[NU Sports] Re: Indiana game

Wed Sep 15 22:44:16 CDT 2010

One of the issues when the SEC was discussing the creation of its own
network was whether to give the conference the right to all games.  The Big
Ten requires each member to transfer all media rights to all games to the
conference which is then free to negotiate with the networks (ESPN, CBS) and
then BTN.  Since the conference owns all rights to all games, the PPV option
is not available to any school and will not be available to UNL.  As far as
I know, the only other conference that does this is the Big East, although
the Pac-10(12) may be considering it as they have been discussing their own
network and are in discussions on revenue sharing, with USC and UCLA trying
to drum up support to continue the disproportionate sharing that now exists
to their benefit.  Good luck with that.

The end result of this is that the BTN does not get rights to nonconference
away games and would need to negotiate a separate deal.  One could be
negotiated with Rice that would still preserve the PPV option for Rice fans,
but it is not likely to happen.  I'm guessing that the IU-WKU game was done
since the BTN is available onmost cable systems in WKU's home markets so it
was a win-win situation.  WKU got a game televised that would not otherwise
have been televised probably for a small rights fee and made a great many
supporters outside of Bowling Green happy that they get a chance to see the
game.  Now if WKU actually can beat the Hoosiers, then the Topper Nation
will really have something to be happy about - their first true FBS win.
Mark

Mark S. Ament
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SportsBiz - The Business of Sports
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When it comes to sports, you know it's all about the money
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On Wed, Sep 15, 2010 at 2:49 PM, Herman Wang <herms at hotmail.com> wrote:

>
> I have DirecTV, so I can't address your Time Warner-specific questions, but
> I know that DirecTV has had at times up to 5 BTN overflow channels to
> provide live coverage to every single game happening that day.
>
> As you referenced, during the nonconference portion of the season, there
> could be as many as 11 BigTen games on any given weekend (12 next year).
>  Most weeks, though, there are a handful of teams on the road or with byes.
>  This past weekend, for example, you had the NU, Purdue and Minnesota games
> sharing the 11 a.m. CT slot on the BTN + overflow channels, with the
> Wisconsin game on ESPN.  Michigan State was on the road against Florida
> Atlantic; that game was on ESPNU.  Iowa and Ohio State had the 2:30 CT slot
> and were on ABC and ESPN, respectively.  Michigan also played at 2:30, but
> was on the road against Notre Dame, so that game was on NBC.  In the
> evening, Penn State was on the road against Alabama (game on ESPN), while
> Illinois was at home (game on BTN).  Indiana had a bye.
>
> Every single BigTen home game since the BTN was created has been broadcast
> live either on the ABC/ESPN family or the BTN, using the overflow channels.
>  No tape delay.  I can't tell you how Time Warner handles the overflow
> channels, but I've been very happy with DirecTV's carriage of the BTN.
>
> I imagine that even in a scenario where all 12 BigTen teams are playing at
> home on a given weekend, the schedule makers will work with ABC/ESPN and the
> BTN to shuffle around the start times, perhaps moving a game or two to
> Thursday, in order to provide live coverage of every single game.  The live
> broadcasts are the BTN's only reliable moneymaker, so the conference will
> bend over backwards to ensure every game is covered live, even if it has to
> use the BTN overflow channels.
>
>
>
> > From: nolan at romaine.tssi.com
> > Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Re: Indiana game
> > To: jonathanwhodges at gmail.com
> > Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2010 13:16:04 -0500
> > CC: nwu-sports at romaine.tssi.com
> >
> > > Since the BTN began broadcasting in 2007, EVERY Big Ten home game has
> been
> > > televised either on ABC/ESPN Networks or the BTN.  As far as I know,
> the
> > > contracts give the conference all rights to home games and those rights
> are
> > > transferred to the BTN for any games not picked up by ABC/ESPN.  This
> is
> > > somewhat different than most other conferences where the home teams
> still
> > > retain rights to their home games after the networks have chosen their
> games
> > > for the week (hence opening up the chance for local syndication and/or
> > > PPV).  So, I think Nebraska's PPV cash flow will be ending after this
> > > season, although they will soon get a large and steady stream of cash
> from
> > > the Big Ten television contracts as well as the BTN.
> >
> > Next year there could be as many as TWELVE home games for Big Ten
> > schools on a given weekend during the non-conference season.
> >
> > Even if they break them out into three different time slots with 2-3
> > games on ABC/ESPN (and possibly move one or two to a different day of the
> > week), can they fit all the remaining games on BTN + 2 overflow channels,
> > or are some of them likely to be shown in delayed form only?
> >
> > I'm not really complaining here, I did get to watch the NU-Illinois State
> > game Sunday evening (which is probably better than I'll be able to do
> with
> > the Rice game), and as far as I could tell they didn't have to skip any
> > plays, either.  And hopefully Time Warner cable will do something about
> > carrying the overflow channels by next season.
> >
> > But that's a lot of production crews, even if some of them are
> rent-a-crews.
> > (I've heard some real complaints about the qualify of some of the
> Nebraska
> > PPV games, with announcers who couldn't pronounce the names of the
> > starters and coaches and camera coverage that rivaled that of a webcam
> > at a teenager slumber party.)
> > --
> > Mike Nolan
> >
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