The Problem with NCAA Conference TV Networks

Well, this is kind of a niche topic, so I'll try to keep it simple. Regardless of the sport, and specifically conference games, there is a real problem with announcing. I had this epiphany tonight after watching the Big Ten Network televise Michigan @ Northwestern.

The officiating was horrendous. It likely didn't end up making much of a difference in the outcome of the game, but it certainly helped in some capacity. The problem is that the announcers refused to discuss these plays in any way, shape, or form. It was clear that these calls were horrendous, yet there was no conflicting statements made by the announcers because they are getting paid by the conference. It follows the whole "don't bite the hand that feeds" saying. The calls are irrelevant, but there was something to them that really made it that much more appalling. At least two of the bad calls were reviewed and the officials STILL found their calls to be correct. The announcers never once contradicted what the officials were looking at or what should be the proper call. They just went about calling the game as if nothing insane had just happened.

The point is, these announces clearly avoided discussing how terrible some of these calls were because they work for the same company that the officials work for. This is a pretty big conflict of interest. I suspect it likely happens on other conference networks as well. So what are your feelings about the conflict of interest? Should announcers be given the professional courtesy to do their job the way it is meant to be done or should they be required to keep their mouths shut? As a fan, I like the truth.

If it's a bad call, it's a bad call. They should be able to comment on it. My knock on SEC network games is the technical quality. Terrible picture quality and even the colors are off. The only thing worse is SEC officiating.

That's my biggest problem with it. They ignore it as though it didn't happen because it makes the officiating look terrible. I know that officials make mistakes, and I generally regard Big Ten officials as pretty darn good, but to completely ignore situations where criticism is required makes the entire experience fraudulent.

I find that this is a problem even with the larger networks, as the bad calls often go unnoticed

Bad calls are a part of sport and make for some of the best discussions. I think they should recognize that there were bad calls, but maybe not go into it like the fans do!