This may be the ultimate "duh" post but for the ACC, just like everyone else, it will come down to winning.

Nobody nationally gives two schitts about Purdue or Minnesota. Why? Because those two programs are rarely competitive. The B1G teams that are aired almost always feature Ohio State, Michigan and whomever is hot - lately that has been Wisconsin and Michigan State. Why? Because those are usually the most successful teams. A few years before that it was teams like Penn State and Iowa. Who knows, down the road it may be Maryland and Rutgers?

If teams like Florida State and Miami return to anything approaching their previous levels, and if schools like Clemson and Virginia Tech (and others) are also good enough to make games between those teams nationally impactful, then of course people will tune in to watch those games. Back in the 1980s and 90s, and even into the early 2000s, the Miami/FSU games and the Miami/ND games were THE games of the year in CFB every single year. They are also among the most famous in the history of college football. How many other matchups have nicknames like "Wide Right" and "Catholics Versus Convicts?"

That is so cool and it is a glimpse into the league's potential going forward.

Well, the ACC will have ND on its schedule five times per year and the Florida State fans are telling anyone who will listen that they are more talented now than they have been since their heyday. Also, Beamer is as consistently successful a coach as their is in CFB and Dabo Swinney has clearly elevated Clemson again. Louisville just beat the hell out of Florida in the Sugar Bowl and are a heavy favorite to reach their second straight BCS game this season. Others need to do their part too but the pieces are pretty clearly in place and if they start to come together as many are predicting, the ACC will have plenty of national appeal.

BTW, I would absolutely LOVE to see the B1G take their network games to FOX but I don't see it happening.

Still have to win the big games with the SEC.

(08-29-2013 10:26 AM)Dr. Isaly von Yinzer Wrote:  BTW, I would absolutely LOVE to see the B1G take their network games to FOX but I don't see it happening.

The B1G very well could put their broadcast games on Fox and have other games on ESPN.

But, what Fox really needs, and ought to be willing to pay for, is B1G football and basketball on FS1.

Fox Sports is all about the NFL. I guarantee you once the NFL season kickoff those numbers rating numbers will see a significant increase. And once people start tuning in for the NFL, then those viewers will see the programming for the other sports that will be carried by FS1 and it the network will take off. You don't base success or failure of something in the first two weeks.

(08-30-2013 11:17 AM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  Fox Sports is all about the NFL. I guarantee you once the NFL season kickoff those numbers rating numbers will see a significant increase. And once people start tuning in for the NFL, then those viewers will see the programming for the other sports that will be carried by FS1 and it the network will take off. You don't base success or failure of something in the first two weeks.

I'm not buying that. A promo on Fox isn't going to cause me to tune into FS1 unless FS1 has something on that I want to see.

They might get a bit of a bump but right now they need compelling content.

(08-30-2013 11:17 AM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  Fox Sports is all about the NFL. I guarantee you once the NFL season kickoff those numbers rating numbers will see a significant increase. And once people start tuning in for the NFL, then those viewers will see the programming for the other sports that will be carried by FS1 and it the network will take off. You don't base success or failure of something in the first two weeks.

You mean the NFL that they're not airing at all on FS1. That strategy worked out great for NBC Sports.......

(08-30-2013 11:29 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(08-30-2013 11:17 AM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  Fox Sports is all about the NFL. I guarantee you once the NFL season kickoff those numbers rating numbers will see a significant increase. And once people start tuning in for the NFL, then those viewers will see the programming for the other sports that will be carried by FS1 and it the network will take off. You don't base success or failure of something in the first two weeks.

I'm not buying that. A promo on Fox isn't going to cause me to tune into FS1 unless FS1 has something on that I want to see.

They might get a bit of a bump but right now they need compelling content.

They need both. Fans need to know that FS1 is on the air, and where to find it, and FS1 needs to have content the fans want to see. So in addition to the content they have, Fox needs to do everything they can to get an NBA package for FS1. (They have MLB for next year, but only 40 games or about 1.5/week, that will help but it's a small number of MLB games relative to how many ESPN has.)

I had to hunt around my channel guide to find FS1 last night, because until last night I had no reason to want to know where it was.

(08-30-2013 11:29 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(08-30-2013 11:17 AM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  Fox Sports is all about the NFL. I guarantee you once the NFL season kickoff those numbers rating numbers will see a significant increase. And once people start tuning in for the NFL, then those viewers will see the programming for the other sports that will be carried by FS1 and it the network will take off. You don't base success or failure of something in the first two weeks.

I'm not buying that. A promo on Fox isn't going to cause me to tune into FS1 unless FS1 has something on that I want to see.

They might get a bit of a bump but right now they need compelling content.

Big XII FB and BBall, Pac-12 FB and BBall, Big East BBall.

(08-30-2013 11:51 AM)NJRedMan Wrote:  

(08-30-2013 11:29 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(08-30-2013 11:17 AM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  Fox Sports is all about the NFL. I guarantee you once the NFL season kickoff those numbers rating numbers will see a significant increase. And once people start tuning in for the NFL, then those viewers will see the programming for the other sports that will be carried by FS1 and it the network will take off. You don't base success or failure of something in the first two weeks.

I'm not buying that. A promo on Fox isn't going to cause me to tune into FS1 unless FS1 has something on that I want to see.

They might get a bit of a bump but right now they need compelling content.

Big XII FB and BBall, Pac-12 FB and BBall, Big East BBall.

They have Pac-12 FB and BB, but only FB for the Big 12. ESPN controls Big 12 BB; I suppose they could sublicense some of it to FS1 but I haven't heard that they have.

(08-28-2013 11:05 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  I grew up on Wide World of Sports so watching Australian Rules Football and rodeo on ESPN wasn't a stretch but ESPN was the butt of many jokes for many years.

Those early years the best product they had for the casual fan who wanted normal mainstream US sports was the Independence Bowl, Big East basketball and some conference tournaments (their first conference tournament was the Sun Belt).

It wasn't until they started acquiring more rights that they mattered. In those early days, WTBS (now just TBS on your cable dial) blew ESPN out of the water. TBS had the Braves and college football. WGN had the Cubs, some White Sox, some Bulls, and DePaul. If you lived in an area served by SportsChannel you had better content on SportsChannel than on ESPN.

But as ESPN gained more rights they suddenly started mattering.

The only question for Fox is how much they have to out-bid their competitors to get in a position to matter.

There is a school of thought that believes the Big 10 will diversify and sign with ESPN post-2016. I think the Big 10 will be the first big coup for Fox. The reason I think Big 10 goes with Fox isn't because of BTN. It is because of the SEC deal with CBS. Big 10 is getting stuck in regional coverage at 3:30 Eastern. On ABC in some markets and an ESPN in others while the SEC is cleared coast-to-coast on CBS.

Fox is going to bring that to the table. Sign with us and at 3:30 Eastern the #1 or #2 Big 10 game of the day is coast-to-coast on Fox over the air. Some games at night on Fox over-the-air and then two or three more games on FS1 or FS2.

Big 10 will go with the network that gives SEC style love and that will be Fox.

I could definitely see this happening. ESPN simply cannot offer that and FOX can. Big 10 and Fox have been becoming very cosy. I could also see the Big 10 working out a deal with ESPN and Fox like the Big 12 and Pac 12 where games can appear on on both ABC, ESPN, FOX and FS1. I do see the coast to coast 3:30 slot on FOX being very tempting to the Big 10.