-- I found this on this quote on syracuse board....apparently it came out of the wall street journal

Quote:Replacement programming on ESPN -- mostly men's college basketball -- has drawn ratings twice as high as those for the NHL. ESPN has until April to notify the NHL whether it will pick up its option for 2005-06, though it likely would seek to renegotiate the deal before doing so. 'It's hard to gauge where they're going to be,' said Mark Shapiro, ESPN's executive vice president for programming and production. 'They're slipping rapidly.'"

-- It seems to me that if ESPN drops the NHL...that is going to equal more college hoop games on TV in general on more for the BE in particular

Here is the link to SU board if anyone is interested

<a href='http://syracuse.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=1369&mid=48622841&sid=&tid=48622841&style=1' target='_blank'>http://syracuse.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid...8622841&style=1</a>

to be honest, I'm surprised they aren't trying to pick up more NBA games.

fsquid Wrote:to be honest, I'm surprised they aren't trying to pick up more NBA games.

NBA = :snore:

Murph1 Wrote:

fsquid Wrote:to be honest, I'm surprised they aren't trying to pick up more NBA games.

NBA = :snore:

True, but I thought they were getting better ratings for NBA than their college bball.

Probably, but they can't keep rotating between Shaq, Lebron and Kobe every time they broadcast a game...Oh wait, I suppose they can. It's their money.

NBA ratings are higher than College basketball on ESPN and EPSN2, but ESPN can't pick up more NBA games because of TNT and local station options. Most team have a local station that shows majority of their games and TNT gets a pick too.

USFBullSpit Wrote:ESPN can't pick up more NBA games because of TNT and local station options. Most team have a local station that shows majority of their games and TNT gets a pick too.

Yeah, but would it really be so difficult for ESPN to negotiate programming buyouts with the local stations? It's a win-win.

It makes sense that we've been seeing more college hoops instead of NBA is cuz ESPN probably didn't wanna jump the gun before seeing some real numbers. Now that've got some hard data, I'd imagine some more NBA games soon eh.

I wanna see some more Heat up here in Louisville!

also, you have to rememberthat ESPNU network that starts on March 4th.

UCF_Cardinals Wrote:

USFBullSpit Wrote:ESPN can't pick up more NBA games because of TNT and local station options.&nbsp; Most team have a local station that shows majority of their games and TNT gets a pick too.

Yeah, but would it really be so difficult for ESPN to negotiate programming buyouts with the local stations? It's a win-win.

It makes sense that we've been seeing more college hoops instead of NBA is cuz ESPN probably didn't wanna jump the gun before seeing some real numbers. Now that've got some hard data, I'd imagine some more NBA games soon eh.

I wanna see some more Heat up here in Louisville!

I don't know how all of the teams do their games, but a lot of them are on Fox Sports, so buying out their games is easier said than done. The Cavs are on FSN Ohio and Phoenix are on FSN Southwest. As two of the most popular teams right now, ESPN can't pick up those games that they don't already have. What network is the home network for the Heat? My guess would be they are on some sort of cable network already, therefore they won't give up their games.

mlbUC Wrote:

UCF_Cardinals Wrote:

USFBullSpit Wrote:ESPN can't pick up more NBA games because of TNT and local station options.  Most team have a local station that shows majority of their games and TNT gets a pick too.

Yeah, but would it really be so difficult for ESPN to negotiate programming buyouts with the local stations? It's a win-win.

It makes sense that we've been seeing more college hoops instead of NBA is cuz ESPN probably didn't wanna jump the gun before seeing some real numbers. Now that've got some hard data, I'd imagine some more NBA games soon eh.

I wanna see some more Heat up here in Louisville!

I don't know how all of the teams do their games, but a lot of them are on Fox Sports, so buying out their games is easier said than done. The Cavs are on FSN Ohio and Phoenix are on FSN Southwest. As two of the most popular teams right now, ESPN can't pick up those games that they don't already have. What network is the home network for the Heat? My guess would be they are on some sort of cable network already, therefore they won't give up their games.

Just to add to that, the Boston Celtics are on Fox Sports New England.

Murph1 Wrote:Probably, but they can't keep rotating between Shaq, Lebron and Kobe every time they broadcast a game...Oh wait, I suppose they can. It's their money.

That was funny, and right on target. :laugh: