts, and almost every Redskins-related television show in the market.

By now, only Snyder obsessives—full disclosure: I’m one—can hope to differentiate between Redskins news and Redskins propaganda. The Washington Post ran a story in its TV section a couple weeks ago about all the Redskins-related programming now running on local television. The story, bizarrely, did not mention that Snyder produces and procures air time for all but one of the six noncable shows airing this season—the only non-Snyder offering is Redskins Report on WRC-TV, which is hosted by Snyder employees George Michael and Sonny Jurgensen. The article concluded, however, that all these infomercials proved how “frenzied” the town is for football.

If commercial airtime is the standard, D.C. is even more frenzied for the George Foreman Grill, John Basedow, and Bath Fitters.

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I hope noone decides to post here about how much of an ahole Snyder is and how ridiculous this is. I hope they realize it'll get them nowhere, and that the only thing they can do is IS SIMPLY NOT BUY THE PRODUCT. Tell everyone you know not to either. That'll teach em. Otherwise, stop complaining. Please.

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Redskins spokesman Karl Swanson says the old system was done away with to make space for captions of the house PA announcer for the hearing-impaired; scores are now periodically posted on the stadium’s end zone Jumbotrons, he says, “when the action allows.”

I think he means, when we aren't running nonstop FedEx and Popeye's commercials. POPEEEYYYYYYEEEESSSSSSSSS

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NEWS HEADLINE!!! NEWS HEADLINE!!!

Dan Snyder likes to rip off the biggest and most loyal group of fans in the NFL. WHOA! Shocker!

It's only a ripoff if you buy it. He is not forcing anyone to buy it. If you don't think it is a good value don't buy it. I don't see the problem.

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The main problem I see is, the distraction from the live game. Too many hands fiddling with buttons on a gameboy and not clapping or banging an empty bottle full of pennies. If you want to watch TV, stay home. If you go to the game, participate as the 12th man.

New HD jumbotrons would solve this problem, but I read somewhere that that's coming soon.

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Ah, what are people complan9ing about.

By the sound of the thread that was on this subject a few weeks ago, our fans simply aren't smart enough to concentrate on two things at once anyway.

I love the Redskins, and I give Danny breathing room for his many errors in running this team, but the way he gouges every last nickel he can squeeze out of everyone is shameful.

Loyalty to this team should count for something, especially after most of the last 15 seasons.

~Bang

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To be honest, KangarooTV is fantastic. I really enjoyed using it last year when they were giving it out free. It had spotty reception at times, but, it was really pretty cool to be able to watch other games live while during commercials or whatever. It was too expensive initially and probably is still too much, but, it's absurd to say other stadiums provide what KangarooTV does for free. No one does this. No one ever has. No one ever will.

Now, as for scores at the games, I'll agree when I attend in the stands they are remarkably hard to find and it is plainly idiotic for the not to have permanent, dedicated space for other scores rotating in MULTIPLE places somewhere in visual range of all fans. I did think this was the case last year but haven't been to a home game as a fan this year to know if that changed.

As for KangarooTV, well, it is a great product, especially when the refine some of the glitches. Not sure about the price, but, it's a really great gadget for those liking gadgets. There can certainly be nothing wrong with providing this to those who want it, right?

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It's only a ripoff if you buy it. He is not forcing anyone to buy it. If you don't think it is a good value don't buy it. I don't see the problem.

The problem is that other stadiums post that kind of information free for their fans, most of whom are football fans in general. Snyder isn't offering something new for the money - he's taken somthing away, and now insists on charging for it. The whole process should leave a poor taste in the mouths of all Skins fans.

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It's only a ripoff if you buy it. He is not forcing anyone to buy it. If you don't think it is a good value don't buy it. I don't see the problem.

Its a ripoff because it stops us from getting the scores.

I don't want to watch any other games, but I would like glance at a scoreboard and see whats going on elsewhere during timeouts and breaks in the game....you know, like they have in practically every other stadium.

Its one thing to push your newest moneymaker, but its downright shameful to take away the scoreboard.

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Im not going to bash Dan over this.

But I will say. I have NO need to watch another game while I am AT a Redskins game. I'm too busy WATCHING and CHEERING for the Skins, if the game gets slow, that's what the cheerleaders are for! I take my really expensive camera and when I'm not cheering, drinking a few $8 beers, I'm taking pics of anything and everything that moves. I really don't care what the scores of the other games are either. Yea it would be nice if they showed the scores occasionally on the jumbotron but it's not going to make or break my game day experience.

I blame FANTASY FOOTBALL GEEKS for this need to have a handheld device to show other games/highlights DURING a football game.

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The problem is that other stadiums post that kind of information free for their fans, most of whom are football fans in general. Snyder isn't offering something new for the money - he's taken somthing away, and now insists on charging for it. The whole process should leave a poor taste in the mouths of all Skins fans.

McKenna took an exceptional literary license with his description here. He took a removal of regular scoring updates on any of the scoreboards or jumbotrons and suggested other cities provide live games, complete DirecTV packages and the like for free. They are two different issues.

One is a very nice feature many fans will really like if they buy.

The other is just goofy and bad. Organize -- and do it here if you'd like -- a group of fans to sign a petition demanding a constant rotation of out of town scores in multiple areas so as to always be visible. I'll even create you a forum and write you the petition if you want.

Just try not to confuse one thing that IS good and unique and interesting with one thing that's dumb because a writer kind of led you to believe other stadiums show DirecTV on their jumbo screens all game long.

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Not interested......usually, I'm too busy standing up and screaming for the team. Plus, I don't like putting down borrowed tech where it can be damaged or stolen while I'm clapping.

I don't even usually bring a camera or camcorder for the same reason.

If you want to rent one do it, maybe it's really cool (probably is), but you better get loud when we need the 12th Man to step up and not fooling around with this to see if Romo sits to pee threw a TD or INT.

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McKenna took an exceptional literary license with his description here. He took a removal of regular scoring updates on any of the scoreboards or jumbotrons and suggested other cities provide live games, complete DirecTV packages and the like for free. They are two different issues.

One is a very nice feature many fans will really like if they buy.

The other is just goofy and bad. Organize -- and do it here if you'd like -- a group of fans to sign a petition demanding a constant rotation of out of town scores in multiple areas so as to always be visible. I'll even create you a forum and write you the petition if you want.

Just try not to confuse one thing that IS good and unique and interesting with one thing that's dumb because a writer kind of led you to believe other stadiums show DirecTV on their jumbo screens all game long.

I tried to bold the relating one vs. the other in bold.

How is showing scoring updates (no one sane wants them to be continuous and you're just being difficult in putting it that way) goofy and bad? If the boy's get scored on and it flashes, it riles up the fans. How is that goofy or bad? I think you're being a shill. :laugh:

Now if they offered this, what I think is a pretty cool thing, and still showed the ocassional scoring update then anyone had a problem with that is just wack. But they've made it, at least so far as I can figure, where the only way to get an update on another game is to fork over the money. It's his right to do, I just think it sucks. :2cents: and that's all I'd pay. :)

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I don't see the problem.

The problem is that there is no scoreboard at FedEx anymore where you can look up at any point and see the scores. They are now briefly posted on the "jumbo"tron at certian points.

So if you want to see scores from other games whenever you want, which you can do for free in any other pro sports stadium in the country, you have to pay for that stupid TV thingy..

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