Quote:
Originally Posted by jlwdm
CVV is a horrible announcer, but Frankie is not any better. I would not listen to either one of them.
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Honestly, I can't see announcing road cycling races for a US audience as being a lucrative gig. It's a niche sport, and the internet has completely eroded the already small broadcast market. Those of us who care look elsewhere for announcers with funny accents. I really don't care if NBC broadcasts the Tour or not. I can watch just about any sport I want to any time of the day in just about any language. Lance didn't make that happen. Al Gore did.
Most of us in the US grew up with Phil and Paul as the sound of televised cycling, with a few other notable voices thrown in there for color. It gave the sport an "authentic" color, even if they were wrong more than they were right. Guys like Bobke and Jens got by on preexisting likability rather than anything they added to the televised content. Racers with less personality, like CVV and Frankie (among many others) just don't have the vocal chops, charisma, or whatever to make a bike race interesting- even if they have good points to make.
That said, I'll take CVV and Frankie any day over John Tesh or the other non-racers NBC has thrown in the booth over the years.