To those who can't wait to jump to Fox or NBC or Lifetime.

[whaler11]

Quick question. Where do I watch the Kansas State/Baylor game tonight?

Well, unless you have FS Kansas City, FS Southwest, FS Houston or Game Plan... you aren't.

 

[Vowelguy]

Lifetime?? Are you nuts?


I'm hoping for QVC.

Actually, C-SPAN would be a perfect fit -- they don't have enough night/weekend content, and they've got 100% cable penetration!

 

[HartbeatHusky]

Quick question. Where do I watch the Kansas State/Baylor game tonight?

Well, unless you have FS Kansas City, FS Southwest, FS Houston or Game Plan... you aren't.

I actually get most of those FS stations on UVerse in CT and NBC Sports. So I could have watched that game had I cared and wouldn't miss UConn games if we were on NBC.

 

[uconNYC]

Big East football should be on the Cartoon Network.

 

[whaler11]

I actually get most of those FS stations on UVerse in CT and NBC Sports. So I could have watched that game had I cared and wouldn't miss UConn games if we were on NBC.

Well NBC is one station so if you've got a disgusting 18 team league, might there not be multiple games of interest at the same time? The point isn't that Connecticut is going to miss UConn games, the point is that 90% of the country had no way to watch #4/#18 play a close game.

 

[Dann]

the history ch

 

[HuskyHawk]

The OP is correct. ESPN has multiple channels, plus ABC, plus ESPN 3 via the web (and on my iPhone). For basketball fans in particular, any other network results in a huge decrease in the number of games broadcast for your league. The Big East has been tremendous in basketball in large part because it is on national TV pretty much every day and sometimes several times a day. I would miss over half of all UConn basketball games if they were on NBC (and some of what I would see would be from CBS).

For football, who cares, there are at most a couple games a week that will be broadcast. Any network can handle football.

 

[freescooter]

Quick question. Where do I watch the Kansas State/Baylor game tonight?

Well, unless you have FS Kansas City, FS Southwest, FS Houston or Game Plan... you aren't.

Well, sure...if you assume that there will be no chance in their networks if they are carringing a national conference that's true, but given the nature of the revised Big East, it would be pretty unlikely they wouldn't carry additional national networks. I think that is NBCSports long range goal anyway...to offer an alternative to ESPN.

 

[HartbeatHusky]

Well NBC is one station so if you've got a disgusting 18 team league, might there not be multiple games of interest at the same time? The point isn't that Connecticut is going to miss UConn games, the point is that 90% of the country had no way to watch #4/#18 play a close game.

I honestly don't see ESPN walking away from BE basketball completely so I think the point is moot. Even if we have football, or most of it on NBC Sports, basketball will probably be split between ESPN, CBS, and NBC.

 

[SubbaBub]

What the BE wants from this next contract is the best balance of $$$ and national TV exposure. Both are critical in terms of recruiting and building a strong FB brand. Without a national TV presence, including non-game related news coverage, good BE teams will be left out of the big bowl games ($$$ again) on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, until NBC Sports runs versions of Sportscenter and CGD 24/7, ESPN will provide the best exposure even as the stepchild to the SEC and B12.

NBCs is currently showing college hockey and running movies to fill time. It is not yet a "sports" network.

This will be complex decision for the RI boys and girls, they need to get it right.


Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

 

[freescooter]

Well NBC is one station so if you've got a disgusting 18 team league, might there not be multiple games of interest at the same time? The point isn't that Connecticut is going to miss UConn games, the point is that 90% of the country had no way to watch #4/#18 play a close game.

Yeah, but take into consideration that 1ts #4 vs #18 the first week of January, not March, that it is a mid-week game going head to head with various games of local interest around the country (likely that If UCONN-WVU had been running, you wouldn't have given a cat's ass about watching Baylor, nor would anyone else in Connectiuct...How many people in Louisville do you think were upset because they couldn't see that game? I mean it was Kansas State-Baylor, not Kansas-Indiana or someone or UNC-Duke on a Tuesday night. Sure maybe a few purists are offended, but if Fox thought it was going to be a huge draw, they could have moved it to the national FS network. 90% of the country, even 90% of college basketball fans I suspect, would just as soon watch games from their conference or their region, especially at this point of the season.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

NBC may have more than one channel. I will have to check. I also think NBC has heard of the Internet, and in a pinch, could figure out a way to get a game online.

This is one of the stupider threads in board history.

 

[MTHusky]

NBC may have more than one channel. I will have to check. I also think NBC has heard of the Internet, and in a pinch, could figure out a way to get a game online.

This is one of the stupider threads in board history.

Why is that? This is a real concern to fan's living outside of CT who wants to want the game on a 50"+ TV in HD rather than an IPad or laptop. What are the odds of ESPN's FullCourt picking up all the games if Our Conference sign's with NBC, Fox or the Food Channel?

 

[freescooter]

I'm not sure that when the Big East makes its new tv deal it is going to be willing to take a $25 million hit just to please both UCONN fans in Montana. Maybe, but I doubt it.

 

[MTHusky]

I'm not sure that when the Big East makes its new tv deal it is going to be willing to take a $25 million hit just to please both UCONN fans in Montana. Maybe, but I doubt it.

WTF?

 

[freescooter]

your license plate avitar says Montana, you used ot go by MontanaHusky. I assume you're in Montana, and I assume there is another UCONN fan there, too, though I don't know of any. But my point is that the Big East will take the the NBC or the CBS or the Fox offer if it is larger than the ESPN offer. If that means a few Big East Fans in non-big East regions have to watch the games on their iphones ranther than their high def big screens, the Big East leadership and the Big East members absolutely will not give two sh%ts. They won't even give 1. Hell, if it meant that Big East fans in BIg East cities had to watch the games on their iphones, but it would generate more money for the member schools, They'd send Fat John out to explain the advantages of watching the game on an iphone as they signed the contract.

Actually, it is kind of old fashioned, kind of nice in a way, that you would think that the Big East cares in the slightest about the fans. That could really apply to any conference or any D-1 program really. The convenience of the fans would fall somewhere after what the ushers wear at Big East arenas in terms of concerns, I suspect. And way behind how much each school gets paid. Way, way, way behind.

 

[MTHusky]

Nice attack and it would actually mean something if I was calling on the Big East not to leave ESPN when the contract expires: but I wasn't. I was responding to a post titled "
To those who can't wait to jump to Fox or NBC or Lifetime.

It is a concern for those of us not living in the comfy confines of the State of Connecticut. Of course we all realize that the BE could care less about the two fans by your count UCONN has outside the state borders but then again I wasn't addressing the Big East, I was talking to those (few as they may be) fans who might not realize that if the contract with ESPN isn't renewed most games will not be on FullCourt.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Psst. Comcast merged with NBC a year ago now. NBC sports now owns broadcast rights over the entire comcast broadcast network, which includes regional broadcast stations that reach yup - even Montana.

And hey....pssst.....UConn is already on a NBC sports network - Sportsnet NY.

It's all speculation, but it's not unreasonable, one bit to come to the conclusion that NBC sports is going to be willing to pony up some major coin for ownership to all big east product.

THe big east b-ball tournament on NBC? Come on, 30 rock is 15 blocks MSG.

I wouldn't be worried about missing big east games of any sport if the conference ends up on NBC.

I can't speak for Montana, but the real interesting thing is that if the big east does go entirely to NBC sports in two years, at least in New England, there will be some real clear lines to determine who's watching what, because ESPN owns the rights to ACC broadcasts in New England, and NBC potentially can own the broadcast to all Big East.

Behind all of this mess around the big east in recent times, stands ESPN. They are virtually on the brink of losing major market share in broadcasting ratings of sports, in the entire northeast region.......

Unless of course, they're banking on Boston College athletics to draw in major ratings.

 

[MTHusky]

Thanks for this info. What's funny about all this is that once the ESPN contract is up with the Big East, UCONN will most probably be in a different conference

 

[zls44]

Thats why they outsourced their live online NHL content when they were a total disaster trying to do it themselves, right? I mean, it's so simple, right?

 

[HartbeatHusky]

Thanks for this info. What's funny about all this is that once the ESPN contract is up with the Big East, UCONN will most probably be in a different conference

I actually seriously doubt that UConn will be in another conference any time soon. NBC Sports does also include all of the CSN networks now. I noticed when I was watching the Celtics on CSN New England the other day that there was an NBC logo when the screen changed for the end credits. There are CSN regional networks all over the country so I agree with Carl that the actual reach of NBC Sports/Comcast is much greater than people realize it is.

 

[HartbeatHusky]

Thats why they outsourced their live online NHL content when they were a total disaster trying to do it themselves, right? I mean, it's so simple, right?

It's crazy that you guys really think ESPN is the end all be all of sports and that only they can pull off a national sports contract.

 

[zls44]

I can guarantee, with absolute certainty, that if the Big East signs a deal with NBCU, not one game will be on full court. There wont be any on ESPN3, no highlights in the recap on espn.com, and limited tv recap highlights.

That is all because of NBC's decision to refuse to work with ESPN on any of these matters. It dates back to when they got the Olympics and steadfastly refuse to let ESPN use more than 3 MINUTES of highlights a DAY during the olympics. ESPN has tried time and again to negotiate a way to get more olympics/MWC/NHL highlight rights from them and they refuse. Year after year after year.

It's absurd and it's bad for sports fans. In other words, it's just like everything NBC does.

 

[zls44]

I would greatly benefit, personally and professionally, if someone else could challenge ESPN. Nothing NBC has done so far indicates they can.

I believe that Big East basketball is a first class product on the same level as SEC football. It should be available to as many as possible. Moving to NBC would greatly reduce market penetration on TV, and eliminate it on mobile/internet (aka the largest growing market).

Look at the job CBS does with online streaming of the SEC, the writers they've hired, the podcasts they're doing to try and be the home of college sports. Its friggin fantastic. Thats a realistic blueprint for NBC to follow, not voluntarily taking a billion dollar loss on the olympics.

 

[HuskyHawk]

NBC may have more than one channel. I will have to check. I also think NBC has heard of the Internet, and in a pinch, could figure out a way to get a game online.

This is one of the stupider threads in board history.

NBC, being the most stupid, backward, incompetent network out there, is very likely to botch all of this completely. It took ESPN several years to build out ESPN 360, and then rebrand it ESPN 3, and then take it further with live steaming on XBox, iOS devices etc. NBC, if they started right now, might be able to match what ESPN has now in 3-4 years. By then of course, what ESPN has would be much better itself.

Being on NBC is like a death sentence.