NY Post: BE Basketball holds key to TV

[freescooter]

Yeah, that refugee from NPR is mighty white. And I guess Geraldo is a white hispanic like Zimmerman.

LOL! As I said political commentary probably belongs on the cesspool, but the fact that you can find 1-2 guys...and Geraldo is included...not sure that proves much...LOL

 

[HuskyHawk]

The alternative isn't Fordham and UMass. It's extra SEC, ACC, Big 10 and Big 12 games. It's still Big Monday if it's Big 10 and Big 12 instead of Big East and Big 12. Big East-ACC Wednesday just becomes SEC-ACC Wednesday.

I think this still misses the mark because there is a significant market for basketball in urban areas of NY, Hartford, Bridgeport, DC, Philly, Newark, etc. that have long term connections to the Big East and other major hoops powers. Auburn vs. Old Miss is not really a substitute in those markets. Remember, not all the ESPN games are national, they may show a BE game to us and something else to somebody else.

I'll say what I said all along. The Big East basketball product is uniquely valuable to ESPN, because it provides so much quality content, with appeal in large markets, and ESPN has the channels and internet streaming to take advantage of it. I think Big East football is entirely superfluous for ESPN. It would be a waste of money for them to buy it. All it would do is replace better football content on at the same times, for which they already have the rights. Now there the analogy fits. Rutgers and UConn is entirely replaceable by any two D1 teams. That football content is uniquely valuable to NBC, because it is trying to get in the college football game and everything else is taken.

But the Big East loses big-time if basketball is not on ESPN. They need to find a way to split the rights and keep hoops on ESPN.

 

[RioDog]

But the Big East loses big-time if basketball is not on ESPN. They need to find a way to split the rights and keep hoops on ESPN.[/quote]


Is such athing possible or probable?

 

[freescooter]

I think this still misses the mark because there is a significant market for basketball in urban areas of NY, Hartford, Bridgeport, DC, Philly, Newark, etc. that have long term connections to the Big East and other major hoops powers. Auburn vs. Old Miss is not really a substitute in those markets. Remember, not all the ESPN games are national, they may show a BE game to us and something else to somebody else.

I'll say what I said all along. The Big East basketball product is uniquely valuable to ESPN, because it provides so much quality content, with appeal in large markets, and ESPN has the channels and internet streaming to take advantage of it. I think Big East football is entirely superfluous for ESPN. It would be a waste of money for them to buy it. All it would do is replace better football content on at the same times, for which they already have the rights. Now there the analogy fits. Rutgers and UConn is entirely replaceable by any two D1 teams. That football content is uniquely valuable to NBC, because it is trying to get in the college football game and everything else is taken.

But the Big East loses big-time if basketball is not on ESPN. They need to find a way to split the rights and keep hoops on ESPN.

HOw does th eBig East lose big time? Nobody will watch on another network? If th eBig East is that reliant on ESPN for success of its basketball product, it isn't that much of a product.

 

[HuskyHawk]

HOw does th eBig East lose big time? Nobody will watch on another network? If th eBig East is that reliant on ESPN for success of its basketball product, it isn't that much of a product.

How can they watch? ESPN, at any given time, may be broadcasting 6 or 7 Big East games. ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU on cable plus more streamed via ESPN3 (which I can get on my iphone or xbox). NBC has one cable channel. That's it. Exposure suffers. Recruiting suffers. Fans suffer as they are unable to see their team. Especially fans of schools like Rutgers, Cincy, USF who many not get many national games. UConn would probably be ok.

My point is that NBC lacks the spectrum capacity to handle Big East basketball on its own. I'd be willing to do with them what the NFL does. NBC gets say a nice Friday night game every week. ESPN gets the rest.

 

[HuskyHawk]

But the Big East loses big-time if basketball is not on ESPN. They need to find a way to split the rights and keep hoops on ESPN.

Is such athing possible or probable?[/quote]

Why not? The NFL does it. MLB does it.

 

[HartbeatHusky]

I agree that NBC really doesn't have the capacity to handle the entire BE basketball contract. I say they should get all they can handle and then split the rest with ESPN. Let them get the entire football contract and most of the olympic sports.

ESPN's 50 in 50 rankings illustrate that even by their own criteria the BE is the best basketball conference ever, even with the defections (cuse is the only defecting school on the list). Temple and Memphis are both highly ranked and Houston made the cut as well. The 2013 BE will have 12 teams on that list while the ACC has only 6.

BYU and UNLV are also on the list with UNLV being very high. Add BYU, UNLV and SDSU in hoops and the BE would be competing to be the most relevant hoops conference on the West Coast, Midwest, and would obviously continue to dominate the East Coast.

 

[freescooter]

How can they watch? ESPN, at any given time, may be broadcasting 6 or 7 Big East games. ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU on cable plus more streamed via ESPN3 (which I can get on my iphone or xbox). NBC has one cable channel. That's it. Exposure suffers. Recruiting suffers. Fans suffer as they are unable to see their team. Especially fans of schools like Rutgers, Cincy, USF who many not get many national games. UConn would probably be ok.

My point is that NBC lacks the spectrum capacity to handle Big East basketball on its own. I'd be willing to do with them what the NFL does. NBC gets say a nice Friday night game every week. ESPN gets the rest.

Um, NBC has several channels which they used to broadcast Olympic coverage. Plus they are owned by Comcast, which owns cable businesses and outlets. I believe that they are a partner in SNY, NESN, etc. So on a given night, they have access to all those entities and the ability to showcase games on NBCSports, MSNBC, and a couple of others, as well as show regional games on say NESN, various SNY affiliates and elsewhere. I don't usually care about Providence-Seton hall so if that's a regional game on one of the CSN-New England channels and SNY or whatever, not sure I care all that much. to say nothing of the potential to add if the market is there, or to re-brand various exisiting networks or internwet sites. the curently own several including NBC.com. I am really not all that worried and as I said if the Big East can't succeed without being part of ESPN, than it probably doesn't deserve to thrive anyway.

 

[Rondogg]

Won't be particularly convenient or pleasant for fan bases and there'll be some withering on the vine when recruits of all stripes find out that Sportscenter is joining the moon as something they will never be on, but money is money.

Funniest line about this whole mess.

 

[Rondogg]

On Saturday at noon-ish I put on the TV and search for football games. I search sports>football and I really don't care what channel it's on. I just choose the one that appeals to me most. It's such a football frenzy on Saturdays, adding NBC into the mix only gives me more options.
Times have changed - wasn't but a few years ago, the only thing on when I was getting ready in the morning was Sports Center. Then came Mike and Mike, now in the past year there are 5-6 sports channels i flip through.

Morer is gooder. NBC will get the Big East. Then they are one premier league away from completely tilting the balance of power. Aren't there a couple of conferences coming up for bid in 2015?

 

[businesslawyer]

Right. and you just fill in the blanks with the A-10. But if you wanted to do it, I suspect you could "make" the A-10 a major conference simply by pushing it on ESPN. But again, the bottom line point is that the Big East basketball league is more of an extra benefit. Nobody is going to pay $5-6 million just for that. There are too many alternatives.

Actually, you're 180 degrees off. The A-10 is a major conference in basketball by any fair measure. To the extent it is not perceived as one, that is only because of ESPN pushing ties with football conferences.

 

[UConnDan97]

Actually, you're 180 degrees off. The A-10 is a major conference in basketball by any fair measure. To the extent it is not perceived as one, that is only because of ESPN pushing ties with football conferences.

It's a good point. Just on the strength of Butler alone over the last 3 or 4 years, the A-10 deserves props. Xavier is perennially a good team, and St. Joe's seems to rise up periodically along with St. Louis. They will be hurt with the loss of Temple, but VCU is now a powerful team, and they'll get good contributions from teams like Dayton, Richmond, etc. They're a solid conference. Probably #6 or so in the country...