Monday, December 31, 2018

2018 Sun Belt TV Facts & Figures

NOTE: For the purposes of these statistics, I counted the games that were played.  Not the games that ended up being cancelled due to weather or other issues.  This also does not include the network placement of any conference championship game.

Here's the games that were counted


Some statistical notes
* This was the first year of an enhanced Sun Belt TV contract.  The linear TV enhancement for the regular season won't happen until 2020.  This update accounts the conference championship game airing on one of ESPN's TV platforms and the addition of games to the ESPN+ service.
* Texas St. accounted for the production of the local TV games.  Four of the five games aired on ESPN3.  Only the UL-Lafayette game aired on ESPN+.  Adding those games into the ESPN3 & ESPN+ appearance columns would put Texas St. at five ESPN3 appearances (most of any Sun Belt school).
* Overall, the number of regular season games on national linear TV platforms dropped from nine in 2017 to seven in 2018. One of the games in 2017 was on Championship Saturday, so even if you tack on the airing of the conference championship in 2018, they're still down a game.  One of the 2018 games was on ESPNEWS, so in terms of ESPN2 and ESPNU games, they were down three on those two channels from 2017.
* Somewhat rare: UL-Lafayette never appeared in the conference's linear TV package during the regular season, which is often set in advance of the season & is almost always weeknight games, but managed to appear in the conference championship game.
* UL-Monroe's last national linear TV appearance in a Sun Belt controlled game was Thursday 11/19/15 at Texas St. 
* Coastal Carolina has yet to appear as part of the Sun Belt linear TV package.  Coastal did appear on ESPNEWS in 2015 & 2016 vs. Liberty in Thursday night games.

Thursday, December 20, 2018

2018 SEC TV Facts & Figures

NOTE: For the purposes of these statistics, I counted the games that were played.  Not the games that ended up being cancelled due to weather or other issues.  This also does not include the network placement of any conference championship game.

Here's the games that were counted


An alternate breakdown is group together all CBS games, and two separates groups for Pay TV.  The primary pay TV group is ESPN & ESPN2 and the secondary pay TV group is SEC Network, ESPNU and ESPNEWS


Some statistical notes
* As of now, this is the final year of the agreement for ESPN to sublicense two games to CBS.  The two parties could negotiate a new agreement if they see fit.  The two games that were sublicensed in 2018 were West Virginia vs. Tennessee & Georgia at South Carolina.
* Alabama was the only school to get to the maximum of five CBS appearances under the CBS contract.  As mentioned above, one of Georgia's appearances were in a game sublicensed from ESPN.  It does not count as part of CBS's contract with the conference or the appearance maximum in that deal.
* ESPNEWS is not considered to be a network that SEC games are available to air on, but the channel was used to air Middle Tennessee at Georgia on 9/15 due to schedule changes from weather related cancellations and start time changes.
* 26 games appeared on ESPN & ESPN2 in 2018, down from 31 on those two channels in 2017.
* A start time that most SEC schools hate is noon ET.  Ten SEC games started at that time of day which ended up on ESPN (8), ESPNEWS (1) or ESPNU (1).  This combined number is the same as 2017.
* Taking into account all noon ET starts across all networks, here's the breakdown of times a school appeared in a SEC controlled game at noon ET and the number of times a school hosted a game at that start time.



Tuesday, December 18, 2018

2018 Pac-12 TV Facts & Figures

NOTE: For the purposes of these statistics, I counted the games that were played.  Not the games that ended up being cancelled due to weather or other issues.  This also does not include the network placement of any conference championship game.

Here's the games that were counted



ESPN and FOX Sports are on equal footing with respect to the number of games they can carry, up to 22 games.


In terms of broadcast networks vs. primary pay TV.  For this, it is a different dicing of the ESPN vs. FOX Sports table.


Some statistical notes
* Why does ESPN's count only equal 21?  Apparently the Washington-Auburn game from Atlanta in week one counted towards both the SEC and Pac-12.  Figuring out neutral site TV rights kill me every year.  If someone from ESPN can help clarify why this occurred & its accuracy, I'd be grateful.
* Utah is the first Pac-12 Championship Game participant who had no appearances on broadcast television during the regular season.
* Oregon St. appearing just twice on ESPN or FOX Sports, in this case just twice on FOX Sports, is the lowest number of combined appearances on those two entities since Colorado appeared just twice between those two network groups in 2013.  The prior season, the Buffs had only appeared once on FS1 with their remaining Pac-12 controlled games on Pac-12 Networks.
* The five appearances by Washington, coupled with Utah being not shown on broadcast television, is the lowest number of combined appearances for the two championship game participants since both FOX and ABC started showing games on their broadcast network.  In 2011, the championship game participants had four appearances, but ABC was the only partner allowed to show regular season games on broadcast television.
* The 34 games on Pac-12 Networks occurred over 32 unique windows.  Two games were shown only on regional feeds while the national feed carried a primary game.
* ESPNU is available for Pac-12 games to be shown on but is rarely used.  The last ESPNU Pac-12 game was 9/9/17 (Houston at Arizona)
* Seven Saturday primetime games were shown on broadcast television, equaling 2017.  Both seasons had another non-Saturday primetime appearance.
* The number of regular season broadcast television games decreased by one from 2017.
* Four Saturday selections for shown full national on ESPN, ESPN2 or FS1 starting earlier that 7pm PT / 8pm MT.  In 2017 there were two of these games.

Monday, December 17, 2018

2018 Mountain West TV Facts & Figures

NOTE: For the purposes of these statistics, I counted the games that were played.  Not the games that ended up being cancelled due to weather or other issues.  This also does not include the network placement of any conference championship game and a few other instances that I'll detail below.

Here's the games that were counted


And a breakdown of games carried on CBS Sports Networks vs. ESPN's linear TV & digital platforms.  CBS gets first choice of games after Boise St. home games are set aside for ESPN.


Some statistical notes
* Not included in the counts are the games Hawai'i shows on pay-per-view, which are part of a side deal the school has with Spectrum within the state.  Those games get shown on Stadium's mobile & tablet app outside of the islands.  Also not included are the three games that schools elected to produce their own webcasts for after they were not selected to air on CBSSN, ESPN Networks, Stadium via Facebook or AT&T SportsNet.
* As mentioned above, Boise St. has its home games set aside for airing on ESPN's platforms.  Its a bit surprising to see Fresno St. eclipse Boise St.'s appearance count on ESPN's platforms.
* Two games were chosen by ESPN to air on ESPN3 after AT&T SportsNet and Stadium made their selections.  Those games were Incarnate Word-New Mexico & Nevada-San Jose St.
* Three games did not have any video distribution.  This choice was made by the home school similar to the choice to stream after all other TV partners bypassed the games.
* Seeing Utah St. be skipped entirely by CBSSN isn't surprising.  Looking back at last year, UNLV made all of their linear TV appearances on ESPN platforms.  What is surprising is that it was during a season where Utah St. made it into the top 25 late into the season.  In the past, ESPN worked with Campus Insiders on a game swap when Fresno St. was undefeated, taking a game at Wyoming and placing it on ESPN2 and sending Nevada-Colorado St. to CI.
* Eighteen of the games that ESPN selected before the season started both their start time & TV network decided during the season (excluding weeknights & 1st three weeks, where UConn-Boise St. had its TV network decided & Oregon St.-Nevada was elevated due to weather cancellations & schedule changes).  Of those games, the network choices were as follows:

  • ESPN: 1
  • ESPN2: 4
  • ESPNU: 11
  • ESPNEWS: 2
* For those in-season ESPN linear TV decision, the timeslots were as follows, using Pacific Time as the base:
  • 12pm & before 4pm: 4
    • None in 2017
  • 4pm & before 7pm: 2
    • Equal to 2017
  • 7pm & later: 12

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

2018 MAC TV Facts & Figures

NOTE: For the purposes of these statistics, I counted the games that were played.  Not the games that ended up being cancelled due to weather or other issues.  This also does not include the network placement of any conference championship game.

Here's the games that were counted


Some statistical notes
* Seven regular season games on ESPN2 ties the 2008 and 2016 seasons as the second highest number of games on that channel.  2005 had eight games on the channel.
* Buffalo's seven games on national linear TV is the most for any school since Western Michigan also appeared seven times during their Cotton Bowl season.
* For the two local TV games, the Buffalo at Toledo game aired outside the Toledo & Buffalo markets on ESPN+.  Cincinnati vs. Miami game aired on ESPN3 in markets where the game was not shown on local television.
* CBS Sports Network had six of their ten games chosen through the in-season selection process where they had a choice of more than one game, either as the first choice or in the case of Black Friday, the second choice after ESPNU.  In other words, I'm not including the situations where there were two games and ESPN took theirs first & left the latter to CBSSN.  For those six games, a game involving Buffalo was chosen three times.  Akron was involved in two of those games.  An interesting side note: two of those games involved Army, whose rights are owned by CBSSN.
* There were six situations where a pair of weeknight games were set aside and the network decision was made about 6-12 days in advance, either where both games were on ESPN platforms or one game was on an ESPN platform and one was set aside for CBSSN.  Western Michigan appeared in three of the games that were chosen by the network that is subscribed to in more homes or in one particular case, linear TV vs. ESPN+.

Sunday, December 9, 2018

2018 Conference USA TV Facts & Figures

NOTE: For the purposes of these statistics, I counted the games that were played.  Not the games that ended up being cancelled due to weather or other issues.  This also does not include the network placement of any conference championship game.

Here's the games that were counted

TV = linear TV channel
FB = Facebook stream produced by CBS or Stadium



Conference USA has four primary partners so I've combined together the CBSSN games into one bucket, the Stadium games into a second and the ESPN digital games into a third.



Another way to uniquely slice Conference USA's data is linear TV vs. free digital streaming vs. pay digital streaming.  I believe ESPN3 is still included with a handful of telcos internet service independent of having ESPN as a linear TV channel, so I'm throwing those games under free streaming. 

Linear TV = CBSSN, Stadium or beIN Sports
Free streaming = Facebook exclusives (CBSSN or Stadium) or ESPN3
Pay streaming = ESPN+




Some statistical notes (maybe more commentary than notes)
* Data for C-USA is static throughout the season. All the network groups made their choices in the spring. So schools like UAB & Middle Tennessee making a combined six linear TV appearances while FAU appears in the same number of games isn't a surprise. They're just capitalizing on their 2017 success and what was expected in 2018. FAU & North Texas were the division winners in the preseason media poll.
* The number of regular season games that aired on linear TV nationally decreased from 35 in 2017 to 27 in 2018, while the number of Facebook exclusives increased from six in 2017 to ten in 2018. The addition of CBSSN produced Facebook games does impact that increase.
* Particularly with the selections CBS Sports Network produced for their Facebook games, it feels like they had at least the top 5-10 selections from the conference over the course of the season, particularly when you look over the choices they made for non-conference games.
* To my knowledge, the games that aired on ESPN digital platforms weren't selected by them. They were the inventory after the three linear TV partners made their choices. Where ESPN I believe had a some control was the decision to place a game on ESPN3 or ESPN+.
* This was beIN Sports final season of C-USA football under a three year agreement. I have no idea if the conference intends to continue with the network.

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

2018 Big Ten TV Facts & Figures

NOTE: For the purposes of these statistics, I counted the games that were played, with one exception that is noted below.  This also does not include the network placement of any conference championship game.

Here's the games that were counted


With the Big Ten being a conference that has a pair of TV partners on relatively equal footing, I also broke down the conference's TV data by the network group and over-the-air broadcast vs. pay TV.  Pay TV for this discussion included ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and FS1 since BTN isn't as widely available as the other four.

Broadcast vs. Pay TV


ESPN vs. FOX Sports.  Both ESPN and FOX Sports have a maximum of 27 telecast windows.  BTN is covered under a separate TV deal, so even though it is majority owned by...New FOX? 21st Century? FOX FOX?....anyways, its not part of the same contract that FOX Sports has with the Big Ten.


Some statistical items
* Why does Nebraska have 13 appearances under the Big Ten deal when they only played 12 games?  The Akron game on FOX, unlike nearly all other weather cancellations, occurred during the telecast window.  FOX spent the time filling while waiting out storms that never stopped.  So I counted that as a Big Ten exposure for FOX and it looks like it was budgeted for in their final counts.  When Nebraska found Bethune-Cookman as a replacement opponent, that game was played on BTN.
* Half of the conference had their entire schedule controlled by the Big Ten's TV partners.  All 12 games for seven schools, which astounds me but at the same time feels like smart scheduling (EDIT: See the first user comment to this post as to why this occurred).
* The 45 games on BTN were played over 31 telecast windows.
* The combined number of regular season primetime games played or intended to air on broadcast television was five, down from seven in 2017.
* Over two seasons, Illinois is the only Big Ten school not to play on FOX.  All FOX Sports appearances have been on FS1.
* Rutgers had ten appearances on BTN for the 2nd straight year.  They have not appeared on an ESPN platform as part of the current contract structure.  Their last appearances on each ESPN channel:

  • ABC: vs. Ohio St., 10/24/15
  • ESPN: vs. Wisconsin, 11/1/14
  • ESPN2: vs. Michigan, 10/8/16
  • ESPNU: at Minnesota, 10/22/16
  • ESPNEWS: at Maryland, 11/24/16

* Number of regular season night games per network, including weeknight games.  6pm ET was used as the earliest start time for a night game:

  • ABC: 3
  • FOX: 2
    • Includes the Akron at Nebraska game.
  • ESPN: 3
  • FS1: 3
  • BTN: 9
    • 6 telecast windows

Thursday, November 29, 2018

2018 FBS TV Facts & Figures

For 2018, I'm releasing "Facts & Figures" posts by conference detailing TV appearance data for each conference.

ACC
American
Big 12
Big Ten
Conference USA
MAC
Mountain West
Pac-12
SEC
Sun Belt

I can't say that I'll do a post on independents this year.  The data is rather static since only BYU had their home TV appearances part of the in-season selection process.  Liberty could be part of this on a regular basis in the future.

I'll try to add a new conference each day for the next week.

2018 Big 12 TV Facts & Figures

NOTE: For the purposes of these statistics, I counted the games that were played.  Not the games that ended up being cancelled due to weather or other issues.  This also does not include the network placement of any conference championship game.

Here's the games that were counted, excluding the section labeled Member Retained Telecasts & Internet Exclusives.  The latter section's sole game includes Kansas St.'s member retained game.



With the Big 12 being a conference that has a pair of TV partners on relatively equal footing, I also broke down the conference's TV data by the network group and over-the-air broadcast vs. pay TV.  Pay TV for this discussion included ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and FS1 since FSN & Longhorn Network aren't as widely available.

Broadcast vs. Pay TV


ESPN vs. FOX Sports.  Note that ESPN's game count has a maximum of 23 games across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and Longhorn Network where FOX is not constrained.


Some statistical items
* Who appeared on over-the-air television the most as part of their conference's TV deal?  Oklahoma.  Their staggering 10 appearances on ABC and FOX eclipses all other FBS programs.   The only pay TV appearance they had as part of the Big 12 contract was the West Virginia game on Black Friday.
* How can Oklahoma make so many appearances on broadcast television?  To my knowledge, the Big 12 is one of the few conferences that doesn't have some sort of appearance limit when it comes to broadcast television or a limit that requires appearances on a conference TV network, which the Big 12 doesn't have.  Previously the conference had appearance limits attached to the ESPN side of the house (the limit was a relic from when ABC could only air Big 12 games), but those ended after 2015. 
* The only games West Virginia included as part of the Big 12 contract were their intraconference games.  The Mountaineers sole non-conference home game vs. Youngstown St. ended up being their member retained game.
* Broadcast network games increased from 12 in 2017 to 18 in 2018 and primetime appearances increased by one 6 in 2018.
* Each Big 12 school appeared at least once on ABC or FOX, a step up from 2017 when Baylor was the only school who missed out on a broadcast network appearance.  You'll find another statistical item about 2016 below.
* One of the anomalies that allowed Oklahoma to get so many broadcast network appearances was that all of their non-conference games were home games.  The Sooners, Kansas St. and Oklahoma St. had all of their games made available to the Big 12 pool after each school had their member retained game set aside.
* One constant on a year-to-year basis: After excluding member-retained games, if there's a Big 12 game on FSN, it is highly likely to involve Kansas or Iowa St.  Five of the six games distributed by FSN involved at least one of those two schools.
* Oklahoma St.'s non-member retained game vs. Kansas on 9/30 was their first non-member retained appearance since 2014 (9/13 vs. UTSA).  Their last appearance on FSN vs. another Big 12 school was a year prior vs. Iowa St.
* Kansas has made a single broadcast network appearance each of the last three years, with the last ABC appearance vs. Texas on 11/19/16.  Prior to this "streak", their last broadcast appearances were in 2009 when they made five appearances on ABC.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

2018 American Athletic TV Facts & Figures

NOTE: For the purposes of these statistics, I counted the games that were played.  Not the games that ended up being cancelled due to weather or other issues.  This also does not include the network placement of any conference championship game.  For the American, Navy home games were excluded from this count because they fell under a separate contact with CBS Sports that was signed while the academy was an independent.

Here's the games that were counted, excluding the section labeled Navy Telecasts.


Some statistical items
* The Cincinnati at UCF game marked the first matchup between schools in the currently constituted Group of 5 schools to play on ABC in primetime on a full national basis.
* The six games airing on ABC either full national or partially is the highest number of games to air on broadcast television from the conference, beating the previous high of four in 2015.  Of interest is that the conference had a rare split window where two of their games were distributed regionally at the same time on ABC with the other game on ESPN2, so they aired six games over five separate broadcast network windows.
* The four intraconference regular season games is by far the most the conference has had aired on ABC in a single season, beating the number from the past five seasons combined (3 from 2013-2017).
* As mentioned earlier, Navy's number is low due to the separation of their home games under a separate contract.  This is also why Houston, Temple and Tulsa did not reach double digits for appearances within the American's TV agreement.
* UCF, as pictured above, was the only school to make all of their linear TV appearances within the four primary TV networks for the conference.  No appearances on ESPNEWS or CBS Sports Network.
* UCF's game vs. Cincinnati was the first Saturday ABC regular season game for the Knights since 2013 when they hosted South Carolina.
* The number of games on ESPNEWS declined by one from 2017.
* ESPN3 and regional TV were lumped together since the majority of viewers outside of the areas watching it in linear TV may have viewed the games via ESPN3.  The same two schools who aired games on regional or local TV were the same who did it in 2017 (Connecticut & Memphis).
* Not included here is the Cincinnati vs. Miami (OH) game played at Paul Brown Stadium.  Three games from 2018-2026 will be played there and Miami (OH) was considered the home team, so the game is listed as a MAC controlled game.
* To see Cincinnati be skipped by ESPN and ESPN2 is a bit surprising, but the conference only had three games selected for those two networks during the season.  The number of Saturday & special date games to be selected to air on the four primary TV networks are as follows:

  • ABC: 4
    • National: 2
    • Reverse mirror: 2
  • ESPN: 1
  • ESPN2: 2
  • ESPNU: 15

Monday, November 26, 2018

2018 ACC TV Facts & Figures

NOTE: For the purposes of these statistics, I counted the games that were played.  Not the games that ended up being cancelled due to weather or other issues.  This also does not include the network placement of any conference championship game.

Here's the games that were counted


Some statistical items
* Clemson increased their ABC appearance count over 2017 by one.
* The number of ABC primetime games decreased by two from 2017.
* Twelve games on ABC is the lowest number of games from the conference since 2014 when just seven games appeared on the network.
* 2014 is the last year that North Carolina failed to register an ACC game on ABC.
* North Carolina's appearance count is lower than everyone else as they did not replace the home game vs. UCF that was lost to Hurricane Florence.
* 2013 was the last time Wake Forest was not shown on the Raycom Sports/ACC Network over the air package.
* If you are surprised that Virginia Tech wasn't shown on the RSN package, don't be.  Their last appearance on the RSNs was in 2015 vs. Pittsburgh and they've only appeared on the RSNs three times since the current contract started in 2011, with the other two appearances in that first year.

Monday, November 12, 2018

CFB TV Confirmations for 2018 Week 13 (11/23/18 - 11/24/18)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 11/23 & 11/24 from the twelve day selection process that most TV networks adhere to.  Please understand that games can be held until next Sunday if a broadcaster wants to wait on the results of the Week Twelve games.  The Big 12 & Big Ten, and possibly the American, have the possibility of having all or part of their games held for a six day hold of the start time.  All other conferences have either had their games set for this week or have used their allotment of six day holds.

The list of available TV windows are based on media websites, TV listings and press releases.  They can change based on the needs of the broadcaster or the conference.


Here's what I guessed based on the available openings (they will prove to be incorrect) and here is the current schedule for the week as several FBS games do have their time & television/webcast assignments already accounted for. 


Friday 11/23

12pm ESPNU: Buffalo at Bowling Green
12pm CBSSN: Akron at Ohio
12pm ESPN3: Central Michigan at Toledo
12pm ESPN3: Eastern Michigan at Kent St.
3:30pm ABC: Virginia at Virginia Tech

Six day holds

East Carolina at Cincinnati
UCF at USF

Houston at Memphis

Options are 12pm ABC, 3:30pm CBS Sports Network and 4/4:15pm ESPN

Saturday 11/24
12pm ABC: Florida at Florida St.
12pm ESPN: Syracuse at Boston College
12pm ESPN2: Purdue at Indiana
12pm FS1: Baylor vs. Texas Tech
12:20pm Raycom: NC State at North Carolina
12:30pm ACC RSNs: Wake Forest at Duke
3pm Pac-12: Stanford at UCLA
3:30pm ABC: Maryland at Penn St.
3:30pm ESPN/ESPN2: Minnesota at Wisconsin
3:30pm ESPN/ESPN2: Pittsburgh at Miami (FL)
3:30pm FS1: Arizona St. at Arizona
3:30pm BTN: Illinois at Northwestern
4pm FOX: Rutgers at Michigan St.
7pm ESPN: South Carolina at Clemson
7pm ESPN2: Kentucky at Louisville
7pm ESPNU: San Jose St. at Fresno St.
7pm Pac-12: Colorado at California
8pm ABC: Notre Dame at USC
10pm FS1: BYU at Utah
10:15pm ESPN/ESPN2: Utah St. at Boise St.
10:30pm ESPN2/ESPNU: Hawai'i at San Diego St.

Six day holds
Kansas St. at Iowa St. - 7pm FS1 or 8pm FOX
Oklahoma St. at TCU - 7pm FS1 or 8pm FOX
SMU at Tulsa - 12pm ESPNU, 3:30pm ESPNU or 3:30pm CBSSN
Temple at Connecticut - 12pm ESPNU, 3:30pm ESPNU or 3:30pm CBSSN
Navy at Tulane - 12pm ESPNU, 3:30pm ESPNU or 3:30pm CBSSN

Sunday, November 11, 2018

CFB TV Guesses for 2018 Week 13 (11/23/18 - 11/24/18)

The Big 12 and Big Ten have six day holds remaining.  The American may have one as well.  Don't be surprised if they all get used.  Pretty sure they could be used on the Black Friday games but they might have to make decision on Saturday earlier in the day and not wait until Sunday to determine start times & TV.

Here are the games already set for television and/or webcast.  Here are the known available telecast windows.

Friday
* If Virginia at Virginia Tech were to help decide the ACC Coastal, I would have it on ABC.  If it doesn't and Houston at Memphis would help decide the American West, consider swapping those two.  If both games matter, East Carolina and Cincinnati & Houston at Memphis likely swap spots and Virginia at Virginia Tech stays on ABC.
* The MAC choices are purely based on best available records.  Ohio has to win out, beating both Buffalo & Akron, where UB only needs a win in their final two.  The MAC West should be decided earlier in the week.

12pm ABC: Virginia at Virginia Tech
12pm ESPNU: Buffalo at Bowling Green
12pm CBSSN: Akron at Ohio
3:30pm ABC: UCF at USF
3:30pm CBSSN: Houston at Memphis
4pm ESPN: East Carolina at Cincinnati

Streaming: Eastern Michigan at Kent St. & Central Michigan at Toledo

Saturday
* All SEC games were chosen at the time the 11/17 selections were released.
* ESPN used all 23 of their Big 12 selections before the selections of the 11/24 games, so all three will be on FOX or FS1.
* Two Pac-12 selections remain for both FOX Sports and ESPN to get to their maximum of 22 games for each network group.  Pac-12 Networks would have a single game.
* For the Big Ten, ESPN Networks has used 24 selections and FOX has used 26. 
* ESPN could be one short of their maximum 27 Big Ten selections if the Raycom Sports split that I've predicted doesn't happen.  Raycom hasn't had their regional split window this year, unless by doing more RSN games they've escaped the need to do that.  If the Raycom split doesn't happen, move Rutgers-Michigan St. to BTN and Kentucky at Louisville to 3:30pm ESPN2.
* FS1 lists four telecast windows.  11pm should be for the Pac-12 & 7:30pm for the Big 12.
* With the FS1 11pm window, do not expect the Territorial Cup or the Holy War in that window since it means a 9pm local time start.  Either Colorado at California or Stanford at UCLA looks likely here.  Could it be Notre Dame at USC?  Yeah, I guess, but it would be wasteful of a game on such a late evening slot.
* If Iowa St. has a chance to play in the Big 12 title game, their game could be held at least for a network decision.  Might get slotted to 4pm with a chance to move to FOX if they beat Texas.  Also, if that happens, Iowa St.'s game vs. Incarnate Word on 12/1 would be cancelled.
* BTN only has one telecast window at 3:30pm, but could show multiple games at that time.
* Tulane gets a pre-noon kickoff to avoid playing while the Bayou Classic is ongoing.
* I slotted FOX with the 1st Pac-12 pick.  Ohio St. at Michigan is the top Big Ten pick and on FOX.  As previously mentioned, ESPN has already used all of their Big 12 selections prior to the Saturday games (WVU-Oklahoma is clearly the best available Big 12 game & is on ESPN)

12pm ABC: Syracuse at Boston College
12pm ESPN: Florida at Florida St.
12pm ESPN2: Pittsburgh at Miami (FL)
12pm FS1: Oklahoma St. at TCU
12pm ESPNU: Navy at Tulane
12:20pm Raycom: NC State at North Carolina
12:20pm Raycom: Kentucky at Louisville
12:30pm ACC RSNs: Wake Forest at Duke
3:30pm ABC: Maryland at Penn St.
3:30pm ESPN: Illinois at Northwestern
3:30pm ESPN2: Rutgers at Michigan St.
3:30pm ESPNU: SMU at Tulsa
3:30pm CBSSN: Temple at Connecticut
3:30pm BTN: Purdue at Indiana
4pm FOX: Minnesota at Wisconsin
4pm FS1: Kansas St. at Iowa St.
7pm ESPN2: Utah St. at Boise St.
7pm ESPNU: San Jose St. at Fresno St.
7:30pm ESPN: BYU at Utah
7:30pm FS1: Baylor vs. Texas Tech
8pm ABC: South Carolina at Clemson
8pm FOX: Notre Dame at USC
10pm ESPN2: Colorado at California
10:30pm ESPNU: Hawai'i at San Diego St.
11pm FS1: Stanford at UCLA
TBA Pac-12: Arizona St. at Arizona

Friday, November 9, 2018

Six Day Guesses for 11/17/18 CFB TV Selections

What is known regarding 11/17 selections
* No Big Ten game at night
* Four SEC games will be played at 12pm ET
* Yale vs. Harvard is at 12pm ET
* FOX selects first for the Pac-12, then ESPN. Slotting on ESPN & Pac-12 Networks could be affected if Colorado is slotted late on ESPN in the earliest slot on Pac-12 Networks.  If ESPN were to choose Utah at Colorado, the late ESPN slot would move to 10pm ET as the Pac-12 wants all TV time slots to start no later than 8pm local time.
* I gave FOX the top Big Ten slot and ESPN the top Big 12 game.

I used current betting lines to influence decisions where a win or loss could move a game up or down in the theoretical selection order.

12pm ABC: Cincinnati at UCF
12pm FOX: Indiana at Michigan
12pm ESPN: Wisconsin at Purdue
12pm ESPN2: Arkansas at Mississippi St.
12pm FS1: Texas Tech at Kansas St.
12pm ESPNU: Middle Tennessee at Kentucky
12pm ESPNEWS: Yale vs. Harvard
12pm SEC: The Citadel at Alabama
12pm SEC Alt: Idaho at Florida
12pm BTN: Penn St. at Rutgers
12pm BTN: Michigan St. at Nebraska
1:30pm Pac-12: Utah at Colorado
3:30pm ABC: Ohio St. at Maryland
3:30pm FOX: Kansas at Oklahoma
3:30pm ESPN: Miami (FL) at Virginia Tech
3:30pm ESPN2: Boston College at Florida St.
3:30pm FS1: Baylor at TCU
3:30pm ESPNU: USF at Temple
3:30pm BTN: Northwestern at Minnesota
3:30pm BTN: Illinois at Iowa
4:30pm Pac-12: Oregon St. at Washington
7pm ESPN: Duke at Clemson
7pm ESPN2: UAB at Texas A&M
7:30pm FOX: Arizona at Washington St.
7:30pm Pac-12: Stanford at California
8pm ABC: West Virginia at Oklahoma St.
10:30pm ESPN: USC at UCLA
10:30pm Pac-12: Arizona St. at Oregon

Monday, November 5, 2018

CFB TV Confirmations for 2018 Week 12 (11/14/18 - 11/17/18)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 11/14 & 11/17 from the twelve day selection process that most TV networks adhere to.  Please understand that games can be held until next Sunday if a broadcaster wants to wait on the results of the Week Eleven games.  Most conferences have the possibility of having all or part of their games held for a six day hold of the start time.  The MAC games on 11/14 could wait for the results of the 11/7 MAC games,

The list of available TV windows are based on media websites, TV listings and press releases.  They can change based on the needs of the broadcaster or the conference.


Here's what I guessed based on the available openings (they will prove to be incorrect) and here is the current schedule for the week as several FBS games do have their time & television/webcast assignments already accounted for. 


The number of six day holds available for each conference

ACC: 0 (10/6, 10/27 & 11/10, 11/17)
American: ??? (10/27, 11/10 & 11/17)**
Big 12: 1 (11/3, 11/10, 11/17)
Big Ten: 1 (10/27 by FOX it appears, 11/10 & 11/17)
SEC: 1 (11/3 & 11/10)*
Pac-12: 0 (10/6 by FOX, 11/3 & 11/10 by ESPN, 11/17 by FOX)

* I forgot that three six day holds were used with the SEC last year, so one could be remaining.

** I remember reading the American had a max of two 6 day holds & they've used a 3rd.

Games on six day hold

Duke at Clemson
Boston College at Florida St.
Miami (FL) at Virginia Tech
Cincinnati at UCF
USF at Temple
Kansas at Oklahoma
Texas Tech at Kansas St.
West Virginia at Oklahoma St.
TCU at Baylor
Indiana at Michigan
Illinois at Iowa
Northwestern at Minnesota
Ohio St. at Maryland
Michigan St. at Nebraska
Penn St. at Rutgers
Wisconsin at Purdue
Yale vs. Harvard (12pm on an ESPN linear TV channel)
Arizona at Washington St.
Arizona St. at Oregon
USC at UCLA
Utah at Colorado

All Big Ten games will start at either 12pm or 3:30pm ET.  No night games.


Wednesday 11/14
7pm ESPN2: Buffalo at Ohio
8pm ESPNU: Miami (OH) at Northern Illinois

Saturday 11/17
12pm ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU/SEC/SEC Alt.: The Citadel at Alabama
12pm ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU/SEC/SEC Alt.: Idaho at Florida
12pm ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU/SEC/SEC Alt.: Middle Tennessee at Kentucky
12pm ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU/SEC/SEC Alt.: Arkansas at Mississippi St.
12pm ACC RSNs: Pittsburgh at Wake Forest
12:20pm Raycom: NC State at Louisville
3pm ACC Extra: Western Carolina at North Carolina
3:30pm CBS: Missouri at Tennessee
3:30pm ACC RSNs: Virginia at Georgia Tech
4pm ESPNEWS: Air Force at Wyoming
4pm SEC: Massachusetts at Georgia
4pm SEC Alt: Liberty at Auburn
TBA Pac-12: Oregon St. at Washington (4:30pm or 5pm ET)
7pm ESPN/ESPN2: UAB at Texas A&M
7pm CBSSN: Connecticut at East Carolina
7:30pm ESPNU: Rice at LSU
7:30pm SEC: Ole Miss at Vandebilt
7:30pm SEC Alt.: Chattanooga at South Carolina
TBA Pac-12: Stanford at California (7:30pm or 8pm ET)
10:15pm ESPN2: New Mexico St. at BYU

SEC for 11/24
12pm SEC: Georgia Tech at Georgia
3:30pm CBS: Auburn at Alabama
4pm SEC: Tennessee at Vanderbilt
7:30pm SEC: LSU at Texas A&M

Sunday, November 4, 2018

CFB TV Guesses for 2018 Week 12 (11/14/18 - 11/17/18)

Here are the games already set for television and/or webcast.  Here are the known available telecast windows.

* ACC RSNs indicate a doubleheader of ACC games at 12pm & 3:30pm.
* Here's the deal: there's a glut of SEC games. I can't guarantee that each SEC Network window has two games, but this was the way I could get each game placed be along with most from other conferences.
* Yale vs. Harvard is guaranteed a linear TV slot, so I have it an ESPNEWS opening.
* BYUtv doesn't have an opening. I pushed their game over there. The channel has a women's basketball game at 6pm ET, which is why I slotted the football game at 2pm ET. They could move the basketball game start time to start the football game later too.
* I think you could see a reverse mirror at 8pm for ABC & ESPN2 if the games selected allow for it with ESPN2 not caring a late evening game.
* The Pac-12 Network schedule does not say the number of windows for 11/17 nor the start times.  Based on ESPN (19) and FOX Sports (19) using a combined 38 of 44 selections and the 11/24 schedule showing two Pac-12 Networks games of five available Pac-12 games, that leads me to believe that three games will air on Pac-12 Networks on 11/17, with the other three games split between ESPN & FOX Sports to get to their 44 regular season selections.  I'm assuming telecast windows of 2pm, 5:30pm and 9pm ET on Pac-12 Networks, but they do shift around as needed.
* In the Big 12, ESPN has used 21 of 23 selections.  I have them using one available selection here, leaving them with one selection for 11/24.  Note that they used the top selection for 11/17, per Iowa St., on the Iowa St. at Texas game airing on Longhorn Network.  I gave the FOX the choice right after that one.
* A similar situation exists in the Big Ten.  FOX Sports has used 24 selections of 27, while ESPN has used 23.  I have FOX picking first and using one selection & ESPN using two.  Looking ahead to 11/23 & 11/24, I think its possible that FOX could end up using 26 of their max 27 selections, but per the rights agreement sheet I saw, FOX's available selections is an elastic 24 to 27 games, which I assume is based on other programming commitments.

Wednesday 11/14
7pm ESPN2: Buffalo at Ohio
8pm ESPNU: Miami (OH) at Northern Illinois

Saturday 11/17
12pm ABC: Ohio St. at Maryland
12pm FOX: Kansas at Oklahoma
12pm ESPN: Wisconsin at Purdue
12pm ESPN2: Arkansas at Mississippi St.
12pm FS1: Texas Tech at Kansas St.
12pm ESPNU: Massachusetts at Georgia
12pm ESPNEWS: Yale vs. Harvard
12pm SEC: Middle Tennessee at Kentucky
12pm SEC: The Citadel at Alabama
12pm BTN: Iowa at Illinois
12pm BTN: Penn St. at Rutgers
12pm ACC RSNs: Pittsburgh at Wake Forest
12:20pm Raycom: NC State at Louisville
2pm BYUtv: New Mexico St. at BYU
2pm Pac-12: Utah at Colorado
3:30pm ABC/ESPN2: Cincinnati at UCF
3:30pm ABC/ESPN2: Stanford at California
3:30pm CBS: Ole Miss at Vanderbilt
3:30pm FOX: Indiana at Michigan
3:30pm ESPN: Miami (FL) at Virginia Tech
3:30pm FS1: Arizona St. at Oregon
3:30pm ESPNU: Virginia at Georgia Tech
3:30pm BTN: Michigan St. at Nebraska
3:30pm BTN: Northwestern at Minnesota
3:30pm ACC RSNs: Boston College at Florida St.
4pm ESPNEWS: Connecticut at East Carolina
4pm SEC: Liberty at Auburn
4pm SEC: Idaho at Florida
5:30pm Pac-12: Oregon St. at Washington
7pm ESPN: Rice at LSU
7pm ESPN2: UAB at Texas A&M
7pm ESPNU: TCU at Baylor
7pm CBSSN: USF at Temple
7:30pm FOX: West Virginia at Oklahoma St.
7:30pm SEC: Missouri at Tennessee
7:30pm SEC: Chattanooga at South Carolina
8pm ABC: Duke at Clemson
9pm Pac-12: USC at UCLA
10:30pm ESPN: Arizona at Washington St.

Streaming
Western Carolina at North Carolina
Air Force at Wyoming

Friday, November 2, 2018

Six Day Guesses for 11/10/18 CFB TV Selections

Bit of a toss off, but here's some guesses towards 11/10 since a ton of games' TV & time decisions were held back.

What is known regarding 11/10:

  • All FOX Sports choices will come from the Big 12 and Big Ten.  Per Jon Wilner, all remaining Pac-12 choices are held by ESPN (1st & 3rd picks) and Pac-12 Networks (2nd pick).
  • SEC gaames will air on SEC Network at 3:30pm & 7pm, ESPN at 12pm & 7pm and CBS at 12pm.  
  • No Big Ten games will be played at night, so they will air at 12pm & 3:30pm.  
  • Michigan needs to appear on BTN either vs. Rutgers or vs. Indiana on 11/17 to fulfill the requirement for one Big Ten intraconference game on BTN.  
What I assumed:
  • For the SEC, I assumed the two ESPN picks went first, then the CBS pick, then the remaining SEC Network selections
  • I gave FOX Sports the first choice in the Big Ten
  • I continued to work under the assumption that ESPN had the top pick in the Big 12, then FOX Sports had the remaining choices.
12pm ABC: Wisconsin at Penn St.
12pm CBS: Kentucky at Tennessee
12pm FOX: TCU at West Virginia
12pm ESPN: South Carolina at Florida
12pm ESPN2: Purdue at Minnesota
12pm FS1: Northwestern at Iowa
12pm BTN: Michigan at Rutgers
3:30pm ABC: Clemson at Boston College
3:30pm FOX: Ohio St. at Michigan St.
3:30pm ESPN: Oregon at Utah
3:30pm ESPN2: Maryland at Indiana
3:30pm FS1: Baylor at Iowa St.
3:30pm ESPNU: Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh
3:30pm SEC: Ole Miss at Texas A&M
3:30pm BTN: Illinois at Nebraska
5:30pm Pac-12: Washington St. at Colorado
7pm ESPN: Auburn at Georgia
7pm ESPN2: USF at Cincinnati
7pm ESPNU: Miami (FL) at Georgia Tech
7pm CBSSN: Navy at UCF
7:30pm FOX: Texas at Texas Tech
7:30pm SEC: LSU at Arkansas
8pm ABC: Oklahoma St. at Oklahoma
8pm ESPNEWS: Temple at Houston
10:30pm ESPN2: UNLV at San Diego St.
10:30pm ESPNU: Colorado St. at Nevada
10:45pm ESPN: California at USC

Monday, October 29, 2018

CFB TV Confirmations for 2018 Week 11 (11/7/18 - 11/10/18)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 11/7 & 11/10 from the twelve day selection process that most TV networks adhere to.  Please understand that games can be held until next Sunday if a broadcaster wants to wait on the results of the Week Ten games.  Most conferences have the possibility of having all or part of their games held for a six day hold of the start time.  The MAC games on 11/7 could wait for the results of the 11/1 MAC games,

The list of available TV windows are based on media websites, TV listings and press releases.  They can change based on the needs of the broadcaster or the conference.


Here's what I guessed based on the available openings (they will prove to be incorrect) and here is the current schedule for the week as several FBS games do have their time & television/webcast assignments already accounted for. 


The number of six day holds available for each conference

ACC: 1 (10/6, 10/27 & 11/10)
American: 0 (10/27 & 11/10)
Big 12: 2 (11/3 & 11/10)
Big Ten: 2 (10/27 by FOX it appears & 11/10)
SEC: 0 (11/3 & 11/10)
Pac-12: 1 (10/6 by FOX, 11/3 & 11/10 by ESPN)

Games held for six day hold

Toledo at Northern Illinois (11/7)
Ohio at Miami (OH) (11/7)
Michigan at Rutgers
Ohio St. at Michigan St.
Maryland at Indiana
Wisconsin at Penn St.
Illinois at Nebraska
Purdue at Minnesota
Northwestern at Iowa
California at USC
Washington St. at Colorado
Oregon at Utah
Clemson at Boston College
Miami (FL) at Georgia Tech
Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh
Baylor at Iowa St.
Oklahoma St. at Oklahoma
Texas at Texas Tech
TCU at West Virginia
LSU at Arkansas
South Carolina at Florida
Auburn at Georgia
Kentucky at Tennessee
Ole Miss at Texas A&M
USF at Cincinnati
Navy at UCF
Temple at Houston

* Big Ten confirms that none of their games will be night games.  
* SEC options are 12pm CBS, 12pm ESPN, 3:30pm SEC Network, 7pm ESPN and 7:30pm SEC Network.  
* Pac-12 options are 3:30 (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2), 5:30pm (Pac-12 Networks), 7pm (ESPN2) or 10:45pm (ESPN). Pac-12 Networks in between the two ESPN picks. I assume 10:45pm is a guaranteed slot. All per Jon Wilner.

Saturday 11/10
12pm ESPNU: Tulsa at Memphis
12pm FSN: Kansas at Kansas St.
12pm SEC: Vanderbilt at Missouri
12pm ESPN3: SMU at Connecticut
12:20pm Raycom: North Carolina at Duke
2pm Pac-12: UCLA at Arizona St.
3pm ACC RSNs: Liberty at Virginia
3:30pm CBS: Mississippi St. at Alabama
4pm ESPNEWS: East Carolina at Tulane
5pm ESPN+: Arkansas St. at Coastal Carolina
9pm Pac-12: Oregon St. at Stanford
10:30pm ESPN2/ESPNU: Colorado St. at Nevada
10:30pm ESPN2/ESPNU: UNLV at San Diego St.

Sunday, October 28, 2018

CFB TV Guesses for 2018 Week Eleven (11/7/18 - 11/10/18)

Here are the games already set for television and/or webcast.  Here are the known available telecast windows.

* CBS has a doubleheader at 12pm & 3:30pm.  For this type of doubleheader, CBS picks 1st at 3:30pm and 4th at 12pm.  The 2nd & 3rd picks go to ESPN to spend on any of their networks.  A six day hold seems like a real possibility at any point while CBS has a game to choose.
* The Big Ten could also see another six day hold used between Ohio St. at Michigan St., Wisconsin at Penn St. and Northwestern at Iowa.  For the selections here, I gave FOX Sports top choice. 
* Since it wasn't announced before the season that FOX Sports had control of Oklahoma St. at Oklahoma, I slotted that one for the ABC primetime game.  Since that would put ESPN at 22 Big 12 selections for the season, I put the rest of the Big 12 games on FOX Sports outlets.
* I slotted the top Pac-12 game with ESPN.  Look for that window to move up to 10pm ET if they choose either Washington St. at Colorado or Oregon at Utah.  The Pac-12 seems to have a rule regarding TV start times no later than 8pm local time and with both home teams in the Mountain Time Zone, look for an earlier game slotting.
* Both the UFC Fight Night and the prelims are scheduled to air on FS1, so just the two game windows at 12pm & 3:30pm.
* FSN has a 12pm Big 12 window.  The ACC RSN window is at 3pm.  Look for affiliates to be paired with college basketball games also being distributed regionally.  Evansville at Xavier will likely be paired with affiliates receiving the Big 12 game, where UMES at NC State will be paired with the ACC football game.
* The 7pm window on CBS Sports Network is for the American Athletic Conference.
* ESPNEWS currently shows a pair of windows at 4pm & 8pm ET
* Michigan's appearance vs. Rutgers on BTN would fulfill a requirement that the Wolverines play another conference opponent on that network.
* At this point in the season, FOX and ESPN can put together a requested list of potential Big Ten games they would like to air at night.  Both competing schools would have to agree to the night game.  These selections assume no one accepted a night game option, but if, say, Ohio St. at Michigan St. did, FOX could take that one immediately.  You'd probably need to slot a Big Ten game into the ABC 12pm or 3:30pm slot, move a Big 12 game to 12pm on FOX and slot the Pac-12 game on FOX or FS1 at 3:30pm ET.

Wednesday 11/7
7pm ESPNU: Ohio at Miami (OH)
8pm ESPN2: Toledo at Northern Illinois

Saturday 11/10
12pm ABC: Clemson at Boston College
12pm CBS: Kentucky at Tennessee
12pm FOX: Wisconsin at Penn St.
12pm ESPN: South Carolina at Florida
12pm ESPN2: Purdue at Minnesota
12pm FS1: Baylor at Iowa St.
12pm ESPNU: North Carolina at Duke
12pm FSN: Kansas at Kansas St.
12pm SEC: Ole Miss at Texas A&M
12pm BTN: Michigan at Rutgers
12pm BTN: Maryland at Indiana
12:20pm Raycom: Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh
2pm Pac-12: UCLA at Arizona St.
3pm ACC RSNs: Liberty at Virginia
3:30pm ABC: Ohio St. at Michigan St.
3:30pm CBS: Mississippi St. at Alabama
3:30pm FOX: Texas at Texas Tech
3:30pm ESPN: Northwestern at Iowa
3:30pm ESPN2: Miami (FL) at Georgia Tech
3:30pm FS1: TCU at West Virginia
3:30pm ESPNU: Navy at UCF
3:30pm BTN: Illinois at Nebraska
4pm ESPNEWS: SMU at Connecticut
4pm SEC: Vanderbilt at Missouri
5:30pm Pac-12: California at USC
7pm ESPN: Auburn at Georgia
7pm ESPN2: USF at Cincinnati
7pm ESPNU: Temple at Houston
7pm CBSSN: East Carolina at Tulane
7:30pm FOX: Oregon at Utah
7:30pm SEC: LSU at Arkansas
8pm ABC: Oklahoma St. at Oklahoma
8pm ESPNEWS: Tulsa at Memphis
9pm Pac-12: Oregon St. at Stanford
10pm ESPN: Washington St. at Colorado
10:30pm ESPN2: UNLV at San Diego St.
10:30pm ESPNU: Colorado St. at Nevada

Monday, October 22, 2018

CFB TV Confirmations for 2018 Week 10 (11/1/18 - 11/3/18)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 11/1 & 11/3 from the twelve day selection process that most TV networks adhere to.  Please understand that games can be held until next Sunday if a broadcaster wants to wait on the results of the Week Nine games.  Most conferences have the possibility of having all or part of their games held for a six day hold of the start time.  The MAC games on 11/1 could wait for the results of at least the 10/25 MAC games,

The list of available TV windows are based on media websites, TV listings and press releases.  They can change based on the needs of the broadcaster or the conference.


Here's what I guessed based on the available openings (they will prove to be incorrect) and here is the current schedule for the week as several FBS games do have their time & television/webcast assignments already accounted for. 


The number of six day holds available for each conference
ACC: 3 (two used: 10/6 & 10/27)
American: 1 (one used: 10/27 by ESPN)
Big 12: 3 (one used on 11/3)
Big Ten: 3 (one used: 10/27 by FOX it appears)
SEC: 1 (one used on 11/3)
Pac-12: 2 (10/6 by FOX & 11/3 by ESPN)

Six Day Decisions for 11/3
12pm ESPN: Missouri at Florida, Georgia at Kentucky or Texas A&M at Auburn
3:30pm CBS: Missouri at Florida or Georgia at Kentucky 
3:30pm FOX: Oklahoma at Texas Tech or West Virginia at Texas
4pm SEC: Missouri at Florida, Georgia at Kentucky or Texas A&M at Auburn
7:15pm ESPN: Notre Dame at Northwestern, Oklahoma at Texas Tech or West Virginia at Texas
7:30pm or 8pm ABC: Notre Dame at Northwestern (7:30pm), Oklahoma at Texas Tech (8pm) or West Virginia at Texas (8pm)
9pm Pac-12: California at Washington St. or Stanford at Washington
10:45pm ESPN: California at Washington St. or Stanford at Washington

Thursday 11/1
7pm ESPNU: Ohio at Western Michigan or Northern Illinois at Akron
7pm CBSSN: Ohio at Western Michigan or Northern Illinois at Akron

Saturday 11/3
12pm ABC: Louisville at Clemson
12pm FOX: Nebraska at Ohio St.
12pm ESPN2: Michigan St. at Maryland
12pm FS1: Oklahoma St. at Baylor
12pm ESPNU: Memphis at East Carolina
12pm SEC: South Carolina at Ole Miss
12pm FSN: Iowa St. at Kansas
12pm BTN: Rutgers at Wisconsin
12pm ACC RSNs: Syracuse at Wake Forest
12:15pm Raycom: Georgia Tech at North Carolina
3:30pm ABC or ESPN2: Iowa at Purdue
3:30pm ABC or ESPN2: Florida St. at NC State
3:30pm FS1: Kansas St. at TCU
3:30pm ESPNU: Navy at Cincinnati
3:30pm CBSSN: Tulane at USF
3:30pm BTN: Minnesota at Illinois
3:45pm ESPN: Penn St. at Michigan
3:45pm Raycom: Boston College at Virginia Tech
4pm SEC Alternate: Charlotte at Tennessee
4pm Pac-12: Utah at Arizona St.
7pm ESPN2: Duke at Miami (FL)
7pm ESPNU: Houston at SMU
7pm CBSSN: Connecticut at Tulsa
7:30pm FOX: UCLA at Oregon
7:30pm SEC: Louisiana Tech at Mississippi St.
8pm CBS: Alabama at LSU
10pm FS1: USC at Oregon St.
10:15pm ESPN2: BYU at Boise St.
10:15pm ESPNU: San Diego St. at New Mexico

Sunday, October 21, 2018

CFB TV Guesses for 2018 Week Ten (11/1/18 - 11/3/18)

Here are the games already set for television and/or webcast.  Here are the known available telecast windows.

* CBS has a primetime SEC game in addition to their 3:30pm window.  This means that CBS gets to pick the top two SEC games.
* Notre Dame at Northwestern was pre-selected by ESPN to air on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.
* FSN has a Big 12 window at 12pm ET.  The ACC RSN window is at 3pm ET.
* I pushed the top Pac-12 (Stanford at Washington) & Big 12 (West Virginia at Texas) selections to FOX Sports and the top Big Ten selection (Notre Dame at Northwestern) to ESPN.
* BTN has a volleyball match scheduled at 8pm ET, so they only appear to have 12pm & 3:30pm available.
* I've overlooked the number of times SEC schools have hosted at 12pm ET, though it can't easily avoided this week because of the doubleheader on CBS.  CBS's windows for this week only allow the SEC Network to show games concurrently.  I cut Ole Miss a break as they had already hosted two 11am local starts.  I originally had Texas A&M at Auburn at 12pm on ESPN but shifted them to the SEC Network at night where I originally had Missouri at Florida.
* I'm either overly concerned with the number of games the games that FOX Sports has already picked for the Big Ten (22 of a supposed max of 27, including the canceled Akron at Nebraska game) & ESPN for the Big 12 (19 of 23), or not understanding or looking far enough ahead to see how the puzzle pieces fit together.  I really try hard not to look ahead, but I can't ignore the counts either.  I originally had Nebraska at Ohio St. on FS1 at 12pm, Louisville at Clemson at 12pm on ABC and Oklahoma at Texas Tech on ABC at 3:30pm, but swapped them around to the positions you currently see them.
* We saw the 2nd ACC six day pick used last week.  Its possible we could see one used on the result of Florida vs. Georgia by CBS to fill the 3:30pm slot.  Georgia at Kentucky is very appealing though with the Wildcats unexpected success.
* With FS1 taking a Friday night Pac-12 game, I have their late evening slot on Saturday behind FOX, ESPN and the Pac-12 Networks.  This also would get UCLA a required appearance on Pac-12 Networks.

11/1
7pm ESPNU: Ohio at Western Michigan
7pm CBSSN: Northern Illinois at Akron

11/3
12pm ABC: Nebraska at Ohio St.
12pm FOX: West Virginia at Texas
12pm ESPN: Missouri at Florida
12pm ESPN2: Louisiana Tech at Mississippi St.
12pm FS1: Oklahoma at Texas Tech
12pm ESPNU: Kansas St. at TCU
12pm ESPNEWS: Houston at SMU
12pm SEC: Charlotte at Tennessee
12pm FSN: Iowa St. at Kansas
12pm BTN: Minnesota at Illinois
12:20pm Raycom: Georgia Tech at North Carolina
3pm ACC RSNs: Syracuse at Wake Forest
3:30pm ABC: Louisville at Clemson
3:30pm CBS: Georgia at Kentucky
3:30pm FOX: Penn St. at Michigan
3:30pm ESPN: Iowa at Purdue
3:30pm ESPN2: Michigan St. at Maryland
3:30pm FS1: Oklahoma St. at Baylor
3:30pm ESPNU: Boston College at Virginia Tech
3:30pm CBSSN: Navy at Cincinnati
3:30pm BTN: Rutgers at Wisconsin
4pm SEC: South Carolina at Ole Miss
4pm Pac-12: USC at Oregon St.
7pm ESPN: Florida St. at NC State
7pm ESPN2: Duke at Miami (FL)
7pm ESPNU: Tulane at USF
7pm CBSSN: Memphis at East Carolina
7:30pm ABC: Notre Dame at Northwestern
7:30pm FOX: Stanford at Washington
7:30pm SEC: Texas A&M at Auburn
8pm CBS: Alabama at LSU
9pm Pac-12: UCLA at Oregon
10pm FS1: Utah at Arizona St.
10:15pm ESPN2: BYU at Boise St. 
10:15pm ESPNU: San Diego St. at New Mexico
10:30pm ESPN: California at Washington St.

ESPN3
Connecticut at Tulsa

Monday, October 15, 2018

CFB TV Confirmations for 2018 Week 9 (10/25/18-10/27/18)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 10/25 & 10/27 from the twelve day selection process that most TV networks adhere to (more like ten days for 10/25).  Please understand that games can be held until next Sunday if a broadcaster wants to wait on the results of the Week Eight games.  Most conferences have the possibility of having all or part of their games held for a six day hold of the start time.

The list of available TV windows are based on media websites, TV listings and press releases.  They can change based on the needs of the broadcaster or the conference.


Here's what I guessed based on the available openings (they will prove to be incorrect) and here is the current schedule for the week as several FBS games do have their time & television/webcast assignments already accounted for. 


The number of six day holds available for each conference
ACC: 3 (two used: 10/6 & 10/27)
American: 1 (one used: 10/27)
Big 12: 4
Big Ten: 3 (one used: 10/27)
SEC: 2
Pac-12: 3 (10/6 by FOX)

Six day hold
Big Ten: Purdue at Michigan St. & Wisconsin at Northwestern.  Both at 12pm.  One on FOX & the other on ABC or ESPN.
ACC: NC State at Syracuse (3:30pm ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 or 7pm ESPN2)
American USF at Houston & Cincinnati at SMU.  One at 3:30pm ET CBSSN & the other at 3:30pm ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 or 7pm ESPN2.

Thursday 10/25
7pm ESPN2:
7pm CBSSN:

Saturday 10/27
12pm ABC or ESPN: Clemson at Florida St.
12pm ESPN2: Texas Tech at Iowa St.
12pm ESPNU: Massachusetts at Connecticut
12pm SEC: Vanderbilt at Arkansas
12pm BTN: Bethune-Cookman at Nebraska
12pm CBSSN: Army at Eastern Michigan
12pm ACC RSNs: Wake Forest at Louisville
12pm ESPN3: Central Michigan at Akron
12:20pm Raycom: North Carolina at Virginia
3pm FS1: TCU at Kansas
3pm Pac-12: Oregon St. at Colorado
3:30pm ABC or ESPN: Iowa at Penn St.
3:30pm ABC/ESPN/ESPN2: Arizona St. at USC
3:30pm FOX: Kansas St. at Oklahoma
3:30pm ESPNU: Northern Illinois at BYU
3:30pm BTN: Illinois at Maryland
3:30pm ACC RSNs: Duke at Pittsburgh
4pm SEC: Kentucky at Missouri
6:30pm FS1: Washington at California
7pm ESPN: Texas A&M at Mississippi St.
7pm ESPNU: Tulane at Tulsa
7pm Pac-12: Washington St. at Stanford
7:30pm SEC: Tennessee at South Carolina
8pm ABC: Texas at Oklahoma St.
10:30pm ESPN: Oregon at Arizona
10:30pm ESPN2/ESPNU: San Diego St. at Nevada
10:30pm ESPN2/ESPNU: Hawai'i at Fresno St.

Games to be slotted
Toledo at Western Michigan (10/25)
Ball St. at Ohio (10/25)

Sunday, October 14, 2018

CFB TV Guesses for 2018 Week Nine (10/25/18 - 10/27/18)

Here are the games already set for television and/or webcast.  Here are the known available telecast windows.

* 7:30pm is the listed time for ABC's primetime window, which indicates a Big Ten game is being targeted.  Yes, they can be subbed out of & changed to 8pm for another conference.  If they wanted to choose Clemson at Florida St., for example, they could.  At this time, I'm sticking by the 7:30pm start time listing.  Please note that a Big Ten game cannot be held for a six day hold with a night game slot as an option, so if a Big Ten game is going to be played at night, that decision is going to be made on Monday.
* CBS selected Georgia vs. Florida for its afternoon game before the season started, so ESPN will be slotting the remaining SEC games into their networks.  While not a six day hold, I wouldn't be surprised if ESPN at least considered Kentucky at Missouri for the 7pm slot.  They are flexible within 30 minutes of the ESPN, ESPN2 and SEC Network nighttime starts a few times year.
* CBS Sports Network's 12pm selection is a MAC window between either Central Michigan at Akron or Army at Eastern Michigan.  The other game will revert back to ESPN's platforms.  The 3:30pm CBSSN window belongs to the American.
* ESPNEWS had a 3pm window originally scheduled, but that window appears to have been rendered unnecessary.
* BTN did not list a 12pm window for football, listing StudentU programming at both 12pm & 7:30pm ET.  That's not unheard of as last season on 9/30/17 they windows at 3:30pm & 7:30pm.  I slotted two games into the 3:30pm.  Remember that Bethune-Cookman at Nebraska was a in-season scheduling addition due to Nebraska cancelling their game vs. Akron.
* FOX has no primetime window due to World Series Game 4.  FS1 has a NASCAR race at 1pm and a UFC Fight Night at 10pm.  The UFC website also had the prelim card from 8-10pm on FS1, but listing services have the pre-fight and prelim matches on FS2.
* Multiple RSNs show a doubleheader of ACC football at 12pm & 3:30pm.
* I gave the top Big 12 and Pac-12 choices to FOX Sports and the top Big Ten choice to ESPN.  I don't have FOX Sports choosing a Big Ten game on Saturday for FOX or FS1, but they do have Indiana at Minnesota on Friday night.  It isn't unheard of for FOX to skip a Saturday on the Big Ten.  They did last year on 9/9 when ABC aired a Big Ten tripleheader and aired Ohio at Purdue on FS1 on Friday night.  Part of my reasoning also involves how far FOX Sports is ahead on selections used compared to ESPN.
* With Washington picking up their 2nd loss, I figured now was a good time to get their remaining required Pac-12 Networks game in,  I had the Pac-12 Networks picking 3rd after FOX in the afternoon and ESPN at 10:30pm.
* Where could a six day hold be used?  Whomever is picking first the in Pac-12 might look into it, choosing the game involving the winner of Oregon at Washington St. next week.  Possibly for the Big 12 if there's a desire to wait on the result of Oklahoma at TCU.  The Big Ten & Big 12 have four six day holds remaining, the ACC and Pac-12 have three each and the SEC and American each have two available to use.

Thursday 10/25
7pm ESPN2: Toledo at Western Michigan
7pm CBSSN: Ball St. at Ohio

Saturday 10/27
12pm ABC: Clemson at Florida St.
12pm FOX: Texas at Oklahoma St.
12pm ESPN: Wisconsin at Northwestern
12pm ESPN2: Purdue at Michigan St.
12pm ESPNU: Cincinnati at SMU
12pm SEC: Tennessee at South Carolina
12pm CBSSN: Army at Eastern Michigan
12pm ACC RSNs: Wake Forest at Louisville
12:20pm Raycom: North Carolina at Virginia
3pm FS1: Texas Tech at Iowa St.
3:30pm ABC: Kansas St. at Oklahoma
3:30pm FOX: Washington St. at Stanford
3:30pm ESPN: NC State at Syracuse
3:30pm ESPN2: USF at Houston
3:30pm ESPNU: Tulane at Tulsa
3:30pm CBSSN: Massachusetts at Connecticut
3:30pm BTN: Illinois at Maryland
3:30pm BTN: Bethune-Cookman at Nebraska
3:30pm ACC RSNs: Duke at Pittsburgh
4pm SEC: Vanderbilt at Arkansas
4pm Pac-12: Oregon St. at Colorado
6:30pm FS1: TCU at Kansas
7pm ESPN: Texas A&M at Mississippi St.
7pm ESPN2: Arizona St. at USC
7pm ESPNU: Northern Illinois at BYU
7:30pm ABC: Iowa at Penn St.
7:30pm SEC: Kentucky at Missouri
8pm Pac-12: Washington at California
10:30pm ESPN: Oregon at Arizona
10:30pm ESPN2: Hawai'i at Fresno St.
10:30pm ESPNU: San Diego St. at Nevada

Streaming
Central Michigan at Akron