(05-11-2022 05:46 PM)Scoochpooch1 Wrote:  Fun. Now do the WNBA. Tell us how undervalued that is.

I cover college sports, not professional sports, so I couldn't tell you *exactly* if it is undervalued or not.

I do know that WNBA TV ratings have improved dramatically over the last year and that investors are willing to throw money into growing the product. There's certainly money out there that believes in professional women's basketball.

But anything to do with the WNBA is moot when we're talking about the value of the women's tournament. That's not broadcast as a charity. It's a real event that has real financial value, real sponsor interest, and real growth potential.

(05-11-2022 03:10 PM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  I’d like to think the only way CBS stays in the game with college sports right now is because they have no issues jamming every stoppage with ad content, and that goes a long way with leverage. And ESPN and Fox just won’t commit to that kind of level/model, so they can’t compete.

I think it also helps that the CBS station cluster (CBS, TBS, TNT, etc.) model, since it includes national broadcast and major/entrenched cable stations, has more reach than what ESPN could do? Other than ABC/ESPN dumping a wheelbarrow of money at the NCAA’s feet (and it could be that simple and effective maybe), I think there’s a potential reach issue the more stations you toss into a similar model there (as in, beyond ABC and ESPN, reach gets more challenging deeper into the ESPN dial). And Fox has, what, the almost invisible FS duo? What, do you pull in FX or FXX? To some degree, it’s not unlike the Olympics across the NBC stations…and a bit of a dicey ask to make people go to MSNBC or CNBC for spill-over coverage.

FX and FXX are Disney properties. They were bought as part of the Fox selloff.

(05-12-2022 03:12 PM)whittx Wrote:  

(05-11-2022 03:10 PM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  I’d like to think the only way CBS stays in the game with college sports right now is because they have no issues jamming every stoppage with ad content, and that goes a long way with leverage. And ESPN and Fox just won’t commit to that kind of level/model, so they can’t compete.

I think it also helps that the CBS station cluster (CBS, TBS, TNT, etc.) model, since it includes national broadcast and major/entrenched cable stations, has more reach than what ESPN could do? Other than ABC/ESPN dumping a wheelbarrow of money at the NCAA’s feet (and it could be that simple and effective maybe), I think there’s a potential reach issue the more stations you toss into a similar model there (as in, beyond ABC and ESPN, reach gets more challenging deeper into the ESPN dial). And Fox has, what, the almost invisible FS duo? What, do you pull in FX or FXX? To some degree, it’s not unlike the Olympics across the NBC stations…and a bit of a dicey ask to make people go to MSNBC or CNBC for spill-over coverage.

FX and FXX are Disney properties. They were bought as part of the Fox selloff.

Tells you what I know, which isn’t much. But only that it’s even less what Fox could offer in terms of stations for the load.

CBS bringing in Turner was a brilliant move and creating the First Four. It gave truTV huge leverage in keeping cable companies to subscribe to it as a boost for Impractical Jokers. TNT and TBS are so well established that helped too. CBS anchoring the coverage gave it the boost they needed and got rid of the DirecTV aspect of it. I really think CBS & Turner will win the next round of World Cup bids.