The alternate Manningcast on ESPN2 for the debut of Monday Night Football was met with a mixed bag of reactions. Mostly praise on the premise that it was very entertaining. The Mannings certainly have a certain charisma for the camera.
However purists of the game may find that this alternate cast is not for them, for a number of different reasons.
It is more of a fluff over substance kind of feel to it. The Mannings have plenty of stories to tell, along with some real insight, but if you are a fan of either team it may become a bit distracting.
Andy Masur made a great point when looking at the Manning Cast, people with a vested interest in the game may not want to tune into this alternate cast. He also added that as a play-by-play broadcaster himself, it did make him question what the future holds for that position.
One concerning thing for ESPN is that they have have indirectly created competition within their own company.
Jon Lewis aka Paulsen of SportsMediaWatch.com had plenty to say on his podcast about this, saying
”I think it does a tremendous disservice to Levy, Griese, and Riddick” said Lewis referring to the traditional Monday Night Football booth.
Though Griese was asked about this and said that he didn’t think that it did create competition. Lewis added that it is a slap in the face for ESPN to put so much attention into the alternate cast over the main cast.
Griese may be offering his honest opinion. As Masur said, there will be plenty of people that never think twice about watching the Manningcast over the traditional ESPN broadcast. While it isn’t one-for-one though, it is still another product that his own company is promoting. In that sense, Peyton and Eli are competition for Griese, Levy and Riddick in the same way that whatever is on Disney Channel or Freeform at 8:30 pm Eastern on Monday is competition for them.