Two Quick Hits

Some stuff we forgot earlier, or want to spend a little time with now…

ESPN/TWC: One effect of the recent deal between the ESPN networks and Time Warner Cable has taken hold.

Starting Monday, Time Warner subscribers gained access ESPN and ESPN3.com oniine from any Internet connection.

We’ve tried it from a tethered cell phone, and though we wouldn’t recommend it due to bandwidth issues, it did work – give a take a pause or ten, and some pixellation.

You don’t need to be a Time Warner Cable RoadRunner high-speed Internet subscriber… the system works through an authenticated login via TimeWarnerCable.com’s “My Services” section, where you have to sign up for a login (bring your cable bill for information when first registering). The online service is tied to TWC’s video side, not the Internet side.

We used the system to watch archived Canadian Football League games…yes, it’s that Canada thing for us again. (We were mostly interested in watching how Canada’s TSN looks…it is a virtual clone of ESPN in the states, right down to “SportsCentre” updates – yes, note the Canadian spelling.)

When we checked the ESPN3 schedule, we noted a lot of soccer and college football. We know at least one OMW reader who will use the service to keep track of a far flung college football team that is occasionally on ESPN3.

As for the ESPN Internet simulcast, we tried it on a computer with a decent bandwidth, and it looked really good…they use the ESPN HD feed, presumably scaled down for online use, but it looked very nice on a modest-sized computer LCD monitor.

Anyway, as noted, the TWC access to the ESPN networks (more than just ESPN/ESPN3 is “coming soon”) is a godsend for sports fans.

You won’t get out-of-market pro games on it, since those rights are controlled by the various leagues and providers (i.e. DirecTV’s “Sunday Ticket”, and the various pay services for MLB, the NHL and the NBA).

But if for whatever reason you’re not near a TV with ESPN, you’ll be able to watch “Monday Night Football” online, and any of the over-air network’s offerings…

MCCONNELL TALKS: We’ve noted many times that though Cincinnati is now ably covered by Jeremy Moses’ Tri-State Media Watch, we still keep an eye on Clear Channel talk WLW/700 there…which is a station that impacts a large chunk of Ohio.

Thus, we listened with great interest to a podcast by Margaret Larkin, also known as “Radiogirl”, who does media related podcasting in the Chicago market.

Margaret sat down and talked with former WLW mainstay Mike McConnell, now holding down middays at Tribune talk WGN/720.

McConnell’s interview is a “must listen” for anyone interested in radio in general, not just those who have followed his career from WLW to WGN, or those in the Cincinnati or Chicago markets.

And he doesn’t hold back in his opinions on the state of the radio business, or even about his former employer.

He doesn’t offer anything on the recent turmoil at his current employer, where former-and-again boss Randy Michaels is now again his former boss, but we don’t know when the interview was actually conducted. We do note that he quickly tells Larkin that he has a contract for “many years”, but doesn’t go into detail.

And a note here: Larkin is actually employed by Tribune and WGN, though that’s not exactly a secret.

Long-time Chicago media watcher Robert Feder (ex-Chicago Sun-Times, now blogging for Chicago Public Radio’s vocalo.org) says she’s a “production staffer” at WGN, in a post about her podcast with WGN programmer/boss/former Oak Tree denizen Kevin Metheny…