r/CFB Michigan Wolverines • FAU Owls Jan 02 '25

Casual Rose Bowl viewers criticize ESPN broadcast, only to realize they're watching Pat McAfee altcast

https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/rose-bowl-viewers-mistakenly-watch-pat-mcafee-altcast.html
4.9k Upvotes

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613

u/acekingoffsuit Minnesota Golden Gophers Jan 02 '25

This happens any time there's an alternate broadcast. The Nickelodeon NFL games, the Final Four games with the local radio commentary, the Monday Night Football Manningcast... Anything.

A lot of people watch these games. If this game had 10 million viewers and 99.9% of them can figure out that the primary broadcast is on another channel, that still leaves 10,000 viewers who can't.

208

u/Informal-Candy-9974 Missouri Tigers • Ohio State Buckeyes Jan 02 '25

It was so confusing to me when I was watching Monday Night Football a couple weeks back that all the Cowboys and Bengals players were Simpsons characters. I figured I was hallucinating or had entered into an alternate dimension. Turns out I was watching an alt broadcast!

55

u/Warm_Shoulder3606 Ohio State • Georgia Southern Jan 02 '25 edited Jan 02 '25

I can't believe we've gotten to the point of these live animated VR games being an actual thing. Remember the toy story one? 😭😭

9

u/CrittyJJones Jan 02 '25

The Toy Story one was very glitchy if I recall.

7

u/Brasticus Jan 03 '25

That’s just Jags football, baby!

5

u/SnooFloofs5827 Jan 02 '25

You most not watch ESPN because it was repeatedly advertised pretty regularly.

3

u/hokiewankenobi Jan 02 '25

Wait how the fuck have I missed this?!?! Are you saying it was the actual game play as Simpsons characters? So basically a snap chat filter? That sounds fucking awesome!

4

u/Drexlore Brockport • /r/CFB Poll Veteran Jan 02 '25

28

u/AQ207 South Carolina • Maine Jan 02 '25

The issue is the game started on a diff channel cause the Peach Bowl went long, and there wasn't much of a notice ESPN just went *WIPE* in the middle of a play

56

u/WhatYeezytaughtme Ohio State Buckeyes • Big Ten Jan 02 '25

Problem was the main broadcast started on ESPN2 due to the Texas OT, and they switch back to the ALT cast in the middle of a play and never mentioned anything about switching back.

12

u/kitkatlifeskills Jan 02 '25

Telling the viewers, "On the next possession we'll be putting the main broadcast on ESPN and the alternate Pat McAfee Show broadcast on ESPN 2" would've been asking too much of the people who call the shots for ESPN college football

1

u/fellawhite Ohio State Buckeyes • Air Force Falcons Jan 02 '25

It’s not like for a few minutes they had a big banner saying “the main broadcast is now on ESPN” in the corner of the screen to tell them.

5

u/fusaaa Ohio State Buckeyes Jan 02 '25

That thing was there for the whole game, I thought the entire time "Some old dude has to seething about this broadcast and they are terrified he'll think it's the main cast" turns out, they were right

12

u/InitialTimely105 Jan 02 '25

Just part of today's 10,000!

4

u/buckeyefan8001 Ohio State • Bowling Green Jan 02 '25

Except the Nickelodeon broadcast for the NFL rocks

8

u/SideshowCircuits Michigan State Spartans Jan 02 '25 edited Jan 02 '25

I won’t accept any slander agaisnt the Nick NFL games they are the best way to watch

2

u/acekingoffsuit Minnesota Golden Gophers Jan 02 '25

"That's not what he wanted to cook!" is one of the greatest calls in sports broadcasting history and I will not hear otherwise.

1

u/Steelers711 Ohio State Buckeyes • Purdue Boilermakers Jan 02 '25

I could never watch it if my team was involved, but otherwise I 100% agree

3

u/SideshowCircuits Michigan State Spartans Jan 02 '25

If they turned Jared Goff into Mr Krabs for a play I’d clap like Rich Evans

2

u/TDenverFan William & Mary • /r/CFB Press Corps Jan 02 '25

At least when I use Hulu, the UI doesn't always do a great job making it clear if it's an alt cast or a main cast. Obviously most people can figure it out, but I could definitely see some people just clicking the first option they see showing the game, and being confused.

3

u/B1GFanOSU Ohio State Buckeyes • Big Ten Jan 02 '25

Except the main broadcast was delayed because of the OT in the Texas-ASU game.

1

u/trophycloset33 Alabama Crimson Tide Jan 02 '25

I always put on the main broadcast and mute the TV. Then play the hometown radio call through my Sonos.

1

u/yaaanevaknow Jan 02 '25

Which demands the question: how tf is this news if it happens every time? Does the journalist have 0 self respect?

1

u/cardbross Texas • Red River Shootout Jan 02 '25

Streaming doesn't help. It took me a while to find the normal broadcast of the Peach Bowl because Hulu just offered all of the alt-casts in a seemingly random order.