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At the risk of be frog marched to the looney bin, it's hard not to see how the Big Ten Network evolves without further NORTHeast penetration.
March 14, 2012
Ed Sherman
"
Ratings for games on the BTN from January through mid-March are up 27 percent; at .91 from .72 in the network’s top 8 metered markets, according network president Mark Silverman. Ratings for its signature show, The Journey, have increased 20 percent....
“If you look at where we were six years ago (the BTN started in 2007) to where we are now, it’s hard to believe,” Silverman said. “People now know if it’s Wednesday night, we’re going to have a doubleheader. They know where to find the Sunday night shows. They’re coming to us.”
As for the future, the next challenge will be for Silverman to get the BTN into the local markets of the conference’s two new schools, Maryland and Rutgers. It will be a huge endeavor, especially in the New York/New Jersey area where Cablevision and Time Warner are known to play hardball. Time Warner waited until last year to add the NFL Network."
http://www.shermanreport.com/btn-b-i-g-winner-with-surging-big-ten-basketball-all-time-high-ratings/
The timeline is 6 to 12 months. Rutgers is strong in central jersey. strong in southern jersey, weaker in northern new jersey, weakest across the river. It's hard to imagine Siverman going to nyc cable selling Rutgers. As we've discussed here a lot, while the rest of realignment pundits cite football, football, football, the BTN is about content, content,content. 365 days a year. Be it football or basketball.
Ask any reasonable person (even unreasonable ones like Tranghese) who most captures NYC basketball. It is UConn and to a lesser extent,the Fruit. No other teams come close. Even football, it's hard to ignore UConn's reach, again proven thru sny. NYC may be a pro town, but it's the BTN that is attempting to crack the nut. It necessarily doesn't need the most perfect weapon to do that (which doesn,t exist), just necessarily the best ones available.
Silverman knows UConn's pull through ratings and exposure with SNY. The more I hear what this guy says, the more convinced I am that UConn is a big part of that weapon.
And what seems to give many here pause is that some pundits nationally never seem to name UConn as being part of the Big Ten's strategy. For a retort to that, next time I read an in-depth article about the BTN's cable strategy in the northeast, complete with facts, and logical assumptions, I'll pay attention. Instead, we're exposed to mindless regurgitated drivel approaching realignment like some big game of risk or monopoly. Instead, focus on the BTN's business plan which is even the subject of a women's phd thesis. Look at how Silverman approached the eastern penn problem, and how he'll approach the tri state problem. And then remind yourself what nat'l pundit mentioned Rutgers as the next piece of the BTN's puzzle prior to november 2012.
March 14, 2012
Ed Sherman
"
Ratings for games on the BTN from January through mid-March are up 27 percent; at .91 from .72 in the network’s top 8 metered markets, according network president Mark Silverman. Ratings for its signature show, The Journey, have increased 20 percent....
“If you look at where we were six years ago (the BTN started in 2007) to where we are now, it’s hard to believe,” Silverman said. “People now know if it’s Wednesday night, we’re going to have a doubleheader. They know where to find the Sunday night shows. They’re coming to us.”
As for the future, the next challenge will be for Silverman to get the BTN into the local markets of the conference’s two new schools, Maryland and Rutgers. It will be a huge endeavor, especially in the New York/New Jersey area where Cablevision and Time Warner are known to play hardball. Time Warner waited until last year to add the NFL Network."
http://www.shermanreport.com/btn-b-i-g-winner-with-surging-big-ten-basketball-all-time-high-ratings/
The timeline is 6 to 12 months. Rutgers is strong in central jersey. strong in southern jersey, weaker in northern new jersey, weakest across the river. It's hard to imagine Siverman going to nyc cable selling Rutgers. As we've discussed here a lot, while the rest of realignment pundits cite football, football, football, the BTN is about content, content,content. 365 days a year. Be it football or basketball.
Ask any reasonable person (even unreasonable ones like Tranghese) who most captures NYC basketball. It is UConn and to a lesser extent,the Fruit. No other teams come close. Even football, it's hard to ignore UConn's reach, again proven thru sny. NYC may be a pro town, but it's the BTN that is attempting to crack the nut. It necessarily doesn't need the most perfect weapon to do that (which doesn,t exist), just necessarily the best ones available.
Silverman knows UConn's pull through ratings and exposure with SNY. The more I hear what this guy says, the more convinced I am that UConn is a big part of that weapon.
And what seems to give many here pause is that some pundits nationally never seem to name UConn as being part of the Big Ten's strategy. For a retort to that, next time I read an in-depth article about the BTN's cable strategy in the northeast, complete with facts, and logical assumptions, I'll pay attention. Instead, we're exposed to mindless regurgitated drivel approaching realignment like some big game of risk or monopoly. Instead, focus on the BTN's business plan which is even the subject of a women's phd thesis. Look at how Silverman approached the eastern penn problem, and how he'll approach the tri state problem. And then remind yourself what nat'l pundit mentioned Rutgers as the next piece of the BTN's puzzle prior to november 2012.
