Swanni HDTV Show Review
What's Wrong With Tony Kornheiser In HDTV?
ESPN's Monday Night Football keeps the HD cameras a football field's distance away from the bearded commentator.
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (August 28, 2006) -- ESPN's new High-Definition broadcast of Monday Night Football is a showcase for the technology.

Now in pre-season, MNF's high-def picture is sparkling, overflowing with details and clarity. From the ruddy cheeks of Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Favre to the white stitches of the football as it spirals down field, you feel like you're there as you watch the game.

ABC, ESPN's sister network, did a superlative job of broadcasting the game in HD for the last few years. But ESPN is matching it pixel for pixel.

But now to the real question on the minds of MNF's HDTV viewers.

What's up with Tony Kornheiser?

While his fellow boothmen Mike Tirico and Joe Theismann get the full HD close-up during the show's opening minutes, the camera doesn't come within a zip code of Mr. K., The Washington Post columnist and ESPN personality who joined the broadcast this year in its debut season.
 

Tony Kornheiser, Mike Tirico and Joe Theismann of MNF.

In fact, ESPN's high-def cameras are positioned so far away from the bearded commentator that it appears that he has obtained a restraining order against them.

"Don't come within 1,000 feet of me or I will ask the judge to put you in a cell next to John Mark Karr," Kornheiser seems to be saying.

Does Tony really look that bad to warrant such treatment?

ESPN seems to think so. Clearly, the channel has decided that Kornheiser, a balding 58-year-old, is not ready for HDTV primetime -- or any time for that matter. Hell, he may not even be ready for Miller Time. And I don't mean Dennis, the former MNF analyst.

Madden Memories
Last year, ABC also refused to give analyst John Madden a HD close-up, but at least the camera was in the same stadium when it showed the 70-year-old.

Anytime Kornheiser is displayed, the camera seems to be moonwalking out of the venue and into a truck to be transported to the next week's contest.

I don't want to say the camera is far away from him, but he would need a Global Positioning System to find it.

ESPN, show a little profile in courage and let Tony K. have his moment in the sun. He's a funny guy, even if he has a funny face.

And, it can't be that bad, can it?

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Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

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