Holy cow! FCC live-tweets baseball playoff game
The Federal Communications Commission put on a sportscaster's hat for a few hours while it live-tweeted a baseball game affected by the Fox-Cablevision dispute.
“Worried about missing the Phillies-Giants game?” The Federal Communications Commission put that question to fans on its official Twitter feed as the commission posted six tweets about the baseball game.
The FCC’s microblog drew comparisons to amateur sportscasting as it live-tweeted aspects of the Oct. 19 game for fans missing out because of a dispute between Cablevision and Fox-owned stations in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
After Cablevision and Fox failed to negotiate an agreement, Cablevision stopped carrying three stations on Oct. 15.
The FCC tweeted a notice to consumers posted on the commission’s website that explained the dispute.
The FCC also posted on its official Twitter account a series of tweets about the game itself:
- "Worried about missing Phillies-Giants game? “
- “Baseball fans disappointed about missing game three? (2-0 SF, top 5th).
- “We’re filling in the baseball void for those without Fox-Cablevision. Matt Cain pitching a beauty. SF up 3-0.”
- “That’s a wrap. SF takes game 3, 2-1 series lead. While we urge Fox-Cablevision to resolve the dispute."
Blogger Marshall Kirkpatrick, writing at the ReadWriteWeb website, called it the “weirdest use of Twitter by a government agency.”