A big part of the success of CBS Sports’ coverage of the UEFA Champions League has been that the talent have tremendous chemistry who are a joy to watch and listen to, as well as offering insightful analysis that adds more depth and appreciation of the game.
Thus far, CBS Sports’ studio coverage has been a breath of fresh air. How it came about was organic, to say the least.
In an exclusive interview with World Soccer Talk, CBS Sports Senior Creative Director Pete Radovich explained what happened on the first day of rehearsals before the Champions League coverage on CBS kicked off.
After the talent filtered into the meeting room, one by one, “Peter Schmeichel showed up last,” said Radovich. “Him and Jamie [Carragher] started going at it right away. And then Micah [Richards] would jump in.
“And we’re supposed to be having a meeting talking about what ‘Ok this is what we’re doing.’ And we let them go for easily over an hour where they were just talking, having fun, joking and laughing. And at some point, someone turned to me — maybe it was Kate [Abdo] — and said ‘Alright, that’s enough. Do you want to get going [with the meeting]?’ I remember saying, ‘That’s the show. You guys just did it.’
READ MORE: CBS Sports make several changes to enhance UEFA Champions League coverage
“Whenever someone brings up chemistry, it always reminds me of those two rehearsal days because that’s all it was. It was two days of hanging out and laughing, and that really set the tone for what has become the show that you see now.”
CBS’ coverage of the UEFA Champions League has received rave reviews both from critics and the majority of soccer fans. The broadcaster has raised the bar on coverage of club soccer on U.S. television to such an extent that NBC’s previously lauded Premier League coverage looks average in comparison.
“[CBS’ studio talent] are most excited about the freedom that they have to go off script,” Radovich explained. “The freedom that they have to get up out of your chair and walk over to the screen and high five Peter Schmeichel on a screen. That wasn’t scripted. That wasn’t planned. They’re really excited about how loose and free [CBS Sports] are.
“We’re not going to be perfect, and it’s OK for us to take some chances. If it’s not perfect every time, it’s okay because we really want to be entertaining. But what we think are mistakes in our business end up being entertaining.”
Radovich adds that he believes the team of Carragher, Alex Scott, Roberto Martinez, Richards, Schmeichel and others enjoy analyzing soccer for CBS Sports because it breaks away from the traditional British format which is more formal (i.e. the analyst speaks for two minutes, and then another analyst is allowed to share his or her opinions for two minutes, and then it returns to the presenter who may speak for a couple of minutes, in turn, before breaking for a commercial).
SEE MORE: Schedule of UEFA Champions League games on US TV and streaming
“It’s pretty routine, and it’s [the British] style and it’s great,” explained Radovich. “It works well. But [with our plan], they have fun. The sense I get is that they really, really enjoy it. And the word ‘freedom’ is something that they use. They just love that.”
Watch live coverage of every round, including every game of the UEFA Champions League and Europa League on CBS All Access. New to CBS All Access? Get your 7-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
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Eric T
May 30, 2021 at 7:18 pm
@Crash Jones Agreed!
Crash Jones
May 30, 2021 at 2:57 pm
Unlike most of the commenters on here, I absolutely loved the CBS coverage. The banter is wonderful– especially between Jamie, Peter and Micah — it’s basically like having Liverpool, Man U and Man City fans in the same room. It’s hilarious!
Abdo is brilliant — I think she is the key to making the whole thing work. My only negatives are that Nico is a bit much and they need a Chelsea guy in the mix — Drogba is available! (Chelsea fan here).
I watched every show and am really looking forward to next season!!
Edward
December 8, 2020 at 1:55 pm
huh? there was a red card during the Brugge-Lazio match and no mention of it during the halftime analysis?
Edward
December 7, 2020 at 1:58 pm
https://deadline.com/2020/12/cbs-all-access-added-to-comcast-xfinity-x1-pay-tv-streaming-1234651509/
looks like X1 customers can get to CBS All Access easier now without having to switch platforms
JP
December 5, 2020 at 5:12 pm
@matthew howell, spot on!
Pregame shows are utterly useless and most often filled with a panel fake laughing at their own bad jokes.
Post game only serves a purpose to show highlights of matches we didn’t see.
The NBA’s offseason is more compelling than the actual season, so maybe pre/post game chatter is also more interesting than the actual game for some fans too!
NFL post game ok for league wide highlights as mentioned above, but the 2-3 hour blocks of pregame? Please spare me. Thankfully I’m watching soccer during those hours. When the game starts often just checking in on my team occasionally while watching another soccer match. So easy to quickly catch up on anything missed even if away for a half hour, it’s almost comical.
matthew howell
December 5, 2020 at 3:05 pm
It’s naive of Pete Radovich to think all the pre, post and other coverage outside the games themselves are anything other than an attempt to create more ad slots. No one will decide to watch a football (soccer) match based on these shows, however good or bad they are. There’s an understandable element of “dumbing it down” for an American audience, but my guess is most real fans tune in when the game starts and tune out when it ends. Radovich typifies the American approach that sport is “entertainment”, rather than “sport” and needs to be wrapped up in what the networks think is an engaging package to get ratings. Maybe American based sports need this packaging because they are not innately compelling as sports, but football does not.
Oranjeboy
December 5, 2020 at 6:44 am
What banter? Just because they laugh among themselves is not banter. Their analysis is garbage and the entire show just feels like a made up – trying hard to make comedy – that is anything but entertaining and funny. I watch the games and turn off the rest of their analysis.
Karl
December 3, 2020 at 1:17 pm
I really like Nico Cantor’s enthusiasm and I’m a fan but I still wish the Golazo Show were as well done as either the DirecTV or NFL Network’s RedZone channels it’s trying to emulate:
1. They shouldn’t need to cutaway from close games to show meaningless goals and/or blowouts from the big clubs or star players- either a quick clip of it or ideally a picture-in-picture as RedZone does frequently should be sufficient.
2. A two-person format on top of match commentators is unnecessary. Both RedZone channels use a single host that is little more than a narrator telling you they’re switching games and letting the in-game analysts do the analyzing.
3. I really like Nico but get a little frustrated with his delivery. He sometimes sounds like a student learning a language that is speaking too slowly and not confident that they’re using or pronouncing words correctly.
USAJerry
December 1, 2020 at 1:30 pm
The banter is garbage. They try to be funny and they are far from it. It did not take long for this to turn into a Turner broadcast with better graphics.
Jon
November 27, 2020 at 3:52 pm
@David. I agree, Nico Cantor is unlistenable.
Brendan
November 27, 2020 at 8:30 am
Kate Abdo is the weak link as anchor cannot get her sentence out they keep her because she can speak a few languages .Juiles Breech from BT Sport would be a ideal anchor .I see Jamie Carragher & Micah Richards all the time on Sky Sports .I watch BT Sport coverage which is first class on IPTV .Their coverage for the Europa League is great very professional
David
November 26, 2020 at 4:11 pm
This Nico Cantor guy was absolutely appalling – he added nothing but loud, obvious comments – a total distraction. I had to switch off the sound he was so intrusive.
Please, never again, please.
Ed Poon
November 25, 2020 at 2:30 pm
I have really enjoyed CBS’ coverage but need to make some constructive criticism on their Galazo Show. At the 75 min mark or so, can we just stay on the close games that matter? If the “goal show” concept compels them to cut away from PSG-Leipzig (1-0, huge implications for advancing) or Juve-Ferna. (1-1) for Barca and Man U scoring their 4th goals in a blowout games, can we make it like a 15 second cut away… not 5 replays, and the ensuing kickoff!
Bill Shields
November 25, 2020 at 12:28 pm
I agree. The commentator made the Rennes vs Chelsea game totally unwatchable. What a dreadful distraction!!
Edward
November 25, 2020 at 9:19 am
disagree….this banter takes away from the football…almost as bad as NBC’s urging fans to post breakfast, tea and dogs onto social media
it surely seems that Tim Howard is Kyle Martino’s replacement….they would have been better off by just adding TH as the fourth guy to the rotation. they really need to tap into their Sky partnership and get more insiders on their shows
Greg
November 24, 2020 at 1:38 pm
Ahhh, its Nico Cantor from The Golazo Show, he’s bad enough on that
Greg
November 24, 2020 at 1:30 pm
Whos the commentator for this Renne Chelsea game, he’s utterly terrible, why not just use the world feed?
MAHLUF
November 24, 2020 at 12:28 pm
Probably a bit harsh to call NBC’s PL coverage ‘average’ when compared to CBS. NBC has been doing a quality show for more than seven years now, while the quality of the CBS has fallen off sharply since they debuted back in August. Some of the CBS discussions/segments are completely unwatchable because of this “freedom” you speak of. There has to be some sort of production/direction during a show or it just seems like it is going off the rails – which is how the CBS show feels at times. Plus, Abdo is beginning to show some of the bad habits that she displayed during Turner’s coverage. Not sure why that’s not talked about on this blog at all. It’s all just, CBS is awesome, CBS is great, CBS can do no wrong, blah blah blah.
Christopher Harris
November 24, 2020 at 1:18 pm
Kate’s slip-ups on Turner was a constant theme of the podcast last season. NBC Sports have been fantastic for 6.5 years. But this season has been a real letdown overall, which we’ve been discussing on the last few episodes of the weekly podcast.
CricketsJimmy
November 24, 2020 at 10:17 am
Why do they cannibalize their coverage with All Access and CBS HQ? Who is the target market for CBS HQ Champions league coverage?
I read that Danny Higginbotham is moving to CBS HQ, which means I’ll potentially never see or hear from him since I focus on the All Access coverage.