East Coast Bias
Encyclopedia
East Coast bias is an expression referring to the alleged tendency for sportswriters in the United States
and Canada
to give greater weight and credibility to teams on the East Coast.
and Toronto
serve as major media hubs. John Buccigross
of ESPN
wrote that an imbalance is understandable from the East writers considering they are influenced by their close proximity and easier access to the happenings in the East. There is also a three hour time difference between the Eastern Time Zone
and Pacific Time Zone
; Gennaro Filice of SI.com wrote that Major League Baseball
's West Coast night games are ending as "the country's most influential scribes are catching Z after Z." Buccigross notes that a lot of people in the East are asleep when National Hockey League
's West night games are going on, resulting in lower television ratings for those West Coast games, which contributes to the lack of national broadcasts of West games. The East is home to nearly half of the country's population. Fox Sports
sportscaster Joe Buck
attributes the shift to the economics of running a business. "If you think there is a perceived East Coast bias, guess what? You're right. That's where people are watching, that's were(sic) the numbers are."
ESPN ombudsman Le Anne Schreiber
wrote that fans should forget about expecting equity in teams the network selects to broadcast. "It is long proven in NBA and NFL and MLB that spreading the wealth to 30 or 32 teams is a prescription for deflating ratings," said Len DeLuca, ESPN senior vice president for programming.
Examples of this bias are seen in broadcasting decisions (choosing to air East Coast teams over West or Midwest) and in the construction of polls for collegiate athletics.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to give greater weight and credibility to teams on the East Coast.
Causes
New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
serve as major media hubs. John Buccigross
John Buccigross
John Buccigross , has been an anchor for ESPN since 1996.-Biography:A graduate of Steubenville Catholic Central High School in Steubenville, OH, and Heidelberg College , his television duties include the Emmy winning SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight...
of ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
wrote that an imbalance is understandable from the East writers considering they are influenced by their close proximity and easier access to the happenings in the East. There is also a three hour time difference between the Eastern Time Zone
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
and Pacific Time Zone
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
; Gennaro Filice of SI.com wrote that Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
's West Coast night games are ending as "the country's most influential scribes are catching Z after Z." Buccigross notes that a lot of people in the East are asleep when National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
's West night games are going on, resulting in lower television ratings for those West Coast games, which contributes to the lack of national broadcasts of West games. The East is home to nearly half of the country's population. Fox Sports
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
sportscaster Joe Buck
Joe Buck
Joseph Francis "Joe" Buck is an American sportscaster and the son of legendary sportscaster Jack Buck. He has won numerous Sports Emmy Awards for his play-by-play work with Fox Sports.-Education:...
attributes the shift to the economics of running a business. "If you think there is a perceived East Coast bias, guess what? You're right. That's where people are watching, that's were(sic) the numbers are."
ESPN ombudsman Le Anne Schreiber
Le Anne Schreiber
Le Anne Schreiber is a former ESPN ombudsman.Schreiber replaced George Solomon in this position, who had served for twenty-one months as ombudsman...
wrote that fans should forget about expecting equity in teams the network selects to broadcast. "It is long proven in NBA and NFL and MLB that spreading the wealth to 30 or 32 teams is a prescription for deflating ratings," said Len DeLuca, ESPN senior vice president for programming.
Examples of this bias are seen in broadcasting decisions (choosing to air East Coast teams over West or Midwest) and in the construction of polls for collegiate athletics.