It's early in the Blue Jays game, we're trailing 4-1, but this entry isn't about Arencibia's passed balls or Dickey's hittable knuckleball. This entry is about the Sportsnet telecast.
Rogers owns Sportsnet and the Jays and the dome, for that matter. It seems to have created this over-commercialized collection of corporate branding, in-game advertising and sponsorships galore. When Buck's not talking about the TD Comfort Zone, the new "destination" in centre field for ticket holders where they can enjoy their Budweiser or talking up the Honda guy, he's throwing to the Blackberry studio for the Home Hardware something or other. Heck, he just promoted some shitty television show before an ad for Selsun Blue took over the lower 15% of the screen.
It's too much. Even the over-the-top propaganda videos about the Blue Jays giving back to the community seems to be designed to sell tickets for the mothership. In 2013 we're used to sponsor mentions and in-game ads but it seems Rogers has crossed a line here.
I miss the good old days when the majority of ads aired between half-innings and not during the game.
