I shortened the title so that it would fit and I hope I've retained the thrust of the section I'm trying to highlight in the below article.

This was on the Memphis message board and it included an amazing number of CUSA cities, so I thought I'd pass it along here.

The below link is an article on ESPN's regular season football broadcasts. The first couple of sections reviews highest rated regularly scheduled time slots/"series"/etc. ("Series" = regularly scheduled games/times, not schools.)

However further down the article is the following which lists the top 25 rated markets for ESPN football broadcasts. It's scary how many current CUSA cities are in the top tier of metered markets.

FWIW, I'm not trying to sell anyone on the idea that any of our programs are responsible for the top ratings that our markets received, but it does show an amazing number of college football fans in each of the highlighted cities. Charlotte, who joins CUSA is on the list in addition to the current cities.

If this gets into a CUSA/BE food fight, I'll just delete the post.

http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releas...ies-on-tv/

Quote:Birmingham Takes Top Spot… Again
For the 12th consecutive year, Birmingham was the highest-rated metered market for ESPN’s regular-season telecasts, averaging an 8.9 rating, 89 percent higher than second place Greenville’s 4.7 rating. Eight of last season’s top 10 metered markets finished the 2012 season among the top 10 again. Tulsa (seventh in 2011) and Las Vegas (ninth) both fell out of the top 10, tying at 12th with a 2.5 rating, while Nashville, Memphis and Austin jumped into the top 10.
All three of Tennessee’s metered markets finished in the top 10 with Knoxville leading the way at third. The home market of the Tennessee Volunteers jumped from 10th last year, averaging a 4.6 rating. Nashville at ninth (3.3 rating) and Memphis at 10th (3.1 rating) were tied at 16 last year with a 2.5 rating.
Every market in the top 10 but Columbus and Oklahoma City finished with a higher average rating than in 2011, led by Knoxville with a 53 percent increase (4.6 vs. 3.0). Birmingham posted a 51 percent increase over last year’s leading 5.9 rating.
Top 25 Markets for 2012
No. 1 Birmingham: 8.9 rating
No. 2 Greenville: 4.7 rating
No. 3 Knoxville: 4.6 rating
No. 4 New Orleans: 3.7 rating
No. 5 Jacksonville: 3.6 rating
Columbus: 3.6 rating
No. 7 Atlanta: 3.5 rating
No. 8 Oklahoma City: 3.4 rating
No. 9 Nashville: 3.3 rating
No. 10 Memphis: 3.1 rating
Austin: 3.1 rating
No. 12 Tulsa: 2.5 rating
Charlotte: 2.5 rating
Las Vegas: 2.5 rating
No. 15 Portland: 2.3 rating
Richmond: 2.3 rating
No. 17 Orlando: 2.2 rating
Dayton: 2.2 rating
Norfolk: 2.2 rating
No. 20 Louisville: 2.1 rating
Tampa-St. Petersburg: 2.1 rating
No. 22 West Palm Beach: 2.0 rating
Greensboro: 2.0 rating
Cleveland: 2.0 rating
Ft. Myers: 2.0 rating
Richmond: 2.0 rating

So UAB to the NBE, got ya.

Interesting read there. Might have been how ECU pulled off that Indy tv deal with ESPN in the early/mid 90s.

How do we know which one they're referring to? They list 2 Richmonds; which Greenville (SC or NC or other?); etc.

I'm really trying to understand the criteria of how these rankings were put together. It's difficult for me to understand why there are no U.S. Top 10 TV markets in it when all the conferences have been clamoring for those areas to add to their conferences to enhance their conference TV revenue packages viewing audience potential.

I mean 3 DFW schools, SMU (40,000 DFW alums), TCU (24,000 DFW alums) and UNT (over 200,000 DFW alums) all 3 headquarterd in DFW and all 3 add up to approx. 264,000. I
think it is safe to say among that group are many who love to watch NCAA football on the HDTV.

DFW also has the largest contingency of Big 12 school's alums than any other city in that league's footprint topped off by UT-Austin and Texas A & M's alums , too. (For example, Oklahoma State has aprox. 13,000 DFW area alums and OU at around 12,000).

Add all these groups together and we all for sure watch a whole bunch of NCAA college football games on TV.

So once again, the criteria of how these rankings were put together is?

Markets matter, yet Tulane caused the breakup of the catholic 7 and football?

Reads like there are a lot of Bama & Auburn fans in Birmingham. Old news.

(12-14-2012 11:56 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote:  Interesting read there. Might have been how ECU pulled off that Indy tv deal with ESPN in the early/mid 90s.

ah....it was Greenville, SC silly (#36 largest TV market in US).....ESPN (SEC & ACC TV Contracts).

Smallest TV market on that ESPN list was #64 Dayton, Ohio.

(12-15-2012 10:19 AM)KnightLight Wrote:  

(12-14-2012 11:56 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote:  Interesting read there. Might have been how ECU pulled off that Indy tv deal with ESPN in the early/mid 90s.

ah....it was Greenville, SC silly (#36 largest TV market in US).....ESPN (SEC & ACC TV Contracts).

Smallest TV market on that ESPN list was #64 Dayton, Ohio.

I know there is a Greenville, SC but the way it was worded in the OP it looked to me as NC.

(12-15-2012 12:52 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote:  

(12-15-2012 10:19 AM)KnightLight Wrote:  

(12-14-2012 11:56 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote:  Interesting read there. Might have been how ECU pulled off that Indy tv deal with ESPN in the early/mid 90s.

ah....it was Greenville, SC silly (#36 largest TV market in US).....ESPN (SEC & ACC TV Contracts).

Smallest TV market on that ESPN list was #64 Dayton, Ohio.

I know there is a Greenville, SC but the way it was worded in the OP it looked to me as NC.

I didn't even think of Greenville SC when I bolded the CUSA cities and the article doesn't help identify which one it is. Based on what cities are actually metered, I probably made a mistake. I was just surprised to see so many CUSA home towns on the list and even with my mistake, the list is pretty impressive that so many of our programs are in cities that care as much as they do about college athletics.

the list seems to only highlite current CUSA cities. If you include future cities (Charlotte and Norfolk) it's even more impressive

Interesting stuff.

I think it further demonstrates how fan following makes TV sets tune in, and not the market itself.

(12-15-2012 01:50 PM)oldtiger Wrote:  

(12-15-2012 12:52 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote:  

(12-15-2012 10:19 AM)KnightLight Wrote:  

(12-14-2012 11:56 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote:  Interesting read there. Might have been how ECU pulled off that Indy tv deal with ESPN in the early/mid 90s.

ah....it was Greenville, SC silly (#36 largest TV market in US).....ESPN (SEC & ACC TV Contracts).

Smallest TV market on that ESPN list was #64 Dayton, Ohio.

I know there is a Greenville, SC but the way it was worded in the OP it looked to me as NC.

I didn't even think of Greenville SC when I bolded the CUSA cities and the article doesn't help identify which one it is. Based on what cities are actually metered, I probably made a mistake. I was just surprised to see so many CUSA home towns on the list and even with my mistake, the list is pretty impressive that so many of our programs are in cities that care as much as they do about college athletics.

the only problem is, those cities don't watch their own college team. UTEP has probably 3 times as many people in El Paso watching UTEP football than Houston has people watching Houston bball and fball combined. If you can't pull your market, the market doesn't exist

(12-15-2012 04:13 PM)Old Dominion Wrote:  the list seems to only highlite current CUSA cities. If you include future cities (Charlotte and Norfolk) it's even more impressive

And Nashville.

(12-15-2012 10:16 AM)CokeSlurpee711 Wrote:  Reads like there are a lot of Bama & Auburn fans in Birmingham. Old news.

No you dummy, they're all watching UAB Why do you think nobody ever comes to the games?