06-09-2015, 10:13 AM
Nope, the limiting factor at this point isn't timeouts; it's the potential revenue stream of selling advertisements read over the PA.
It used to be, the band could anticipate timeouts being called, and be ready to play just as the whistle blew. Now, there's an event manager stacking 3 or 4 15-second advertisements in each scheduled timeout, which means the band gets to play for about 30-45 seconds. Called timeouts are a little better, but even there, the band is constrained by someone on a headset. It's worse at women's basketball, where the PA announcer will only start to talk once the crowd has quieted nearly completely.
The quarter break is probably at least partially motivated as an interval to sell more advertising. I'm betting there will be two scheduled timeouts per quarter, resulting in 10 per game, rather than the current 8.
VG
It used to be, the band could anticipate timeouts being called, and be ready to play just as the whistle blew. Now, there's an event manager stacking 3 or 4 15-second advertisements in each scheduled timeout, which means the band gets to play for about 30-45 seconds. Called timeouts are a little better, but even there, the band is constrained by someone on a headset. It's worse at women's basketball, where the PA announcer will only start to talk once the crowd has quieted nearly completely.
The quarter break is probably at least partially motivated as an interval to sell more advertising. I'm betting there will be two scheduled timeouts per quarter, resulting in 10 per game, rather than the current 8.
VG