MVN - Most Valuable Network

Will CBS Give Billy Packer The Pink Slip?

As someone who absolutely cannot stand Billy Packer, I’m glad that CBS is finally asking themselves if Packer should remain with the network for another season as the top college basketball analyst.

The guy’s been involved in no shortage of controversies, including his characterization of Allen Iverson as a “tough monkey,” his accusation that PBS host Charlie Rose “always fags out” on him (click here for video of that), and sexist remarks that he made to Duke students prior to a game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. However, while that stuff failed to get him into much trouble, a comment he made during the Final Four might prove to be his undoing with CBS.

The smoke has not fully cleared from the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Some Black Rock residents are still ticked over Packer cavalierly declaring Kansas a winner over North Carolina with 7:32 left in the first half (and the Jayhawks ahead 38-12) of their Final Four matchup on April 5.

CBS is paying $6 billion for the right to air the tourney over the life of its contract with the NCAA. From a business perspective, telling viewers to turn off the TV is not a great idea, especially in a soft advertising market.

Naming a “winner” with plenty of time left in a game does not sit well with corporations paying top dollar to advertise their products during the tournament. Some of these same companies will be asked to purchase time on next year’s tourney.

I personally don’t have a strong opinion about whether or not Packer should have been fired for past racist, sexist, and homophobic remarks. But it’s an interesting commentary on today’s media that Packer’s negative impact on CBS’ profits may prompt his firing, while the several controversial comments he’s made merely earned him a slap on the wrist. In the end, it truly is all about the money, isn’t it?

Now, I have my doubts about whether Packer’s comments actually resulted in millions of viewers turning off the Kansas-UNC game in the first half, but nevertheless, I’m still glad that CBS might finally decide to show Packer the door. Bill Raftery is a helluva lot more entertaining than Packer, and deserves a chance as CBS’ top college basketball commentator.

Does a declaration that the Kansas-UNC game was ‘over’ warrant Packer’s firing? I don’t think so. More than anything, I’d just like to see him leave the network because CBS has better commentators than Packer who deserve to move up a notch in the broadcasting ranks.

HT: SPORTSbyBROOKS

This entry was posted on Monday, April 21st, 2008 at 3:50 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.