It's time to face the truth: The Diamond League needs to get better

McRunnin wrote:

There has been plenty of discussion about ways GST can improve, with many valid points and good suggestions (along with some caustic criticism). I think we also need to have an honest discussion about the Diamond League.

After watching the first two DL meets this year and comparing them to both GST and Athlos, it's clear there are many things the DL does well, but there are also many ways it needs to improve from a television presentation standpoint if it's ever going to get back to a major network or streaming provider in the U.S.

Here are the major issues I've observed with the DL presentation:

1. It feels cold and impersonal - Unlike GST and Athlos, the DL doesn't have any athlete video features introducing the audience to the athletes and telling their stories. We only see the athletes competing. On the start line, athletes in the DL are reduced to a name, their country, and their numbers: their SB and PB. We don't see a listing of their notable accomplishments, their Instagram handles, or anything else that might be interesting to the casual television viewer. After a race is over, the DL doesn't have interviews with the athletes. They show the times and some replay footage, and then they move on to the next event. There's no chance at all for the audience watching at home to meaningfully connect with the athletes as humans.
2. It's too scattered - During the DL Xiamen women's 5,000m, the coverage of the race cut away to the women's high jump four times. It kept going back and forth between the two events, doing justice to neither one. During the DL Shanghai men's steeplechase, after they switched back to showing the race from covering a field event, the commentator noted the order of the runners had changed and she didn't know what happened in the interim period that they were showing the field event. Not good!
3. It feels stale - Other than the pacing lights, which are no longer new, the DL seems like the same presentation we've been watching for years. Very little innovation or attempts to enhance the experience for people watching at home.

Let's face it, there's a reason NBC/Peacock didn't put up the money to keep the Diamond League. It wasn't popular enough.

What do you think? Are you satisfied with the Diamond League presentation as it is, or do you agree it needs to get better? How do you think it can improve?

McRunnin wrote:

There has been plenty of discussion about ways GST can improve, with many valid points and good suggestions (along with some caustic criticism). I think we also need to have an honest discussion about the Diamond League.

After watching the first two DL meets this year and comparing them to both GST and Athlos, it's clear there are many things the DL does well, but there are also many ways it needs to improve from a television presentation standpoint if it's ever going to get back to a major network or streaming provider in the U.S.

Here are the major issues I've observed with the DL presentation:

1. It feels cold and impersonal - Unlike GST and Athlos, the DL doesn't have any athlete video features introducing the audience to the athletes and telling their stories. We only see the athletes competing. On the start line, athletes in the DL are reduced to a name, their country, and their numbers: their SB and PB. We don't see a listing of their notable accomplishments, their Instagram handles, or anything else that might be interesting to the casual television viewer. After a race is over, the DL doesn't have interviews with the athletes. They show the times and some replay footage, and then they move on to the next event. There's no chance at all for the audience watching at home to meaningfully connect with the athletes as humans.
2. It's too scattered - During the DL Xiamen women's 5,000m, the coverage of the race cut away to the women's high jump four times. It kept going back and forth between the two events, doing justice to neither one. During the DL Shanghai men's steeplechase, after they switched back to showing the race from covering a field event, the commentator noted the order of the runners had changed and she didn't know what happened in the interim period that they were showing the field event. Not good!
3. It feels stale - Other than the pacing lights, which are no longer new, the DL seems like the same presentation we've been watching for years. Very little innovation or attempts to enhance the experience for people watching at home.

Let's face it, there's a reason NBC/Peacock didn't put up the money to keep the Diamond League. It wasn't popular enough.

What do you think? Are you satisfied with the Diamond League presentation as it is, or do you agree it needs to get better? How do you think it can improve?