<a href='http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2003-08-14-umass-division-jump_x.htm' target='_blank'>Another USA Today article</a>
Most interesting at the end.
Well, if you recall... NBC had exclusive rights to Notre Dame football... Bob Davies single handedly brought all those ratings down to the point where NBC finally had to cancel their deals with Notre Dame... Now, I think NBC is probably thinking... they can start picking up some regional games and make some pretty good money... college football is a cash cow waiting to be milked...
KingBob Wrote:they can start picking up some regional games and make some pretty good money... college football is a cash cow waiting to be milked...
NBC still has their contract w/ Notre Dame. However, I agree emphatically about the regional games.
Consider, each year the MAC hosts some games w/ BCS teams (Missouri, Pitt, Minnesota, Syracuse, Iowa, VPI, Maryland, etc). Broadcast those and NBC gets teams that are typically locked up w/ ABC and CBS...and the MAC gets on TV. I'd bet the MWC, WAC and CUSA have similar deals (Ohio St, Wisc at Cincy) so there's your regional schedule early on.
At that point, the best teams from these conferences start shining through. So you broadcast the good match-ups that follow: BG vs NIU vs.Toledo, Miami vs UCF vs Marshall. The MAC has to work w/ these guys, to try to anticipate the best games and spread them through the season, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem, when you add in:
Rivalry games. Let's see WMU v CMU, Akron vs Kent each season, and that's a full slate. Good games all around, and the conferences get good publicity and air time.
I'd bet Fresno St, Colo St, Utah, BYU, Air Force, Cincy, L'ville, Hawaii, and the rest could have provided interesting regional games for the whole country. And it gives an alternative to those horrible Syracuse v WVU games!
DrTorch Wrote:<a href='http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2003-08-14-umass-division-jump_x.htm' target='_blank'>Another USA Today article</a>
Most interesting at the end.
Quote:Lombardi is waiting for the NCAA to split Division I-A, separating the Floridas, Texases and others at the high end from those with more modest resources and ambitions. "It may be," he says, "that ... there'll be a second tier of I-A that has conferences capable of mobilizing some bowl money and mobilizing some television exposure. For people who don't get (a share of) the ABC contract, there'll be an NBC contract.
:eek: :eek:
Apparently I missed the memo on the imminent split of div I-A!
I wish I could remember what NBC had decided to do with the Notre Dame thing... whatever it was... it wasn't good... OR it was possible that the decision was either drop Davies or we drop you...
Anyway, I totally agree that NBC would profit from getting in on the college football action... I know that if there was coverage of MAC games, people around this country would watch them... It was amazing.. I was in Arizona visiting the folks and family for Thanksgiving...
It was the best Thanksgiving ever, because me and the guys got to watch the re-run of the Toledo Rocket v NIU game... Wow... that was just spectacular... Way to go Donte!!! Go Rockets...
Get the season here already!!!
All that stuff about NBC dropping ND was net rumors. There was speculation that when the contract expires in a few years that NBC might not re-up, but that's not even an option now. NBC makes a handsome profit from ND games.
Well, after last year's debacle... their ratings did increase... Under Davies they were plummeting, cause none of the ND alumni could stomach to watch their team suck so bad... I don't blame them either... I could not stand to watch Davies... when he annouces the games, i will turn down the sound and get a different game over the Net...
As for the new ND coach? I'll bet he doesn't do as good this year... last year, like Miami... he had some luck... but, sooner or later your luck finally runs out...