The unofficial online home for fans of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

Was watching the FC Cincinnati game last night and saw several commercials for XU basketball. Since they don't have many commercial breaks I was like WTF after seeing it 3-4 times during a 2.5 hour broadcast.

That's what you get for watching soccer.

There wasn't much else on that was worth watching. I guess free air time on Star64 is too high a price to pay by our AD.

(05-15-2022 03:18 PM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  There wasn't much else on that was worth watching. I guess free air time on Star64 is too high a price to pay by our AD.

Not that it wouldn't necessarily be worth it for UC to advertise during their games, I wonder how many viewers are tuned into 64 watching FCC games. I haven't lived in the Cincinnati area in 15 years, so I don't know how much casual fan support they have. Even here in Columbus with a 25-year-old soccer franchise that has won multiple MLS cups, the number of true diehards is still pretty modest. That said, you see Crew signs and stickers all over the place and plenty of jerseys/shirts being worn in public. What's crazy is that MLS has passed the NBA and NHL in attendance and I believe is catching up to MLB pretty quickly. Not a soccer fan, but going to an MLS game is a blast, so I'm not surprised they are doing well. I would put the fan experience up there with an NHL game. The energy of the crowd and all the songs/chants from the supporters is a really neat thing to be a part of.

(05-15-2022 01:23 PM)Bear Catlett Wrote:  That's what you get for watching soccer.

(05-15-2022 03:18 PM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  There wasn't much else on that was worth watching. I guess free air time on Star64 is too high a price to pay by our AD.

Do you know that it's "free"? I suspect X purchased that air time to boost ticket sales.

I have no idea what X actually reports as attendance each year but I have to think there's been an increasing number of unsold tickets as Steele's teams swooned each February and missed the NCAA Tourney. It's the cash cow at X, so unsold men's basketball tickets combined with years of no NCAA tourney revenue, likely puts the squeeze on the entire athletic department.

(05-15-2022 06:12 AM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  Was watching the FC Cincinnati game last night and saw several commercials for XU basketball. Since they don't have many commercial breaks I was like WTF after seeing it 3-4 times during a 2.5 hour broadcast.

FCC and Xavier both have a partnership with media partner 4th Floor Creative, the brainchild of Tom Gelehrter, who also calls FCC games. My guess is all of those intertwined relationships is why you're seeing these XU hype videos playing during FCC games.

(05-16-2022 06:23 AM)OKIcat Wrote:  

(05-15-2022 03:18 PM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  There wasn't much else on that was worth watching. I guess free air time on Star64 is too high a price to pay by our AD.

Do you know that it's "free"? I suspect X purchased that air time to boost ticket sales.

I have no idea what X actually reports as attendance each year but I have to think there's been an increasing number of unsold tickets as Steele's teams swooned each February and missed the NCAA Tourney. It's the cash cow at X, so unsold men's basketball tickets combined with years of no NCAA tourney revenue, likely puts the squeeze on the entire athletic department.

I misspoke when I said free airtime. What I am saying is that commecrials for a local production that's not carried out of the Cincinnati metro area can't cost very much for the university. I guess UC doesn't need to do much of that since every game is a near sellout before the season starts.

(05-15-2022 03:42 PM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  

(05-15-2022 03:18 PM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  There wasn't much else on that was worth watching. I guess free air time on Star64 is too high a price to pay by our AD.

Not that it wouldn't necessarily be worth it for UC to advertise during their games, I wonder how many viewers are tuned into 64 watching FCC games. I haven't lived in the Cincinnati area in 15 years, so I don't know how much casual fan support they have. Even here in Columbus with a 25-year-old soccer franchise that has won multiple MLS cups, the number of true diehards is still pretty modest. That said, you see Crew signs and stickers all over the place and plenty of jerseys/shirts being worn in public. What's crazy is that MLS has passed the NBA and NHL in attendance and I believe is catching up to MLB pretty quickly. Not a soccer fan, but going to an MLS game is a blast, so I'm not surprised they are doing well. I would put the fan experience up there with an NHL game. The energy of the crowd and all the songs/chants from the supporters is a really neat thing to be a part of.

I flip over for a few minutes during commercials on other channels, unless I see it's halftime. 45+ minutes straight with no commercials is better than watchng the ads on other the stations... just barely. Can't say I've ever watched the commercials during the soccer games... I go elsewhere. Pro baseball also often works to avoid commercials for what you are really watching.

(05-16-2022 10:59 AM)cinbinsportsfan Wrote:  

(05-15-2022 06:12 AM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  Was watching the FC Cincinnati game last night and saw several commercials for XU basketball. Since they don't have many commercial breaks I was like WTF after seeing it 3-4 times during a 2.5 hour broadcast.

FCC and Xavier both have a partnership with media partner 4th Floor Creative, the brainchild of Tom Gelehrter, who also calls FCC games. My guess is all of those intertwined relationships is why you're seeing these XU hype videos playing during FCC games.

Damn, Tom used to be one of us. Or at least I thought.

Mostly kidding. I know it's just business.

(05-16-2022 11:36 AM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  

(05-16-2022 06:23 AM)OKIcat Wrote:  

(05-15-2022 03:18 PM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  There wasn't much else on that was worth watching. I guess free air time on Star64 is too high a price to pay by our AD.

Do you know that it's "free"? I suspect X purchased that air time to boost ticket sales.

I have no idea what X actually reports as attendance each year but I have to think there's been an increasing number of unsold tickets as Steele's teams swooned each February and missed the NCAA Tourney. It's the cash cow at X, so unsold men's basketball tickets combined with years of no NCAA tourney revenue, likely puts the squeeze on the entire athletic department.

I misspoke when I said free airtime. What I am saying is that commecrials for a local production that's not carried out of the Cincinnati metro area can't cost very much for the university. I guess UC doesn't need to do much of that since every game is a near sellout before the season starts.

Bolded, yes, I agree that would be the case. Thinking further, I suspect even advertising for university athletics benefits exposure for student recruitment too. Chaining on that (and straying from the subject here I know), it made me curious what students X even targets these days to sustain undergraduate enrollment in this highly competitive market for enrollment

They're not a highly selective, prestigious national Catholic university like Notre Dame or Georgetown and wouldn't compete there. They really aren't price competitive with selective in-state publics OSU, Miami, and these days Cincy.

It's an honest question and I'm curious if anyone here knows more. I just see X as a "tweener" these days--not prestigious enough to justify the cost of private tuition for Ohioans who still have abundant choices based on public university costs or selection of a private, more prestigious in-state choice (Case?). And that same cost/benefit ratio could be applied to contiguous states where maybe X is a bit more familiar brand. Nationally, I suspect people know little more about X than they do Xavier University of Louisiana. I think it's a looming problem for many private universities in the coming years.

Don't forget the market for the coveted "T-shirt fan."

Commercials like this aren't primarily aimed at "recruiting students." They're aimed at selling stuff: tickets and merch. Ohio State doesn't so much care if a student "attends" there, but they do want everyone in Ohio to buy OSU junk and wish they could sit in the stands.

I have never understood why UC doesn't seem to get this. UC gear should dominate the Ohio part of the Tri-state. Commercials, billboards...all that stuff. UC is the leading EMPLOYER in the greater Cinti area...but you'd never know it just by being in Cincinnati. Honestly, you'd think Xavier is a much bigger and better school than UC if you were just driving through the city, listening to local media.

(05-17-2022 07:59 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  Don't forget the market for the coveted "T-shirt fan."

Commercials like this aren't primarily aimed at "recruiting students." They're aimed at selling stuff: tickets and merch. Ohio State doesn't so much care if a student "attends" there, but they do want everyone in Ohio to buy OSU junk and wish they could sit in the stands.

I have never understood why UC doesn't seem to get this. UC gear should dominate the Ohio part of the Tri-state. Commercials, billboards...all that stuff. UC is the leading EMPLOYER in the greater Cinti area...but you'd never know it just by being in Cincinnati. Honestly, you'd think Xavier is a much bigger and better school than UC if you were just driving through the city, listening to local media.

Maybe I am off base here, but the FCC ownership group, major donors, fans, etc reek of OSU FB/XU hoops fandom. My employer is a sponsor, and the people that are involved with FCC fall into that category.

As to the local media, it’s gotten better the past couple years but a lot of the decision makers, producers, editors, etc are not UC fans.

(05-17-2022 07:59 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  Don't forget the market for the coveted "T-shirt fan."

Commercials like this aren't primarily aimed at "recruiting students." They're aimed at selling stuff: tickets and merch. Ohio State doesn't so much care if a student "attends" there, but they do want everyone in Ohio to buy OSU junk and wish they could sit in the stands.

I have never understood why UC doesn't seem to get this. UC gear should dominate the Ohio part of the Tri-state. Commercials, billboards...all that stuff. UC is the leading EMPLOYER in the greater Cinti area...but you'd never know it just by being in Cincinnati. Honestly, you'd think Xavier is a much bigger and better school than UC if you were just driving through the city, listening to local media.

Bolded, so true. Anecdotal information only but we were @ GABP for a Reds game a couple of weeks ago and I've never seen so many people wearing UC clothing there. And it wasn't a special alumni night or anything; just a Saturday night game. I think the merchandise flew off the shelves as never before during the runup to the CFP. We'll soon have data to support that.

Funny story though. In President Steger's early years UC did very little marketing but one year he decided that every student would get a free rear window decal:

University of Cincinnati
Friendliest Campus in Ohio

Anyone remember those? They were ubiquitous in this town for years after that on the back glass of older cars everywhere. I have no idea who dubbed us the "friendliest" (other than some agency copywriter) but talk about visual impressions in the marketplace, these were it.

So, I know it's all about selling merchandise, but if every one of our 44,000 students this fall were given a decal or small car magnet with a C-Paw framed in the state of Ohio outline, I think we'd see those everywhere. And I'm sure anytime OSU fans see the state outline with something other than an "O" in it, it annoys them. Maybe it's worth it, just for that...

Farmers have some ownership in FCC and obviously Cintas for Xavier so there is connection that would make sense. I doubt one plays too much into the other though and it's a target market for Eggsavier.

I agree with Bear Catlett. With that said, I've heard the atmosphere is still fun to see so want to check out one game eventually when they don't stink like the Reds. Or maybe since I don't want to watch scrubs play in the 10th ranked league world wide (That's like watching pro baseball in Peru if I had to guess), I'll wait until I'm in Spain or Britain to check out the real footsball and atmospheres.

(05-17-2022 03:48 PM)natibeast2.0 Wrote:  Farmers have some ownership in FCC and obviously Cintas for Xavier so there is connection that would make sense. I doubt one plays too much into the other though and it's a target market for Eggsavier.

I agree with Bear Catlett. With that said, I've heard the atmosphere is still fun to see so want to check out one game eventually when they don't stink like the Reds. Or maybe since I don't want to watch scrubs play in the 10th ranked league world wide (That's like watching pro baseball in Peru if I had to guess), I'll wait until I'm in Spain or Britain to check out the real footsball and atmospheres.

It appears to be time for you to start making plans to attend a game at TQL...

(05-17-2022 10:04 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(05-17-2022 07:59 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  Don't forget the market for the coveted "T-shirt fan."

Commercials like this aren't primarily aimed at "recruiting students." They're aimed at selling stuff: tickets and merch. Ohio State doesn't so much care if a student "attends" there, but they do want everyone in Ohio to buy OSU junk and wish they could sit in the stands.

I have never understood why UC doesn't seem to get this. UC gear should dominate the Ohio part of the Tri-state. Commercials, billboards...all that stuff. UC is the leading EMPLOYER in the greater Cinti area...but you'd never know it just by being in Cincinnati. Honestly, you'd think Xavier is a much bigger and better school than UC if you were just driving through the city, listening to local media.

Maybe I am off base here, but the FCC ownership group, major donors, fans, etc reek of OSU FB/XU hoops fandom. My employer is a sponsor, and the people that are involved with FCC fall into that category.

As to the local media, it’s gotten better the past couple years but a lot of the decision makers, producers, editors, etc are not UC fans.

FCC ownership seems similar to Reds ownership. Firmly in the Egg's camp. Castellini's are major Egg's supporters. Brown family are osu people. Good portion of the local media are not UC fans and reluctantly cover the institution, unless something potentially negative take place.

I figured all the Eggs promotion and tv spots were so people knew they were located in the local area. These days it is Bungles and UC Football. Reds and then a huge drop-off before you get to FCC and Eggs.

(05-17-2022 05:10 PM)Bearhawkeye Wrote:  

(05-17-2022 03:48 PM)natibeast2.0 Wrote:  Farmers have some ownership in FCC and obviously Cintas for Xavier so there is connection that would make sense. I doubt one plays too much into the other though and it's a target market for Eggsavier.

I agree with Bear Catlett. With that said, I've heard the atmosphere is still fun to see so want to check out one game eventually when they don't stink like the Reds. Or maybe since I don't want to watch scrubs play in the 10th ranked league world wide (That's like watching pro baseball in Peru if I had to guess), I'll wait until I'm in Spain or Britain to check out the real footsball and atmospheres.

It appears to be time for you to start making plans to attend a game at TQL...

Nice. I'd rather them be good than not good. Not a hater just didn't grow up around the sport. If we are going to have a team then WIN.

(05-19-2022 12:29 PM)bearcatmill Wrote:  

(05-17-2022 10:04 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(05-17-2022 07:59 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  Don't forget the market for the coveted "T-shirt fan."

Commercials like this aren't primarily aimed at "recruiting students." They're aimed at selling stuff: tickets and merch. Ohio State doesn't so much care if a student "attends" there, but they do want everyone in Ohio to buy OSU junk and wish they could sit in the stands.

I have never understood why UC doesn't seem to get this. UC gear should dominate the Ohio part of the Tri-state. Commercials, billboards...all that stuff. UC is the leading EMPLOYER in the greater Cinti area...but you'd never know it just by being in Cincinnati. Honestly, you'd think Xavier is a much bigger and better school than UC if you were just driving through the city, listening to local media.

Maybe I am off base here, but the FCC ownership group, major donors, fans, etc reek of OSU FB/XU hoops fandom. My employer is a sponsor, and the people that are involved with FCC fall into that category.

As to the local media, it’s gotten better the past couple years but a lot of the decision makers, producers, editors, etc are not UC fans.

FCC ownership seems similar to Reds ownership. Firmly in the Egg's camp. Castellini's are major Egg's supporters. Brown family are osu people. Good portion of the local media are not UC fans and reluctantly cover the institution, unless something potentially negative take place.

I figured all the Eggs promotion and tv spots were so people knew they were located in the local area. These days it is Bungles and UC Football. Reds and then a huge drop-off before you get to FCC and Eggs.

Agree with your hierarchy. These days football rules and we happen to have a Super Bowl team and a CFP team dominating the city right now.

I haven’t seen the hype video. Does it show someone getting clocked in the face? Or maybe a player ripping out a sink?