FIRST Championship: Made for TV?

[David Brinza]

Last year, NASA TV cut off FIRST Championship coverage at 6 pm to show pre-recorded ISS footage - the final matches weren't broadcast!! Afterwards, there was a lot of discussion about FIRST being ready for prime-time and how to improve the television (webcast) coverage of FIRST events, for example:

FIRST "Final 4": Ready for live TV (non-NASA TV)?
Ready for TV Yet?

So, I've started this thread earlier, hoping that some of the better suggestions can be put into practice at this year's Championship.

The "Final Four" matches on Einstein could be telecast the way professional sporting events are now shown. Here are some possibilities:

1) Multiple cameras covering the action with a director selecting the best action to broadcast live (this requires a knowledgeable broadcast team)
2) Play-by-play and "color" commentators analyzing alliances and strategies
3) Replays with multiple camera angles, slow motion and cameras tracking individual robots
4) FIRST "info-mercials" (Dean, Woody, Dave, ...)between matches as well as "behind the scenes" shots (pit activity, alliance strategy planning, etc.)
5) Interviews with students, mentors and FIRST "graduates" that have gone on to college, getting the real purpose of FIRST out to the public.
6) Acknowledge the major sponsors of FIRST, maybe they'll further help subsidize the event coverage (i.e. commercials)

The better the packaging of FIRST for the general viewership, the more they'll want to see, support and maybe even participate in FIRST.

There are upsides and downsides to getting FIRST to prime-time, but eventually FIRST will need to go there.
What are your thoughts??