Monday, November 25, 2013

A look back at 2013 CFB TV by conference

ACC
  • 14 regular season games on ABC.  Last year the conference had nine games on ABC.
    • Four of the 14 were in primetime, up one from 2012.
  • 33 games on ESPN (12), ESPN2 (3) and ESPNU (18)
    • Two additional games were shown on ESPNEWS
  • Nearly all FOX Sports Net affiliates became the de facto home of the ACC's RSN package.  RSNs in Ohio, the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Northwest saw the games on a somewhat regular basis for the first time, along with the addition of YES, MSG Networks and ROOT Sports Pittsburgh who became affiliates as part of being in the conference's new extended footprint.
  • Every intraconference game was carried on television.  Previous years would have 1-2 of these games air on ESPN3 exclusively.
  • 24 games were carried on ABC (2), ESPN (11), ESPN2 (6) and ESPNU (5)
    • An additional seven games were aired on ESPNEWS
    • Two games aired on ABC, down from six in 2012 for the Big East
  • The conference's syndication package, which goes back through the history of the Big East as a football conference, ended with the 11/23 game.  The package was started by Creative Sports Marketing, which was then purchased by ESPN.
  • Eight intraconference games aired on ESPN3 in 2013, up from 1 in 2012.  Note that changes in membership size and schools don't necessarily provide an apples-to-apples comparison
  • 2014 will see a subset of games sublicensed from ESPN to CBS Sports Network.  One game was sublicensed to them in 2013 which allowed ESPN to have CBS Sports Network's 22nd game selection from the Mountain West.
  • Sixteen games on over-the-air network television in 2013.  Down from 21 in 2012.  
    • FOX: 10 in 2013, up one from 2012 (all national).
    • ABC: 6 in 2013 with three of those as full national, either completely on ABC or via reverse mirror.  2012 had 12 games with seven full national on ABC or reverse mirror.
  • Thirty one national cable games in 2013, up from 14 in 2012.
    • FOX Sports 1 carried 22 of the thirty national cable games.  In 2012, F/X carried nine.
    • ESPN Networks carried nine games.  In 2012 they carried five.
      • ESPNU carried Big 12 football games (three) for the 1st time. 
  • Remember that any Longhorn Network games after the "3rd tier" game count towards the ESPN contract.  By my count, that is 17 games.
    • Should the Mississippi St.-Oklahoma St. and LSU-TCU games count as well?  Great question that I haven't been able to get clarified.  I have flip-flopped as to whether these games should count.  Right now I don't think they should.
  • ABC/ESPN is supposed to carry at least 13-15 games to a national audience. I counted 12 games.  Again, if either of the two neutral site games count, ABC/ESPN hit their target.
  • FOX Sports Net syndication carried seven games that were not considered "3rd tier" Big 12 games.  This decreased from eighteen in 2012.  In short, FOX Sports 1 picked up roughly eleven games from FSN.
    • Of the 3rd tier games, FOX Sports Net distributed four of them to regions outside of the Big 12 footprint.
  • FOX College Sports did not carry any Big 12 football exclusively in 2013.  The suite of networks carried four games last year, two of which would have been considered "3rd tier" games.
  • Thursday night games increased from one in '12 to four in '13.  Expect the latter to be the standard in upcoming years, particularly now that FOX is willing to show Thursday night games on FOX Sports 1.
  • 41 games selected by ESPN Networks 
    • Yes, I did count Syracuse at Penn St.  As I understand it, the Big Ten was granted the TV rights for this game.
    • 20 on ABC with ESPN reverse mirroring (+1 from 2012)
    • 21 on ESPN Networks
      • 9 on ESPN, matching 2012
      • 9 on ESPN2, down one from 2012
      • 3 on ESPNU, also matching 2012
  • With the addition of FOX Sports 1 to split the 20 selections that FOX had between the new sports network and FSN, C-USA had 12 games on the national network with eight on FSN.  In 2012, F/X carried one C-USA game with the remaining games left for FSN syndication
  • FOX College Sports carried ten C-USA games, up from eight in 2012
    • There was some minor alterations during the season as to which C-USA games would air on FSN vs. FCS.
  • CBS Sports Network's coverage of the conference decreased from 15 games in 2012 to 12 games in 2013.
  • Thursday night games increased in 2013.  FOX Sports 1 showed seven C-USA games on Thursday nights in 2013.  In 2012, CBS Sports Network showed a pair as did FSN.
  • Coverage on ESPNU and ESPN2 was relatively equal from 2012 to 2013.  One more game on ESPN2 compared to 2012
  • Three games were carried on ESPNEWS early in the season
  • All conference games not carried on television were carried on ESPN3
  • The new Time Warner Cable package, which I did rail against, was indeed available to in-market through the MAC-branded ESPN3 player on the MAC's website.
  • The new television split between ESPN and CBS Sports Network resulted in many more Mountain West games being shown on national television outlets
    • Nine games were shown on ESPN/ESPN2
    • Eleven games were shown on ESPNU/ESPNEWS (note: Rutgers-Fresno St. was sublicensed from CBS Sports Network)
    • 21 games were carried by CBS Sports Network
    • ESPN3 streamed five games
      • Three of the five were from the package of 22 games that ESPN pre-selected.  Two of the games were unclaimed by the television and streaming partners, allowing the schools to choose where they wanted those games to be shown
  • ROOT Sports televised eleven games
    • All ROOT Sports games were available out-of-market via the Mountain West website
  • Eight games were exclusively streamed through the Mountain West website
    • Five of those eight were produced by Campus Insiders.  Three were produced by the schools.
  • An apples-to-apples comparison to previous years is really not possible.  
    • One barometer is that, on average, Mountain West games were shown nationally around 17-20 times per season with a mix of Versus/NBCSN, CBS Sports Network, ABC, ESPN and CBS.  
    • In 2012, 15 games were shown on networks that are in at least 75 million plus households.  In 2013, that number jumped to 20 in homes with nearly 74.5 million
    • Typically CBSSN showed less than ten Mountain West games per year. In 2013, that number, as noted above jumped to 21.
  • Both ESPN and FOX hold the rights to 22 games. This excludes the conference championship game, which swaps between the two entities
  • FOX is supposed to air eight regular season games (four in east coast primetime) on their broadcast network but only aired seven. They did select five Pac-12 games to air in primetime.  ABC is only required to air two regular season games (one in primetime) and will end up airing six with two in primetime.
    • Overall, the number of broadcast network games for the Pac-12 decreased slightly from 16 to 13
    • Will FOX get in trouble?  Probably not.  To be honest, the Pac-12 brought ESPN and FOX together for this rights deal.  I don't think ESPN would be able to take on FOX's 22 games themselves and want to pay FOX's share of the rights fee.  I also don't think CBS or NBC have the interest going forward.  Too many legal entanglements that aren't worth fighting.
  • The number of games on pay television from ESPN and FOX increased from 28 to 32
    • FOX Sports 1 aired 15, up from 10 on F/X
    • ESPN's properties televised 16, down two from 2012
  • If we look at the games by time range for the games on Saturdays
    • Five broadcast network games (four on ABC, one on FOX) and five national pay TV games (all on FOX Sports 1) started between 12pm-1pm local time to the game (early afternoon).  Seven broadcast network games (two on ABC, five on FOX) and nine pay television (all on F/X) started between 11:30am-1pm local time in 2012
      • Local time was used to account for Mountain time and when Arizona is on standard time
    • Seven broadcast network games (five on FOX, two on ABC) and two pay television games (one each on ESPN and FOX Sports 1) started between 4pm-5pm local time in 2013.  Eight broadcast network games (six on FOX, two on ABC) started between 3:30pm-5pm local time in 2012.
    • Late evening games increased to account for the decrease in early afternoon games.  F/X did not televise any late evening Saturday games in 2012 while ESPN carried 12 that started at 7pm or later local time.  In 2013, ESPN aired 11 of these same games while FOX Sports 1 five of these games
  • Similar to the Big 12, FOX will now be a player for Thursday night games.  ESPN aired all four from the conference in 2012, excluding the Thursday before Labor Day.  In 2013, ESPN carried two and FOX Sports 1 carried two.  FS1 also televised one on the Thursday before Labor Day and the Pac-12 Network showed an Arizona St. Thursday night game post-Labor Day.
  • The main difference, that I'm aware of, between 2012 and 2013 is that CBS once again had the top choice for all Saturdays.  In 2012, ESPN had two Saturdays where they were able to leapfrog CBS due to CBS airing LSU-Alabama as a second primetime game in 2011.
  • ESPN Networks carried 44 games over ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU in 2013, two more than 2012
    • ESPN carried 21 games and ESPN2 aired eleven games
    • ESPNU carried eleven games in '13, down two from the prior year. 
      • The 7pm ESPNU slot was traditionally a slot for an SEC, but did not air any SEC games for a seven week stretch from 10/12-11/23
    • ESPN and ESPNU selected six games to air at 12pm ET as part of the in-season selection process (Saturday games starting with 9/21/13).  Eight were at 12pm on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU in 2012
      • Of the six games in '13, four were on Saturdays where CBS did not have their exclusive primetime window which locks ESPN out of carrying any SEC games after mid-afternoon.  In '12 this number was five.
  • CSS's sublicensed package of SEC games ends with the 2013 season.  These games will air on the SEC Network in 2014
    • FOX's RSN package ends after the 2014 season. 
  • A slight decrease in coverage with two games on ESPN2 (down one from 2012) and four on ESPNU (down one from 2012)
    • Late membership changes by FAU and Middle Tennessee as schedules were being drawn up could have affected the number of games chosen.
  • Two additional games were placed on ESPNEWS
  • A possible carryover from Texas St.'s time in the WAC was that the Longhorn Network carried three Texas St. football games.  The WAC allowed Longhorn Network to be considered a conference television platform into 2012.  
  • Much like the MAC, all games that were not picked up for some form of television broadcast ended up as ESPN3 exclusives.

Monday, November 18, 2013

MWC TV Bonus Payout synopsis

When Boise St. withdrew its decision to leave the Mountain West, part of the term sheet agreed to was that the conference's TV revenues in football would have a new component based on games on widely viewed networks.  If a school appeared on a widely viewed network as part of the MW's television package, the competing schools would get a cut of revenue off the top.

The term sheet in question states that games on weeknights on significantly viewed networks (the term sheet defines those networks) would net the participating schools each $300K.  Any game that is on a Saturday earns an additional $200K ($500K total).  The bonuses are cumulative.

The MW TV revenue yearly average from both CBS Sports Network and ESPN were to be around $20 million.  Right now, I'm not taking into account whether the MW conference championship game is included in the bonus payments.  Here's what each school earned off the top before TV revenues are divided out.

Boise St. = $1.6 million (2 weeknight, 2 Saturday)
Fresno St. = $1.3 million (1 weeknight, 2 Saturday)
Wyoming = $1 million (2 Saturday)
San Diego St. = $800K (1 weeknight, 1 Saturday)
San Jose St. = $600K (2 weeknight)
New Mexico = $500K (1 Saturday)
Air Force = $300K (1 weeknight)
Nevada = $300K (1 weeknight)
Utah St. = $300K (1 weeknight)

Hawai'i is allegedly not part of the bonus system and instead gets to keep TV revenue from its PPV package.  Colorado St. and UNLV did not appear on any of the significantly viewed networks.  The remaining $13.3 million should be divided equally amongst the eleven schools.

CFB TV confirmations for Week 14

Not doing one of these for the 12/7 stuff.   Just follow twitter account and schedule site.
  • Six day pick in place for some Big Ten games 
    • Minnesota-Michigan St. - ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 at 12pm or 3:30pm
    • Purdue at Indiana - BTN at either 12pm or 3:30pm
    • Penn St. at Wisconsin - ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/BTN at 3:30pm
  • ACC has two games on hold for ESPN2 (12pm or 3:30pm) & ESPNU (3:30pm)
    • Virginia Tech-Virginia
    • Duke-North Carolina
  • Baylor-TCU will be either at 3:30pm (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2) or 8pm (ABC)
  • UCLA-USC is a six day pick right now too. Same time slots as Baylor-TCU.

Week 14
My Guesses

12pm ABC & WatchABC: Ohio St. at Michigan
12pm ESPN & WatchESPN: Florida St. at Florida
12pm FOX Sports 1 & FOX Sports GO: Kansas St. at Kansas
12pm ESPNU: Rutgers at Connecticut
12pm SEC TV & ESPN3: Wake Forest at Vanderbilt
12:30pm ACC Network & ESPN3: Maryland at NC State
2pm Pac-12 & Pac-12.com: Utah at Colorado
2pm ESPN3 Exclusive: Air Force at Colorado St.
2:30pm FSN: North Texas at Tulsa
3:30pm CBS & CBSSports.com: Alabama at Auburn
3:30pm ABC/ESPN/ESPN2: Georgia at Georgia Tech
3:30pm BTN & BTN2GO: Northwestern at Illinois
3:30pm ACC RSNs & ESPN3: Boston College at Syracuse
4pm FOX Sports 1 & FOX Sports GO: Iowa St. at West Virginia
7pm ESPN2 & WatchESPN: Clemson at South Carolina
7pm ESPNU & WatchESPN: Tennessee at Kentucky
7:45pm ESPN & WatchESPN: Texas A&M at Missouri
9:30pm Pac-12 & Pac-12.com: Arizona at Arizona St.
10:15pm ESPN2 & WatchESPN: New Mexico at Boise St.
10:30pm ESPNU & WatchESPN: San Diego St. at UNLV

Sunday, November 17, 2013

CFB TV Guesses for 11/30


  • Black Friday selections, except for any MAC games on ESPN3, were taken care of last night & early this morning.
  • There is no scheduled 12pm American syndication game.  The 11/23 game was the last scheduled game of the American/Big East football syndication network, going back to the days of Creative Sports.
  • I expect a six day pick to be used on the games that could affect the outcome of the ACC Coastal.
  • An ACC Network split is possible
  • FOX selected the Notre Dame-Stanford game before the season started & elected to play it on their broadcast network.  It, along with the Civil War and Apple Cup on Black Friday, represents their 22nd Pac-12 selection on the season, which means they won't have one available for the 12 day selection process.
  • Last year, FOX and ABC air Pac-12 games concurrently in the evening, though the FOX game had a staggered start of 6:30pm ET (UCLA-Stanford) while ABC's game started at 8pm (Notre Dame-USC).  They could do that again, but I think the possibility of an undefeated Baylor is tough to pass up, even if TCU isn't a marquee opponent.  If they do elect to do staggered starts, swap the UCLA-USC and Baylor-TCU games on the TV windows.
  • The Pac-12 Network windows are at 2pm ET and 9:30pm ET, respectively, which leads one to believe they are earmarked to games involving Mountain/Arizona time zone schools.  I think they would also try to keep the Territorial Cup and Crosstown Rivalry games in separate TV windows.
  • The FSN timeslot is somewhat unusual, but they are airing a Big East basketball game at 12pm ET (Lipscomb-Georgetown).
Saturday 11/30
12pm ABC: Ohio St. at Michigan
12pm ESPN: Clemson at South Carolina
12pm ESPN2: Duke at North Carolina
12pm FOX Sports 1: Kansas St. at Kansas
12pm ESPNEWS: Rutgers at Connecticut
12pm ESPNU: Wake Forest at Vanderbilt
12pm BTN: Purdue at Indiana
12pm SEC TV: Tennessee at Kentucky
12:30pm ACC Network: Virginia Tech at Virginia
2pm Pac-12: Utah at Colorado
2pm FSN: North Texas at Tulsa
3:30pm CBS: Alabama at Auburn
3:30pm ABC: Minnesota at Michigan St.
3:30pm ESPN: UCLA at USC
3:30pm ESPN2: Penn St. at Wisconsin
3:30pm ESPNU: Boston College at Syracuse
3:30pm BTN: Northwestern at Illinois
3:30pm ACC RSNs: Maryland at NC State
4pm FOX Sports 1: Iowa St. at West Virginia
7pm ESPN: Texas A&M at Missouri
7pm ESPN2: Georgia at Georgia Tech
7pm ESPNU: Florida St. at Florida
8pm ABC: Baylor at TCU
9:30pm Pac-12: Arizona at Arizona St.
10:15pm ESPN2: New Mexico at Boise St.
10:30pm ESPNU: San Diego St. at UNLV

ESPN3
Temple at Memphis
Air Force at Colorado St.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

11/23 CFB Six Day Guesses

There's enough games to make a set of guesses for games not quite set for 11/23.

  • The Pac-12 was a tougher decision.  The Pac-12 Network picks before FOX Sports 1, so it really depends on the result of Stanford-USC.  A Stanford loss means that the Oregon-Arizona game has  meaning in the Pac-12 North.  A Stanford win, I think, clinches the Big Game for ESPN as it would be the last appearance for Stanford on ESPN until the Pac-12 title game.  So I'm assuming a Stanford win.
  • The Pac-12 Network slot is a 7:30pm local time start, so 9:30pm ET if the game is in Boulder or Tuscon & 10:30pm ET if the game is in Palo Alto or Pasadena.
  • I'm assuming a Miami win over Duke.
  • With UCLA's win last night, I've made the assumption that Arizona St.-UCLA will put the winner in control of their own destiny in the Pac-12 South and the most important Pac-12 game.
  • I did not use a reverse mirror at 3:30pm.  I think the Pac-12 game will be a full national cable game.  While two Big Ten games have been reverse mirrored before and in a very limited fashion, it really doesn't make much sense to do it again.

12pm ESPN: Michigan St. at Northwestern
12pm ESPN2: Virginia at Miami (FL)
12pn ESPNU: Duke at Wake Forest
12pm ESPNEWS: Cincinnati at Houston
12pm American: Memphis at Louisville
12pm BTN: Nebraska at Penn St.
3:30pm ABC: Indiana at Ohio St.
3:30pm ESPN: California at Stanford
3:30pm ESPN2: Wisconsin at Minnesota
3:30pm BTN Michigan at Iowa
4pm FOX Sports 1: USC at Colorado
7pm FOX: Arizona St. at UCLA
7pm ESPN2: Vanderbilt at Tennessee
7pm ESPNU: Kentucky at Georgia
9:30pm Pac-12 Network: Oregon at Arizona

Monday, November 11, 2013

CFB TV Confirmations for 11/23

11/23 Schedule
11/23 Guesses

EDIT (11/13): Big 12 selections came out on 11/12.

Six day picks where times have not been set
All Big Ten except Illinois-Purdue: 12pm ESPN or BTN, 3:30pm ABC, ESPN or BTN
Oregon at Arizona
California at Stanford
Arizona St. at UCLA
USC at Colorado

Open TV windows
12pm ESPN: Big Ten
12pm BTN (tentative): Big Ten
3:30pm ABC, ESPN or ESPN2: (Big 12, Big Ten or Pac-12)
3:30pm BTN: Big Ten
4pm FOX Sports 1: Pac-12
7pm FOX: Pac-12
9:30pm or 10:30pm Pac-12 Network: Pac-12 (depends on home team location)

12pm ESPN2/ESPNEWS/ESPNU: Virginia at Miami (FL)
12pm ESPN2/ESPNEWS/ESPNU: Duke at Wake Forest
12pm ESPN2/ESPNEWS/ESPNU/American: Memphis at Louisville
12pm ESPN2/ESPNEWS/ESPNU/American: Cincinnati at Houston
12pm FOX Sports 1: Oklahoma at Kansas St.
12pm BTN & BTN2Go: Illinois at Purdue
12pm ACC RSNs & ESPN3: Old Dominion at North Carolina
12pm SEC TV & ESPN3: Mississippi St. at Arkansas
12pm ESPN3 Exclusive: The Citadel at Clemson
12pm NBC RSNs: Maine at New Hampshire
12:30pm ACC Network (split) & ESPN3: Pittsburgh at Syracuse
12:30pm ACC Network (split) & ESPN3: East Carolina at NC State
1pm ESPN3 Exclusive: Massachusetts at Central Michigan
1pm ESPN3 Exclusive: Bowling Green at Eastern Michigan
1:30pm ESPN3 Exclusive: Alabama A&M at Georgia Tech
3pm ESPN3 Exclusive: Georgia St. at Arkansas St.
3:30pm CBS & CBSSports.com: Texas A&M at LSU
3:30pm ESPNU & WatchESPN: Idaho at Florida St.
3:30pm Pac-12 & Pac-12.com: Utah at Washington St.
3:30pm ACC RSNs & ESPN3: Boston College at Maryland
4pm ESPNEWS: New Mexico at Fresno St.
7pm ESPN2/ESPNU & WatchESPN: Kentucky at Georgia
7pm ESPN2/ESPNU & WatchESPN: Vanderbilt at Tennessee
7pm Longhorn Network: Western Kentucky at Texas St.
7pm ESPN3 Exclusive: SMU at USF
7pm ESPN3 Exclusive: Connecticut at Temple
7:45pm ESPN & WatchESPN: Missouri at Ole Miss
8pm ABC: Baylor at Oklahoma St.
8pm FOX Sports 1: Kansas at Iowa St.
10:30pm ESPN2 & WatchESPN: Washington at Oregon St.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

CFB TV Guesses for 11/23

11/23 Schedule

* FOX broadcast network is only listing one CFB game for 11/23 at this time.  I guess they pick a Pac-12 game but I have no idea anymore.  FOX's contract says they have to do eight games on their broadcast network.  Maybe they compromised for this season, maybe its an average of eight but I think the word "average" would have been stated.  I'd reach out to the Pac-12, but I don't think I'm going to get a good answer.  I really don't know.
* By selecting two Pac-12 games for 11/23, FOX would be out of 12 day selections for the Pac-12.  They would have ND-Stanford on 11/30, which they selected before the season started.  ESPN, by selecting two games, has one available for 11/30.
* The ACC has a doubleheader in their RSN package
* FSN does not have any scheduled Big 12 or C-USA windows.
* NASCAR duties for ESPN have ended for the year, so an extra window at 3:30pm ET has opened up.
* With LSU-Alabama not a close game, at least by the final score, I think CBS finally gives Missouri a look.  I am aware that some affiliate has the A&M-LSU game in the guide data. Missouri is leading the SEC East after all and I believe a win clinches it for them.  I don't think CBS has a six day hold left to wait and see.
* Baylor-Oklahoma St. looks like a good choice for the ABC primetime game, but there are a few good choices in the Pac-12 and we could see both this game and a few Pac-12 choices (Oregon-Arizona, Arizona St.-UCLA, Washington-Oregon St. and Cal-Stanford) get placed into six day holds.
* Pac-12 Network says they have game telecasts at 3pm ET and 10:30pm ET.  That might not hold up, but they'll have two games.
* To accommodate USC-Colorado as a night game, I moved the ESPN2 window to 10pm.
* I could see a six day pick being used on the Duke-Wake Forest and Virginia-Miami (FL) games.  Winner of Miami-Duke on 11/16 gets the better TV slot.
* Opened up the 12pm ESPNEWS slot for the American
* Decided to give Fresno St. the 7pm ET slot on ESPN2.  The Bulldogs are off on 11/16 so there's no danger of a loss between now and next Sunday.

12pm ESPN: Indiana at Ohio St.
12pm ESPN2: Georgia at Kentucky
12pm FOX Sports 1: Kansas at Iowa St.
12pm ESPNEWS: Cincinnati at Houston
12pm ESPNU: Michigan St. at Northwestern
12pm BTN: Michigan at Iowa
12pm ACC RSNs: Duke at Wake Forest
12pm American: Memphis at Louisville
12pm SEC TV: Mississippi St. at Arkansas
12:30pm ACC Network: Boston College at Maryland
3pm Pac-12: Utah at Washington St.
3:30pm CBS: Missouri at Ole Miss
3:30pm ABC/ESPN: Minnesota at Wisconsin
3:30pm ABC/ESPN: Oregon at Arizona
3:30pm ESPN2: Virginia at Miami (FL)
3:30pm ESPNU: Pittsburgh at Syracuse
3:30pm BTN: Nebraska at Penn St.
3:30pm BTN: Illinois at Purdue
3:30pm ACC RSNs: Idaho at Florida St.
4pm FOX Sports 1: Kansas St. at Oklahoma
7pm FOX: Arizona St. at UCLA
7pm ESPN2: New Mexico at Fresno St.
7pm ESPNU: Vanderbilt at Tennessee
7:45pm ESPN: LSU at Texas A&M
8pm ABC: Baylor at Oklahoma St.
8pm FOX Sports 1: California at Stanford
10pm ESPN2: USC at Colorado
10:30pm Pac-12: Washington at Oregon St.

ESPN3 Exclusives
Alabama A&M at Georgia Tech
East Carolina at NC State
Old Dominion at North Carolina
The Citadel at Clemson
SMU at USF
Connecticut at Temple
Massachusetts at Central Michigan
Bowling Green at Eastern Michigan
Western Kentucky at Texas St.
Georgia St. at Arkansas St.


Friday, November 8, 2013

A quick guide on the college basketball schedules

Wanted to briefly bring up a few items on the college basketball schedules

* I'm not as detailed re: streaming coverage compared to the football side of the house.  If a game is on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPNEWS, its on WatchESPN too.  If a game is on ESPN Full Court, it will be available on ESPN3 though there might be some blackout restrictions due to in-market television coverage.  Games that will be on ESPN3 but not part of ESPN Full Court will have the ESPN3 designation.

* Full Court's season listings have not yet come out yet. I'm relying on ESPN's schedule page to be updated, plus my DirecTV guide. Hopefully I can add games farther out into the season in the near future.

* Speaking of ESPN3, it is really the only streaming option I list.  Not because of preference, but it is a catch all of sorts for me.  These schedules would be a lot longer, and a lot more time consuming for me, if I listed every game's streaming option.  I can get through it for college football because its one game per week and Division I is a lot smaller in football.  With that said, the Mountain West, WCC, Horizon League, NEC, Big West, Patriot League and others have free streaming for many of their non televised games.

* RSN blackouts - they happen.  DirecTV and Dish Network have a mind of their own sometimes.

* CBS generally doesn't publish coverage maps for their regional coverage of games.  I will usually rely on 506Sports.com and the maps created there.  If you want to know where a NFL game in the US, that's the place.

* Games where I have an RSN listing - I try to have those as updated as I can.  I try to have a preliminary list of RSNs out there for a game about a month in advance and then cross-check again about a week before the game.

* I have what I've been able to compile from schools, conferences, television networks, etc. but I know things are missing and appreciate anything that I can update or correct.  Please also respect that this schedules site is not my full time job and I may not be able to respond to everything that comes across my Twitter account or the email address for the site.

Thanks and enjoy the season.

CFB TV Six Day Guesses for 11/16.


  • Oklahoma St. at Texas, to me, is still the top Big 12 game since Texas Tech has lost two conference games.  It goes to FOX in primetime, assuming neither OK St. nor Texas stumbles on Saturday.
  • As much as I think Baylor should be shown on broadcast TV, I think Baylor-Texas Tech will end up on FOX Sports 1 with the Utah-Oregon game on FOX to help them fulfill their Pac-12 contractual obligations.  The stumbles of the Red Raiders are the contributing factor.
    • I do not know if FOX will again have a doubleheader on the broadcast network on 11/23.  If they do, plans could change as they'll have another opportunity to fulfill Pac-12 obligations.  We might find out tomorrow as many TV services start to populate their listings for 11/23.
  • Assuming an Auburn win, I believe they'll fill the CBS slot.  After that, an Alabama win should put them in the primetime ESPN slot.  If they lose to LSU, it probably depends on the results of Mississippi St.-Texas A&M and Florida-Vanderbilt and whether that makes Florida-South Carolina any more attractive to TV.
  • I really don't see Florida St. losing.  Even if they do, it wouldn't move me to push that game to ESPNU and elevate Miami-Duke.  The winner of Miami-Duke will have a great deal of influence on the ACC Coastal race. 


12pm ESPN: Ohio St. at Illinois
12pm ESPN2: Indiana at Wisconsin
12pm FOX Sports 1: Iowa St. at Oklahoma
3:30pm CBS: Auburn at Georgia
3:30pm FOX: Utah at Oregon
3:30pm ABC/ESPN2 Reverse Mirror: Syracuse at Florida St.
3:30pm ABC/ESPN2 Reverse Mirror: Michigan St. at Nebraska
3:30pm ESPNU: Miami (FL) at Duke
4pm FOX Sports 1: Baylor vs. Texas Tech
7pm ESPN2: Florida at South Carolina
7:30pm FOX: Oklahoma St. at Texas
7:45pm ESPN: Alabama at Mississippi St.
8pm ABC: Stanford at USC

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Changes for 2013-14 Men's Basketball on Television

Let's get right to it. Season starts on Friday

* The ACC now is the occupant of the 7pm ET slot on ESPN's Big Monday.

* Look for the ACC First Round & American First Round (Wednesday) to air on ESPNU, ACC Second Round (Thursday) to be elevated to ESPN with the American Quarterfinals on ESPNU.  Friday is a little tricky.  The ACC evening quarterfinals or the American semis could air on ESPN or ESPN2.  The ACC afternoon quarters will be on ESPN2.

* Here's a look at Championship Week so far, along with its official start point.

* ESPNEWS will air 27 men's basketball games.  Nearly all of them will be from the American Athletic Conference with one coming from the Big 12.

* Speaking of the American, they did well with managing to get their entire conference schedule televised on channels available nationally.  ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, CBS and CBS Sports Network will carry every intraconference game.  The games on CBS Sports Network are part of a sublicensing deal that will run the entire length of the conference's deal with ESPN and includes football starting in 2014.

* FOX Sports 1 will become the home to the Big East, carrying the vast majority of the conference's games.  The network will also carry Pac-12 (22) and Conference USA (10) games that FOX has rights to.  The network will also carry a few neutral site games from the Barclays Center and become the home to the Big East tournament and portions of the Pac-12 tournament (even numbered years for the Pac-12).

* FSN, on a national level, will not carry any Pac-12 games.  They have replaced some of that content with around 18-20 Big East games.  In addition, they appear to have elevated about twenty Big 12 games, mostly non-conference games, to air across as many of their RSNs as possible.

* FOX Sports 2, previously known as Fuel TV, will carry close to twenty men's baskeball games.  Nearly all are Big East non-conference games, plus a pair of games (arguably the best games) from the Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival.

* The Big East, much like the American, also had games sublicensed to CBS Sports Network.  The deal starts out relatively small and includes games on CBS broadcast network.  The number of games will increase starting with the 2014-15 season.  No idea if the deal's size increase to account for possible future expansion.  The sublicensing deal does not run the full length of FOX's deal with the Big East, so FOX could elect to keep these games in the future.

* With the sublicense deals with the Big East and American, CBS Sports Network has vaulted up the charts in my opinion to become a solid 2nd place among national cable networks for men's college basketball.  In addition to those two conferences, the network will air games from the Atlantic 10, Conference USA,  Mountain West, OVC, NEC and Patriot League, plus a handful of exempt events like the Great Alaska Shootout and the Paradise Jam.

* In conjunction with CBS Sports Network increasing its profile and carrying more Mountain West basketball games, NBCSN is dropping back a little.  They will continue to carry games from the CAA, Ivy League and Atlantic 10, but will no longer carry Mountain West sports, much like they did not carry any football games from the conference.

* Besides the new contracts for the American & Big East kicking in, the Atlantic 10 and Mountain West also have changes to their contracts that start up with this season.

* In addition to the Mountain West's expanded online presence, the West Coast Conference will also be more widely available via an increase in exposure through their partnership with Campus Insiders.

* The 2013-14 season is the final year of SEC basketball on CSS via sublicense from ESPN.  These games will revert back to the conference in 2014-15 to air on the SEC Network.

* Time Warner Sports Channel will handle the regional package for the Mid-American Conference after a three year deal with SportsTime Ohio.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Remaining TV window minimums/maximums to pay attention to..

An updated look at TV windows and appearance minimums/maximums.  Looked at these coming into November, so here's a refresh based on today's selections.  The SEC's selections, while not yet out, shouldn't make a difference.

American
  • 21 conference controlled games have aired or will air on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.  The commitment is a minimum of 24, which should be easy to hit over the next four weeks.
Big 12
  • All FOX commitments have been met.  Will have at least six games on broadcast network and six national games on FOX Sports 1.
  • ABC/ESPN have used 14 Big 12 selections (4 ABC, 8 ESPN Networks, 2 Longhorn Network) and have five left to use over three weeks.  Nine of the selections have been full national.  Big 12 says that at least 13 must be full national.
Big Ten
  • ABC/ESPN have used 35 of a maximum 41 selections (17 ABC, 18 ESPN Networks) with two weeks left.
  • All BTN appearance requirements have been met. Every team has appeared at least twice with one of them as part of a conference game.
Pac-12
  • All conference teams will be free to be selected by any TV package.  None will exceed a maximum of appearing nine times combined on FOX or ABC/ESPN platform.
  • FOX has selected 20 of their maximum 22 games, leaving two games to pick over the final two weeks
    • FOX has at least five games for their broadcast network and must air three more.  At least one of those three must be in primetime
    • Only one of FOX's remaining three games can air on cable, not including Notre Dame at Stanford which is waiting for its network to be determined.  If their selection on 11/16 airs on FOX Sports 1, the remaining three selections that FOX has are supposed to air on their broadcast network.
    • Since FOX has Notre Dame-Stanford on 11/30, that may be their only selection for the week and they might take two games next week.
  • ABC/ESPN has selected 19 of their 22 games.  Three selections remaining.
    • At least one of the four remaining games must be an ABC east coast primetime telecast, which will be filled by the 11/16 six day pick.
MWC
  • Boise St. must appear on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 at least three times per season.  This requirement will be fulfilled by the Wyoming game on 11/16.
SEC
  • LSU & Georgia have been selected four times in the CBS package and cannot exceed six selections and neither one will exceed based on remaining available games.

CFB TV Confirmations for 11/16

Will fill in as announced.  As we get closer to the end of the year, particularly with a few weeknight games that could affect conference standings, we might see more six day holds.

The schedule so far

My Guesses

Six day picks

Ohio St. at Illinois (12pm ESPN/ESPN2 or 3:30pm ABC w/ESPN2 reverse mirror)
Michigan St. at Nebraska (12pm ESPN/ESPN2 or 3:30pm ABC w/ESPN2 reverse mirror)
Stanford at USC (3:30pm FOX, 4pm FOX Sports 1 or 8pm ABC)
Utah at Oregon (3:30pm FOX, 4pm FOX Sports 1 or 8pm ABC)
Baylor vs. Texas Tech (12pm FS1, 3:30pm FOX, 4pm FS1 or 7:30pm FOX)
Iowa St. at Oklahoma (12pm FS1, 3:30pm FOX, 4pm FS1 or 7:30pm FOX)
Oklahoma St. at Texas (12pm FS1, 3:30pm FOX, 4pm FS1 or 7:30pm FOX)
Alabama at Mississippi St. (7pm ESPN2 or 7:45pm ESPN)
Georgia at Auburn (3:30pm CBS, 7pm ESPN2 or 7:45pm ESPN)
Florida at South Carolina (3:30pm CBS, 7pm ESPN2 or 7:45pm ESPN)

12pm ESPN/ESPN2 & WatchESPN: Indiana at Wisconsin

12pm ESPNEWS & WatchESPN: Cincinnati at Rutgers
12pm ESPNU & WatchESPN: 
12pm BTN & BTN2Go: Purdue at Penn St.
12pm FSN: West Virginia at Kansas
12pm American & ESPN3: UCF at Temple
12pm SEC TV & ESPN3: 
12:30pm ACC Network (split) & ESPN3: North Carolina at Pittsburgh
12:30pm ACC Network (split) & ESPN3: Maryland at Virginia Tech
12:30pm ACC RSNs & ESPN3: NC State at Boston College
1pm ESPN3 Exclusive: Akron at Massachusetts
2pm Pac-12 & Pac-12.com: Washington St. at Arizona
2pm ESPN3 Exclusive: UL-Lafayette at Georgia St.
3pm ESPN3 Exclusive: Connecticut at SMU
3:30pm CBS & CBSSports.com: 
3:30pm ABC/ESPN2 or ESPNU: Syracuse at Florida St.
3:30pm ABC/ESPN2 or ESPNU: Miami (FL) at Duke
3:30pm FSN: TCU at Kansas St.
3:30pm BTN & BTN2Go: Michigan at Northwestern
5:30pm Pac-12 & Pac-12.com: California at Colorado
7pm ESPN2 & WatchESPN: 
7pm ESPNU & WatchESPN: Houston at Louisville
7pm ESPN3 Exclusive: Memphis at USF
7:45pm ESPN & WatchESPN: 
9:30pm Pac-12 & Pac-12.com: Oregon St. at Arizona St.
10:15pm ESPN2 & WatchESPN: Wyoming at Boise St.
10:30pm ESPNU & WatchESPN: San Jose St. at Nevada

Sunday, November 3, 2013

11/16 CFB TV Guesses

The schedule so far

* I figured that Stanford-USC would look appealing to ABC in the primetime slot as Baylor-Texas Tech has lost some of its luster with two straight losses.
* With that said, I get the feeling that this would be a good week to hold a six day pick on the Pac-12 and Big 12 to see how the results of Oklahoma-Baylor and Stanford-Oregon come out to get the best game.  Oklahoma St.-Texas is sitting out there as well and could mean more to the conference title race in the event of a Baylor loss.
* FOX added a 3:30pm CFB window and moved the primetime window to 7:30pm.
* Conversely, FOX has dumped their 10pm FS1 window.  Found that out this morning when looking through TV listings.
* I thought about putting Alabama-Mississippi St. on CBS, but I wanted to go with what I felt would be the more competitive game.
* No more SEC games on FSN this year.  They've run through all of their telecast windows.
* There are two FSN national windows scheduled.  Both are set to be Big 12 games.
* Pac-12 Network lists their game windows at 2pm, 5:30pm and 9:30pm ET, respectively.
* Wyoming-Boise St. was set for ESPN2 to fulfill a requirement that Boise St. must appear on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 at least three times during a season.  Part of the MW term sheet that was agreed upon when the MW contract with ESPN was signed.

12pm ESPN: Indiana at Wisconsin
12pm ESPN2: Ohio St. at Illinois
12pm FOX Sports 1: West Virginia at Kansas 
12pm ESPNEWS: Houston at Louisville
12pm ESPNU: Miami (FL) at Duke
12pm BTN: Purdue at Penn St.
12pm FSN: Iowa St. at Oklahoma
12pm American: Cincinnati at Rutgers
12pm SEC TV: Kentucky at Vanderbilt
12:30pm ACC Network: NC State at Boston College
12:30pm ACC RSNs: North Carolina at Pittsburgh
2pm Pac-12: California at Colorado
3:30pm FOX: Oregon St. at Arizona St.
3:30pm CBS: Georgia at Auburn
3:30pm ABC/ESPN2: Syracuse at Florida St.
3:30pm ABC/ESPN2: Michigan St. at Nebraska
3:30pm ESPNU: Maryland at Virginia Tech
3:30pm FSN: TCU at Kansas St.
3:30pm BTN: Michigan at Northwestern
4pm FOX Sports 1: Baylor vs. Texas Tech
5pm Pac-12: Utah at Oregon
7pm ESPN2: Florida at South Carolina
7pm ESPNU: Troy at Ole Miss
7:30pm FOX: Oklahoma St. at Texas
7:45pm ESPN: Alabama at Mississippi St.
8pm ABC: Stanford at USC
9:30pm Pac-12: Washington St. at Arizona
10:15pm ESPN2:  Wyoming at Boise St.
10:15pm ESPNU:  San Jose St. at Nevada

TBA ESPN3
Connecticut at SMU
Memphis at USF
UCF at Temple
Akron at Massachusetts