Elsberry: Raw deal for CPTV; SNY not needed

[JS]

Says loyalty would've been good. Argues UConn WBB doesn't need the wider exposure, which won't interest non-CT fans anyway with all the blowouts.

 

[rbny1]

Elsberry writes: "The dealbreaker wasn't the money, it was UConn's unquenchable desire to push its brand all over the country."

That may be true, but there's nothing wrong with that. I understand why many people are upset that CPTV lost the TV rights, and it's a wrenching change to go from CPTV to SNY. However, clearly there are advantages to UConn sports and to the UConn brand to be seen by more households nationally.

 

[justML]

Says loyalty would've been good. Argues UConn WBB doesn't need the wider exposure, which won't interest non-CT fans anyway with all the blowouts.

Great. Now I feel worse about this whole situation

 

[Blakeon18]

http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2012/05/09/page_one/doc4faad5337de81562110386.txt

Matt Buckler is the TV critic for the Journal Inquirer. The link is to his column on the switch
in yesterday's JI. He thinks it a no-brainer.

 

[Icebear]

Says loyalty would've been good. Argues UConn WBB doesn't need the wider exposure, which won't interest non-CT fans anyway with all the blowouts.

I don't understand the logic of the last line in that there are UConn fans scattered all over the country. They are seen in the mix of locations on the Boneyard. Those fans already have watched through games close or not for over a decade. They clamor for improved signal whether streaming or HD on satellite and cable. Those people all the time attempt to grow the pool of CT fans and now they will have a better means to do it.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Mike DiMauro Weighs in = Link

 

[UcMiami]

On the National nature of Uconn WCBB - I got to say it has a much wider appeal than Uconn FB. I can't say I know of any non CT/non alum fans of the FB team, but I do know lots for the WCBB team.
And yes, I do think having a national outlet will help in building that up - people may not tune in to see Seton Hall get stomped, but there were at least ten competitive games each year that were not on a national carrier. A family in AZ or anywhere else in the country will not necessarily tune in to watch, but if that family has a daughter who is serious about basketball, they probably will. And they would not have been a subscriber to CPTV hoopstreams so they wouldn't have had the chance before.
And for the sport in general - the more good teams that get national exposure the better. So maybe CT is taking one for the betterment of the sport, something everyone is always praising! And given the new class coming in and the team already here, if Uconn gets on another serious roll, the ratings may surprise everyone.
(Wonder if Chungs family gets CPTV or SNY in their basic or expanded package?)

 

[alexrgct]

Mike DiMauro Weighs in = Link

 

[huskyblooz]

Elsberry thinks we shouldve stayed in the Yankee Conference!

He is CT Post's Jeff Jacobs. Once in while will write a fantastic piece, but mostly proves his arrogance with his opinions. His opinion is the only one that matters and everyone else is wrong.

 

[Cheddie]

Elsberry writes: "The dealbreaker wasn't the money, it was UConn's unquenchable desire to push its brand all over the country."

I understand why many people are upset that CPTV lost the TV rights, and it's a wrenching change to go from CPTV to SNY. However, clearly there are advantages to UConn sports and to the UConn brand to be seen by more households nationally.

I agree that it will be a wrenching and sad change from CPTV, which has done a great job. And selling WBB in the New York area will be a tough go. But UConn really has to position itself for the future. The Big East is a fractured conference, and having the strongest possible media profile will help UConn with conference options, whatever they may be.

 

[BrooklynKid]

"for the two big-time "money" sports at UConn, men's basketball and football, having a national brand makes sense and helps in recruiting, so having a "national" television package with SNY makes sense.

This doesn't."​

So, it's okay for the football and men's basketball to have a national exposure but not for the women? That's silly.

 

[lanieer]

OK so "pushing it's brand all over the country" isn't OK for a women's program but OK for men's basketball and football. That column was obviously written by a male. Only thing I agreed with was the title.
While I will miss CPTV and thank them I understand why the decision to package UCONN on one network and I think it will work out great. Many more people will now have access.

 

[speedoo]

What's surprising about this is that Elsbery is actually still employed. I can't recall a single thing he's ever written that had any worth at all, and this is no exception, apparently.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

So Elsberry feels the ceiling has been reached. DiMauro is a big backer of women's basketball yet wants to keep things parochial? Herbst chose to grow it( expand on it).

 

[Alydar]

I'm a little confused. Wasn't CPTV crying the blues last year about how they were barely meeting their $$$ quota for many of the games? They talked like unless people called and donated more they would be losing money.

On another tack, isn't it a funny coincidence that NBC sports, the parent of SNY is moving their headquarters to the hometown of our governor at the same time?

 

[ThisJustIn]

Honestly haven't followed the situation much, but it seems to me UConn football and men's basketball are having some issues -- some coach related, some Conference related.

UConn's athletics may need this more than UConn's women's basketball.

 

[01Neaggrad02]

Says loyalty would've been good. Argues UConn WBB doesn't need the wider exposure, which won't interest non-CT fans anyway with all the blowouts.

First off, I want to thank CPTV for covering the games for all these years. But lately I have been wondering why other networks have not tried to pick up more games. This new channel for example show a vast majority of Big East sporting events. It only makes sense to allow them the access to the UCONN games. That and now we will not be held hostage to CPTV begging for money and then trying to make people feel bad for not donating in these harsh economic times. Some of the CPTV staff has been great about not pressuring, but others are downright rude and saying things like.... Well just donate $100 then. Give me $150 and I will galdly donate the $100. This change is not a bad thing.

 

[UcMiami]

I'm a little confused. Wasn't CPTV crying the blues last year about how they were barely meeting their $$$ quota for many of the games? They talked like unless people called and donated more they would be losing money.

Making their target/quota is different from making their expenses. Uconn WBB was their biggest driver, and the 'profit margin' on the telecasts had to be significant. It was paying for a bunch of their other programming/station overhead. Obviously if they raised their bid by $200,000/yr. They were clearing more than that last year.
Everyone talks about loyalty on Uconn's part, and CPTV certainly took a chance in developing a market for WCBB, but don't kid yourself - if they had lost money on the contract they would have dropped it pretty quickly and certainly wouldn't have been upping their bid each time the contract came up. And who is to say Uconn didn't show 'loyalty' four years ago? Not sure what the competition was last time or if anyone bid more, but it is possible. How long does one need to display loyalty over business sense?

 

[rwdinsalem]

I'm still waiting to see if SNY will provide a national audience. As far as I know it is a regional thing. Here in the Oregon, Comcast carries SNW. Hoopstream was great for me. I'll have to wait longer to find out if I will be able to see my team next year.

 

[iri10]

I'm still waiting to see if SNY will provide a national audience. As far as I know it is a regional thing. Here in the Oregon, Comcast carries SNW. Hoopstream was great for me. I'll have to wait longer to find out if I will be able to see my team next year.

Most likely not, though it isn't impossible. Outside of the usual SNY footprint in the northeast, I think you need one of the TV providers that has a "sports package" that carries regional networks from across the country. According to SNY's FAQ (which could be out of date), only ATT Uverse and DirecTV have that sort of nationwide thing for their channel.

On the other hand, there's a small chance that some games would be available on one of the weird auxiliary sports channels you see on pay television these days.

But don't take my word for it - this is just what I've found with a cursory internet search. We all should learn more about how it's actually going to work over the coming months. Good luck finding a way to watch the games.

 

[wasolddog]

Making their target/quota is different from making their expenses. Uconn WBB was their biggest driver, and the 'profit margin' on the telecasts had to be significant. It was paying for a bunch of their other programming/station overhead. Obviously if they raised their bid by $200,000/yr. They were clearing more than that last year.
Everyone talks about loyalty on Uconn's part, and CPTV certainly took a chance in developing a market for WCBB, but don't kid yourself - if they had lost money on the contract they would have dropped it pretty quickly and certainly wouldn't have been upping their bid each time the contract came up. And who is to say Uconn didn't show 'loyalty' four years ago? Not sure what the competition was last time or if anyone bid more, but it is possible. How long does one need to display loyalty over business sense?

Couldn't agree more! CPTV made mega bucks from this deal which obviously allowed them to expand their business.
I am mostly optimistic about the change. The "beg-a-thons" were annoying before, I can't imagine what they would have been like had CPTV won the contract.
None of us want less games televised but if that happens maybe attendance at the games will increase. Geno has stated on numerous occasions that the extensive coverage by CPTV and others was a big factor in the declining attendance.
"One door closes, another opens"

 

[meyers7]

Unfortunately now it doesn't look like I will get to see the games at all. Comcast doesn't carry it in any way in MA.

 

[businesslawyer]

I find this whole outrage funny for a number of reasons. Among them:

1. People complained when we moved UConn hoops from Channel 8 and its UHF sister to SNY. People whine about everything. Who even remembers the move a few years later.

2. Feel bad for CPTV? I know CPTV is a non-profit, but they were engaged in a business relationship. No more, no less. You know why they paid a certain amount of money per year to air chicks hoops -- because they thought it was in their own self-interest. If people stopped pledging while watching, and CPTV was lossing material amounts of money on the deal, raise your hand if you think they would have offered to renew on the same terms.

3. Even UConn women's hoops needs to worry about the Big East imploding around them and being stuck in a conference no one cares about. Not in the short term, and maybe not even in the intermediate term, but certainly in the long term. Everything that makes UConn more attractive to other conferences -- and make no mistake, this certainly does -- is a good thing.

4. Finally, some of the shots being taken are just based on incorrect facts. No more Bob Pacozzi? Memo to Chris Elsbury -- CPTV didn't produce the feed of the UConn women's games and SNY doesn't produce the feed of UConn's men or football games. They are all produced by ESPN Regional and sold to the outlet that pays to air them. Picozzi has done plenty of mens hoops and football games aired on SNY already. There is zero reason to think that will change.

I could keep going but enough. I understand those who don't get SNY but do get CPTV being upset. Everyone wants what is best for them. But what is best for the program is it puts its product out to as many people as possible and gets as much money for the rights as is possible. This was not a hard decision.

 

[JeffGoldberg]

Unfortunately now it doesn't look like I will get to see the games at all. Comcast doesn't carry it in any way in MA.

Maybe its because I have the full digital package, but I live just outside Boston, and I get SNY on Comcast. Ch. 128.

 

[alexrgct]

I find this whole outrage funny for a number of reasons. Among them:

1. People complained when we moved UConn hoops from Channel 8 and its UHF sister to SNY. People whine about everything. Who even remembers the move a few years later.

2. Feel bad for CPTV? I know CPTV is a non-profit, but they were engaged in a business relationship. No more, no less. You know why they paid a certain amount of money per year to air chicks hoops -- because they thought it was in their own self-interest. If people stopped pledging while watching, and CPTV was lossing material amounts of money on the deal, raise your hand if you think they would have offered to renew on the same terms.

3. Even UConn women's hoops needs to worry about the Big East imploding around them and being stuck in a conference no one cares about. Not in the short term, and maybe not even in the intermediate term, but certainly in the long term. Everything that makes UConn more attractive to other conferences -- and make no mistake, this certainly does -- is a good thing.

4. Finally, some of the shots being taken are just based on incorrect facts. No more Bob Pacozzi? Memo to Chris Elsbury -- CPTV didn't produce the feed of the UConn women's games and SNY doesn't produce the feed of UConn's men or football games. They are all produced by ESPN Regional and sold to the outlet that pays to air them. Picozzi has done plenty of mens hoops and football games aired on SNY already. There is zero reason to think that will change.

I could keep going but enough. I understand those who don't get SNY but do get CPTV being upset. Everyone wants what is best for them. But what is best for the program is it puts its product out to as many people as possible and gets as much money for the rights as is possible. This was not a hard decision.

Great post, and to your point at the end, this change was announced in May. Basketball season starts in November. You have several months to review if and how you can access the games if it's important enough for you to do so...and if it's not important enough for you to do so, why complain about it? I mean, if you live somewhere where satellite is not an option and your cable provider doesn't carry SNY on any tier and ESPN3 isn't an option for some reason, then yes,I feel for you. Otherwise, do what's necessary if you think it's necessary to watch UConn WBB.