(02-07-2011 09:58 PM)The Brown Bull Wrote:  

(02-07-2011 09:38 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  The optimal scenario for any league (college or pro) is to have at least some presence on ESPN because, whether it's a good thing or not, they drive the national sports discussion. Be honest with yourselves: how often do you flip by ESPN and ESPN2 compared to Versus when you're channel surfing? Remember that the casual sports fan is the one that matters for TV sports rights and popularity (not the committed fan that will search out his team no matter what channel).

I don't disagree with your point but I will say....the problem with Versus or anyone else for that matter is the quality of the programming. Sure I always check with ESPN because they always show sports.....whereas with Versus....it could be fishing or hunting or something that has nothing to do with anything. So often times I don't waste my time checking it.

But if a channel were to come along and offer comparable coverage....the average fan would learn to include that channel in the grouping to channel surf.

The only example I can come up with is MLB Network. Prior to last season, I only checked ESPN for MLB. Now, MLB Network has come along and I actually prefer their coverage of MLB over ESPN and I never miss surfing by it during MLB season. So although ESPN does dictate most sports....if someone were to seriously try and match them.....I think the average fan would gravitate to what interests them....regardless if it is ESPN or not.

Good point, and a Reds, Bengals, UL, Big East fan I don't get much attention to my teams on the ESPN family "on the whole" throughout the year. Now if I go to MLB for my Reds and general baseball, go to NFL network for Bengals, and then go to NBC Sports for Big East and then you multiply me by ? million, that may get ESPN attention...but probably not.

Now unfornately I also agree we have to maintain some relationship with ESPN because they do have their foot on the popularity contest which is major in football, to a less degree in basketball. So offer them up basketball and premium football games if they want them in prime time slots like NBC Sports does with late season NFL.

I'd like to see us team up with CBS for our network. CBS has a better, faster feed online, and actually hires some journalists, instead of sticking strictly with cheerleaders. The only thing missing on most of ESPN's reporters are skirts. Only the females wear 'em presently...

Or, you guys could a get a secondary deal with Fox like C*USA did. Whereas C*USA's deal would relegate us to regional FSN channels and the occasional Fox or FX appearance, the Big East could have Saturday football games on Fox itself. Like the SEC has with CBS or Notre Dame with NBC. Nothing says exposure like over-the-air TV.

Of course, that would be moot if NBC does get a rebranded sports network and decides to show football on NBC other than Notre Dame.

Lots of options on the table for the Big East.

(02-07-2011 11:18 PM)KnightTower Wrote:  Or, you guys could a get a secondary deal with Fox like C*USA did. Whereas C*USA's deal would relegate us to regional FSN channels and the occasional Fox or FX appearance, the Big East could have Saturday football games on Fox itself. Like the SEC has with CBS or Notre Dame with NBC. Nothing says exposure like over-the-air TV.

Of course, that would be moot if NBC does get a rebranded sports network and decides to show football on NBC other than Notre Dame.

Lots of options on the table for the Big East.

I hope they are exploring all of them, and not just listening to ESPN and its early offer to negotiate now.

College basketball ratings on a Saturday or Sunday on CBS generally do around a 1.5 or so. Safe to say a game on ESPN is much lower than that, maybe a 1.2 or 1.0. A basketball game on Versus would probably do an 0.5.

This is an excellent thread full of very good points on all sides of the issue. I sincerely appreciate everyone's thoughtfulness here.

Personally I think the broader point here is that it certainly looks like the Big East is going to have a little more leverage this time around than we did the last time around and that is a very good thing for the league's prospects. I also think it is becoming increasingly obvious that the Big East is almost certainly going to tie its basketball rights to its football rights and that should only increase our leverage.

Mine is just a guess but if we play our cards right I think we can expect something along the lines of what some of the other BCS leagues have done/are planning to do. I think we may very well see some sort of partnership between the Big East and ESPN AND and an additional partnership between the Big East and NBC Sports with both football and men's and women's basketball being divided up by those two families of networks. I also believe that access to Notre Dame athletics will play a MAJOR role in those partnerships which is why Father Jenkins has been so visible thus far during the expansion process. I also believe that sooner rather than later we are headed for a 12 team football conference.

(02-07-2011 09:38 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(02-04-2011 10:49 PM)The Brown Bull Wrote:  

(02-04-2011 10:42 PM)BullsBEAST Wrote:  They already are calling for our bcs bid to be taken away there, if we leave their network they'd only increase that.

I agree ESPN has clout but they have no serious impact on the Big East AQ status. It is a myth right now that it is even possible that the Big East will lose it.

The BCS has enough trouble with politicians.....you think they are going to yank the plug on the BE? I don't care how much ESPN complains about it.....I don't think the BE ever has anything to worry about when it comes to the AQ.

I don't think ESPN has any real impact on AQ status at all. The BE's AQ status is completely safe.

Now, where ESPN's power comes is in general promotion and popularity. While it would behoove the BE to examine all of its options, you also have to be careful of any scenario where you leave the network completely.

Consider that the 2 conferences that make the most money *outside* of ESPN (the SEC with CBS and the Big Ten with the Big Ten Network) actually still make even more money *from* ESPN. The Big Ten could make even more from the BTN if they moved more games from ESPN, but they know that they can't risk killing the long-term golden goose for short-term gain. ESPN exposure is still the best that you can get on TV.

The optimal scenario for any league (college or pro) is to have at least some presence on ESPN because, whether it's a good thing or not, they drive the national sports discussion. Be honest with yourselves: how often do you flip by ESPN and ESPN2 compared to Versus when you're channel surfing? Remember that the casual sports fan is the one that matters for TV sports rights and popularity (not the committed fan that will search out his team no matter what channel).

Never because I have Insight Cable. On Insight all you have to do is go to the Sports menu, select football, and bingo you get all the football games by channel and hour on one list. All you have do is learn how to use search! So all you have do to is be smart enough to search.

The good thing about versus is that it is usually grouped with ESPN in the channels (Foxsports/ESPN/ESPN2/Versus)

(02-09-2011 10:22 AM)superdeluxe Wrote:  The good thing about versus is that it is usually grouped with ESPN in the channels (Foxsports/ESPN/ESPN2/Versus)

Not on DirecTV. ESPN & their channels are in the 200 tier while Versus is 603.

(02-09-2011 10:22 AM)superdeluxe Wrote:  The good thing about versus is that it is usually grouped with ESPN in the channels (Foxsports/ESPN/ESPN2/Versus)

That would be nice if Cablevision redid their channel alignment to group things together properly. Right now for instance you have ESPN/2 on 36 and 35 respectively. Then ESPNU's HD feed is on 796. ESPNNEWS is on 141 and the HD feed is on 794. The 4 RSNs around here are SNY on 60, YES on 70, and MSG/+ on 71 and 72 respectively. Then the Fox Soccer Channels are on like 144 and 145 or something. Speed Channel is like 74. Its all over the place. It'd be nice if they could block off the 140 to 160 range or something for every sports/outdoors channel they offer. I know Verizon and Comcast seem to group things nicely.

Looks like Insight is a head of lots of cable companies!

I'm quite fond of Uverse's channel numbering. Channels are grouped closely by genre, and if you want the HD feed, just add 1000. ESPN is 602, ESPNHD 1602, etc. Couldn't be simpler.

(02-09-2011 02:44 PM)halfwaytoheaven Wrote:  I'm quite fond of Uverse's channel numbering. Channels are grouped closely by genre, and if you want the HD feed, just add 1000. ESPN is 602, ESPNHD 1602, etc. Couldn't be simpler.

That does sound great. I know most of CT can get U-verse up here, but I've always been curious how the first fully IPTV provider does on quality and stuff.

(02-03-2011 03:38 PM)dgrace4cards Wrote:  NBC already as ND and NFL on weekends, why not add a a couple of more games on either NBC Sports or NBC basic, instead of infomercials and whatever else is on in the fall.

In most of the south the NBC stations are already showing the SEC or ACC games through ESPN/Raycom.

Raycom has been carrying SEC games forever, it seems like. They started broadcasting SEC games in the late 1960s, I believe. Although it could have been the early 1970s. But I was watching Raycom cover the SEC in southern WV before I got drafted. I even caught a couple of SEC games on AFN in Vietnam...

I'm watching the fishing shows on Versus, right now!

If I'm going to watch fish, it's because I'm casting at them. I have no desire to watch it on TV. That's almost as much fun as watching the grass grow...

Although now that you mention it, I wish I was on the Upper Elk fishing for Muskie...