(06-20-2022 04:54 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  Like I’ve said, I don’t think it’s so much about the OTA games, but rather the next level down: ESPN versus the other cable networks and ESPN+ versus the other streaming services. Plus, add in basketball, where ESPN has a massive unchecked advantage on weeknights.

If it was just about money and OTA exposure, I don’t think that these negotiations would be taking so long. It’s really more about all facets of the entire package from lower tier games to streaming to basketball (not just the top 2 or 3 football games) - THAT is where the ESPN exposure really makes a big difference.

Yes, there are a lot of permutations of how this could end up:

-- Status quo of split between Fox and ESPN.
-- Three way split of Fox/CBS/ESPN.
-- Three way split of Fox/NBC/ESPN.
-- Three way split of Fox/CBS/NBC
-- An ESPN+ package of 14 out of conference FB games (similar to SEC), coupled with any of the above.
-- A weekly Amazon package coupled with any of the above.

That is why the decision, which was originally announced for Memorial Day, has been delayed. Some difficult (but good) choices.

From a fan's perspective, the additional exposure is good but it also means at least as many (if not more) 6/12 day windows. I am slightly envious of SEC and ACC fans who, due to their exclusivity with ESPN, will be having more game times set at the start of the season.

ESPN hates the Big Ten. However, despite the wishful thinking of the pro-SEC honks on this board, they realized we're too strong to be brought down. So they're trying to find a way to use the Big Ten to their advantage.

At the end of the day, I just don't think the conference is better off with a network that has made its biases well known and go, instead, with a combo that can give the conference its unique ecosystem which, therefore, removes the need to play nice with a corporation that is aligned with the anti-North bias.

(06-20-2022 04:58 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(06-20-2022 10:59 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(06-20-2022 10:50 AM)BruinNation Wrote:  “ is there less inventory? Of course there is because of when this SEC deal kicks off in 2024. However, we’ve been very thoughtful about this and there’s still plenty of room for Big Ten and Pac-12. We’re pursuing both. … No one should misinterpret: When we did this SEC deal, no one at ESPN said, OK, that means we’re walking away from another conference."

TV windows are going to be a huge component of any new deal, along with the money (most important). ESPN head man verifying that they are still very much in on both the Big Ten and Pac 12. From a windows perspective, looks like the SEC is taking over any Big 12 slots.

One thing is that ABC and ESPN are both looked at as top line exposure platforms, so they really have 7 windows to offer per week (12 pm ET/3:30 pm ET/prime time on both ABC and ESPN plus late night on ESPN) as opposed to OTA networks that have a maximum of 3 windows per week. So, it's one thing to say that ABC OTA alone is going to have a tough time offering windows once they integrate the SEC Game of the Week package, but remember that ESPN itself still has a very high exposure quotient compared to any other cable network that the other media companies don't have.

Have they ever done all 3 time slots on ABC for football?

And I don't think they use all 4 in ESPN and ESPN2. So really they have 8 slots, 5 top tier (2 ABC, 3 ESPN) and 3 on ESPN2, a step below. As for ESPNU and ESPNNews they aren't much better than streaming.

ESPN refusing to negotiate early with the Big 12 was part of the trigger for UT and OU to leave. Its clear ESPN has locked up the ACC and SEC and wants as much of the Big 10 as they can get. Then they will figure out what they have left in time slots for the Pac 12 and Big 12.

In Week 3 of this season, ABC will use three time slots and FOX four time slots:

Oklahoma at Nebraska - 12:00pm, FOX
BYU at Oregon - 3:30pm, FOX
Toledo at Ohio State - 7:00pm, FOX
Fresno State at USC -10:30pm, FOX

UConn at Michigan - 12:00pm, ABC
Ole Miss at Georgia Tech - 3:30pm, ABC
Michigan State at Washington -7:30pm, ABC

(06-20-2022 08:47 PM)Transic_nyc Wrote:  ESPN hates the Big Ten. However, despite the wishful thinking of the pro-SEC honks on this board, they realized we're too strong to be brought down. So they're trying to find a way to use the Big Ten to their advantage.

At the end of the day, I just don't think the conference is better off with a network that has made its biases well known and go, instead, with a combo that can give the conference its unique ecosystem which, therefore, removes the need to play nice with a corporation that is aligned with the anti-North bias.

The Walt Disney Company might be many things, but anti-North isn’t one of them.

Speaking as Big Ten guy, I think a lot of Big Ten fans simply whine too much about supposed ESPN bias. I’m frankly tired of it. The editorial bias on the talking head shows will ALWAYS be for whoever is winning at the time, whether it’s the Yankees, Warriors or, yes, the SEC. If the Big Ten isn’t winning national championships in football or basketball, why on Earth should we ever expect editorial bias in our favor? Unless the Big Ten starts consistently beating the SEC in the playoff games that matter, what leg do we have to stand on here? As a conference, we’re essentially like those teams that are the richest in the sport with the highest payrolls yet don’t win the big one. Those types of entities don’t exactly engender much sympathy with the general public. It’s like expecting ESPN to provide glowing coverage to a Yankees team that loses the division to a Rays team with a fraction of its payroll. No one outside of partisan Yankees fans cares to hear it. I love the Big Ten as much as anyone, but objectively speaking, our performance in the key sports of football and basketball has simply been underwhelming this century considering that we have had the biggest financial advantages of anyone.

Now, financial bias is separate purely about green: whoever makes them money is favored and, on that front, the Big Ten will always be favored and an important property for ESPN or any other network. ESPN might spend entire days serving up hot takes on the Cowboys, LeBron and the Big Ten, but when it comes to actual important part of the schedule in prime time, ESPN badly wants and pays up for all of their respective games.

In any event, the reason for the Big Ten to leave ESPN, if that occurs, should solely be based on the league not receiving the combination of money and exposure that it believes would be in its best interests. Period. All of the subjective emotional whining about “bias” needs to be eradicated from the minds of Big Ten fans.

If anyone actually bothered to watch the FS1 talking head shows, they’d see that people like Skip Bayless are just as partisan toward the SEC as anyone at ESPN. It’s just that no one actually watches those FS1 shows in the numbers of the ESPN shows, so we (the collective sports fan universe) all notice the ESPN takes more.

The way to address the editorial bias issue for the Big Ten is to win championships. Thinking that some other network is going to provide more favorable editorial coverage isn’t going to happen until the winning occurs.

Exposure will be key. Big Ten has Big Noon Kickoff and it'll want a 3:30pm EST Game of the Week on OTA. That effectively eliminates ESPN, so that will come down to CBS or NBC and who makes the bigger offer. ESPN could still get a nice collection of games but how much will they pay when you have Turner & possibly USA Network interested in content for a possible Big Ten Saturday Night Football game. The Big Ten has a big enough brand to leave ESPN, the question is in fact where will their Basketball games end up on weekdays? Just FS1 & Big Ten Network? That's a component that gives ESPN an advantage. I would suspect that it becomes 3 partner deal with FOX, CBS & ESPN.

Notre Dame will preempt anything that the B1G wants to do on NBC. They will have to take what Notre Dame doesn't. The Irish are going to get the premium slots.

(06-21-2022 12:40 AM)THUNDERStruck73 Wrote:  Notre Dame will preempt anything that the B1G wants to do on NBC. They will have to take what Notre Dame doesn't. The Irish are going to get the premium slots.

I agree. I don't see NBC letting Notre Dame go, they'll end up getting a huge deal from them. CBS already has a relationship with the Big Ten, it makes the most sense for the Big Ten to choose them.

(06-20-2022 10:09 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(06-20-2022 08:47 PM)Transic_nyc Wrote:  ESPN hates the Big Ten. However, despite the wishful thinking of the pro-SEC honks on this board, they realized we're too strong to be brought down. So they're trying to find a way to use the Big Ten to their advantage.

At the end of the day, I just don't think the conference is better off with a network that has made its biases well known and go, instead, with a combo that can give the conference its unique ecosystem which, therefore, removes the need to play nice with a corporation that is aligned with the anti-North bias.

The Walt Disney Company might be many things, but anti-North isn’t one of them.

Speaking as Big Ten guy, I think a lot of Big Ten fans simply whine too much about supposed ESPN bias. I’m frankly tired of it. The editorial bias on the talking head shows will ALWAYS be for whoever is winning at the time, whether it’s the Yankees, Warriors or, yes, the SEC. If the Big Ten isn’t winning national championships in football or basketball, why on Earth should we ever expect editorial bias in our favor? Unless the Big Ten starts consistently beating the SEC in the playoff games that matter, what leg do we have to stand on here? As a conference, we’re essentially like those teams that are the richest in the sport with the highest payrolls yet don’t win the big one. Those types of entities don’t exactly engender much sympathy with the general public. It’s like expecting ESPN to provide glowing coverage to a Yankees team that loses the division to a Rays team with a fraction of its payroll. No one outside of partisan Yankees fans cares to hear it. I love the Big Ten as much as anyone, but objectively speaking, our performance in the key sports of football and basketball has simply been underwhelming this century considering that we have had the biggest financial advantages of anyone.

Now, financial bias is separate purely about green: whoever makes them money is favored and, on that front, the Big Ten will always be favored and an important property for ESPN or any other network. ESPN might spend entire days serving up hot takes on the Cowboys, LeBron and the Big Ten, but when it comes to actual important part of the schedule in prime time, ESPN badly wants and pays up for all of their respective games.

It does seem unprecedented for ESPN to give one conference one time slot exclusively for football and not just on ESPN but ABC. Right now most of ESPN's prime time games are SEC games but not all of them (usually when CBS hosts a prime time SEC game). It may not be anti Big Ten but it certainly is pro SEC. For years ABC/ESPN has scheduled all games regardless of conference and let the strongest games have the best slots.

Does the SEC deserve a weekly network game a week? Yes. Have they in the past? Yes. But that was on a network that had served only one conference. Right now ABC (ESPN) is saying that the SEC is the best or most viewed conference while still having the ACC in hand and wanting to negotiate with other conferences and trying to convince them that they are still important. If FOX gives the Big 10 the Big Nooner slot exclusively, the Pac 12 is going to want an exclusive slot too. FOX and ABC will likely say no and ESPN could offer the late night slot and the Pac 12 will likely take it. The Big Ten negotiations will be interesting. Will the Big Ten get the Big Nooner permanently? Will they get the CBS 3:30pm slot? It will be interesting to see dueling SEC vs. Big Ten each week. Will this set off network time slot negotiations and will the Pac 12 get anything? Technically the ACC has no bargaining power with ESPN right now but could they strike a deal and get maybe the noon ABC time slot (if the Big 10 strikes with FOX for noon games, the SEC is content with 3:30pm on ABC, and the Pac 12 has little interest for noon games, so why not let the ACC have them?)

I don't know if I want the Big Ten to sign with ESPN if it means top Big Ten games get dumped to ESPN. I'd rather them go to CBS or NBC. I only want to sign with ESPN if we get a guarantee of a certain number of games on ABC.

(06-21-2022 12:40 AM)THUNDERStruck73 Wrote:  Notre Dame will preempt anything that the B1G wants to do on NBC. They will have to take what Notre Dame doesn't. The Irish are going to get the premium slots.

Only an idiot would willingly turn down the Big 10 in favor of Notre Dame.

Cue TerryD rebuttal...

(06-21-2022 05:06 AM)schmolik Wrote:  

(06-21-2022 12:40 AM)THUNDERStruck73 Wrote:  Notre Dame will preempt anything that the B1G wants to do on NBC. They will have to take what Notre Dame doesn't. The Irish are going to get the premium slots.

Only an idiot would willingly turn down the Big 10 in favor of Notre Dame.

Cue TerryD rebuttal...

No, none here.

I am hoping NBC works with and signs both so ND can get paid big TV money without having to join a conference.

This paragraph from an article in The Athletic intrigued me:

"And what of NBC? No doubt there were some Notre Dame fans whose eyebrows were raised when reports in the winter indicated that the Peacock network had interest in getting involved with the Big Ten, as an “exclusive home” — with its own times, stations and announcers set well in advance — was a huge part of the Irish’s selling point as an independent.

Notre Dame, however, likely would welcome the Big Ten with open arms. Sort of. The way Notre Dame sees it, a restructuring of its own NBC deal, which expires after the 2025-26 season, essentially would allow the Irish many of the financial benefits of being in the nation’s richest conference without any of the strings attached of being in an actual conference."

That would be having the cake and eating it too. That would be ideal.

(06-20-2022 10:09 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(06-20-2022 08:47 PM)Transic_nyc Wrote:  ESPN hates the Big Ten. However, despite the wishful thinking of the pro-SEC honks on this board, they realized we're too strong to be brought down. So they're trying to find a way to use the Big Ten to their advantage.

At the end of the day, I just don't think the conference is better off with a network that has made its biases well known and go, instead, with a combo that can give the conference its unique ecosystem which, therefore, removes the need to play nice with a corporation that is aligned with the anti-North bias.

The Walt Disney Company might be many things, but anti-North isn’t one of them.

In pro sports or college sports, it is important to have a relationship with ESPN. Disney is about making money and they are not going to ignore the Big Ten and the Big Ten is not going to shutout Disney. ESPN is paying $80 million annually for the Rose Bowl, a contract that runs through 2026 and will likely be extended. They are invested in the Big Ten and Pac-12. I would expect them to have a new TV deal with both the Big Ten and Pac-12. The schools and markets are too big to ignore and both conferences need Disney as well.

(06-20-2022 10:17 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  In any event, the reason for the Big Ten to leave ESPN, if that occurs, should solely be based on the league not receiving the combination of money and exposure that it believes would be in its best interests. Period. All of the subjective emotional whining about “bias” needs to be eradicated from the minds of Big Ten fans.

If anyone actually bothered to watch the FS1 talking head shows, they’d see that people like Skip Bayless are just as partisan toward the SEC as anyone at ESPN. It’s just that no one actually watches those FS1 shows in the numbers of the ESPN shows, so we (the collective sports fan universe) all notice the ESPN takes more.

The way to address the editorial bias issue for the Big Ten is to win championships. Thinking that some other network is going to provide more favorable editorial coverage isn’t going to happen until the winning occurs.

I think it is absolute, complete total nonsense. SEC may get the most attention on ESPN, but the Big 10 is a close #2. And I'm not sure anyone other than Notre Dame gets more promotion than Ohio St.. Its the Big 12 and Pac 12 that ESPN has gone out of their way to ignore over the years. I think it goes back to those two choosing Fox back about 15 years ago.

(06-21-2022 05:05 AM)schmolik Wrote:  

(06-20-2022 10:09 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(06-20-2022 08:47 PM)Transic_nyc Wrote:  ESPN hates the Big Ten. However, despite the wishful thinking of the pro-SEC honks on this board, they realized we're too strong to be brought down. So they're trying to find a way to use the Big Ten to their advantage.

At the end of the day, I just don't think the conference is better off with a network that has made its biases well known and go, instead, with a combo that can give the conference its unique ecosystem which, therefore, removes the need to play nice with a corporation that is aligned with the anti-North bias.

The Walt Disney Company might be many things, but anti-North isn’t one of them.

Speaking as Big Ten guy, I think a lot of Big Ten fans simply whine too much about supposed ESPN bias. I’m frankly tired of it. The editorial bias on the talking head shows will ALWAYS be for whoever is winning at the time, whether it’s the Yankees, Warriors or, yes, the SEC. If the Big Ten isn’t winning national championships in football or basketball, why on Earth should we ever expect editorial bias in our favor? Unless the Big Ten starts consistently beating the SEC in the playoff games that matter, what leg do we have to stand on here? As a conference, we’re essentially like those teams that are the richest in the sport with the highest payrolls yet don’t win the big one. Those types of entities don’t exactly engender much sympathy with the general public. It’s like expecting ESPN to provide glowing coverage to a Yankees team that loses the division to a Rays team with a fraction of its payroll. No one outside of partisan Yankees fans cares to hear it. I love the Big Ten as much as anyone, but objectively speaking, our performance in the key sports of football and basketball has simply been underwhelming this century considering that we have had the biggest financial advantages of anyone.

Now, financial bias is separate purely about green: whoever makes them money is favored and, on that front, the Big Ten will always be favored and an important property for ESPN or any other network. ESPN might spend entire days serving up hot takes on the Cowboys, LeBron and the Big Ten, but when it comes to actual important part of the schedule in prime time, ESPN badly wants and pays up for all of their respective games.

It does seem unprecedented for ESPN to give one conference one time slot exclusively for football and not just on ESPN but ABC. Right now most of ESPN's prime time games are SEC games but not all of them (usually when CBS hosts a prime time SEC game). It may not be anti Big Ten but it certainly is pro SEC. For years ABC/ESPN has scheduled all games regardless of conference and let the strongest games have the best slots.

Does the SEC deserve a weekly network game a week? Yes. Have they in the past? Yes. But that was on a network that had served only one conference. Right now ABC (ESPN) is saying that the SEC is the best or most viewed conference while still having the ACC in hand and wanting to negotiate with other conferences and trying to convince them that they are still important. If FOX gives the Big 10 the Big Nooner slot exclusively, the Pac 12 is going to want an exclusive slot too. FOX and ABC will likely say no and ESPN could offer the late night slot and the Pac 12 will likely take it. The Big Ten negotiations will be interesting. Will the Big Ten get the Big Nooner permanently? Will they get the CBS 3:30pm slot? It will be interesting to see dueling SEC vs. Big Ten each week. Will this set off network time slot negotiations and will the Pac 12 get anything? Technically the ACC has no bargaining power with ESPN right now but could they strike a deal and get maybe the noon ABC time slot (if the Big 10 strikes with FOX for noon games, the SEC is content with 3:30pm on ABC, and the Pac 12 has little interest for noon games, so why not let the ACC have them?)

I don't know if I want the Big Ten to sign with ESPN if it means top Big Ten games get dumped to ESPN. I'd rather them go to CBS or NBC. I only want to sign with ESPN if we get a guarantee of a certain number of games on ABC.

A couple things.

First, ESPN wasn't going to miss a chance to get the "cream" SEC package that CBS was relinquishing. That's just too much good content no matter what else is out there.

Also, I bet once the B1G numbers come out, it will be clear ESPN also got that CBS content at a relative bargain. They signed that deal almost two years ago, and I bet the price for similar B1G content will be even more, thanks to continuing rises in rights fees.

Second, IMO there is little chance that (a) Disney and the B1G won't reach a deal for part of the package, or (b) that B1G games will be 'dumped' to a lesser outlet if they do.

The B1G knows that being on Disney is important for exposure and to avoid getting tied in with one network, which IMO is a strategic goal of the B1G.

OTOH, Disney knows that B1G football is very popular, right up there with the SEC. So the B1G will want Disney involvement (along with other networks), and Disney will be willing to pay good money to be involved. Also, Disney will have little incentive to dump B1G games with top-rating potential on to a lesser outlet (if one even should consider ESPN to be a lesser outlet, which I don't necessarily agree with). They will find space for big B1G games on ABC, regardless of their other deals.

The SEC commitments might hurt the PAC or Big 12, but it won't hurt the B1G.

Just MO, we'll see.

(06-21-2022 09:39 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  The SEC commitments might hurt the PAC or Big 12, but it won't hurt the B1G.

The SEC commitments will not hurt the PAC. The PAC will own the 10:30 pm EST slot with ESPN, which got good ratings last season. ESPN needs the PAC because the MWC is with FOX and CBS. The PAC should be able to get enough games on ABC and ESPN2 to make the contract work. The Big 12 is another story. They go into negotiations with ESPN and FOX without Oklahoma and Texas, plus they are the last power conference up.

(06-21-2022 10:34 AM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  

(06-21-2022 09:39 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  The SEC commitments might hurt the PAC or Big 12, but it won't hurt the B1G.

The SEC commitments will not hurt the PAC. The PAC will own the 10:30 pm EST slot with ESPN, which got good ratings last season. ESPN needs the PAC because the MWC is with FOX and CBS. The PAC should be able to get enough games on ABC and ESPN2 to make the contract work. The Big 12 is another story. They go into negotiations with ESPN and FOX without Oklahoma and Texas, plus they are the last power conference up.

Good point about the PAC.

People seem to say that the PAC's time zone hurts it, but when it comes to TV one can argue it helps, because it often isn't going H2H vs top B1G and SEC games.

(06-21-2022 10:50 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(06-21-2022 10:34 AM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  

(06-21-2022 09:39 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  The SEC commitments might hurt the PAC or Big 12, but it won't hurt the B1G.

The SEC commitments will not hurt the PAC. The PAC will own the 10:30 pm EST slot with ESPN, which got good ratings last season. ESPN needs the PAC because the MWC is with FOX and CBS. The PAC should be able to get enough games on ABC and ESPN2 to make the contract work. The Big 12 is another story. They go into negotiations with ESPN and FOX without Oklahoma and Texas, plus they are the last power conference up.

Good point about the PAC.

People seem to say that the PAC's time zone hurts hit, but when it comes to TV one can argue it helps, because it often isn't going H2H vs top B1G and SEC games.

Plus, the Pac 12 gets plenty of network coverage on the FOX network in the current deal. That’s with the Big Ten and Big 12 sharing space.

Should the Pac continue with the Fox and ESPN/ABC arrangement, or even if they go with CBS or NBC (depending on where the BIG goes) there will still be plenty of OTA network access for the conference.

I think the Big 12 is going to have to jump through a few hoops after the BIG and Pac 12 are done with their deals, but they will find space.

(06-21-2022 10:50 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(06-21-2022 10:34 AM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  

(06-21-2022 09:39 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  The SEC commitments might hurt the PAC or Big 12, but it won't hurt the B1G.

The SEC commitments will not hurt the PAC. The PAC will own the 10:30 pm EST slot with ESPN, which got good ratings last season. ESPN needs the PAC because the MWC is with FOX and CBS. The PAC should be able to get enough games on ABC and ESPN2 to make the contract work. The Big 12 is another story. They go into negotiations with ESPN and FOX without Oklahoma and Texas, plus they are the last power conference up.

Good point about the PAC.

People seem to say that the PAC's time zone hurts it, but when it comes to TV one can argue it helps, because it often isn't going H2H vs top B1G and SEC games.

It gives them a time slot, but a quick perusal and I didn't see any late game getting better than a 1.1 rating and it was usually much lower. None of them got 2 million viewers. And they complain about it and the ADs want to reduce the number of those games. Its not a positive for them. Maybe for the MWC.

If we're talking about "fixed" time slots for the Big Ten, the noon time slot for FOX seems like a natural fit. Many Big Ten games this past season have aired in the Big Nooner including Ohio State/Michigan and Michigan/Michigan State, two of the most watched games of 2021. Michigan/Ohio State is almost always a noon ET game.

CBS traditionally likes to air games at 3:30pm ET but if the Big Ten inherits that time slot they will be going head to head with the SEC on ABC and depending on whether it is the best SEC game or 2nd best vs. the best Big 10 game vs. or 2nd best, I would still have to say the odds do favor the SEC in many head to head matchups.

How about prime time? Right now the standard operating procedure for most Big Ten schools is to avoid playing at night late in November outdoors. Would they end that practice for the right amount of money? For sure Ohio State/Michigan will remain a nooner but could Minnesota/Wisconsin or Indiana/Purdue be a prime time game on Rivalry Weekend? It would suck for the fans and attendance could dip but if the schools make more money, sorry fans. There is talk about NBC doing it but there is no precedence for weekly college football on Saturdays on NBC. Could ABC give the prime time slot weekly to the Big Ten? I'd argue it makes sense. If the SEC can demand a fixed slot, why can't the Big Ten? If I'm Kevin Warren, I can go and demand the prime time slot on ABC and if they say no, I'll tell them I'll go to CBS and that will cut into their SEC game ratings. But prime time in November? Michigan is really cold in November. So is Wisconsin. Maybe Ohio State and Penn State can accept prime time games in November. I'm sure if ABC will give up the prime time slot to the Big 10 they will want the #1 pick at least 1/2 of the time. Maybe the Big Ten could offer a prime time package for September and October only although that will seem weird.

As much as fans dislike noon games, if the Big Ten wants a fixed slot, the SEC has taken the 3:30pm so it's either noon or prime time so pick your poison. Those fans who say prime time, spend three and a half hours outside in Michigan or Wisconsin at night and then tell me you still prefer prime time to noon. Yes it's hot in September early too. Again, pick your poison. I don't know if any network will agree to "flex" scheduling. Yes, the 3:30pm slot is the best. The SEC took it.

(06-21-2022 11:23 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(06-21-2022 10:50 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(06-21-2022 10:34 AM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  

(06-21-2022 09:39 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  The SEC commitments might hurt the PAC or Big 12, but it won't hurt the B1G.

The SEC commitments will not hurt the PAC. The PAC will own the 10:30 pm EST slot with ESPN, which got good ratings last season. ESPN needs the PAC because the MWC is with FOX and CBS. The PAC should be able to get enough games on ABC and ESPN2 to make the contract work. The Big 12 is another story. They go into negotiations with ESPN and FOX without Oklahoma and Texas, plus they are the last power conference up.

Good point about the PAC.

People seem to say that the PAC's time zone hurts it, but when it comes to TV one can argue it helps, because it often isn't going H2H vs top B1G and SEC games.

It gives them a time slot, but a quick perusal and I didn't see any late game getting better than a 1.1 rating and it was usually much lower. None of them got 2 million viewers. And they complain about it and the ADs want to reduce the number of those games. Its not a positive for them. Maybe for the MWC.

Is two million viewers a magic number? I want to see how these night games compare to games played earlier in the day. For example, Week 11 of last season had Washington State at Oregon. That 10:30 EST game had 1.991 million viewers, ranked 8th overall for the week. That beat the Miami at Florida State game at 3:30 pm on ESPN, which had 1.534 million viewers, and the Mississippi State at Auburn game at 12:00 on ESPN, which had 1.529 million viewers.

Week 2 had Utah at BYU which came in 8th in the rating on ESPN with 1.503 million viewers and the Stanford at USC game on FOX at the same time got 1.441 million viewers. That day the Pac-12 was involved in the top three rated games with Oregon at Ohio State on FOX, Washington at Michigan on ABC and Texas A&M at Colorado on FOX. Five in the top Nine.

USC at Arizona State at 10:30 pm in Week 10 on ESPN got 1.608 million viewers. That was a bad USC team. This season, they should easily get 2 million viewers. They beat the 3:30 pm EST game on ESPN of Oklahoma State at West Virginia, which got 1.1 million viewers.

There was not a game on every Saturday Night on ESPN, for whatever reason and there will not be this season. The Saturday Night games are on ESPN/ESPN2 and FOX/FS1. In Week 1 of this season, the late night game will be Boise State at Oregon State on ESPN. In Week 2, FS1 will broadcast Mississippi State at Arizona, a game that will start at 11:00 pm in the east. In Week 3, Fresno State at USC on FOX in a late night game, and San Diego State will be at Utah on ESPN2. Those games should do well without competition from other conferences.