06/10/2022
Sorry for the long post...but you will understand...
For eleven years, we (Brian D Anderson and Joe Calabrese) have been motivated by one goal, elevate the level of viewing in the United States. We are proud of what TESN.US has been able to accomplish from a shoestring budget and with so many ideas that were and have yet to be fully realized.
We are sad to say we will be shutting down TESN.US in the next couple of months. We don't take this decision lightly and understand the potential ramifications this decision may have on future coverage of national curling events. But to be totally honest, we've seen too many decisions at the highest levels of USA Curling that questioned our desire to continue.
We've seen a trusted partner do a number of things that directly affected our webcast quality in a negative way and the lack of commitment and communication with us over the last year and a half did not give us the confidence we needed to take the financial risk moving forward.
Way back when, we were given a chance by Terry Lyn Davis and Rick Patzke at USA Curling to webcast a national championship in Philly well before we had a great plan as to how to do it.
We cannot say enough about Rick and Terry. Rick was upfront and honest with us. He told us we were a bridge to eventual TV coverage. We always knew that. But he was also the guy that ensured that whenever we had a problem, it was solved.
Terry always ensured that the partnership between TESN and the USA Curling was strong. Whenever we emailed or called, she answered. She was on top of the things we needed help with, was great with finding us commentators, and was always up for new ideas for the webcast. We were sorry to learn she would not be joining us right before our webcast at the Spokane nationals in 2020. It made things incredibly difficult for us both mentally and emotionally.
Terry was instrumental is getting us to webcast nationals in 2012. That first year in Philly was when we did two things... brave the "ladder of death" to our broadcast location ànd meet the man most responsible for our ability to continue after that first year, Bennet B. Tucker.
Tuck was the first real respected voice for TESN, gave us our nicknames (Godfather and B.A.), and championed us to ensure we had the resources needed to continue to improve our webcasts. His quirky fun farm flavor, paired with his ability to spin a tale, made watching our first webcasts more appealing.
Kellie Krake (release the Kraken) was our first real producer. She ensured we remained on topic and wrangled Tuck as needed. She showed us some of what we could be.
Not long after, we needed help and one of Joe's previous competitive skips, Sean Murray, answered the call. We needed help with setup, tear down, and another voice in the booth. And Sean had a knowledgeable, bold voice, filled with bass. He flourished in an analyst role and we will always be grateful for Sean's involvement with TESN. We have always championed Sean, for good reason, and consider him a friend.
Not long into our run, we came across a tweet from someone who basically said he had covered college football championships and Superbowls as a radio host, but his dream was to cover a U.S. Curling Nationals. To our disbelief Price Atkinson fell in our lap with an enthusiasm for the game that was infectious. At first we asked each other, what are we going to do with this talent? Price became our sideline reporter and fifth end break host. He grew in the game with us and hosted the Extra Extra End podcast for a number of seasons. His journey has included curling work outside of TESN but his home had always been with us. Joe calls him his brother. It hurt us to recently learn he wouldn't be working with USA Curling any longer.
That decision, paired with other departures from USA Curling made it feel like the writing was on the wall and rather than wait and see, we asked USA Curling for a commitment. We reached out to USA Curling and gave them a month, knowing that if they didn't act, we were willing to walk away knowing we gave it one last shot.
Without being able to get a clear commitment, it seems we aren't what USA Curling is looking for going forward at this time, and that is OK. We are proud of the work we did over the years. No regrets.
It takes a village to put together the best webcast in curling (a title we think we defended every year).
To the countless volunteers (roadies, camera people, etc) that ensured our webcasts looked and sounded great, thank you. Whether you wound wires or ensured we got close ups of athletes on the ice, you helped make it happen.
To the ice crews and officials that lent a hand whenever we needed it, particularly whenever we needed ice time to install overhead cameras, thank you. We know we were a pain in the ass (Kellie - we said ass!) at times, but you always, always came through.
To Gerry Geurts at Curlingzone, thanks for allowing us to integrate our software with your site. And Rich Harmer, thanks for all the pictures over the years. Good luck to you and John Benton with your own streaming venture.
To the dozens of athletes (too many to mention) that joined us in the booth to commentate or as fifth end break or podcast guests, your insights were extremely valued assets. We know that some of you have moved up the ladder to call even bigger events. We take pride and how you got your start.
To our affiliates... Thanks for your partnership. We hope we guided you to streaming success. We will be in touch soon to make sure you have what you need going forward.
To the teams we sponsored, thanks for wearing our logo. We hope that we were a small part of any successes you may have had.
We brought so many innovations to curling webstreaming...
- The tuckistrator
- Mics on players
- Quad box
- Tickers with shot by shot updates
- Instant replay
- On ice interviews
We hope others can take the ball and run with it.
(From Joe) On a personal note, "Brian is a genius". Almost everything we have envisioned, he has been able to make happen with his coding knowledge and the technology he researched for us to invest in. The number of hours he put into this is kind of crazy, but to take a two person effort and make it look like a full TV production takes that kind of effort. It's been a pleasure brainstorming ideas with him that have come to fruition over the years. (end side note)
A key element to us improving the quality of our webcasts was the financial support of many fans and the leadership gifts made by The Peskoff Family Foundation to USA Curling. Bill Peskoff is a true friend and our move to High Definition was a direct result of his confidence in us.
But we couldn't have made it happen without the support of our wives (thank you Elisa Annette Calabrese and Dayara Anderson), family, and friends. We've missed birthdays, Valentine's Days, New Year's Eves, and countless days of regular job work to make this happen. These people were the glue that ensured our success.
We are eternally grateful for the support of thousands of curling fans that have enjoyed our webcasts. Hopefully we've helped to grow the game to a point we aren't needed anymore.
After eleven years, more than a dozen national championships and two Olympic Trials, and dozens of clubs in the US that started streaming as a result of our little venture, there is no easy way to end this so we will say... We Out! And Good Curling!
