With Fox Sports 1 launching Saturday, here is a scouting report for one of its signature shows.
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Crowd Goes W!ld
When: Weekdays 5-6 p.m. ET.
Cast: Regis Philbin, Veteran Wall Street Journal sports columnist Jason Gay; professional tennis player turned comedian Michael Kosta; four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Trevor Pryce; Sky Sports host and news anchor Georgie Thompson; Guyism.com personality Katie Nolan.
Competition: Pardon The Interruption and Around the Horn on ESPN.
Concept: Given the eclectic cast, this has to be the sports version of The View.
From Rachel Cohen of the Associated Press:
Sports may be the theme, but in some ways “Crowd Goes Wild” won’t feel much different from Philbin’s old morning talk shows.
He’ll open up each edition of the Monday-through-Friday program with a commentary, and then later interview a guest — who could be an athlete or an actor. There will be debates on the hot sports topic of the moment, but Davies vows the conversations will be more nuanced than one person arguing the pro and another the con of the issue.
And while the NFL, of course, will be the most popular point of discussion, everyone involved promises talk about a broad range of sports. That will inevitably include tennis, a favorite of Philbin’s.
Even if the denizens on social media howl that no one cares about tennis, Davies is comfortable that the tone of the show will allow for a wider range of topics.
“We’re not a sports news show; we’re a sports entertainment show,” he said. “The standard for us: We’re not trying to set the agenda of what America are talking about on a daily basis. We’re frankly trying to be funny a lot of the time.”
Wildcard: Regis. Do you think?
I mean, the idea of building a new sports show around an 81-year-old man is pretty far out there. He then reinforced the age issue by forgetting the names of his new teammates during an appearance on Letterman.
Regis, though, is Regis. Fox Sports 1 hopes he will be an interesting and unpredictable host and not some wacky old uncle making wild statements. Come to think of it, maybe Fox Sports 1 would prefer the wacky old uncle thing.
What could possibly go wrong? Oh my goodness, where to begin?
Besides Regis going off on tangents about the glory days of Ara Parseghian at Notre Dame, there are a number of ways this show could come off the rails.
This format relies on chemistry more so than anything else. Will this somewhat weird collection of various parts (former player, sportswriter, two women, comedian) be able to come together as a team? There’s the potential that this show could be a yuk fest, with everyone trying to get in their funny lines in an effort to be the break-through personality.
If the producers add a laugh track, you know the show is in trouble.
Prognosis: There’s a feeling among sports media types that this show has the most potential to undergo an overhaul sooner than later. Again, it comes down to the chemistry issue and the Philbin factor.
Then again, this whole thing might work. Things actually stick when you throw them against the wall. You just never know.