We have to talk about what's happening with the Victory+ intermission report

We've written a lot about the positives at Victory+, let's talk about something they need to fix.

There are lots of things that I’ve really enjoyed about the Dallas Stars move to Victory+.

Free in-market streaming? In a world where other teams are embroiled in regional sports network problems? It’s a mold-breaking approach that other NHL teams are watching closely, and frankly, is working quite well.

Stars viewership is up, it’s easier for fans to find the game, and in a streaming-friendly world, the Stars, and Anaheim Ducks, are now amongst the most streamer friendly.

Victory+ has also done a nice job with over-the-top programming, acting as an additional media arm for the team. In fact, one of my favorite recent developments has been the new show put together by my pal Jeff Toates, FTEB, which takes an outside-the-box look at the team.

Games on Victory+ also include a Spanish-language broadcast, which is easy to find, which makes the Stars one of a handful of NHL teams to have that option available for each game.

But, we have to talk about what’s happening during the intermissions.

On Thursday, the Stars first regular-season home game on Victory+, the intermission show featured Brien Rea and Brent Severyn in a podcast studio at Victory+ headquarters.

The duo sat at a desk, with large microphones, like they were hosting a drive-time radio show.

It looked like this, and remember, this game was played in Dallas, not Vancouver.

It’s a pretty stark contrast from past intermission programing where, for home games, Rea and Severyn were at the American Airlines Center, anchoring coverage from inside the building.

They were in studio for road games, but it featured a full TV-style broadcast — even last season when there was a more casual tone enforced by Victory+, shedding the typically dapper-dressed Rea to a casual-Friday feel.

It should be noted for this story, I have not spoken to Rea or Severyn about this. These are fully my observations and reporting based on chats I’ve had with those at Victory+ and the Stars themselves.

On top of the overly-relaxed feel, the first intermission was spent primarily replaying segments from “Frankly Hockey,” a new daily show on Victory+ featuring former Daily FaceOff reporter Frank Seravelli.

Instead of breakdown and analysis of the Stars-Canucks game, viewers were left listening to a monotone podcast discussion about Olympic hockey venues and other national stories instead of a discussion about what happened in the game they were watching.

If I wasn’t going to write about this show and this experience, like some readers have asked, I would have flipped over to another NHL game on ESPN+. I at least would have stuck with hockey, there are other viewers who would have flipped to the MLB playoffs or tuned out completely.

The second intermission didn’t include a “Frankly Hockey” podcast cameo, Rea and Severyn were allowed to actually analyze the game, but it was still a distilled, monotone approach from a podcast studio when viewers, historically, have been accustom to much more.

Now, look, I’m not expecting an intermission show to drive viewership. But, as a viewer, I want it to at least keep me involved in the story of the night, something that tethers my interest enough to care about the opening face-off for the next period.

And this isn’t just me, to be clear. Fans aren’t stupid, they know they’re being handed a lesser product, one that looks like a it was produced by a high-school AV class rather than a large streaming service in partnership with an NHL team.

To prove my point, here are some comments from those watching at home:

It’s impossible to watch this and not think about the larger podcastifcation of sports media. Podcasts hold more power than ever, one in particularly — Spittin Chiclets — holds enough sway that it de-throned Mike Babcock’s chances of coaching the Columbus Blue Jackets and landed Paul Bissonnette a national TV gig with TNT.

Podcasts are also cheap effective ways to fill programing, typically filmed with one or two cameras and a single producer. ESPN now dedicates daily blocks to The Pat McAfee Show, a podcast turned into a TV program, while other TV networks have taken to simulcasting podcasts as programming fixes.

In fact, tonight after the Stars and Canucks game ends, I’ll be doing a postgame podcast on DLLS, which has it’s YouTube shows simulcast on local TV platforms … talk about the pot calling the kettle black….

Look, podcasts aren’t bad, I make part of my living off of them. I also understand the economics that are rocking this industry, we are all trying our best to deliver the best possible product with the least amount of cost.

But shouldn’t we hold game broadcasts, which are partially run by the team, to a higher standard? It’s one thing for home-brew podcaster to sit at a desk behind a microphone with a solo shot, it’s another thing entirely to see an NHL team signing off on it for their marquee product.

Fans aren’t stupid, they can see what’s happening, hopefully some of those concerns are taken seriously.