A Sporting Idea

I just finished watching the full 4-part series entitled 24-7 Penguins-Capitals Road to the NHL Winter Classic. Here's Part 1:


I don't watch sports much on TV anymore because I generally find it boring. But I was absolutely captivated by this series. At a basic level, even the game-time videography was far superior to any sporting event I've ever seen on TV normally. This got me thinking, why was it so much better? I think the answer is simple: Editing.  Given enough time, video editors can piece together a much more compelling product than if they're just showing it live.

So then my technology/process brain went into high gear and I got to wondering whether 24 hours would be sufficient for video editors to put together a 2 to 3 hour game video that is much more interesting to watch than the live video?  I'm thinking, "Yes".  But who would want to watch it on "tape delay" a day later?  Not many people, I'm guessing.

But, could this editing be done in 12 hours?  Probably?  How about 4 hours?  Even so, would most fans be willing to wait that amount of time to watch a sporting event?  Probably not.

Then I got to thinking that the entire game wouldn't have to be edited all at once.  In point of fact, it could be divided into 15-minute chunks.  If given 30 minutes, could an expert team of editors put together a more compelling 15-minute video compilation than that same 15-minutes shown live?  And then do it again for the next 15-minutes.  And then the next.  I wonder.

It would be most interesting for two video production crews to broadcast the same game:

1. The first, live.
2. The second, after a 30 minute delay.

Give audiences the chance to watch both and see which one they like better.  It might very well become de facto practice to show all games in this delayed fashion if the product being offered was a bigger draw for a much larger audience.