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reagansdaddy said:

I wonder how ESPN decides which streaming games get the higher production level (pro announcers, multiple camera angles, better graphics, etc.).

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I believe it is up to the school. I know that SC invests quite heavily in the process, with both a quality play by play announcer and color commentator. Dr. Megan Matthews Bunning is one of the best softball color commentators out there. Her expertise shows having been there and done that in the circle for SC, and as a coach at the college level. SC also has a very good Mass Communication and Broadcast Journalism Schools so it is a natural extension. Every SC home game is broadcast. Some other SEC schools just have a static feed and overly the radio broadcast.

corlay said:

the announcers for these game, particularly with "color commentary" in regard to pitching, is tough to listen to, sometimes.
But all-in-all, what a wonderful thing it is...

Wish some more marquee matchups were televised so far.
LSU, Alabama, and Auburn have been featured generously, FLA U a little bit;
but Michigan, AZ, UCLA, Oregon, etc. not so much, yet.

I do value the behind-the-pitcher camera angles of the higher-production budget games, that's for sure.

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Hard to believe the Michigan vs. Florida game was not on TV or streaming, but I could not find it anywhere.

riseball said:

I believe it is up to the school. I know that SC invests quite heavily in the process, with both a quality play by play announcer and color commentator. Dr. Megan Matthews Bunning is one of the best softball color commentators out there. Her expertise shows having been there and done that in the circle for SC, and as a coach at the college level. SC also has a very good Mass Communication and Broadcast Journalism Schools so it is a natural extension. Every SC home game is broadcast. Some other SEC schools just have a static feed and overly the radio broadcast.

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DD and I went to a USC Upstate game two years ago and they had multiple camera angles and an announcer to stream the games online, while a lot of SEC and ACC schools only have a radio broadcast.

reagansdaddy said:

I wonder how ESPN decides which streaming games get the higher production level (pro announcers, multiple camera angles, better graphics, etc.).

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During the Auburn vs. University of North Dakota game the briefly touched on this topic.
They said alot of the game coverage is purely based on logistics.
How many games will be played in at a particular weekend tournament, how many TV crew members and cameras are available in the area to cover the fast pitch games? And...
how much they competing with other sports (basketball and March Madness coming up, along with all of the other Spring sports to contend with when it comes to getting a TV camera at the game as well as commentators.
The Auburn/ UND game had one camera angle. Because that's all they had available in the area, for coverage. They did a great job, and one camera was sufficient I thought.
The Auburn/James Madison game, had a commentator with a monotonous voice that was a little annoying, but give them time they'll get better.
The South Carolina vs North Dakota State University games had good coverage, and the screen clarity was unreal...why that first game seemed to be in UHD, and the other games were in standard definition?...I have no idea....
riseball's daughter was pitching awesome!!