CSNbbs

http://www.cbscorporation.com/news/prdet...hp?id=2963

CBS is going to take it to the next level.

Quote:CSTV TO BECOME THE CBS COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK


CBS Sports today announced a comprehensive reorganization of its college sports operations, incorporating the cable, broadcast and online activities of College Sports Television (CSTV) into its world-famous brand.



Effective March 2008, CSTV will become the CBS COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK, bringing the power of the CBS SPORTS name to yet another developing, cross-platform property. In addition, CBS Sports will begin developing proprietary programming for the cable network, and incorporate the growing online activities of CSTV into its industry-leading online operations.



The announcement was made today by Sean McManus, President, CBS News and Sports, and Tony Petitti, Executive Vice President and Executive Producer, CBS Sports, who will oversee day to day operations of the network.



As part of the reorganization, a new emphasis will be placed on developing original programming for the CBS COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK, drawing on the top on-air and creative talents in the industry. Anchoring the lineup will be COLLEGE SPORTS TONIGHT, a news and information program examining the day's developments in the world of collegiate sports, and providing previews of upcoming events. The program will air twice a night. COLLEGE SPORTS TONIGHT is just one of many new programs to be featured on the CBS COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK. Additional programming will be announced shortly.



"We believe this rebranding will better position our college sports cable network in the competitive world of cable television distribution," said McManus. "It's hard to imagine a cable company going forward that will not welcome the CBS SPORTS branded channel to its cable systems. In this move, we further build on the value of this important new part of our company."



"The ability to bring unity to the CBS Sports brand across all media — broadcast network, cable, online and mobile — is something we know audiences and advertisers will continue to embrace," said Petitti. "CBS COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK will now be easily recognized as an asset of an already proud brand and distributor of the highest quality sports programming."



Additionally, CSTV's existing lineup of online properties will integrate to produce incremental value to CBS's online audience. The combination of CSTV's assets, including Max Preps, the most recognized information site in the high school sports business, with the interactive resources of CBS will create the industry's most coveted collection of sports-related Web sites.



"CSTV has developed a significant online presence within the collegiate sports community, and CBSSports.com has become one of the leading destinations for professional sports coverage," said Jason Kint, Senior Vice President and General Manager of CBSSports.com. "These are two world class operations with complementary audiences, and, taken together, will give CBS Sports the most powerful and varied user profile in all sports media."



"CBS SPORTS has the finest slate of college programming in broadcast television, and that commitment has played out to build one of the most dedicated online audiences for that aspect of our programming," said Petitti. "Adding the power of CSTV — the CBS COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK — to the online mix can only help to build that important new audience."



The change to CBS COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK, which will include the full integration of the CBS Sports on air style and graphics, follows the highly successful rebranding of the former CBS Sportsline.com to CBSSports.com last August. In the month following that change, CBSSports.com earned a 27% increase in users giving the site the highest growth rate among major sports sites.



CBS Corporation acquired CSTV, the leading digital media company devoted exclusively to college athletics, in January 2006, and last month announced the integration of its business and programming operations into the CBS Sports division. Its many platforms for distribution include CSTV, a national cable network, televising regular-season and championship events for 35 men's and women's college sports; CSTV.com and its network of nearly 215 official athletic sites; CSTV XXL and All Access, broadband services providing live and streaming audio and video of more than 10,000 events annually; as well as satellite television and radio, in-flight entertainment, wireless networks and more. All will now be part of the CBS COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK brand.

Maybe they'll invest a few bucks in the broadcast quality.

Smaug Wrote:Maybe they'll invest a few bucks in the broadcast quality.

Yes, and help get the channel added to the basic cable line-ups, instead of the sports tier. Hopefully it won't turn into the SEC network. If it doesn't, then maybe we will finally have a place where people acknowledge our existence. Can't you see it..............Tonight leading story, C-USA football.

I wonder if we'll see NCAA tournament games on here this year, now that this is happening -- in March, just in time for the tournament? It would be nice to be able to watch two games at once and not have to go to a bar to do it.

CBS is gonna try hard to make this the Basic Cable challenger to ESPN and FOX Sports. Their ties to C*USA makes us well positioned to make the next jump up in the media spotlight..

GreenMississippi Wrote:CBS is gonna try hard to make this the Basic Cable challenger to ESPN and FOX Sports. Their ties to C*USA makes us well positioned to make the next jump up in the media spotlight..

You are assuming CBS keeps the contract with C-USA.

Flying Mouse:chairshot: Wrote:You are assuming CBS keeps the contract with C-USA.

Whatever happens with the C-USA contract, CBS is positioning itself with CSTV much as ABC has with ESPN. If another 24 hour sports network emerges from this, as seems likely, there will be many hours of programming to fill.

A prior relationship between CSTV and C-USA may make it possible for us to find a home there.

UAB Band Dad Wrote:Whatever happens with the C-USA contract, CBS is positioning itself with CSTV much as ABC has with ESPN. If another 24 hour sports network emerges from this, as seems likely, there will be many hours of programming to fill.

And that's why I'm a bit frustrated.

With all of CBS Sports professional sports ties, why didn't they simply shift CSTV into a full-blown ESPN challenger? Much more broader appeal and a better chance at cable carriage. Heck, you could've kept the CSTV name (CBS Sports TV?).

I know they can't (nor wouldn't) simply move broadcast net properties to the cable channel, but the college programming the already had would have sufficed until they could create new shows. That, and I'd love to have an alternative to SportsCenter and the daily Yankees/Red Sox reports.

A lot of the TV contracts are up for renewal in the next 3 years.
You will probably see some changes.

CBS will be a much bigger player now than it was in the last contracts. That won't be bad for anybody.

But there WILL be "winners" and "losers" in the machinations. There is only so much to go around and some conferences will experiences losses so that others can experience gains.

Banowsky pulled off a minor miracle, IMO, in keeping C-USA's television teams relatively the same through the realignment. Not sure he can pull that off the next go round as C-USA has not really performed that well and some other conferences such as the WAC and Sun Belt have exceeded expectations. Yeah, market sizes, etc., matter but performance is part of the equation.

And it is an extremely good bet that CBS will be wanting SEC programming for its college sports network. As of right now, there is one SEC game a week that does not fall to existing contracts. That is now a PPV game each week, early afternoon. And there are loads of SEC basketball games available to inventory.

<<Yeah, market sizes, etc., matter but performance is part of the equation>>

Could the CBS marketing machine convince enough major market viewers that Houston/Tulsa/UAB/Tulane is THEIR team and not some rural university hours away? More has been made out of less in the last 10 years. And good TV will improve the product.

There's no argument about what college athletic departments are, the only haggle is over the price. And CUSA will sell itself very cheaply. The conference's comparatively huge numbers of TV sets (12 teams, only 3 pissant markets, even better if we swap one of the 3 for Charlotte) is a powerful asset if we have a negotiator who can use the leverage. "SEC" is a mature brand with the associated price tag; "CUSA" is a cheap brand with much greater growth potential.

Getting rid of the CSTV name is a GOOD thing. CSTV is associated with cheap production. CBS is a major network.

58-56 brings an interesting point. With the (west to east) El Paso, Dallas, Tulsa, Houston, New Orleans/Biloxi/Gulfport, Memphis, Birmingham, and Orlando markets we could be the growth stock CBS needs. Why buy Microsoft with little growth potential, when they can buy the next Apple before the iPod and iMac are released?

And this puts another perspective on expansion. By themselves, expansion does nothing other than split the pie... unless TV pays for it. Then, schools with markets like Charlotte, South Alabama, UT San Antonio, FAU become potential bargaining chips for a CBS deal. The beauty of this is that we can have them in two seasons if we'd like, and if CBS says "do it and we pay you more", we can do it with little risk. If CBS doesn't want them, we shut the door.

CBS wouldn't pay a nickel more to C-USA for those schools.

Based on the television product, I'd be amazed if the next C-USA contract is not for less money, not more, additional schools or not.

Flying Mouse Wrote:CBS wouldn't pay a nickel more to C-USA for those schools.

I don't blame them, but what is all this talk about USA and Charlotte talking ("courting"?) to C*USA in the news? I'd rather them not be here, but I'll leave it open to CBS.

When is the old contract up? If it was right now we'd probably wouldn't go up but I don't think we'd go down either.

I would love to have Charlotte as a conference opponent again, especially in basketball.

Memphis Blazer Wrote:I would love to have Charlotte as a conference opponent again, especially in basketball.

Unfortunately, they will likely be without our favorite mustachioed coach. ESPN is reporting that Lutz is on the hot seat, and will likely be gone at the end of the season.

Back to the topic at hand.

I think C-USA will likely stand a good chance, when its contract expires, of landing a contract with either ESPN, CBS or both. And here's why.

The new Big 10 Network has been an unqualified success. It got what it wanted from the cable companies, its ratings have been better than promised, and it's already turning a profit. Other BCS conferences are going to follow suit. I understand the SEC is already negotiating with Time Warner and EchoStar to launch their own network as early as next fall. Expect the other networks to follow suit.

What does this mean? Well, the Big 10 still has contracts with ESPN, but for just one game a week. They want the rest of those games in-house, on their own network. That opens up more slots for minor conferences. CBS will likely still keep an SEC game of the week, but the rest of those games will move to the SEC Network. They have to have the big games on their network for it to succeed, and for fans to be willing to pay for it. I imagine the Big East and ACC and Pac 10 will all launch their own networks within the next five years. In fact, I would bet on it. It would also position the Big 6 conferences in such a way they would no longer need the networks, nor the NCAA, and they WILL, before all is said and done, eventually form their own athletics umbrella organization and break away from the NCAA. That day is coming. Any school that hasn't found a way to align themselves with one of those conferences will become nothing more than a I-AA program, wallowing in obscurity, forever after that date.

I look for that new post-season basketball tournament to position itself as the Big 6 basketball tournament, replacing the NCAA in determining the national champion in basketball. The NIT is doomed to death. I imagine it will cease to exist within 10 years. The NCAA tournament will continue, but without the participation of the Big 6 conferences, making it no more relevant than the NIT is today.

For football, the Big 6 conferences will likely form an eight-team playoff system. The rest of the football playing conferences will either continue with some kind of bowl system, or, more likely, follow the I-AA playoff model and form their own playoff system. I don't think the bowl system as we know it will be around much longer than the current BCS contract.

GN you are more right than you know, and the tournament that the Big 6 will jump to has already been created. It was a joke when it was announced earlier this year and got no more than a couple sentences mention but people may not be laughing about it a few years from now.