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If you've ever wondered what a television studio completely devoted to sports would look like, then you'll like this video. I was treated to a fantastic tour of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area's brand new and as of this writing not entirely completed 37,000 square foot studio palace, the guest of my friend, Comcast PR Director Jay Dela Cruz.

The first thing I noticed was the smell of new paint and carpet all over the place. The second thing I observed was the large number of empty cubicle spaces around the floors. "We're hiring" Jay said. "We're looking to staff up."

A War-Time Studio

The facility reminded me of the time the late Thomas Berkeley took me on a tour of his office and printing press for The Oakland Post, when he grabbed me by the back of the neck, shook it, and said "Young man, we're here to fight a war." Unlike Mr. Berkeley, the war Comcast is fighting isn't the business of race (more about that in a later post) it's the business of sports. The objective is to bring Bay Area sports fans more than just 30-second sound bites of news; the typical segments are two to five minutes in length. Some are interesting like the talk shows featuring sports writers like the Oakland Tribune's Monte Poole; others a bit "interesting" like the "G-Mag" segments.

The office is located at 370 3rd Street in San Francisco's South of Market District, near the corner of 3rd Street and Harrison and is a large, light brownish five story building, much longer than it is tall. The studio itself is a sight to behold and if one is able to take a tour of it, they should do so.

All of that in this economy?

If you're wondering "Is this too much investment in this recession?", consider that the plans for this were launched three years ago and construction started last year, plus, there's no indication the public appetite for sports on television's taking a dive even with the bad economy, eyeballs still command dollars, just ask Ohio State, which just this year (March 20009) earned $110 million in rights fees from sports marketing agency IMG over a 10 year period. Sports draws eyeballs and since people are staying at home it's a sure bet they'll watch more, not less sports. With this giant studio and one channel focused just on Bay Area sports, Comcast is trying to make sure you tune in to its channel and not ESPN.

I think it's a safe bet. It's certainly a better one than the Oakland A's winding up with a stadium in San Jose!