causes me to wonder if there might be more of a relationship in the works.

Actually the Big East was one of the first conferences to sign with CSTV ... but for women's basketball and non-revenue sports ... they've had a relationship for years.

I have actually wondered why the Big East doesn't sign with a smaller over the air network such as WB or UPN. Aren't those two on the air in every major city by now?

Wouldn't a Big East Game of the Week every Saturday on UPN or WB offer pretty much similar exposure to the scraps ESPN is forcing upon the conference anyway?

Krocker Krapp Wrote:Actually the Big East was one of the first conferences to sign with CSTV ... but for women's basketball and non-revenue sports ... they've had a relationship for years.

I have actually wondered why the Big East doesn't sign with a smaller over the air network such as WB or UPN. Aren't those two on the air in every major city by now?

Wouldn't a Big East Game of the Week every Saturday on UPN or WB offer pretty much similar exposure to the scraps ESPN is forcing upon the conference anyway?

Yes it basically would but ESPN is a bigger brandname. Although on the other hand those are broadcast networks everyone recieves for free. I think our lot will improve in the new contract with two seasons of the new conference under our belt. I think all of our teams will continue to improve.

I don't know this CSTV. Is it nationwide?

Yes, CSTV is nationwide. What scraps are ESPN forcing the conference to take? I thought our football television schedule looked solid except for USF.

The scraps are ESPN forcing the Big East to take so many weeknight games, instead of Saturday games, and cutting the dollars in the TV contract significantly. While everyone hopes the basketball gains make up for the football losses, the Big East hasn't released the numbers, making people wonder. In addition, the basketball revenue is now being split 16 ways instead of 14.

When I mentioned going with a free network like WB or UPN, with both now well established in every major city, I was thinking the conference could land a Saturday football doubleheader every week in the fall and a Saturday basketball doubleheader or tripleheader every week in the winter. ESPN would be a secondary weeknight football and Big Monday basketball contract.

i remember talks of be and fox workin on a deal. anyone know any details. did it fall through. that would be great to see be on fox. would definataly boost prestige

I think the problem with networks like the WB, UPN, and even FOX to some extent, is a lot of the lineup is still very local in nature. What I mean is that those stations are MUCH more likely to sign local deals with the top university (Louisville had a deal with FOX through last season, but is now going CBS, I think) than to go for regional or national broadcasts of games. Look at the weekend lineup for those stations, after all. If FOX isn't carrying a NASCAR race or baseball in the summer, then it's whatever the local affiliate decides to run. If we could work out a big-dollar deal, especially with FOX, that would be nice. I don't think UPN or the WB would ever have enough dollars to make them feasible.

What this league needs is something similar to what the ACC basketball has with Fox Sports...That network shows at least one and sometimes two games on Sunday night as the ACC game of the week to a national audience...the ACC still has its contract with CBS, ABC/ESPN as well.....the NBE basketball league was made for TV, the problem is we have to many quality teams and matchups that not all of them can be shown with the current contract....

-- More TV exposure is needed for the league...but I couldn't tell you what network would step up...Fox sports would be nice...but maybe WGN (out of Chicago), YES or even CSTV could get involved at some point and show a few games that the major networks do not have space for....bball TV revenue and NCAA units are the keys if the 16 team league is to survive


Jackson

My line of thought was that signing with the Big East would give WB or UPN a way to synchronize their weekend line-up. It would help their national identity and people would begin to see them more as complete networks rather than places to catch a couple of weeknight comedies.

If the Big East could make it a year round thing with football in the fall, basketball in the winter, baseball/softball in the spring, and classics in the summer, it might turn out to be a money maker. The big question, of course, is getting the networks and advertisers to pony up the bucks.

A lot of the old classic independents like WGN in Chicago or WOR and WPIX in New York now are with WB or UPN anyway, so the stations are available. The question is, as CardinalEmpire said, would they give up their local deals for a national Big East sports broadcast? That's the issue.

Yankee Entertainment Sports (YES) is another issue. Several sources have said that George Steinbrenner is friends with Mike Tranghese and is a big South Florida supporter. If that's the case, why hasn't a Big East deal with YES been done already? YES could use the program diversity.

There are sure plenty of existing networks that the Big East could turn to. How about USA? What about Oxygen or Lifetime? I believe Conference USA even had a deal with FX during their first few years. Imagine what one synchronized nationwide TV deal could do for the Big East.

Krocker Krapp Wrote:My line of thought was that signing with the Big East would give WB or UPN a way to synchronize their weekend line-up. It would help their national identity and people would begin to see them more as complete networks rather than places to catch a couple of weeknight comedies.

If the Big East could make it a year round thing with football in the fall, basketball in the winter, baseball/softball in the spring, and classics in the summer, it might turn out to be a money maker. The big question, of course, is getting the networks and advertisers to pony up the bucks.

A lot of the old classic independents like WGN in Chicago or WOR and WPIX in New York now are with WB or UPN anyway, so the stations are available. The question is, as CardinalEmpire said, would they give up their local deals for a national Big East sports broadcast? That's the issue.

Yankee Entertainment Sports (YES) is another issue. Several sources have said that George Steinbrenner is friends with Mike Tranghese and is a big South Florida supporter. If that's the case, why hasn't a Big East deal with YES been done already? YES could use the program diversity.

There are sure plenty of existing networks that the Big East could turn to. How about USA? What about Oxygen or Lifetime? I believe Conference USA even had a deal with FX during their first few years. Imagine what one synchronized nationwide TV deal could do for the Big East.

YES--can't be seen on DishTV

Oxygen/Lifetime????? lol we don't need to be on chick channels

:)

Krocker Krapp Wrote:My line of thought was that signing with the Big East would give WB or UPN a way to synchronize their weekend line-up. It would help their national identity and people would begin to see them more as complete networks rather than places to catch a couple of weeknight comedies.

If the Big East could make it a year round thing with football in the fall, basketball in the winter, baseball/softball in the spring, and classics in the summer, it might turn out to be a money maker. The big question, of course, is getting the networks and advertisers to pony up the bucks.

A lot of the old classic independents like WGN in Chicago or WOR and WPIX in New York now are with WB or UPN anyway, so the stations are available. The question is, as CardinalEmpire said, would they give up their local deals for a national Big East sports broadcast? That's the issue.

Yankee Entertainment Sports (YES) is another issue. Several sources have said that George Steinbrenner is friends with Mike Tranghese and is a big South Florida supporter. If that's the case, why hasn't a Big East deal with YES been done already? YES could use the program diversity.

There are sure plenty of existing networks that the Big East could turn to. How about USA? What about Oxygen or Lifetime? I believe Conference USA even had a deal with FX during their first few years. Imagine what one synchronized nationwide TV deal could do for the Big East.

YES broadcasts usually at least one Rutgers game a year. MSG typically broadcasts the Big East game of the week.

Are these New York stations more "national" than I am aware? I don't know that I have ever seen a New York syndicate with the exception of a cruise I went on a couple of years ago. I have always viewed WGN (and TBS, for that matter) as a national network just because it's been on cable everywhere I've ever lived. Is YES similar to these stations?

CardinalEmpire.com Wrote:Are these New York stations more "national" than I am aware? I don't know that I have ever seen a New York syndicate with the exception of a cruise I went on a couple of years ago. I have always viewed WGN (and TBS, for that matter) as a national network just because it's been on cable everywhere I've ever lived. Is YES similar to these stations?

YES is a regional sports network just like the FOX Ohio, MSG, etc....

CardinalEmpire.com Wrote:Are these New York stations more "national" than I am aware? I don't know that I have ever seen a New York syndicate with the exception of a cruise I went on a couple of years ago. I have always viewed WGN (and TBS, for that matter) as a national network just because it's been on cable everywhere I've ever lived. Is YES similar to these stations?

Nope certainly not more national its just that we have 3 regional sports networks in Fox Sports NY, MSG, and YES with the Mets version of YES on the way. As for WGN we don't get it out here in the east. I know in New England they used to get WPIX on Cable same way much of the midwest gets WGN.