Fox Sports Live with Jay and Dan

[whaler11]

This is the single worst sports TV show I've ever seen.

Maybe FS1 will survive because of the Big 10 - but the 'talent' they have stolen from ESPN and the nonsense they are producing seems impossible.

The next time you read an article where the Big 10 is being pompous about academics and not paying players just remember they threw their lot in with this network.

 

[djct1999]

This is the single worst sports TV show I've ever seen.

Maybe FS1 will survive because of the Big 10 - but the 'talent' they have stolen from ESPN and the nonsense they are producing seems impossible.

The next time you read an article where the Big 10 is being pompous about academics and not paying players just remember they threw their lot in with this network.

You think that is bad, wait for the the PTI spinoff staring Cowherd and Whitlock. Can't really set the bar lower, except maybe Syracuse vs BC at Conte Forum.

 

[junglehusky]

It's bad, but honestly I don't even watch SportsCenter the way I used to do in the morning. Watch a couple minutes of the lead highlights, then start channel flipping once they bring in an analyst or worse, the girl who covers twitter/instagram reactions for her 'beat". Why have a TV show about social media when I can just you know, log on to social media?

 

[UCHuskies08]

It's bad, but honestly I don't even watch SportsCenter the way I used to do in the morning. Watch a couple minutes of the lead highlights, then start channel flipping once they bring in an analyst or worse, the girl who covers twitter/instagram reactions for her 'beat". Why have a TV show about social media when I can just you know, log on to social media?

I never watch SportsCenter anymore. What's the point? It's a relic from the days when I couldn't just log onto whatever sports site and see highlights of only the games I'm actually interested in.

That being said, except for the soccer coverage, FS1 has been really sucky. I've given their general programming a shot just to spite ESPN at times, but it's really bad.

 

[dwalks93]

Fox Sports may have terrible programing and personalities but if they were showing UConn I'd be watching them. My guess is every fan base in America is the same...they are primarily watching whatever networks is showing their team.

Fox Sports' TV shows may suck now but if they have the primary content (BIG) it seems an easy fix to upgrade the fluff around it. Generally when I set the table for dinner I put the plates down first...the silverware fits around the plates. Fox has it plates in the BIG programing, now it just needs to polish its silverware a little better.

What made ESPN "essential" was its games, not its current personalities. Fox now has more "essential" programing...ESPN should be concerned.

 

[whaler11]

It's bad, but honestly I don't even watch SportsCenter the way I used to do in the morning. Watch a couple minutes of the lead highlights, then start channel flipping once they bring in an analyst or worse, the girl who covers twitter/instagram reactions for her 'beat". Why have a TV show about social media when I can just you know, log on to social media?

Yes the concept of a SportsCenter is dead. But you'd have to actually see this show to believe how bad it is.

 

[whaler11]

Fox Sports may have terrible programing and personalities but if they were showing UConn I'd be watching them. My guess is every fan base in America is the same...they are primarily watching whatever networks is showing their team.

Fox Sports' TV shows may suck now but if they have the primary content (BIG) it seems an easy fix to upgrade the fluff around it. Generally when I set the table for dinner I put the plates down first...the silverware fits around the plates. Fox has it plates in the BIG programing, now it just needs to polish its silverware a little better.

What made ESPN "essential" was its games, not its current personalities. Fox now has more "essential" programing...ESPN should be concerned.

You do realize that ESPN has ten properties better than the Big Ten right? Things like the MLB playoffs, NBA playoffs, Monday Night Football, College Football Playoff?

The guy putting the 'talent' together at Fox - got fired in 2 months when he was in charge of the talent at the Today Show - which is almost impossible to screw up.

 

[dwalks93]

You do realize that ESPN has ten properties better than the Big Ten right? Things like the MLB playoffs, NBA playoffs, Monday Night Football, College Football Playoff?

The guy putting the 'talent' together at Fox - got fired in 2 months when he was in charge of the talent at the Today Show - which is almost impossible to screw up.

ESPN may have 10 properties more valuable nationwide than BIG football but not within the territory occupied by the BIG schools. Is there a bigger draw in Iowa than Iowa football? Or Nebraska football in Nebraska? Or even Ohio State in Ohio? Sure those fans will watch the college playoff on ESPN but only after 11 weeks of regular season BIG games on Fox.

I don't doubt Fox's programming and their talent director are bad. However maybe he would not have been fired on the Today show if Today was the sole broadcaster of Ohio State football games in the state of Ohio. My guess is the Today's rating would have been pretty good in Ohio...some products sell themselves and there is not other alternative.

 

[whaler11]

ESPN may have 10 properties more valuable nationwide than BIG football but not within the territory occupied by the BIG schools. Is there a bigger draw in Iowa than Iowa football? Or Nebraska football in Nebraska? Or even Ohio State in Ohio? Sure those fans will watch the college playoff on ESPN but only after 11 weeks of regular season BIG games on Fox.

I don't doubt Fox's programming and their talent director are bad. However maybe he would not have been fired on the Today show if Today was the sole broadcaster of Ohio State football games in the state of Ohio. My guess is the Today's rating would have been pretty good in Ohio...some products sell themselves and there is not other alternative.

You do realize that the Big 10 deal isn't finished right? And you realize that Fox needs to sell FS1 nationwide?

FS1 is going to replicate a broken model. That's how bad it is.

 

[dwalks93]

You do realize that the Big 10 deal isn't finished right? And you realize that Fox needs to sell FS1 nationwide?

FS1 is going to replicate a broken model. That's how bad it is.

You may be completely correct that Fox has vastly overpaid for BIG content. That Fox is not adapting to a changing market and sure, the deal may still fall through.

Fox may be making a business mistake but that does not mean that mistake may not also hurt ESPN. ESPN has become synonymous with college football. On most Saturdays college football fans nationwide automatically flip over to the various ESPN channels to watch the pre game shows and see what games are on. IMO ESPN has become a default cog in college football viewship. The Fox/BIG contract could change ESPN's central role in college football.

The recent BIG contract illustrates ESPN's self perceived importance in college football. ESPN did not believe they needed to be the highest bidder because "ESPN is college football." The Fox/BIG contract challenges that assumption. Maybe Fox loses its shirt on this deal. Maybe nationwide interest in BIG football and BIG recruiting drops without ESPN exposure. Or maybe somewhere in the future the Fox/BIG contract shows ESPN was never the true power and the real market driver was the schools and games themselves.

I think it is safe to say if the Fox/BIG deal goes through it will change how fans from Nebraska to NJ watch their college football. Fox will now be the default setting for much of the Midwest. If Fox can insure the FS channels are demanded on every cable box in BIG territory is that enough to pay for the deal? The Fox/BIG contract may not make people in California demand FS1 be added to their cable package but in Michigan and Ohio and Illinois it just became essential.

If I was ESPN I would be very nervous. IMO There is a reason ESPN suddenly seems to be more amenable to some form of an ACCN....It is possible both Fox and ESPN lose on the BIG deal.

 

[UConnJim]

You do realize that the Big 10 deal isn't finished right? And you realize that Fox needs to sell FS1 nationwide?

FS1 is going to replicate a broken model. That's how bad it is.

What are you talking about? FS1 is in 91 million homes vs 94 for ESPN. I think they effectively have national reach. FS2 is in ~65 million homes, so they can improve there and they will with better content.

I think Fox knows what they are doing. Remember when they grabbed NFL football from NBC? Remember when they started up Fox News to compete with CNN? I think both moves have been very successful for Fox.

 

[whaler11]

What are you talking about? FS1 is in 91 million homes vs 94 for ESPN. I think they effectively have national reach. FS2 is in ~65 million homes, so they can improve there and they will with better content.

I think Fox knows what they are doing. Remember when they grabbed NFL football from NBC? Remember when they started up Fox News to compete with CNN? I think both moves have been very successful for Fox.

I didn't phrase it well - I know their numbers.

Granting that the Big Ten contract is a huge get for Fox - besides that their strategy makes no sense to me. The 'talent' they have hired and the people they promote are the exact opposite of the Big Ten.

Clay Travis? Katie Nolan? Big Ten? It's incoherent to me.

 

[browndog319]

With all of the money that Fox Sports has from Fox Entertainment Group, which includes Fox News which gets more eyeballs than any cable news station in the country, FS1 probably has some time and space to develop their viewership. ESPN, as part of Disney, is a "mass media and entertainment conglomerate". They are a piece in a very weird jigsaw puzzle of properties and probably have less freedom.

 

[zls44]

The Fox News comparison is such a bad one for a ton of reasons, but the easiest way to explain why is that Fox News was able to grow, in part, because nobody has exclusive rights to the State of the Union or the Presidential Debates. ESPN has exclusive rights to 382 things that Fox can't show. It's not like they can steal ratings from ESPN for the NBA when they can't air it for a decade.

 

[zls44]

.

I think it is safe to say if the Fox/BIG deal goes through it will change how fans from Nebraska to NJ watch their college football. Fox will now be the default setting for much of the Midwest.

lmao nope

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

lmao nope

Should the B1G and Fox finalize their purported deal for at least the former's football broadcasts, what is your perspective versus ESPN's on how B1G viewers will watch their respective team's future games. Thanks for considering elaborating.

 

[browndog319]

The Fox News comparison is such a bad one for a ton of reasons, but the easiest way to explain why is that Fox News was able to grow, in part, because nobody has exclusive rights to the State of the Union or the Presidential Debates. ESPN has exclusive rights to 382 things that Fox can't show. It's not like they can steal ratings from ESPN for the NBA when they can't air it for a decade.

Yes, I see that. But they also have a lot of exclusive content. To base their success solely on things like SOTU is ridiculous; people will choose to watch something like that based on the talent they have doing the post-SOTU coverage and analysis. So, the SEC people might choose networks that air SEC games; by the same token, someone who is GOP is going to watch SOTU on FNC or Fox Business. For the things you mention, they are so few and far between. They have days and days more to fill!