Monday, October 28, 2019

CFB TV Confirmations for 2019 Week 11 (11/9/19)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 11/9 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 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: 2 (10/12, 11/2)
American: 2 (11/2)
Big 12: 3 (11/9)
Big Ten: 3 (10/12)
SEC: 2 (10/19)
Pac-12: 4


Games on six day holds
Kansas St. at Texas & Baylor at TCU - Either 12pm FS1 OR 3:30pm ABC or ESPN

12pm ABC: Penn St. at Minnesota
12pm FOX: Maryland at Ohio St.
12pm ESPN: Vanderbilt at Florida
12pm ESPN2/ESPNU: East Carolina at SMU
12pm ESPN2/ESPNU: Texas Tech at West Virginia
12pm SECN: Western Kentucky at Arkansas
12pm BTN: Purdue at Northwestern
12pm ACCN: Florida St. at Boston College
12:30pm ACC RSNs: Georgia Tech at Virginia
3pm Pac-12: Stanford at Colorado
3pm ESPN3: South Alabama at Texas St.
3:30pm ABC/ESPN: USC at Arizona St.
3:30pm ESPN2/ACCN: Louisville at Miami (FL)
3:30pm ESPN2/ACCN: Wake Forest at Virginia Tech
3:30pm FS1: Illinois at Michigan St.
3:30pm ESPNU: Dartmouth vs. Princeton
3:30pm CBSSN: Connecticut at Cincinnati
3:30pm ESPN+: Georgia Southern at Troy
4pm FOX: Iowa at Wisconsin
4pm SECN: New Mexico St. at Ole Miss
5pm ESPN+: Georgia St. at UL-Monroe
7pm ESPN: Missouri at Georgia
7pm ESPN2: Appalachian St. at South Carolina
7pm Pac-12: Washington St. at California
7:30pm ABC: Clemson at NC State
7:30pm ESPNU: Liberty at BYU
7:30pm SECN: Tennessee at Kentucky
7:30pm ACCN: Notre Dame at Duke
8pm FOX: Iowa St. at Oklahoma
10:15pm ESPN: Wyoming at Boise St.
10:30pm ESPN2: Nevada at San Diego St.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

CFB TV Guesses for 2019 Week Eleven (11/9/19)

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

Through Week 10
* ESPN & FOX Sports share rights and first pick on the Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12.  Based on the games selected and known selection orders, often provided from media member posts, here is what I believe were the 1st choice networks for each conference through the 10/19 selections by week number.

Please know that networks have admitted that weeknight games are selected/drafted separately and are not part of top choice selection for a given week.
  • Big 12
    • ESPN: 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 10
      • Selections used, including future games: 16 (max of 23)
    • FOX Sports: 3, 5, 7, 8
      • Five games confirmed for FOX broadcast network (min of 6)
    • Games on ABC, FOX, ESPN and FS1 (includes future games): 26 (min of 28)
      • Excluding UNI-Iowa St., which was to be Iowa St.'s member retained game
  • Big Ten
    • ESPN:  5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
      • Selections used, including future games: 21 (max of 27)
    • FOX Sports: 1, 2, 3, 4
      • Selections used, including future games: 19 (range of 24-27)
    • BTN requirements of two games with one being a intraconference game filled currently by all schools except Iowa and Penn St.
      • Ohio St. at Northwestern's second appearance may have come from the FS1 game on 10/18 that was moved to BTN.
  • Pac-12
    • ESPN: 1, 2, 4, 8, 9
      • Games on ABC: 2 (min of 2 with one in primetime)
        • Conference office says that neutral site games like Oregon vs. Auburn are allowed to count as an ESPN selection.
      • Selections used, including future games: 16 (max of 22)
    • FOX Sports:  3, 5, 6, 7, 10
      • Games on FOX: 7 (min of 8, must have one more in primetime)
      • Selections used: 16 (max of 22)

Things to know in advance
* The following games are set for the following network or network families with a start time to be determined:
  • Notre Dame at Duke (ACCN)
  • Liberty at BYU (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU)
  • Wyoming at Boise St. (Any ESPN platform except ESPN+)
  • Nevada at San Diego St. (Any ESPN platform except ESPN+)
* The following games have their start time & network family set, but the specific network is to be determined.
  • Dartmouth vs. Princeton, 3:30pm ET (ESPN linear TV networks)
* CBS has selected LSU at Alabama for 3:30pm ET
* FS1 has a pair of college basketball games at 7pm & 9pm, respectively
* Pac-12 Networks has college basketball scheduled for 4:30pm ET & 11pm ET.

Decisions I made
* I gave ESPN the top Big Ten selection & the top Pac-12 selection.  FOX had the top Big 12 selection.
* Since we're in six day pick season, I can see the following places where a six day hold is used

  • Winner of Georgia vs. Florida gets the evening ESPN slot

* To get USC at Arizona St. on the late evening slot on ESPN, the start time has to move to 8pm local time / 10pm ET as Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time.
* Big Ten night games have more hurdles to occur after the first weekend in November.  Hence I don't think Penn St. at Minnesota will get there, but I also don't think ESPN would sacrifice it against LSU at Alabama.

12pm ABC: Penn St. at Minnesota
12pm FOX: Maryland at Ohio St.
12pm ESPN: Missouri at Georgia
12pm ESPN2: Appalachian St. at South Carolina
12pm FS1: Illinois at Michigan St.
12pm ESPNU: Wake Forest at Virginia Tech
12pm SECN: Western Kentucky at Arkansas
12pm BTN: Purdue at Northwestern
12pm ACCN: Notre Dame at Duke
12:30pm ACC RSNs: Georgia Tech at Virginia
1pm Pac-12: Stanford at Colorado
3:30pm ABC: Kansas St. at Texas
3:30pm ESPN: Baylor at TCU
3:30pm ESPN2: Wyoming at Boise St.
3:30pm FS1: Texas Tech at West Virginia
3:30pm ESPNU: Dartmouth vs. Princeton
3:30pm CBSSN: Connecticut at Cincinnati
4pm FOX: Iowa at Wisconsin
4pm SECN: New Mexico St. at Ole Miss
4pm ACCN: Florida St. at Boston College
7pm ESPN: Vanderbilt at Florida
7pm ESPN2: East Carolina at SMU
7pm ESPNU: Liberty at BYU
7pm Pac-12: Washington St. at California
7:30pm ABC: Clemson at NC State
7:30pm SECN: Tennessee at Kentucky
7:30pm ACCN: Louisville at Miami (FL)
8pm FOX: Iowa St. at Oklahoma
10pm ESPN: USC at Arizona St.
10:15pm ESPN2: Nevada at San Diego St.

Monday, October 21, 2019

CFB TV Confirmations for 2019 Week 10 (11/2/19)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 11/2 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 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: 2 (10/12, 11/2)
American: 2 (11/2)
Big 12: 4
Big Ten: 3 (10/12)
SEC: 2 (10/19)
Pac-12: 4


Games on six day holds
SMU at Memphis - 3:30pm ABC/ESPN or 7:30pm ABC
Miami (FL) at Florida St. - 3:30pm ABC/ESPN or 7:30pm ABC

12pm ABC: Michigan at Maryland
12pm FOX: Nebraska at Purdue
12pm ESPN: NC State at Wake Forest
12pm ESPN2: Houston at UCF 
12pm ESPNU: Buffalo at Eastern Michigan
12pm SEC: UTSA at Texas A&M
12pm CBSSN: Northern Illinois at Central Michigan
12pm ACCN: Boston College at Syracuse 
2pm ESPN+: Akron at Bowling Green
3pm ESPN3: Troy at Coastal Carolina
3:30pm ABC/ESPN: TCU at Oklahoma St.
3:30pm FS1: Kansas St. at Kansas
3:30pm ESPNU: Arkansas St. at UL-Monroe
3:30pm BTN: Rutgers at Illinois
4pm FOX: Utah at Washington
4pm ESPN2: Tulsa at Tulane
4pm SEC: Mississippi St. at Arkansas
4pm ACCN: Wofford at Clemson
4pm ACC RSNs: Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech
4:30pm Pac-12: Oregon St. at Arizona
5pm ESPN+: Texas St. at UL-Lafayette
7pm ESPN: Ole Miss at Auburn
7pm FS1: Northwestern at Indiana
7pm ESPNU: UAB at Tennessee
7pm CBSSN: Cincinnati at East Carolina
7:30pm SEC: Vanderbilt at South Carolina
7:30pm ACCN: Virginia at North Carolina
8pm FOX: Oregon at USC
9pm Pac-12: Colorado at UCLA
10pm ESPN2: BYU at Utah St.
10:30pm ESPNU: New Mexico at Nevada

Sunday, October 20, 2019

CFB TV Guesses for 2019 Week Ten (11/2/19)

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

Through Week 9
* ESPN & FOX Sports share rights and first pick on the Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12.  Based on the games selected and known selection orders, often provided from media member posts, here is what I believe were the 1st choice networks for each conference through the 10/19 selections by week number.

Please know that networks have admitted that weeknight games are selected/drafted separately and are not part of top choice selection for a given week.
  • Big 12
    • ESPN: 1, 2, 4, 6, 9
      • Selections used, including future games: 15 (max of 23)
    • FOX Sports: 3, 5, 7, 8
      • Five games confirmed for FOX broadcast network (min of 6)
    • Games on ABC, FOX, ESPN and FS1 (includes future games): 26 (min of 25)
      • Excluding UNI-Iowa St., which was to be Iowa St.'s member retained game
  • Big Ten
    • ESPN:  5, 6, 7, 8, 9
      • Selections used, including future games: 20 (max of 27)
    • FOX Sports: 1, 2, 3, 4
      • Selections used, including future games: 17 (range of 24-27)
  • Pac-12
    • ESPN: 1, 2, 4, 8, 9
      • Games on ABC: 1 (min of 2, must have one more in primetime)
      • Selections used, including future games: 15 (max of 22)
    • FOX Sports:  3, 5, 6, 7
      • Games on FOX: 5 (min of 8, must have two more in primetime)
      • Selections used: 14 (max of 22)

Things to know in advance
* CBS selected Florida vs. Georgia in advance, so they will not be involved in SEC selections.
* The following games have had their start times set in advance without a TV assignment:
  • Michigan at Maryland, 12pm
* The following games have had their network groups selected in advance:
  • New Mexico at Nevada (all ESPN platforms except ESPN+)
  • BYU at Utah St. (all ESPN platforms except ESPN+)
* The Pac-12 selection order is the following.  Note that Jon's times are Pacific:
* No FS1 game at 12pm.  They are carrying Bundesliga matches until 3:30pm.


Decisions I made
* I gave FOX the top Big Ten selection and ESPN the top Big 12 selection.
* I think there's a real chance SMU at Memphis ends up as the primetime ABC game.  If it ends up being Miami-FSU, put SMU-Memphis at 3:30pm and NC State-Wake Forest at 12pm.  I don't think they would attempt to slot Miami-FSU at the same time as Georgia-Florida.
* I gave NC State at Wake Forest the nod ahead of TCU at Oklahoma St.  Could also see Cincinnati at East Carolina end up on ABC given the Bearcats currently ranked status.
* BTN's website didn't have a 12pm game.  Just a TBA programming window.  I'm going with only a single window at 3:30pm ET.
* It's a really uninspiring slate of selectable games.  Not sure that I would end up wasting any six day holds on this date.

12pm ABC: Miami (FL) at Florida St.
12pm FOX: Michigan at Maryland
12pm ESPN: Nebraska at Purdue
12pm ESPN2: UTSA at Texas A&M
12pm ESPNU: Houston at UCF
12pm SEC: Vanderbilt at South Carolina
12pm CBSSN: Northern Illinois at Central Michigan
12pm ACCN: Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech
12:30pm ACC RSNs: Boston College at Syracuse
3:30pm ABC: NC State at Wake Forest
3:30pm ESPN: TCU at Oklahoma St.
3:30pm ESPN2: Cincinnati at East Carolina
3:30pm FS1: Northwestern at Indiana
3:30pm ESPNU: New Mexico at Nevada
3:30pm BTN: Rutgers at Illinois
4pm FOX: Utah at Washington
4pm SEC: UAB at Tennessee
4pm ACCN: Wofford at Clemson
4:30pm Pac-12: Colorado at UCLA
7pm ESPN: Ole Miss at Auburn
7pm FS1: Kansas St. at Kansas
7pm ESPNU: Texas St. at UL-Lafayette
7pm CBSSN: Tulsa at Tulane
7:30pm ABC: SMU at Memphis
7:30pm SEC: Mississippi St. at Arkansas
7:30pm ACCN: Virginia at North Carolina
8pm FOX: Oregon at USC
9pm Pac-12: Oregon St. at Arizona
10:15pm ESPN2: BYU at Utah St.

Monday, October 14, 2019

CFB TV Confirmations for 2019 Week 9 (10/26/19)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 10/26 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 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 (10/12)
American: 3
Big 12: 4
Big Ten: 3 (10/12)
SEC: 2 (10/19)
Pac-12: 4



All times Eastern

12pm ABC: Oklahoma at Kansas St.
12pm FOX: Wisconsin at Ohio St.
12pm ESPN/ESPN2: Iowa at Northwestern
12pm ESPN/ESPN2: Miami (FL) at Pittsburgh
12pm ESPNU: Appalachian St. at South Alabama
12pm SEC: Mississippi St. at Texas A&M
12pm BTN: Liberty at Rutgers
12pm BTN: Illinois at Purdue
12pm ESPN3: Bowling Green at Western Michigan
2pm ESPN+: Ohio at Ball St.
3pm ESPN3: New Mexico St. at Georgia Southern
3:30pm ABC: Penn St. at Michigan St.
3:30pm CBS: Auburn at LSU
3:30pm FOX: Texas at TCU
3:30pm ESPN/ESPN2: Maryland at Minnesota
3:30pm ESPN/ESPN2/ACCN: Syracuse at Florida St.
3:30pm ESPN/ESPN2/ACCN: Virginia at Louisville
3:30pm FS1: Oklahoma St. at Iowa St.
3:30pm BTN: Indiana at Nebraska
3:30pm Pac-12: Arizona at Stanford
3:30pm ESPN3: Akron at Northern Illinois
3:30pm ESPN+: Eastern Michigan at Toledo
3:30pm ESPN+: Central Michigan at Buffalo
3:30pm ESPN+: Miami (OH) at Kent St.
3:45pm ESPNU: USF at East Carolina
4pm SEC: South Carolina at Tennessee
4pm ACC RSN: Duke at North Carolina
7pm ESPN: Arkansas at Alabama
7pm ESPN2: UCF at Temple
7pm FS1: Texas Tech at Kansas
7pm CBSSN: Memphis at Tulsa
7pm ESPN+: Troy at Georgia St.
7pm ESPN+: Texas St. at Arkansas St.
7:30pm ABC: Notre Dame at Michigan
7:30pm SEC: Missouri at Kentucky
7:30pm ESPNU: Colorado St. at Fresno St.
7:30pm ACCN: Boston College at Clemson
7:30pm Pac-12: Arizona St. at UCLA
10pm FS1: California at Utah
10:15pm ESPN2: Utah St. at Air Force
10:30pm ESPN: Washington St. at Oregon

Sunday, October 13, 2019

CFB TV Guesses for 2019 Week Nine (10/26/19)

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

Through Week 8
* ESPN & FOX Sports share rights and first pick on the Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12.  Based on the games selected and known selection orders, often provided from media member posts, here is what I believe were the 1st choice networks for each conference through the 10/19 selections by week number.

Please know that networks have admitted that weeknight games are selected/drafted separately and are not part of top choice selection for a given week.
  • Big 12
    • ESPN: 1, 2, 4, 6
      • Selections used, including future games: 14 (max of 23)
    • FOX Sports: 3, 5, 7, 8
      • Four games confirmed for FOX broadcast network (min of 6)
    • Games on ABC, FOX, ESPN and FS1 (includes future games): 22 (min of 25)
      • Excluding UNI-Iowa St., which was to be Iowa St.'s member retained game
  • Big Ten
    • ESPN:  5, 6, 7, 8
      • Selections used, including future games: 18 (max of 27)
    • FOX Sports: 1, 2, 3, 4
      • Selections used, including future games: 17 (range of 24-27)
  • Pac-12
    • ESPN: 1, 2, 4, 8
      • Games on ABC: 1 (min of 2, must have one more in primetime)
      • Selections used, including future games: 14 (max of 22)
    • FOX Sports:  3, 5, 6, 7
      • Games on FOX: 5 (min of 8, must have two more in primetime)
      • Selections used: 13 (max of 22)
Things to know in advance
* The following games have had their start times set without a TV assignment:
  • Iowa at Northwestern, 12pm
* The following games have had their network groups selected in advance:
  • Maryland at Minnesota (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2)
  • Notre Dame at Michigan (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2)
  • Utah St. at Air Force (Any ESPN platform except ESPN+)
  • Colorado St. at Fresno St. (Any ESPN platform except ESPN+)
* FOX has no night game due to World Series Game 4.
* FS1 has no 12pm game due to a NASCAR Truck Series race.
* BTN has two games listed for 12pm.

Decisions I made
* I assumed that Notre Dame at Michigan was the top choice for the Big Ten this particular week by ESPN, but that FOX has the top remaining choice of Big Ten games.  Also think that ESPN has three Big Ten games to air which is why they also got Penn St. at Michigan St.  Note that this would only increase their number at the top by one because Notre Dame at Michigan & Maryland at Minnesota were already selected & included in the count.
* I gave ESPN the top Big 12 choice as well and sent the top Pac-12 choice over to FOX Sports.  Bay Area News Group's Jon Wilner often posts the Pac-12 selection order in advance, but I haven't seen it listed on his Twitter feed yet.  So the networks involved could be wrong.
* EDIT: Pac-12 selection order.  I have adjusted as well.
* Going back to my piece on "Would you put Notre Dame at Michigan at night?", you can see my answer is "Yes".  I understand there are EEE concerns around Ann Arbor, and that alone might be worth the schools asking "please don't".  So I had two backup plans in mind:
  • If I put it at noon, swap Boston College at Clemson to the ABC night game.
  • If I keep it in the evening, I ask the Big Ten for flexibility on the start time and consider airing it on ESPN & send Oklahoma at Kansas St. over to ABC, similar to what they did with Notre Dame at Northwestern last year.  No, Northwestern is not the same quality of opponent as Michigan.  I can at least look at the World Series, right now through two games in both series (Game 2 ALCS being played tonight) and the result of Michigan at Penn St. and say "yeah, I'm willing to take this matchup to primetime, but I'll wait out knowing the NL side". 
* Iowa on BTN is to clear the Hawkeyes of their BTN requirements.
* By choosing Cal at Utah for FS1, I had to move the TV window up to 10pm ET / 8pm MT.

All times Eastern

12pm ABC: Boston College at Clemson
12pm FOX: Wisconsin at Ohio St.
12pm ESPN: Arkansas at Alabama
12pm ESPN2: Oklahoma St. at Iowa St.
12pm ESPNU: Memphis at Tulsa
12pm SEC: Missouri at Kentucky
12pm BTN: Iowa at Northwestern
12pm BTN: Liberty at Rutgers
12:30pm ACC RSN: Miami (FL) at Pittsburgh
3:30pm ABC: Penn St. at Michigan St.
3:30pm CBS: Auburn at LSU
3:30pm FOX: Texas at TCU
3:30pm ESPN: Maryland at Minnesota
3:30pm ESPN2: UCF at Temple
3:30pm FS1: Indiana at Nebraska
3:30pm ESPNU: Appalachian St. at South Alabama
3:30pm BTN: Illinois at Purdue
4pm SEC: South Carolina at Tennessee
4pm ACCN: Duke at North Carolina
4pm Pac-12: Arizona at Stanford
7pm ESPN: Oklahoma at Kansas St.
7pm ESPN2: Syracuse at Florida St.
7pm ESPNU: Colorado St. at Fresno St.
7pm FS1: Texas Tech at Kansas
7pm CBSSN: USF at East Carolina
7:30pm ABC: Notre Dame at Michigan
7:30pm SEC: Mississippi St. at Texas A&M
7:30pm ACCN: Virginia at Louisville
8pm Pac-12: Arizona St. at UCLA
10pm FS1: California at Utah
10:15pm ESPN2: Utah St. at Air Force
10:30pm ESPN: Washington St. at Oregon

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Scheduling College Football On Broadcast TV vs. the World Series

Since there has been conjecture as to whether Notre Dame at Michigan should be a night game on ABC putting it head to head with World Series Game Four or placed elsewhere on the schedule, I went back through Sports Media Watch's ratings pages to see how other games on broadcast television did against the World Series.  The site has archived college football numbers going back to 2012, so I went back that far as well.

Notre Dame happened to play three times in primetime on these competing Saturday as well, which is an interesting comparison point as well.  Only one was vs. a Power Five opponent though.

In 2012 & 2013, World Series Game Three was on Saturday.  From 2014 on, it was Game Four.  If the college football game is in bold, it was the highest rated game of the day per Nielsen.

Also, I'm sticking with the linear TV number & not adding in streaming numbers.

2012: Notre Dame at Oklahoma (5.2, 8.6m), Detroit-San Francisco (6.1, 10.5m)
2013: Penn St. at Ohio St. (2.5, 4.06m), St. Louis-Boston (7.4, 12.5m)
2014: Ohio St. at Penn St. (2.9, 4.67m), San Francisco-Kansas City (6.3, 10.6m)
2015: Notre Dame at Temple (3.6, 5.977m), NY Mets-Kansas City (9.29, 13.58m)
2016: Florida St. at Clemson (3.2, 5.38m), Cleveland-Chicago Cubs (9.3, 16.71m)
2017: ACC/Big 12 split window (2.0, 3.464m), LA Dodgers-Houston (8.7, 15.4m)
2018: Texas at Oklahoma St. (2.1, 3.486m) & Notre Dame vs. Navy (1.5, 2.447m), Boston-LA Dodgers (7.9, 13.56m)

In five of the seven cases of the World Series games, the Saturday game was the lowest rating game or tied for it within its World Series, or the household number was the lowest of the series.  I think its reasonable to say that college football puts a dent in the World Series number for Saturday night, but it also depends on the quality of the games in the series, as we're going only with broadcast network games and not including games on cable.

There's also a lot of context to a week's college football ratings.  I encourage you to look over Sports Media Watch to see the entire day's ratings.  If you're wondering what the highest game is on TV the weeks when it wasn't the game listed here, please visit his site.

There's context alone when it comes to October 26th.  Wisconsin at Ohio St. could be a game between two undefeated teams, or Penn St. at Michigan St. could be a high profile game.  Auburn at LSU could draw fans if its the CBS 3:30pm game.

ESPN has to make the choice as to whether its going to be a night game on October 14th.  Big Ten night games have to be declared 12 days in advance, though the network can be flexible as Notre Dame at Northwestern had the option of 7:15pm ET ESPN or 7:30pm ET ABC on November 3rd last year.  They don't have the ability to hold the game time until October 20th to see what the World Series matchup could be, and they still might only know the NL side if both series go to Game Seven.  Part of me sees that Notre Dame at Oklahoma number and thinks that's a barometer based on traditional, multi-decade college football brand names, but that game was also between top ten ranked teams (#5 Notre Dame vs. #8 Oklahoma).  By the time this game is slotted for TV, both teams should be ranked, but I don't think it will be to the level of a matchup of top ten teams and Michigan could drop in the polls if it loses to Penn St. on 10/19.

Of the games listed, the bolded college football games also happen to the only games involving two schools ranked in the top 25, but the Notre Dame at Oklahoma game was the only one where both were in the top ten.  All other games had one ranked school.  Yes, Temple was ranked.

So no, I haven't made up my mind and that won't happen until Sunday morning.

Monday, October 7, 2019

CFB TV Confirmations for 2019 Week 8 (10/19/19)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 10/19 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 Seven 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 (10/12)
American: 3
Big 12: 4
Big Ten: 3 (10/12)
SEC: 2 (10/19)
Pac-12: 4


Note: The 10:30pm ET FS1 window was in listings for 10/19 but per Jon Wilner of Bay Area News Group, ESPN has two selections and Pac-12 Networks have three for the five Pac-12 games, so the FS1 window could disappear.

Games being held for six day hold
Kentucky at Georgia
LSU at Mississippi St.
Florida at South Carolina

Options for LSU at Mississippi St.
& Florida at South Carolina: 12pm ESPN, 3:30pm CBS or 6pm ESPN

Options for Kentucky at Georgia: 3:30pm CBS or 6pm ESPN

All times Eastern

12pm ABC: Clemson at Louisville
12pm FOX: West Virginia at Oklahoma
12pm ESPN2: Purdue at Iowa
12pm ESPNU: Houston at Connecticut
12pm FS1: Iowa St. at Texas Tech
12pm SEC: Auburn at Arkansas
12pm CBSSN: Kent St. at Ohio
12pm BTN: Wisconsin at Illinois
12pm ACCN: Georgia Tech at Miami (FL)
12pm ACC RSNs: NC State at Boston College
2pm ESPN3: Central Michigan at Bowling Green
2pm ESPN+: Toledo at Ball St.
2:30pm FSN: TCU at Kansas St.
2:30pm Pac-12: Oregon St. at California
2:30pm ESPN+: Northern Illinois at Miami (OH)
3pm ESPN3: Costal Carolina at Georgia Southern
3:30pm ABC: Oregon at Washington
3:30pm ESPN2: Temple at SMU
3:30pm ESPNU: Tulsa at Cincinnati
3:30pm BTN: Indiana at Maryland
3:30pm BTN: Minnesota at Rutgers
3:30pm ACCN: Duke at Virginia
3:30pm ACC RSNs: North Carolina at Virginia Tech
3:30pm ESPN3: Buffalo at Akron
3:30pm ESPN+: UL-Monroe at Appalachian St.
4pm FOX: Baylor at Oklahoma St.
4pm SEC: Missouri at Vanderbilt
4pm ESPN+: Old Dominion at UAB
6pm Pac-12: Arizona St. at Utah
7pm ESPN2/ESPNU: Tulane at Memphis
7pm ESPN2/ESPNU: Colorado at Washington St.
7pm CBSSN: East Carolina at UCF
7pm ESPN+: Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan
7pm ESPN+: Army at Georgia St.
7:30pm ABC: Michigan at Penn St.
7:30pm SEC: Texas A&M at Ole Miss
7:30pm ACCN: Florida St. at Wake Forest
9pm ESPN: Tennessee at Alabama
9:30pm Pac-12: Arizona at USC
10:15pm ESPN2: Boise St. at BYU
10:15pm ESPNU: Nevada at Utah St.

Sunday, October 6, 2019

CFB TV Guesses for 2019 Week Eight (10/19/19)

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

Things to know in advance
* The following games have had their start times set without a TV assignment:
  • Purdue at Iowa, 12pm ET
  • Wisconsin at Illinois, 12pm ET
  • Minnesota at Rutgers, 3:30pm or 4pm ET
* The following games have had their network groups set:
  • Boise St. at BYU (All ESPN platforms except ESPNEWS & ESPN+)
  • Nevada at Utah St. (All ESPN platforms except ESPN+)
  • Old Dominion at UAB (ESPN+)
* FOX literature has their two windows as being a pair of Big 12 games at 12pm & 4pm ET.  My assumption is that if ALCS Game 6 is a midday game, it will be on FS1 at 4pm as there are college football game windows on FS1 at 12pm & 10:30pm ET.  If the ALCS game is a night game,  I assume it will be on FOX.
* FOX Sports Networks is scheduled to carry a Big 12 game at 12pm ET.
* ESPN again does not have a 3:30pm window.  Instead they have 6pm & 9pm, which has often signaled a SEC doubleheader, but 10/12 had a similar listing & they deviated from that.
* Per a podcast with the Pac-12's liaison for television Duane Lindberg, ESPN will pick first for the Pac-12, then the Pac-12 Networks.
* Per listings, ACC RSNs will have a doubleheader at 12pm & 3:30pm ET.
* Per BTN.com, they will have two games at 3:30pm ET.

Decisions I made
* I gave ESPN the top Big Ten selection and FOX the top two remaining Big 12 selections.  I believe ESPN picked Kansas at Texas knowing that FOX either had the top two selections for the Big 12 selections and did not intend to select Kansas at Texas or was picking 1st and 3rd.  Its also possible that Kansas at Texas was the top Big 12 pick and ESPN had earmarked it for their Longhorn Network game.  Either way, I have FOX with the top two remaining Big 12 selections.
* I considered Oregon at Washington for the ABC primetime game, but with two BTN games at 3:30pm and what appears to be a currently vacant 7:30pm window, it looks like ABC is set up to carry Michigan at Penn St. in primetime.  Oregon at Washington still looks solid for an ABC game to get them halfway home on their Pac-12 requirement for that network.
* It is very possible that CBS could use a six day hold between LSU at Mississippi St., Florida at South Carolina & Kentucky at Georgia.  At this time, I leaned Georgia, but the winner of LSU at Florida could make a compelling case for their game to be chosen.
* I went with the two ACC RSN games that I chose because of the lack of potential NHL conflicts.  Carolina & Washington do not play on Saturday, and Boston plays at night, so NC State at Boston College gets the early slot and UNC at Virginia Tech gets the later one.  I considered Georgia Tech at Miami (FL) for the 2nd RSN game, but both Florida & Tampa Bay have NHL games on Saturday night, making it harder for those RSNs to carry games without split feeds.
* Placing Purdue at Iowa on BTN clears the Hawkeyes requirement for two BTN appearances with one of the two being a Big Ten opponent.  In case you're curious, the following Big Ten schools need to make a 2nd appearance on BTN: Iowa, Northwestern, Ohio St. and Penn St.  In Iowa's case, they need their 1st appearance as their final regular season game vs. Nebraska is already scheduled for BTN.
* USC needs to make one appearance on Pac-12 Networks the rest of the year, with ten of their games as part of the Pac-12's television contract.  Nine of those ten can be carried as part of the ESPN & FOX Sports packages.  I considered Arizona at USC for the slot occupied by California at Oregon St. If FOX were to have selected Arizona St. at Utah, it would have to move the TV window up to 10pm ET as no Pac-12 game can have its TV window start later than 8pm local time.  If both Pac-12 Networks games are being selected before FS1's game, swap California at Oregon St. & Arizona at USC.
* If there are three Pac-12 Networks windows, since this configuration puts ESPN with three Pac-12 selections this week (they have UCLA at Stanford on Thursday night), make the following changes:

  • Colorado at Washington St. to Pac-12 Networks at 10pm ET
  • Boise St. at BYU to ESPN2 at 10:15pm ET
  • Tulsa at Cincinnati to ESPN2 at 7pm ET
  • UL-Monroe at Appalachian St. to ESPNU at 12pm ET

* I wanted to get a Boise St. game out of the late evening slots now since they are the highest ranked Group of Five team.

12pm ABC: Clemson at Louisville
12pm FOX: West Virginia at Oklahoma
12pm ESPN: Florida at South Carolina
12pm ESPN2: TCU at Kansas St.
12pm ESPNU: Tulsa at Cincinnati
12pm FS1: Wisconsin at Illinois
12pm SEC: Auburn at Arkansas
12pm CBSSN: Toledo at Ball St.
12pm BTN: Purdue at Iowa
12pm ACCN: Duke at Virginia
12pm ACC RSNs: NC State at Boston College
12pm FSN: Iowa St. at Texas Tech
2pm Pac-12: Arizona St. at Utah
3pm ESPN+: Old Dominion at UAB
3:30pm ABC: Oregon at Washington
3:30pm CBS: Kentucky at Georgia
3:30pm ESPN2: Temple at SMU
3:30pm ESPNU: Tulane at Memphis
3:30pm BTN: Minnesota at Rutgers
3:30pm BTN: Indiana at Maryland
3:30pm ACC RSNs: North Carolina at Virginia Tech
4pm FOX: Baylor at Oklahoma St.
4pm SEC: Missouri at Vanderbilt
4pm ACCN: Georgia Tech at Miami (FL)
5:30pm Pac-12: Oregon St. at California
6pm ESPN: Tennessee at Alabama
7pm ESPN2: Boise St. at BYU
7pm ESPNU: Houston at Connecticut
7pm CBSSN: East Carolina at UCF
7:30pm ABC: Michigan at Penn St.
7:30pm SEC: Texas A&M at Ole Miss
7:30pm ACCN: Florida St. at Wake Forest
9pm ESPN: LSU at Mississippi St.
10:15pm ESPN2: Colorado at Washington St.
10:15pm ESPNU: Nevada at Utah St.
10:30pm FS1: Arizona at USC