OT: Big East Basketball Not Scoring For Fox/Fox Sports 1

[tcf15]

Because this seems to be a hot topic around here the last few days, this article just came out.

Two Big East games on Fox proper (Providence-St. John’s in late January and Northwestern-Butler in December) have drawn fewer than 400,000 viewers, the lowest audiences ever for college basketball on broadcast television. According to Sports Media Watch, two recent CBS games drew at least one million viewers.

As for Fox Sports 1, the Big East isn’t attracting eyeballs either. While some games are seeing audiences over 100,000 and 200,000 viewers, ESPN has seen two of its games top over 3 million viewers and others over 2.5 million.

Fox Sports 1 had games like Marquette-St. John’s draw about 107,000 viewers and 82,000 for DePaul-Seton Hall.

In addition, Fox Sports 1 had games like St. John’s Providence last month average 48,000 viewrs, DePaul-Creighton early in January garner an average of 77,000 and a Creighton-Georgetown game just after the New Year had 58,000 viewers.

In 2013, Fox and the Big East signed a 12-year $500 million contract hoping the conference would be tentpole programming. Last season, the Big East on Fox Sports 1 averaged only 95,000 viewers. Fox is hoping it will do better numbers this season, but with small audiences, the Big East does not appear to be the draw that it used to be, at least at this point of its contract with Fox.

http://awfulannouncing.com/2015/big-east-basketball-scoring-foxfox-sports-1.html

 

[azescobar]

Interesting article. I don't think the average college basketball fan still associates Fox with basketball. When browsing for games, the average fun will always look for CBS and ESPN, and then to ESPN2, and hell maybe ESPNU. I doubt CBS Sportsnet is drawing big numbers either though, like FSI.

I don't wish ill on the "New Big East," but this article supports the notion that UConn really doesn't need to ditch football to run back to the Big East or play football in the MAAC or whatever. It may not happen overnight, but we have to think and hope that the administration is doing everything it can to position itself to join a P5 when the right door opens. I know for certain that UConn is working hard on the research and academic side, which does matter.

Hopefully the football follows suit...that's obviously the trickier part of the equation.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Yes, but I spent the entire 2nd half last night listening to the IMG Radio Network stream via TuneIn and reading a 5 page thread about whether to rejoin the Big East, rather than leave home in search of a bar w/CBS Sports Network. Who's monetizing that?

 

[upstater]

It really is difficult to climb down into the depths of cable channels to find Fox1 or 2 (600s for me). Heck, I joined BeIn for soccer under it's $4 a month promotion, which ended, and now I'm paying $14, but I keep forgetting I have it, and I never watch it (gotta cancel this week). When you're paying $14 a month and don't watch something because it's buried among 100 other sports channels, you know there is a glut in the market.

 

[alexd]

The old BE hoops schools walked into a perfect situation. They wanted to break away from the football schools. And start-up FS1 needed programming...they overpaid big time for a conference that had lost it's 3 (maybe 4) top shelf schools.

 

[Jerry1714]

Yes, but I spent the entire 2nd half last night listening to the IMG Radio Network stream via TuneIn and reading a 5 page thread about whether to rejoin the Big East, rather than leave home in search of a bar w/CBS Sports Network. Who's monetizing that?

If you do not have CBS SN that is a choice by you, and not by anyone else.

As mentioned countless times we have more games on national TV networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and CBS) now then we did in the old BE.

 

[tcf15]

If you do not have CBS SN that is a choice by you, and not by anyone else.

As mentioned countless times we have more games on national TV networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and CBS) now then we did in the old BE.

Also, NBE games are being played on CBSSN, too, and some aren't even on TV. Those that aren't on TV are relegated to Fox Sports Net (Fox's version of ESPN3).

 

[Clockshop]

zls has been posting these numbers for awhile...some people don't pay attention for whatever reason

 

[zls44]

zls has been posting these numbers for awhile...some people don't pay attention for whatever reason

I'm easy to tune out. It's cool.

Apparently so is the Big East *rimshot* Thank you! Tip your waitress!

 

[zls44]

The UConn women have a floor of 0.2 on ESPN networks- we are talking 80-point drubbings, often on Sundays against NFL windows, still at least 0.2's...which is something Fox would KILL for from the MEN'S side of the Big East.

Oh, trust me, you don't even want to know what their contractually-obligated women's Big East games are getting.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I'm absolutely floored that the PC dynamic duo haven't chimed in yet.

 

[champs99and04]

I would be curious to see what the current members of the Big East were drawing, ratings wise, in the old Big East. For instance, when #10 Villanova played #23 Marquette in 2010 on ESPN, did people watch? I'm just curious whether this is a matter of people not being able to find the channel, or the general lack of interest in small, private school. The obvious answer is both, I know, but I don't think it should be a surprise to anybody that these teams aren't drawing - small fan bases + no star power + secondary sports networks = low ratings.

 

[SubbaBub]

The eyeball collecting portion of the Big East isn't in the Big East. I'm willing to bet more UConn fans had an interest in Villanova as an opponent than Villanova has fans interested in their programs success. If you expand that to UConn/Syr/UL/ND/Pitt had more interest in Nova/Gtown/STJ as tomato cans then it's a certainty.

In the past a Nova/Gtown game has interesting conference ramifications. We (and the other power program fans) just don't care any more and don't watch.

I think we've realized that not being on Monday night, sucks.

 

[Robertelamin]

The eyeball collecting portion of the Big East isn't in the Big East. I'm willing to bet more UConn fans had an interest in Villanova as an opponent than Villanova has fans interested in their programs success. If you expand that to UConn/Syr/UL/ND/Pitt had more interest in Nova/Gtown/STJ as tomato cans then it's a certainty.

In the past a Nova/Gtown game has interesting conference ramifications. We (and the other power program fans) just don't care any more and don't watch.

I think we've realized that not being on Monday night, sucks.

I was going to say the same thing. The large school fanbases are gone and since the Big East games have no impact on the former BE schools that audience is gone. Alumni, students, random fans of the schools and hardcore college basketball fans are the only ones watching on a network that no one seeks out.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Oh, trust me, you don't even want to know what their contractually-obligated women's Big East games are getting.

You underestimate me

 

[Jerry1714]

The conference also has no cache. Last year it at least had McDermount who drew eye balls, but in the existence of the NBE Nova has been the only team consistently ranked high and that is because of the competition they have played (that Nova team last year being a 2 seed was a joke).

Kris Dunn is the conferences only potential 1st round pick.

No star players, no future NBA players, 1 ranked team, and no national programs is not a receipt for TV ratings.

 

[zls44]

The conference also has no cache. Last year it at least had McDermount who drew eye balls,

Inviting Creighton was so predictably dumb, too. Ok, now he's gone...and you have a well-supported local program in dead last, with no history with anyone else and is 1,500 miles from half of the conference.

It wasn't as dumb as the Big East inviting Tulane, but it was really shortsighted.

 

[Husky1964]

Not a Nova fan, or Jay Wright for that matter. They will do nothing in the Dance unless they are playing in Philly, fat chance of that happening!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Towney007]

I just wish my moronic fantasy of some sort of loose Big East-American (possibly A-10) pseudo merger would come into fruition.

 

[Pudge]

The obvious QUESTION is:

We have lost the BE market in the NBE. Big Monday ain't there any longer in the DC to Maine corridor. Syracuse versus Wake has no cache. UConn etc are not pulling in AAC. Rutgers - Maryland ?? Not going A10.

There appears to be a valuable market that has been abandoned ... Does anyone want to try ? How about this 2015-2016 year.

 

[Towney007]

It's all football. They could care less if they lose the East Coast, really because well... no one cares about College football north of D.C. minus Happy Valley - which is it's own island. Whatever they get out of it is a net gain.

On the hoops side, I just wish we'd see the major basketball and weak/no football schools band together. There was a time when basketball was forgotten, too; and that's when the Big East made it's move. I'm not smart enough or privy enough to the dollars and cents - but I feel like there'd be more value in lumping a lot of these startup football programs together and letting them make a run at things based on a strong media market and local rivalries while leveraging basketball to help keep the ship stable in the meantime. Dunno the risks, etc - but that's how i'd view it.

Personally, I'd rather see that then trying to get a stamp of approval from the hillbilly conferences..

 

[alexd]

And PC fans are wondering why their student section is so un-involved during the home games now. Maybe because you lost the matchups against the biggest name schools that created the buzz when you split??

 

[Towney007]

ARE YOU TELLING ME THERE ISN'T ANY VALUE TO CREIGHTON VS SETON HALL!?