"Thursday, the New York Daily News reported that the Big East and NBC may be very close to working out a deal for the television rights to the conference (h/t Big East Coast Bias). From the report...
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1286922-big-east-football-nbc-sports-reported-power-play-will-be-a-positive-for-league
Am I reading this right... football schools are getting $14M a piece and everyone and the basketball-only schools are getting $4M a piece... for a football TV contract?
And to think there were people who thought MU football was a good idea.
i don't pretend to understand the details that lead to conference shuffles, but this seems like it would go a long way in helping to secure the BEAST? short of the BEAST signing the ESPN contract a few years ago, this seems like a good way for the BEAST to fall on its feet.
$14M would still be the lowest of the BCS conferences, but it certainly narrows the gap.
While I think its cool a deal like that or better could be worked out Im a little worried that the source of the article is the bleacher report, just sayin
Quote from: bobnoxious on August 06, 2012, 08:20:41 PM
While I think its cool a deal like that or better could be worked out Im a little worried that the source of the article is the bleacher report, just sayin
The source of the article is the New York Daily News.
There I go not getting all of the details before I post
What's the chance that number is even bigger with Air Force or BYU added?
So, MU would be receiving $4 million under this deal. What are they receiving from the Big East-ESPN deal?
Quote from: Groin_pull on August 08, 2012, 10:24:48 PM
So, MU would be receiving $4 million under this deal. What are they receiving from the Big East-ESPN deal?
The Big East does not make public its revenue-sharing method between basketball-only members, football-only members and full members; however, the article says football members are receiving $4M/yr under the current contract, so my guess is that MU is only receiving, at most, half that much from the current TV contract.
The exposure that Big East Football will get is more valuable then the $14 mill. Big East Football will be on NBC every weekend, probably sandwiched around ND home games. Not sure how many households don't have cable in the 2010's, but this is a great way to elevate the Big East brand.
Quote from: lurch91 on August 09, 2012, 10:19:10 AM
The exposure that Big East Football will get is more valuable then the $14 mill. Big East Football will be on NBC every weekend, probably sandwiched around ND home games. Not sure how many households don't have cable in the 2010's, but this is a great way to elevate the Big East brand.
NDs ratings on NBC are terrible. There were weeks last year that ABCs games drew four or five times the audience that NBC had. Now NBC might be their best option, but I'm concerned that NBC Sports is a virtual wasteland and might do what it did for the NHL - effectively take it out of the national conversation.
Quote from: The Sultan of South Wayne on August 09, 2012, 10:28:13 AM
NDs ratings on NBC are terrible. There were weeks last year that ABCs games drew four or five times the audience that NBC had. Now NBC might be their best option, but I'm concerned that NBC Sports is a virtual wasteland and might do what it did for the NHL - effectively take it out of the national conversation.
NBC Sports was the best thing that happened to the NHL. The lockout took the NHL out of the national conversation, but given the higher quality of announcer, deeper coverage and quantity of coverage for the NHL on the NBC Sports networks, the NHL is a lot more in the national conversation than it ever was in the last few years at ESPN (all games moved to espn2, hockey tonight show cancelled, etc). If anything, NBC should be considered a reason hockey is in the national conscience at all.
Quote from: JakeBarnes on August 09, 2012, 11:11:21 AM
NBC Sports was the best thing that happened to the NHL. The lockout took the NHL out of the national conversation, but given the higher quality of announcer, deeper coverage and quantity of coverage for the NHL on the NBC Sports networks, the NHL is a lot more in the national conversation than it ever was in the last few years at ESPN (all games moved to espn2, hockey tonight show cancelled, etc). If anything, NBC should be considered a reason hockey is in the national conscience at all.
Really? Because the Stanley Cup ratings were abysmal.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoore/66-shows-that-had-better-ratings-than-the-first-tw
Yeah, NBC Sports isn't exactly a ship I would be ready to dry dock with.
I feel another CNN/SI failure lurking.
Doesn't espn have an exclusive right to negotiate for 60 days starting Sept 1st? If so, could the BE even sign with NBC before November? Either way, if the NBC rumor is true, these are great numbers for MU and will only go up this fall if others start to bid. I'd hitch the BE to NBC. Big incentive for NBC to promote its one major college asset. Would probably have a side benefit for nonrevenue sports getting some filler air time on NBC sports channel.
Quote from: The Sultan of South Wayne on August 09, 2012, 11:24:01 AM
Really? Because the Stanley Cup ratings were abysmal.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoore/66-shows-that-had-better-ratings-than-the-first-tw
Both of your statements regarding Notre Dame and Hockey are true with regards to ratings on NBC. However, I'd wager a hefty amount that those ratings are because of Notre Dame and Hockey. I believe the ratings for your typical MU big east game will be just fine in comparison to what they would have been on ESPN. I think its a win/win for the Big East and NBC.
Quote from: The Sultan of South Wayne on August 09, 2012, 10:28:13 AM
NDs ratings on NBC are terrible. There were weeks last year that ABCs games drew four or five times the audience that NBC had. Now NBC might be their best option, but I'm concerned that NBC Sports is a virtual wasteland and might do what it did for the NHL - effectively take it out of the national conversation.
True, I wasn't advocating ND football as NBC's NCAA Football crown jewel. Just that another contract is already in place with ND and that would probably take precedence in scheduling televised games. I was just thinking in terms of a national audience for the Big East in NBC.
Quote from: lurch91 on August 09, 2012, 12:00:34 PM
True, I wasn't advocating ND football as NBC's NCAA Football crown jewel. Just that another contract is already in place with ND and that would probably take precedence in scheduling televised games. I was just thinking in terms of a national audience for the Big East in NBC.
Yeah, I hear what you are saying. And honestly I am torn. I do worry about being relegated to a crappy network. However it might be the best option to get games on the television regularly.
Regardless, the one thing the BE can do is increase the quality of its football product. Not sure if that is going to happen though.
Quote from: The Sultan of South Wayne on August 09, 2012, 01:24:38 PM
Yeah, I hear what you are saying. And honestly I am torn. I do worry about being relegated to a crappy network. However it might be the best option to get games on the television regularly.
Regardless, the one thing the BE can do is increase the quality of its football product. Not sure if that is going to happen though.
The best thing that could happen for the Big East is for Boise St. to go on a three to five year run of dominance starting this year where they are making the plus one playoff every year and possibly even win the whole thing once. Proving that a team from the BEast has a legitimate shot at the title would raise the profile of the brand, cause NBC to promote it more, and hopefully cause the other (quite frankly second rate) FB teams to think twice about leaving.
Quote from: PTM on August 09, 2012, 11:40:10 AM
Yeah, NBC Sports isn't exactly a ship I would be ready to dry dock with.
I feel another CNN/SI failure lurking.
It's a ship that has access to nearly every single television set in America RIGHT NOW. No cable station can come close to that kind of access.
Sure the thing might be a bucket of rust, but it's not the ship you're after... it's the distribution network.
Quote from: JakeBarnes on August 09, 2012, 11:11:21 AM
NBC Sports was the best thing that happened to the NHL. The lockout took the NHL out of the national conversation, but given the higher quality of announcer, deeper coverage and quantity of coverage for the NHL on the NBC Sports networks, the NHL is a lot more in the national conversation than it ever was in the last few years at ESPN (all games moved to espn2, hockey tonight show cancelled, etc). If anything, NBC should be considered a reason hockey is in the national conscience at all.
I agree. the best thing that happen to the NHL was getting away from ESPN. They are top dog on NBC Sports. The ratings were up for the playoffs this season, but were down for the finals.
Quote from: The Sultan of South Wayne on August 09, 2012, 01:24:38 PM
Yeah, I hear what you are saying. And honestly I am torn. I do worry about being relegated to a crappy network. However it might be the best option to get games on the television regularly.
Regardless, the one thing the BE can do is increase the quality of its football product. Not sure if that is going to happen though.
Its a crappy network, no question. It would be a huge mistake for basketball to move to NBC Cable. Big East football is irrelevant on the network level. Nobody watches it anyway. The basketball programs will be hurt big time. Football might like the money, but hoops will be in a TV wasteland. Like it or not, ESPN is the place to be for exposure, period. We might get paid more on NBC, but nobody will be watching.
Quote from: 79Warrior on August 09, 2012, 07:13:57 PM
Like it or not, ESPN is the place to be for exposure, period. We might get paid more on NBC, but nobody will be watching.
Right... Because a cable network that doesnt even reach 60% of households in this country is "the place to be" compared to the network that is in 99% of U.S. households right now.
Quote from: 79Warrior on August 09, 2012, 07:13:57 PM
Its a crappy network, no question. It would be a huge mistake for basketball to move to NBC Cable. Big East football is irrelevant on the network level. Nobody watches it anyway. The basketball programs will be hurt big time. Football might like the money, but hoops will be in a TV wasteland. Like it or not, ESPN is the place to be for exposure, period. We might get paid more on NBC, but nobody will be watching.
Do you even watch NBC Sports Network? It's a very good channel and has strong coverage of the NHL.
Is NBC Sports going to give us as many games as ESPN? I doubt it.
Quote from: PTM on August 09, 2012, 08:45:20 PM
Is NBC Sports going to give us as many games as ESPN? I doubt it.
It could be there isn't other leagues to deal with.
Quote from: Benny B on August 09, 2012, 07:49:15 PM
Right... Because a cable network that doesnt even reach 60% of households in this country is "the place to be" compared to the network that is in 99% of U.S. households right now.
That is kind of an old school way of looking at it. I wouldn't doubt that because of the relative wealth and youth of their audience, that ESPN makes more money on a Saturday afternoon in the fall than NBC does. ESPN really has become the center of college football, and being a major conference with no games on that network is risky.
Quote from: mupanther on August 09, 2012, 08:42:56 PM
Do you even watch NBC Sports Network? It's a very good channel and has strong coverage of the NHL.
Yeah they do. And outside of the whole tape delay issue, I think their coverage of the Olympics is very high quality.
Quote from: mupanther on August 09, 2012, 08:42:56 PM
Do you even watch NBC Sports Network? It's a very good channel and has strong coverage of the NHL.
Sure it's a good channel. That is not the point. What is the point of being the only conference in basketball on the network? The exposure will drop tremendously. ESPN is the leader hands down. Good luck on a network nobody will watch for basketball.
Quote from: Benny B on August 06, 2012, 03:46:34 PM
Am I reading this right... football schools are getting $14M a piece and everyone and the basketball-only schools are getting $4M a piece... for a football TV contract?
And to think there were people who thought MU football was a good idea.
You don't understand the math. Marquette basketball was the 55th most profitable program of any kind (more profitable than over half of d1 Programs and I believe in the top 5 of all basketball Programs) despite receiving almost nothing from the big east. We are on new York tv, And the exposure we get from the big east affiliation is why. For any basketball-only program to get an actual $4million check from a conference I doubt has ever happened - but even if I'm wrong that is a fraction of what we make indirectly from the affiliation.
To pay well over $100 million for a football stadium to meet d1 requirements would take years to make up, and I believe would make Marquette much less appealing to have in the big east. South Alabama and old dominion have made adding football work on a smaller scale, so you could look at their model, but you are really taking a hugely successful program with basketball at the center at MU and gambling it all on football I believe.
Quote from: 79Warrior on August 09, 2012, 10:35:15 PM
Sure it's a good channel. That is not the point. What is the point of being the only conference in basketball on the network? The exposure will drop tremendously. ESPN is the leader hands down. Good luck on a network nobody will watch for basketball.
So if this was the Saturday lineup in a given late-February weekend...
11:00a - Villanova vs. Cincinnati
1:30p - Temple vs. Seton Hall
4:00p - Marquette vs. Louisville
6:30p - St. John's vs. Memphis
9:00p - Georgetown vs. Notre Dame
...you're saying that nobody would tune in to those games because "nobody watches basketball on NBC."
I'm sorry, but I'm not buying the argument that being on NBC is going to decrease exposure. If anything, you're going to increase exposure by capturing the >40% of households in America that don't get ESPN.
If my choice is between watching Boston College vs. Duke on ESPN or Georgetown vs. Notre Dame on NBC, I don't give a rat's patootie what channels the games are on... I'm watching the latter.
Quote from: Benny B on August 10, 2012, 09:53:22 AM
So if this was the Saturday lineup in a given late-February weekend...
11:00a - Villanova vs. Cincinnati
1:30p - Temple vs. Seton Hall
4:00p - Marquette vs. Louisville
6:30p - St. John's vs. Memphis
9:00p - Georgetown vs. Notre Dame
...you're saying that nobody would tune in to those games because "nobody watches basketball on NBC."
I'm sorry, but I'm not buying the argument that being on NBC is going to decrease exposure. If anything, you're going to increase exposure by capturing the >40% of households in America that don't get ESPN.
If my choice is between watching Boston College vs. Duke on ESPN or Georgetown vs. Notre Dame on NBC, I don't give a rat's patootie what channels the games are on... I'm watching the latter.
Who said the games would be on The NBC Television Network. You think they will turn over the whole Saturday afternoon lineup to the BE? To bad the games are not on the NBC Television network. They will be on the old Versus, which has fewer households than ESPN by a wide margin.
Quote from: 79Warrior on August 09, 2012, 10:35:15 PM
Sure it's a good channel. That is not the point. What is the point of being the only conference in basketball on the network? The exposure will drop tremendously. ESPN is the leader hands down. Good luck on a network nobody will watch for basketball.
I understand that's not your point, but when someone said the network sucks, that's my point.
The MWC is on NBC Sports Network as well.
Quote from: mupanther on August 10, 2012, 06:49:13 PM
I understand that's not your point, but when someone said the network sucks, that's my point.
The MWC is on NBC Sports Network as well.
Super, versus will be the mid major network with marquee MWC games. ESPN or Fox. Anything else is second tier in cable.
Quote from: 79Warrior on August 10, 2012, 05:59:32 PM
Who said the games would be on The NBC Television Network. You think they will turn over the whole Saturday afternoon lineup to the BE? To bad the games are not on the NBC Television network. They will be on the old Versus, which has fewer households than ESPN by a wide margin.
Who said the games wouldn't be on NBC? You think NBC is happy with their current Saturday lineup?
And any games airing on VS./Universal/Sports can also be multicasted on NBC subchannels, again, capturing that last 40%.
And NBC has some leverage to get NBC Sports on more cable systems also. Besides the flagship network & CNBC & MSNBC they own Bravo & A&E and I think a few others. Heck, they can have some Spanish game broadcasts too as they own Telemundo. They can package deal their networks. Isn't that was ABC/ ESPN does?
Quote from: 79Warrior on August 09, 2012, 10:35:15 PM
Sure it's a good channel. That is not the point. What is the point of being the only conference in basketball on the network? The exposure will drop tremendously. ESPN is the leader hands down. Good luck on a network nobody will watch for basketball.
Damn this is an old-school way of looking at things. People don't watch networks. They watch programming. People will certainly find programming they want to watch on whatever network it happens to air.
Imagine the horror when ESPN was in its infancy and they signed their first programming deal with a major conference. Look how that turned out. If NBC is willing to invest in the programming, they are willing to invest to promote it across any and all of their varied platforms, including the mothership and any of the 6-8 major cable networks they own/operate.
Quote from: Benny B on August 10, 2012, 09:33:03 PM
Who said the games wouldn't be on NBC? You think NBC is happy with their current Saturday lineup?
And any games airing on VS./Universal/Sports can also be multicasted on NBC subchannels, again, capturing that last 40%.
NBC is not looking for programming for the network. They want programing for the Versus (NBC Sports) cable network. You need to understand the television business. How many BE bball games are on ABC? Yet, ESPN and ABC are part of the same company. NBC may air the occasional Saturday afternoon bball game, but the Cable channel is where the overwhelming number of games are going to air.
At the end of the day the money will talk. I just feel going to versus is a mistake for the conference. The BE will get little coverage on ESPN, which is where the majority of College Basketball fans tune in because they have every conference that matters locked up.
Quote from: 79Warrior on August 11, 2012, 10:05:28 AM
NBC is not looking for programming for the network. They want programing for the Versus (NBC Sports) cable network. You need to understand the television business. How many BE bball games are on ABC? Yet, ESPN and ABC are part of the same company. NBC may air the occasional Saturday afternoon bball game, but the Cable channel is where the overwhelming number of games are going to air.
At the end of the day the money will talk. I just feel going to versus is a mistake for the conference. The BE will get little coverage on ESPN, which is where the majority of College Basketball fans tune in because they have every conference that matters locked up.
I tend to agree with this...and I think it will be even worse for football. The viewership numbers aren't all that great for college basketball anyway, and at least the BE has a top-notch basketball product.
Benny also doesn't understand that the affiliates don't want NBC Sports tying up their afternoons for a lower-rated basketball game when they can sell 100% local ads and show re-runs, a movie, etc. and make more money.
Quote from: The Sultan of South Wayne on August 11, 2012, 10:16:42 AM
I tend to agree with this...and I think it will be even worse for football. The viewership numbers aren't all that great for college basketball anyway, and at least the BE has a top-notch basketball product.
Benny also doesn't understand that the affiliates don't want NBC Sports tying up their afternoons for a lower-rated basketball game when they can sell 100% local ads and show re-runs, a movie, etc. and make more money.
Not speaking for Benny but I think he is referring to the NBC sports network via COMCAST Sportsnet which includes SNY, CSN Chicago, Philly, Mid Atlantic, SE, Texas, Mountain and West Coast which is a perfect fit with the BE teams.
Quote from: The Sultan of South Wayne on August 11, 2012, 10:16:42 AM
I tend to agree with this...and I think it will be even worse for football. The viewership numbers aren't all that great for college basketball anyway, and at least the BE has a top-notch basketball product.
Benny also doesn't understand that the affiliates don't want NBC Sports tying up their afternoons for a lower-rated basketball game when they can sell 100% local ads and show re-runs, a movie, etc. and make more money.
Exactly. In addition, the Network has contracts with Golf etc that already commits a good part of the available schedule on NBC Television.
79 and Sultan.... have you ever looked at an HDTV remote and said to yourself, "gee, I wonder what that period button does," or are you still attempting to master the newfangled technology of the TV flipper?
Google "DTV Multicast" sometime. I don't know about where you live but the NBC affiliates in Milwaukee and Chicago are beaming 3 and 2 feeds, respectively, into my house (and, for that matter, everyone's house in the metro areas). Take a look at a screenshot with the programming lineup on the NBC stations right now. How many advertisers do you think are lining up in Chicago to advertise during back-to-back episodes of "Weekends with Whitney" on WMAQ??? How much revenue do you think "Mirror/Mirror" is pulling in on WTMJ at 1:00p this afternoon.
Even if they had to share revenue with the national network, running a marquee doubleheader of BE basketball games on the main feed and a couple of "out-of-market" BE basketball games on 4.3 in Milwaukee or 5.2 in Chicago is going to be much more worthwhile for the local affiliates than what they have going now. And by the way, NBC Universal is already simulcast on 4.3 during the Olympic "off-season." A flip of the switch and it simulcasts whatever is showing on NBC Sports, Comcast SportsNet, etc.
Quote from: 79Warrior on August 11, 2012, 11:34:29 AM
Exactly. In addition, the Network has contracts with Golf etc that already commits a good part of the available schedule on NBC Television.
Sorry, my bad... didn't realize that NBC wouldn't want to preempt all those golf tournaments in January and February.
Quote from: Benny B on August 11, 2012, 12:16:35 PM
79 and Sultan.... have you ever looked at an HDTV remote and said to yourself, "gee, I wonder what that period button does," or are you still attempting to master the newfangled technology of the TV flipper?
Google "DTV Multicast" sometime. I don't know about where you live but the NBC affiliates in Milwaukee and Chicago are beaming 3 and 2 feeds, respectively, into my house (and, for that matter, everyone's house in the metro areas). Take a look at a screenshot with the programming lineup on the NBC stations right now. How many advertisers do you think are lining up in Chicago to advertise during back-to-back episodes of "Weekends with Whitney" on WMAQ??? How much revenue do you think "Mirror/Mirror" is pulling in on WTMJ at 1:00p this afternoon.
Even if they had to share revenue with the national network, running a marquee doubleheader of BE basketball games on the main feed and a couple of "out-of-market" BE basketball games on 4.3 in Milwaukee or 5.2 in Chicago is going to be much more worthwhile for the local affiliates than what they have going now. And by the way, NBC Universal is already simulcast on 4.3 during the Olympic "off-season." A flip of the switch and it simulcasts whatever is showing on NBC Sports, Comcast SportsNet, etc.
Then why, with all of its basketball product, does ESPN have perhaps one game a week on ABC? Local affiliates want their own programming unless the network provides something that brings eyeballs...and college basketball doesn't bring those eyeballs.
Well many of you need to be ready because the Big East will be on NBC.
I can't see the BE and ESPN kissing and making up. ESPN has been kicking BE football to death!
Quote from: mupanther on August 11, 2012, 12:50:56 PM
Well many of you need to be ready because the Big East will be on NBC.
I can't see the BE and ESPN kissing and making up. ESPN has been kicking BE football to death!
I agree that this is virtually a done deal, and my question for the naysayers would be "what's the alternative?" Despite ESPN basically building its empire on the back of the Big East, it has decided to crap in the hand that once fed it. So now that we've come to this impasse, what else can the Big East do? ESPN is out. Like it or not, it's not happening. That leaves CBS, Fox, and NBC. CBS should be ruled out right away because they don't have the additional networks that the other companies have right now, they just don't have the nationwide coverage beyond the flagship network station. Next is Fox, which is already tied to the Big-12, Pac-12, and C-USA. When it comes to football, the Big East will clearly take a back seat. When it comes to basketball, we'll likely get little more than regional coverage.
And then NBC, and the question of what's better, getting regional coverage from a second-tier sports network or getting lead coverage from a third-tier sports network. Honestly, after ESPN, I'm not sure there's that much difference between being on the Fox networks and being on NBC Sports. Neither is the first place people turn, but at least with NBC, they have a reason to push the Big East brand as it wouldn't be their third priority behind two other BCS leagues. NBC may be behind the others, but if we're not going with number one, I'd rather go with the company that likely feels the push to innovate. The Big East has been the cornerstone of a sports network before, and little ESPN did pretty well for themselves. I'd sooner saddle ourselves with NBC knowing that they'd need to market the conference and were counting on the Big East for their own success than to pair with Fox, a network that would have no need for us to succeed in order to have viable content.
So again, what's the alternative? Bearing in mind that ESPN is not an option, is there really a better choice than NBC Sports?
Quote from: Benny B on August 09, 2012, 07:49:15 PM
Right... Because a cable network that doesnt even reach 60% of households in this country is "the place to be" compared to the network that is in 99% of U.S. households right now.
+1
Quote from: The Sultan of South Wayne on August 11, 2012, 12:22:49 PM
Then why, with all of its basketball product, does ESPN have perhaps one game a week on ABC? Local affiliates want their own programming unless the network provides something that brings eyeballs...and college basketball doesn't bring those eyeballs.
#1 -- Because, believe it or not, ESPN is lacking on programming. They have seven networks, of which three (ESPN, 2 & U) show "first-run" programming. That equates to 210 hours, per week, of live sports inventory just to fill those three networks' schedules. In relative terms, that's 70 football games or 105 basketball games per week... that kind of inventory doesn't exist in ESPN's contracts. During peak programming periods (Saturday afternoons), there's enough overflow to allow for an ABC broadcast or two, but not on any other day of the week.
#2 -- Again... what is the lineup on any given Saturday or Sunday on NBC? What is it on the sub-channels? College football/basketball is going to draw better than most weekend daytime programming on any network station, certainly in greater proportion than the reduction of their share of advertising revenue during national broadcasts... that's why ABC, NBC, and CBS all air college sports on the weekends.
1. So how would NBC Sports be any different?
2. Again, what is the lineup on any given Saturday or Sunday on ABC...outside of football season.
Quote from: The Sultan of South Wayne on August 11, 2012, 02:44:12 PM
2. Again, what is the lineup on any given Saturday or Sunday on ABC...outside of football season.
The lineup outside of football season is garbage. Paid programming and old movies. It's a wasteland.
But the lineup during football season makes a ton of money for those affiliates via the local ad inventory they sell. Live sports is the most valuable inventory on television, generally sold at a premium to even the highest rated Primetime programming. If you were running an NBC affiliate, you would be salivating for the chance at some of that revenue.
I think cable is about to face a big shakeup. If Apple is able to get the networks on Apple TV, which it sounds like they are working on, a lot of people will drop cable since they have easy access to the networks without an antenna and can just add Netflix and Hulu for content. This will force other cable channels to offer à la cart and sell individually through AppleTV and other services. Many networks will probably sell directly from websites. I really think the shakeup of cable is finally about to happen, and probably begins next year.
The hundreds of thousands of people that droped cable this year will be nothing compared to what happens by the middle of next year. If Apple comes out with their own TV sets with the networks available And on Apple TV at a small cost. This would be huge for the Big East in my opinion if they go with NBC. ESPN will be very expensive À la carte and the content is split between 2 expensive stations.
NBC network will be relatively cheap, and the NBC sports network will also be less expensive due to cheaper content. It'll be cheap to add them. We all know the change is coming, I just really expect that next year is going to be the beginning of the monsoon. The cable companies should get out in front and offer à la carte, but they won't, and that's going to kill them in the long run.
Quote from: Benny B on August 11, 2012, 02:39:46 PM
#1 -- Because, believe it or not, ESPN is lacking on programming. They have seven networks, of which three (ESPN, 2 & U) show "first-run" programming. That equates to 210 hours, per week, of live sports inventory just to fill those three networks' schedules. In relative terms, that's 70 football games or 105 basketball games per week... that kind of inventory doesn't exist in ESPN's contracts. During peak programming periods (Saturday afternoons), there's enough overflow to allow for an ABC broadcast or two, but not on any other day of the week.
#2 -- Again... what is the lineup on any given Saturday or Sunday on NBC? What is it on the sub-channels? College football/basketball is going to draw better than most weekend daytime programming on any network station, certainly in greater proportion than the reduction of their share of advertising revenue during national broadcasts... that's why ABC, NBC, and CBS all air college sports on the weekends.
We can argue this to death. I worked at ABC Sports for 20 years. College Football on ABC is mainly regional coverage. We had as many as 6 games on at a time around the country, region by region. No one west of the Missippi is going to tune in to a St Johns Georgetown game. The ratings would be abysmal. Needless to say, theses games will be on Versus, not NBC saturday or Sunday afternoon. The affiliates don't want it. Football gets a decent number, basketball is about a 1.0. Dismal.
I loved ABC Sports. I wish it would come back, but now that is changing as well.
I think NBC Sports would have one BE basketball per weekend, that's about it.
Judgements on what is best for the long term aside, I think NBC is making a real push to legitimize their sports offerings. Their online offerings for the Olympics and Sunday Football are pretty good, and much more revolutionary than ESPN3. (No, I don't see myself ever using the multiple camera angles feature of SNF, but at least they're trying to push the boundaries a little bit).
And, assuming they promote the hell out of NBC Sports at every turn, that could mean Marquette Basketball promos during nationally-televised events like Sunday Night Football, PGA Championships and the Superbowl.
Ultimately, if the Big East is no longer on ESPN, it places the emphasis on the teams to make sure they stay in the conversation. ESPN isn't going to ignore successful college basketball teams on other networks anymore than they ignore the Packers just because they play mostly on FOX (well, maybe slightly more, but you get what I mean).
Quote from: Benny B on August 09, 2012, 07:49:15 PM
Right... Because a cable network that doesnt even reach 60% of households in this country is "the place to be" compared to the network that is in 99% of U.S. households right now.
I wonder how relevant this statistic is? I would think a hugh percentage of fans who watch sports have cable so they can get ESPN. While 99% of the households have NBC a large number of them will not watch college football and even a larger number will not watch Big East football.
Quote from: mupanther on August 11, 2012, 06:26:10 PM
I loved ABC Sports. I wish it would come back, but now that is changing as well.
I think NBC Sports would have one BE basketball per weekend, that's about it.
That is about right. And Yes, ABC was terrific in the 70's and 80's. ESPN was a game changer.
Could this deal be expanded to include NBC radio too? Can't wait to see the Badger fallout with TMJ affiliated with NBC. That might be worth the switch just to watch that play out.
See, this is why we need Chicos back so he can gives us the skinny on all this kinda s h i t and decipher the whole mess.
Quote from: Dr. Blackheart on August 12, 2012, 12:52:43 AM
Could this deal be expanded to include NBC radio too? Can't wait to see the Badger fallout with TMJ affiliated with NBC. That might be worth the switch just to watch that play out.
Woud be a disaster for MU.
First, WTMJ isn't going to give up the Badgers. That programming is far too lucrative.
Second, they're going to continue to make the Badgers a priorty over any national NBC feed.
Third, if WTMJ owns the rights for any NBC produced content (e.g. national MU games on the NBC network), they would either preempt the national broadcast (MU) for the local team (Badgers). Or they broadcast MU game on tape-delay starting at 10:30 following Badger post-game coverage.
I think I'd rather not see the Badger fallout in that scenario.
Furthermore, I don't think WTMJ AM is affiliated with any network.
Radio rights are separate from video rights. MU has a contract with 540AM independent of any conference radio rights ( if any ). That 540AM is afiliated with ESPN is incidental...
Thanks to all the fact checkers...however, my question was a theoretical...what if NBC signed an all network deal with the BE...including the mothership, cable, CSN, digital, interactive and radio? A BE game of the week or a tilt to local BE coverage imposed from corporate? I understand that local broadcast deals take precedence but that conflict means potentially more exposure and conflict, even on sports talk...perhaps even more access to MU. This is the potential conflict I should have laid out in more detail for discussion as it is a possible although granted improbable, play, as basically TMJ ignores MU and the BE today.
I don't think 620am has any affiliation with NBC. In fact, they used to be an ABC news radio affiliate. I have no idea if the still are, haven't listened to them much in the last few years outside of Brewers games.