Fox Sports and ESPN have decided to have second-rate operations for some major sports, which reflects poorly on the networks and the events they are covering.

Let’s start with Fox Sports, which embarrassingly failed to have its announcers at each of its college football games in the fall, reportedly did not initially plan to send many of its broadcast teams to the World Cup (eventually it did, thanks in part to a sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways), didn’t have announcers at MLB games that aired on FS1 and now, in the latest absence, failed to have announcers courtside for a big Pac-12 men’s basketball battle between No. 5 UCLA and Arizona State this week.

As for ESPN, it is treating the Australian Open as if it is not a grand slam. Chris Fowler, John McEnroe and the rest of its top announcers are in Bristol — not in Melbourne.

What is ESPN saying to its tennis audience? What is it saying to its partners? It is saying it is not very important to have the best coverage.