TV comparison - AAC vs. Big East (2018-2019) | Page 2 | The Boneyard

TV comparison - AAC vs. Big East (2018-2019)

If the games are always regional on CBS or Fox does it matter how good a team we become? I would hope that the better we are the more national game exposure the games get. That’s what propelled us back in the day on ESPN.
 
UConnJim said:
FS1 has the same average viewership as ESPNU, about 110k per game for men’s basketball. ESPN has 10x and ESPN2 has 3x the average viewership of FS1. FS1 is not a step up in media exposure for UConn men’s basketball. And, forget seeing highlights of the BE on Sports Center as the BE is an afterthought on the prime media outlet of college basketball.

The problem UConn has had with ESPN slots over the past 3 years has been driven by poor performance. If UConn was a top 15 team, the exposure on ESPN would have been better with the AAC contract. Why is this so hard to understand?

The main problem with UConn athletics has been bad coaching hires in football and men’s basketball. If Temple (Temple!) can turn around a football program that spends less money than UConn and was kicked out of the BE for lack of competitiveness, why hasn’t UConn been competitive? Was Kevin Ollie’s issues due to being in the AAC?
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FS1 has probably 15x the viewers ESPN+ does, which is where our games were headed
 
KSC94 said:
FS1 has probably 15x the viewers ESPN+ does, which is where our games were headed
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Not really. The non+ ESPNs were still going to show AAC games. All the AAC games were not going to +
 
upstater said:
Not really. The non+ ESPNs were still going to show AAC games. All the AAC games were not going to +
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You see where we've been playing? CBSSN/ESPNews games are going straight to ESPN+. We had a ton of those
 
KSC94 said:
You see where we've been playing? CBSSN/ESPNews games are going straight to ESPN+. We had a ton of those
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Right. But why did that happen?

When we were good, we were showcased among the top 6 teams in the country.

Look, that AAC-ESPN deal was fantastic for UConn, better than any P5 deals in any P5 conference. And then UConn started losing a lot, and then UConn got buried.

We went from 16 national games, to 14, to 13, to 5, 4, 5.
 
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whaler11 said:
You mean RSN (regional sports net)

FSN is Fox Sports Net branded RSNs - which just got sold
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Yeah, we are all wondering what happens with that. Probably means some games get moved back to FS2 or Fox maybe sells some still to those networks.
 
KSC94 said:
FS1 has probably 15x the viewers ESPN+ does, which is where our games were headed
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Again if you need to compare ESPN's worst option to the FS best option to make your point, you don't have one. Lower exposure is the price we pay to get more regional games and get our T3 rights back. It is was it is.
 
FriarJ said:
Yeah, we are all wondering what happens with that. Probably means some games get moved back to FS2 or Fox maybe sells some still to those networks.
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Also, could be some open slots as 2019-2020 season on FS1, is UFC free.
 
Guapo said:
ESPN may indeed be able to reopen the AAC deal:

www.sportsmediawatch.com

Idle notes: AAC-ESPN, Golf TV deals, 2026 Olympics

UConn leaving for the Big East could send ESPN and the AAC back to the negotiating table. Also: news on PGA and LPGA Tour media rights.
www.sportsmediawatch.com www.sportsmediawatch.com
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If this happens, it will highlight exactly how much we were getting screwed specifically by the most recent AAC media deal.
 
CL82 said:
Again if you need to compare ESPN's worst option to the FS best option to make your point, you don't have one. Lower exposure is the price we pay to get more regional games and get our T3 rights back. It is was it is.
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We don't even know that if it would be the case though given that ESPN+ is a complete unknown. All we do know is that nobody is paying $5/month to watch Tulsa and Tulane.

I'm sure a ranked UConn team would end up on ESPN2/U a few times, but UConn men's/women's basketball are the only two national names in the league and it's not hard to envision ESPN leveraging some of our marquee matchups behind a paywall to get subscribers.
 
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Hopefully, we are going to hear that Fox has also promised to add even more/better TV exposure to the (hopefully, adjusted and improved) 2020 deal.
 
Point6 said:
Hopefully, we are going to hear that Fox has also promised to add even more/better TV exposure to the (hopefully, adjusted and improved) 2020 deal.
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How much more/better exposure can you get on Fox? 19 games was on there last year. Most of any conference in the NCAA to have that amount on OTA TV.
 
ConnHuskBask said:
We don't even know that if it would be the case though given that ESPN+ is a complete unknown. All we do know is that nobody is paying $5/month to watch Tulsa and Tulane.

I'm sure a ranked UConn team would end up on ESPN2/U a few times, but UConn men's/women's basketball are the only two national names in the league and it's not hard to envision ESPN leveraging some of our marquee matchups behind a paywall to get subscribers.
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They were going to use it to help build +.

They would get more viewers for UFC on cable - but they bought for + because people will buy it and it has a very distinct fanbase - exactly like UConn women’s basketball in that it might be the only sport they follow.
 
jdb50 said:
If we are ever going to get more Sat. night home games at XL we have to fight the men's hockey team and the Wolfpack for the venue unfortunately.
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Friday night for hockey and the Wolfpack can go F itself.

Or Sat early afternoon games for UConn Hockey and UConn hoops at night - or worst case - gasp - we play on campus.

Speaking of that maybe we should go with the 3,500 seats instead of 2,500 now?
 
CL82 said:
Again if you need to compare ESPN's worst option to the FS best option to make your point, you don't have one. Lower exposure is the price we pay to get more regional games and get our T3 rights back. It is was it is.
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FS's best option is FOX, not FS1.

FOX/CBS > ESPN/ESPN2 > FS/ESPNU/ESPNews/CBSSN > ESPN+
 
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UConnJim said:
FS1 has the same average viewership as ESPNU, about 110k per game for men’s basketball. ESPN has 10x and ESPN2 has 3x the average viewership of FS1. FS1 is not a step up in media exposure for UConn men’s basketball. And, forget seeing highlights of the BE on Sports Center as the BE is an afterthought on the prime media outlet of college basketball.

The problem UConn has had with ESPN slots over the past 3 years has been driven by poor performance. If UConn was a top 15 team, the exposure on ESPN would have been better with the AAC contract. Why is this so hard to understand?

The main problem with UConn athletics has been bad coaching hires in football and men’s basketball. If Temple (Temple!) can turn around a football program that spends less money than UConn and was kicked out of the BE for lack of competitiveness, why hasn’t UConn been competitive? Was Kevin Ollie’s issues due to being in the AAC?
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I would be curious to know how many games Cincy, Memphis and Houston had on ESPN/2 last year. I recall a lot of times we'd be playing on a Thursday night on ESPN News/U or CBSsports when one of the former was on ESPN/2. I agree our loss of exposure on the flagship channels was definitely driven by UConn's performance the last 3 seasons than any other factor.
 
So if I have:

Fox
FS1
FS2
CBS
CBSSN

Am I good for all games? I've never heard of FSN?
 
McLovin said:
I would be curious to know how many games Cincy, Memphis and Houston had on ESPN/2 last year. I recall a lot of times we'd be playing on a Thursday night on ESPN News/U or CBSsports when one of the former was on ESPN/2. I agree our loss of exposure on the flagship channels was definitely driven by UConn's performance the last 3 seasons than any other factor.
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Just looking at conference games that appeared on ESPN/2 and CBS in 2019 (with 2018 standings included), sorted by total games on ESPN/2+CBS:

44155
 
tcf15 said:
Just looking at conference games that appeared on ESPN/2 and CBS in 2019 (with 2018 standings included), sorted by total games on ESPN/2+CBS:

View attachment 44155
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So I guess the question is what did the 4th or so best brand do for Big East last year in a similar measurement of network + basic cable.
 
tcf15 said:
Is FS1 on the same level as ESPN2?
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From an access standpoint, yes (it's in like only 2% less homes). From an eyeballs perspective, no. But for this exercise, I'd say yes.
 
Dooooooomed said:
FS's best option is FOX, not FS1.

FOX/CBS > ESPN/ESPN2 > FS/ESPNU/ESPNews > CBSSN > ESPN+
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Exactly. I’d make one more cut. CBSN stinks. Most bars don’t even seem to have it. The only place I can reliably catch a CBSSN game away from home is Buffalo Wild Wings. And it will be on a couple small TVs.
 
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tcf15 said:
Is FS1 on the same level as ESPN2?
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Here’s something to think about:

Hockey and ESPN.

Pre-lock out ESPN gave the NHL access to more eyeballs, however they clearly were not the priority.

Being on NBC Sports, I think, has benefited the NHL tremendously. They are the focus at that network.
 
tcf15 said:
View attachment 44157
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Big East is much more equitable than AAC, which makes sense since AAC has/had such a huge disparity between top and bottom of brand size. Good to see that all of Villanova, Marquette, Johnnies, Georgetown, and Xavier had double the AAC's top number of network TV games. I'd expect us to be in that tier below Villanova until we win some tournament games or get a high pre-season ranking. Although they might give us Nova numbers right off the bat as biggest market and first year back hype (plus our team should be good that year).

So 4 conference network TV games, 10 FS1 games, and 6 games on CBSSN seems likely.
 
Last edited:
Not sure where some of the numbers are coming from that some are posting, but here is the 2018-19 viewers average.

CBS 1,540m
ESPN 1,199 (Zion effect)
FOX 894k
ESPN2 330k
FS1 171K
ESPNU 86K

The FS1 number gets dragged down with most of the Big East "buy games" shown on national TV. Where those games would be shown on espn3/ESPN+ if Disney had the rights.
 
auror said:
Big East is much more equitable than AAC, which makes sense since AAC has/had such a huge disparity between top and bottom of brand size. Good to see that all of Villanova, Marquette, Johnnies, Georgetown, and Xavier had double the AAC's top number of network TV games. I'd expect us to be in that tier until we win some tournament games or get a high pre-season ranking. Although they might give us Nova numbers right off the bat as biggest market and first year back hype (plus our team should be good that year).

So 4 conference network TV games, 10 FS1 games, and 6 games on CBSSN seems likely.
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FS1 does a weekly BE show in season. Also the pre-game shows on weekends are dedicated to the BE even when they are on regular Fox. Fox has done a great job with BE content. You will feel the love. Usually Rob Stone, or Mike Hill, then a combination of Coach Lavin, Jimmy Jackson, Casey Jacobsen, Donny Marshall for the pre-game studio shows.
 
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