Interesting article....here is the link:

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/03...er/244861/

And they managed it without any games from the Catholic-7.

(03-15-2014 05:59 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  And they managed it without any games from the Catholic-7.

Well it was probably Fox Sports 1's highest rated regular season as well.

(03-15-2014 06:04 PM)CoogNellie Wrote:  

(03-15-2014 05:59 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  And they managed it without any games from the Catholic-7.

Well it was probably Fox Sports 1's highest rated regular season as well.

Yeah, I know. I'm just trolling. I'm actually a fan of the C-7 and watched several of their games.

(03-15-2014 06:04 PM)CoogNellie Wrote:  

(03-15-2014 05:59 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  And they managed it without any games from the Catholic-7.

Well it was probably Fox Sports 1's highest rated regular season as well.

I see what you did there.

Gus Johnson is a beast.... Watching the BEC right now.

so is their a correlation between dropping attendance in the arenas and higher TV ratings?

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/...th_co.html

(03-15-2014 08:01 PM)msu_bears Wrote:  so is their a correlation between dropping attendance in the arenas and higher TV ratings?

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/...th_co.html

Maybe, but there is definitely a correlation between lower attendance and disappointing team performance, as noted in that article:

Quote:Many of the teams that are down possess some of the largest fan bases: Missouri (23 percent decrease), Tennessee (11 percent), Vanderbilt (11 percent) and Alabama (10 percent). All four of those teams may be left out of the NCAA Tournament.

From the article. Sounds like Dayton should be ahead of Wichita St in the pecking order of expansion targets. Same size market, but more ESPN penetration. In fact, ESPN might prefer to see Dayton NOT go to the Big East/Fox. If the American Conference picked up Dayton, that would give the American three of ESPN's Top 10 markets.

Louisville Makes it a Dozen Straight

For the 12th consecutive year, Louisville was the highest-rated metered market for ESPN’s regular-season telecasts, averaging a 4.5 rating. Greensboro, Kansas City and Raleigh-Durham finished tied for second with a 2.8 rating. It marks the third straight year Greensboro has ended the season in the second spot. The remaining top 10 is Memphis (2.6), Columbus (2.0), Cincinnati (1.9), Knoxville (1.9), Dayton (1.9) and Indianapolis (1.8). In addition:

* Eight of last season’s top 10 metered markets finished the 2013-14 season among the top 10 again with Charlotte and Nashville falling out (tied at 11th with a 1.7 rating).

* Memphis made the biggest year-to-year jump in the standings, moving from 14th to fifth by doubling its rating from a 1.3 to a 2.6.

* Three of Ohio’s four metered markets finished in the top nine: Columbus at sixth with a 2.0 rating, and Cincinnati and Dayton tied for seventh with a 1.9 rating.

(03-16-2014 03:13 AM)CougarRed Wrote:  From the article. Sounds like Dayton should be ahead of Wichita St in the pecking order of expansion targets. Same size market, but more ESPN penetration. In fact, ESPN might prefer to see Dayton NOT go to the Big East/Fox. If the American Conference picked up Dayton, that would give the American three of ESPN's Top 10 markets.

Louisville Makes it a Dozen Straight

For the 12th consecutive year, Louisville was the highest-rated metered market for ESPN’s regular-season telecasts, averaging a 4.5 rating. Greensboro, Kansas City and Raleigh-Durham finished tied for second with a 2.8 rating. It marks the third straight year Greensboro has ended the season in the second spot. The remaining top 10 is Memphis (2.6), Columbus (2.0), Cincinnati (1.9), Knoxville (1.9), Dayton (1.9) and Indianapolis (1.8). In addition:

* Eight of last season’s top 10 metered markets finished the 2013-14 season among the top 10 again with Charlotte and Nashville falling out (tied at 11th with a 1.7 rating).

* Memphis made the biggest year-to-year jump in the standings, moving from 14th to fifth by doubling its rating from a 1.3 to a 2.6.

* Three of Ohio’s four metered markets finished in the top nine: Columbus at sixth with a 2.0 rating, and Cincinnati and Dayton tied for seventh with a 1.9 rating.

I'll be interested in seeing what happens if/when they ever get around to combining the Cincy/Dayton markets.

That could improve Cincy's value in future conference realignment.

Cheers,
Neil