Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Postscript on 9/29 CFB TV selections

* Was surprised that TCU-SMU was slotted on FSN at the same time as a Rangers game airing on FOX Sports Southwest.  They do have an alternate channel available to air the football game and the SEC doesn't have a regional game to compete with.  The Rangers are hosting the Angels that day and while the Rangers have a lead in the AL West and the Angels are still in the wild card hunt, though behind by a few games, the game could have some meaning where FOX would pull it for a regional telecast.

* After this weekend's results in the ACC & the Big East, it made sense to run with a six day pick.  Several of the teams lost and left several of the games without a clear difference re: their pecking order in the television selection list.

* Don't know the exact reason why the Pac-12 selections came out on Sunday instead of Monday.  Can only speculate that if anyone involved in the selections observes Rosh Hashanah, they would not have been available on Monday to participate and did them on Sunday instead.

* I expect more Big 12 selections for ABC & ESPN over the next few weeks.  They'll probably have a game on 10/6.  Assuming the WVU-Texas game remains a FOX telecast, FSN is listing two Big 12 telecast windows.  The F/X window, per advance FOX RSN listings, show a C-USA telecast on F/X with Boise St.-Southern Miss likely moving over.

So Big 12 fans (particularly some WVU fans who don't like 12pm kickoffs), please take a deep breath.  Please.

* ESPN did not specify where any of their games would air when it came to ESPN/ESPN2 selections.  Consider the 12pm kickoffs independent of the rest of the games, but the as for the rest of them, consider them as the following groups:

  • ABC Reverse Mirror (3:30pm), South Carolina-Kentucky (7pm), Oregon-Washington St. (10:30pm)
  • ACC or Big East (6pm) & Ole Miss-Alabama (9:15pm)

* It does appear that if FOX is not doing a Pac-12 game in primetime, the Pac-12 Network will try to do a game starting at 6pm ET.  I believe that when ABC or FOX is televising a Pac-12 game, they have some exclusivity in their window.  I'm aware that it wasn't the case on 9/8 when Fresno St.-Oregon and Nebraska-UCLA aired concurrently, but when you have nine games to try to slot, sometimes you have to compromise

* 9/29 is the last week of F/X doubleheaders.  Starting 10/6, there's only a single game at 12pm on the networks most weeks.  Conversely, this is when FOX will also start with doubleheaders most weeks with 3pm and 7pm start times.
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2012 at 6:09 PM

    Mark -- love the site, and appreciate your insight into the 3D chess of CFB gametime selections. i come for some advice and a bit of clarification regarding the 6-Oct TX/WVU game. is your assumption that it will be a 12pm central kickoff on ABC/ESPN, or a 3pm or 7pm central game on FOX? and when you are referencing FOX, are you saying the FOX over-the-air network or one of the regional FSNs on cable? trying to schedule a flight, so thanks in advance (and no worries if you don't end up being correct). -- Christian

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  2. Matt SarzyniakSeptember 18, 2012 at 6:23 PM

    Christian -- As I posted in an earlier blog item, don't use my guesses to schedule a flight. Re: FOX or FSN, I try to specify that so that people know the difference

    That said, a leaked schedule has the WVU-Texas game kicking off at 7pm ET on FOX. Whether that holds or not, you'll know at the earliest next Monday.

    I'll give you the advice I gave myself and others. I'm attending UCLA-Cal that same day. That same leaked FOX schedule says it will kick off at 3pm ET / 12pm PT. Even before those leaks were found, I'll be flying out of Phoenix that morning on the 1st available flight. I won't be stunned if things changed, but I'll be prepared.

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  3. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2012 at 1:55 PM

    thanks, matt.

    ReplyDelete