Friday, December 11, 2020

SEC Moving All Rights to ESPN

You might want to read the press release and media call transcript. Also happened to write this post in late December of 2019 when this news started to percolate.

A few takeaways that I have:

* Unless some trading of rights occurs, I'd expect CBS to keep at least a couple years worth of SEC games. There's still a bit of a logjam when it comes to the content they have and shoehorning in 15 more football games is a bit tough. Taking on a few more men's basketball games isn't as hard to do. CBS seems to make money off of it too with the deal's low cost per season and the rating the package generates allowing it to charge a pretty reasonable rate for advertising and sponsorship.

* The mention of more fan-friendly scheduling and noting when games would start is a welcome addition. Along with that, I am curious to know whether the SEC will continue to publish the upcoming season's schedule while the current season is still active. ESPN is known to take an active role in ACC scheduling for some Saturday games and that could apply to the SEC now that they are completely under the Disney umbrella. Maybe we'll see the SEC schedule come out in January or February instead.

* With the restrictions gone as to when a SEC game can air on broadcast TV during the day, I think your over/under number for the amount of SEC games that you should expect on ABC should be 22.  CBS had 15 and ESPN often had good games to air during the 1st two weeks of the season, so tacking those on plus some premium SEC games that aired on ESPN, 20 seems like a reasonable number to start with.

And with that noted, for the next three seasons, I think you'll see a few more premium games from the Big 12, Pac-12,  Big Ten and ACC end up on ESPN instead of ABC, or maybe a marginal game air on ESPN instead of filling an ABC slot. The increase in inventory isn't much, but the quality of the inventory has increased.

* The addition of ESPN+ content isa value add to both the ESPN+ service and, likely, the SEC Network.  SECN often ends up with these games early in the season and sometimes they end up on the alternate feed. If that content gets pulled from SECN and other ESPN linear TV platforms over to ESPN+, it leaves programming holes to fill.  Some of that might be SEC games from other linear TV platforms to bolster SECN and other conferences could benefit from the openings on linear TV to get more coverage. You also might see some cases where SECN doesn't carry a football game because the desire is to get as many viewers to watch a premium SEC game on ABC or ESPN instead.

* A possible loser in this addition is the American, specifically for its football championship game, as it might be the odd man out and slide into a spot on ESPN instead of airing on ABC. Currently it gets positioned to air on ABC opposite the SEC's game on CBS, but the game is guaranteed to air on either ABC or ESPN.

* As correctly noted by a Twitter follower, CBS will lose out on SEC men's basketball and ACC men's basketball disappeared from the network recently.  As far as I know, the Big Ten will be their anchor conference along with some games from the American and Mountain West, and they'll have sublicensed games from the Big 12, Pac-12, Big East plus the championship games from the Atlantic 10 and Missouri Valley from ESPN.  

ABC is starting to reposition itself in the college basketball space.  They carried five games total last year from the Pac-12, ACC and Big 12 and by adding a few SEC games, they'll have a chance to be back in that game for affiliates.

* And because there's an inevitable question about what CBS does, three Power 5 conferences have their rights agreements expire after consecutive athletic years: Big Ten (2022-23), Pac-12 (2023-24) and Big 12 (2024-25).  At a minimum, CBS would carry three Mountain West football games per season through 2025 and has the Army-Navy game through 2028.

Monday, November 30, 2020

CFB TV Confirmations for 2020 Week 15 (12/12/20)


12pm ESPN3: Miami (OH) at Bowling Green
12pm ESPN3: Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan
12pm ESPN3: Ohio at Kent State
12pm ESPN+: Western Michigan at Ball State
1pm ESPN3: UAB at Rice
2:30pm CBSSN: Akron at Buffalo
3pm ESPN3: Central Michigan at Toledo
3pm ESPN3: UIW at Arkansas State
3pm ESPN+: Coastal Carolina at Troy
3:30pm ESPNU: Texas at Kansas
4pm ESPN3: North Texas at UTEP
6pm ESPN3: Appalachian State at Georgia Southern
7pm ESPNU: Oklahoma State at Baylor
10pm ESPN2: San Diego State at BYU

Six day hold
Notre Dame at Wake Forest
North Carolina at Miami (FL)
Virginia at Virginia Tech
Houston at Memphis
Cincinnati at Tulsa
Oklahoma at West Virginia (12pm or 3:30pm ET on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2)
Wisconsin at Iowa
Minnesota at Nebraska
Illinois at Northwestern
Purdue at Indiana
Rutgers at Maryland
Michigan State at Penn State
Fresno State vs. New Mexico (FS1 or FS2)
Washington at Oregon
Oregon State at Stanford
USC at UCLA
California at Washington State
Some SEC games, because they're going to change the schedule again

Sunday, November 29, 2020

CFB TV Guesses for 2020 Week 15 (12/12/20)

This will be the last set of guesses for 2020. I'm not going to bother with 12/19 as we're not sure of many of the games in the Big Ten and Pac-12, plus several conferences are working on their schedules on a weekly basis to get as many relevant games in as possible. Frankly, I think you'll see six day holds used for a lot of this week and for whatever games outside of conference championships are played on 12/19 too.

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

I have done my best to list what TV windows are out there. Every listing service has a little different schedule for these networks. It is also possible that a window could be eliminated or the time of a window could shift slightly to accommodate a network's needs.

Considerations (you might want to read these instead of skipping past them)
* CBS schedules for 12/12/ show that they will not air a SEC game in primetime after Army-Navy. All of the games that are presently scheduled for that Saturday were originally scheduled to air on ESPN operated networks.
* Michigan at Ohio State has been pre-selected to air on FOX at 12pm ET and the MLS Cup will be airing on the network in primetime, so there's only one FOX window open.
* BTN doesn't a 7:30pm ET window listed at this time. Just 12pm & 3:30pm.
* RSNs are not showing any ACC football windows for 12/12, which might be why Pitt at Georgia Tech is airing on Thursday 12/10 instead. Assuming two RSN selections on 12/5, the game on 12/10 would be the RSN package's 17th game, so it would have met its contract requirement.
* ACC Network is scheduled to carry at least four, possibly five, college basketball games starting at 12pm and no college football. Network listings have five games but only four were listed when the ACC released its schedule.
* I'm attempting to follow the California curfew guidelines. Yesterday, rules were added specifically in Santa Clara county which would affect Stanford on Saturday and San Jose State on Friday night as they are scheduled to play Nevada at 10pm ET / 7pm PT on CBSSN.
* "Missing" TV windows on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU are due to the following:
  • Top Rank Boxing (ESPN late evening)
  • UFC PPV Prelims (ESPN2 evening I *think*)
  • Men's college basketball (ESPNU - 2 games starting at 7pm)
12pm ABC: Cincinnati at Tulsa
12pm ESPN: Oklahoma at West Virginia
12pm ESPN2: Virginia at Virginia Tech
12pm FS1: Texas at Kansas
12pm ESPNU: Coastal Carolina at Troy
12pm SECN: LSU at Florida
12pm BTN: Rutgers at Maryland
12pm BTN: Purdue at Indiana
2:30pm CBSSN: Akron at Buffalo
3:30pm ABC: North Carolina at Miami (FL)
3:30pm ESPN: Illinois at Northwestern
3:30pm ESPN2: San Diego State at BYU
3:30pm FS1: Washington at Oregon
3:30pm ESPNU: Oregon State at Stanford
3:30pm BTN: Michigan State at Penn State
3:30pm BTN: Minnesota at Nebraska
4pm FOX: USC at UCLA
4pm SECN: Auburn at Mississippi State
7pm ESPN: Wisconsin at Iowa
7pm FS1: Oklahoma State at Baylor
7:30pm ABC: Notre Dame at Wake Forest
7:30pm SECN: Texas A&M at Tennessee
10:30pm FS1: Fresno State vs. New Mexico
10:30pm ESPN2: California at Washington State

ESPN3 or ESPN+
North Texas at UTEP
UAB at Rice
Houston at Memphis
UIW at Arkansas State
Appalachian State at Georgia Southern
Central Michigan at Toledo
Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan
Western Michigan at Ball State
Miami (OH) at Bowling Green
Ohio at Kent State

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

The 2020-21 Men's College Basketball TV Schedule

Good morning.  College hoops scheduling is all over the place this year.  A lot of schedules, particularly in the area of television & streaming, won't be release very far in advance.  In some cases, games themselves are being put together on short notice.  I get a bit stressed trying to keep up with it, along with trying to keep up with the end of the college football season and day-to-day life responsibilities.

So, with that in mind, the college basketball portion of my site for 2020-21 is out there.  Frankly, I've tweeted about the updates to it way to much over the past week, so you might be sick of that or are already ready for the season.

Please be aware that I'll only be updating about a week in advance.  Weeks 1 and 2 are the only ones filled in right now and Week 2 definitely has more to add, particularly from the streaming end of things.

Your best bet to at least get fresh, current information for that day's games is to use the daily link, which turns over at 5am ET every day.

And I'm going to have to be less grumbly about not catching things right away.  I'll probably need your eyes and knowledge this season because uncertainty of the schedule is the only certainty this season.  So don't hesitant to bring up that a game has changed, been added or canceled.

Take care & be safe.

Monday, November 23, 2020

CFB TV Confirmations for 2020 Week 14 (12/5/20)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 11/28 from the twelve day selection process that most TV networks adhere to. 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), along with the games that have already been set.

Here's the deal - I don't really have a great handle as to the TV slots that are open as some networks aren't providing accurate listings by the time this post is written. What I'll do is list the windows that I've found and the games not yet set for TV, then add windows & reorder them by time as they're announced. That way you'll see the list of games set for TV along with the one(s) you're waiting on. Just don't be alarmed if network X isn't listed with any games here and you don't see any from that network for the games that have already been set.

Number of six day holds used
ACC: 3 (11/14, 11/28, 12/5)
American: 2 (11/28, 12/5)
Big 12: 5 (10/3, 11/7, 11/14, 11/28, 12/5)
Big Ten: 1 (11/21, 11/28)
MAC: 1 (12/5)
Mountain West: 2 (11/28, 12/5)
Pac-12: 2 (11/14, 11/28)
SEC: 2 (10/10, 12/5)
Sun Belt: 1 (12/5)

TBA BTN: Nebraska at Purdue
12pm ABC: Ohio State at Michigan State
12pm CBSSN: Kent State at Miami (OH)
12pm ESPN3: Toledo at Northern Illinois
12pm ESPN3: FIU at Charlotte
12pm ESPN+: Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan
12pm ESPN+: Rice at Marshall
12pm ESPN+: Memphis at Tulane
2pm ESPN3: Bowling Green at Akron
2pm ESPN3: Troy at South Alabama
3pm ESPN3: ULM at Arkansas State
3:30pm ABC/ESPN/ESPN2: Indiana at Wisconsin
3:30pm BTN: Maryland at Michigan
3:30pm CBSSN: Buffalo at Ohio
6pm ESPN+: Florida Atlantic at Georgia Southern

Games on hold
Boston College at Virginia
Clemson at Virginia Tech
Georgia Tech at NC State
Florida State at Duke
Western Carolina at North Carolina
Miami (FL) at Wake Forest
Tulsa at Navy
Houston at SMU
Texas at Kansas State
Baylor at Oklahoma
Oklahoma State at TCU
Kansas at Texas Tech
West Virginia at Iowa State
Iowa at Illinois
Northwestern at Minnesota
Penn State at Rutgers
Ball State at Central Michigan
Fresno State at Nevada (FS1 or FS2)
Colorado at Arizona
UCLA at Arizona State
Oregon at California
Oregon State at Utah
Stanford at Washington
South Carolina at Kentucky
Ole Miss at LSU
Florida at Tennessee
Vanderbilt at Georgia
Alabama at Arkansas
Texas A&M at Auburn
Missouri at Mississippi State
Liberty at Coastal Carolina

Sunday, November 22, 2020

CFB TV Guesses for 2020 Week 14 (12/5/20)

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

I have done my best to list what TV windows are out there. Every listing service has a little different schedule for these networks. It is also possible that a window could be eliminated or the time of a window could shift slightly to accommodate a network's needs.

Considerations (you might want to read these instead of skipping past them)
* Two MAC games at 12pm & 3:30pm on CBSSN, but I think they may need to move one of those windows to Friday now that Tulsa at Navy has been moved to this day and would normally be televised by CBSSN.  Then again, its 2020. Maybe we'll the MAC for breakfast. 
* UFC is scheduled for a Fight Night card on ESPN2 starting at 7pm.  They are carrying both the prelim matches and the main card.
* FS1 is scheduled to carry prelim bouts for the Spence Jr vs. Garcia PBC pay-per-view, but they are also showing a 7pm football game, so I'm unclear if the football game is incorrect or if FS2 is carrying the prelim bouts. There seems to be an opening at 5:30pm ET on FS2 that is 3.5 hours in length for football if needed. 
* I added the SEC Alt window at 7:30pm
* I'm really unsure how the lost BTN appearances, either due to games being elevated or canceled, affect the selections.  I'm assuming that those schools still need to appear here two times even if a game was scheduled for the network and canceled.

12pm ABC: Maryland at Michigan
12pm FOX: West Virginia at Iowa State       
12pm ESPN: Florida at Tennessee
12pm ESPN2: Oklahoma State at TCU
12pm FS1: Kansas at Texas Tech
12pm SEC: Missouri at Mississippi State
12pm BTN: Indiana at Wisconsin
12pm BTN: Northwestern at Minnesota
12pm CBSSN: Buffalo at Ohio
12pm ACCN: Florida State at Duke
2pm ESPNU: Houston at SMU
3:30pm ABC: Oregon at California
3:30pm CBS: Texas A&M at Auburn
3:30pm ESPN: Liberty at Coastal Carolina
3:30pm ESPN2: Baylor at Oklahoma
3:30pm FS1: Colorado at Arizona
3:30pm BTN: Ohio State at Michigan State
3:30pm BTN: Iowa at Illinois
3:30pm CBSSN: Tulsa at Navy
3:30pm ACC RSN: Georgia Tech at NC State
4pm FOX: Nebraska at Purdue
4pm SEC: Ole Miss at LSU
4pm ACCN: Miami (FL) at Wake Forest
5:30pm ESPNU: Rice at Marshall
7pm ESPN: Alabama at Arkansas
7pm FS1 or FS2: Fresno State at Nevada
7pm ACC RSN: Western Carolina at North Carolina
7:30pm ABC: Clemson at Virginia Tech
7:30pm SEC: Vanderbilt at Georgia
7:30pm SEC Alt: South Carolina at Kentucky
7:30pm BTN: Penn State at Rutgers
8pm FOX: Texas at Kansas State
8pm ACCN: Boston College at Virginia
9pm ESPNU: UCLA at Arizona State
10:30pm ESPN: Oregon State at Utah
10:30pm FS1: Stanford at Washington

ESPN3 or ESPN+
Memphis at Tulane
Ball State at Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan
Toledo at Northern Illinois
Bowling Green at Akron
Kent State at Miami (OH)
Florida Atlantic at Georgia Southern
Troy at South Alabama
ULM at Arkansas State

Monday, November 16, 2020

CFB TV Confirmations for 2020 Week 13 (11/28/20)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 11/28 from the twelve day selection process that most TV networks adhere to. 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), along with the games that have already been set.

Here's the deal - I don't really have a great handle as to the TV slots that are open as some networks aren't providing accurate listings by the time this post is written. What I'll do is list the windows that I've found and the games not yet set for TV, then add windows & reorder them by time as they're announced. That way you'll see the list of games set for TV along with the one(s) you're waiting on. Just don't be alarmed if network X isn't listed with any games here and you don't see any from that network for the games that have already been set.

Number of six day holds used
ACC: 2 (11/14, 11/28)
American: 1 (11/28)
Big 12: 4 (10/3, 11/7, 11/14, 11/28)
Big Ten: 1 (11/21, 11/28)
Pac-12: 2 (11/14, 11/28)
SEC: 1 (10/10)

Games on six day hold
Miami (FL) at Wake Forest
Pitt at Clemson
Duke at Georgia Tech
Virginia at Florida State
NC State at Syracuse
Tulsa at Houston
Cincinnati at Temple
Memphis at Tulane
Texas Tech at Oklahoma State
Oklahoma at West Virginia
Kansas State at Baylor
Ohio State at Illinois
Maryland at Indiana
Penn State at Michigan
Northwestern at Michigan State
San Jose State at Boise State (FOX Sports)
Utah at Arizona State
Arizona at UCLA
Colorado at USC

12pm ESPN: Kentucky at Florida
12pm SECN: Arkansas at Missouri
12pm CBSSN: Kent State at Buffalo
12pm ESPN3: Ball State at Toledo
12pm ESPN3: Georgia Southern at Georgia State
12pm ESPN+: SMU at ECU
12pm ESPN+: Northern Illinois at Western Michigan
12pm ESPN+: Bowling Green at Ohio
12pm ESPN+: Louisiana Tech at FIU
1pm ESPN3: Miami (OH) at Akron
1pm ESPN3: UTEP at Rice
2pm BTN: Minnesota at Wisconsin
3pm ESPN3: Louisiana at ULM
3pm ESPN3: South Alabama at Arkansas State
3pm ESPN+: Coastal Carolina at Texas State
3:30pm CBS: Auburn at Alabama
4pm FS1: Rutgers at Purdue
4pm SECN: Mississippi State at Ole Miss
7pm ESPN: LSU at Texas A&M
7:30pm SECN: Georgia at South Carolina
7:30pm SECN Alt: Tennessee at Vanderbilt
8pm FS1: TCU at Kansas
8pm ESPNU: Troy at Appalachian State

Sunday, November 15, 2020

CFB TV Guesses for 2020 Week 13 (11/28/20)

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

I have done my best to list what TV windows are out there. Every listing service has a little different schedule for these networks. It is also possible that a window could be eliminated or the time of a window could shift slightly to accommodate a network's needs.

Considerations (you might want to read these instead of skipping past them)
* Black Friday has been set in advance, which is not the norm.
* MAC games join the 12 day party after their usual weeknight foray.  There will be a 12pm game on CBS Sports Network.
* Joel Klatt let it slip that Penn State at Michigan would be FOX's choice this weekend for Big Noon before the Big Ten restarted. I'll take him at his word even if it's prestige is pretty low right now in the season.
*I don't know if BTN is required to get another Ohio State game due to the canceled game vs. Maryland. I'm going to assume they will.
* I have no idea of the BTN windows but I am assuming three at the usual times. They have not been provided by listing services at the time this post was published

12pm ABC: Miami (FL) at Wake Forest
12pm FOX: Penn State at Michigan
12pm ESPN: Kentucky at Florida
12pm ESPN2: Texas Tech at Oklahoma State
12pm FS1: TCU at Kansas
12pm ESPNU: SMU at ECU
12pm SECN: Mississippi State at Ole Miss
12pm BTN: Northwestern at Michigan State
12pm CBSSN: Kent State at Buffalo
12pm ACCN: Pitt at Clemson
3:30pm ABC: Maryland at Indiana
3:30pm CBS: Auburn at Alabama
3:30pm ESPN: Cincinnati at Temple
3:30pm ESPN2: Coastal Carolina at Texas State
3:30pm FS1: Kansas State at Baylor
3:30pm ESPNU: Troy at Appalachian State
3:30pm BTN: Rutgers at Purdue
4pm FOX: Colorado at USC
4pm SECN: Arkansas at Missouri
4pm ACCN: Duke at Georgia Tech
7pm ESPN: LSU at Texas A&M
7pm ESPN2: Utah at Arizona State
7pm ESPNU: Louisiana at ULM
7pm ACC RSNs: NC State at Syracuse
7:30pm ABC: Minnesota at Wisconsin
7:30pm SECN: Georgia at South Carolina
7:30pm SECN Alt: Tennessee at Vanderbilt
7:30pm BTN: Ohio State at Illinois
8pm FOX: Oklahoma at West Virginia
8pm ACCN: Virginia at Florida State
9:30pm FS1: San Jose State at Boise State
10:30pm ESPN: Arizona at UCLA

ESPN3 or ESPN+
Memphis at Tulane
Tulsa at Houston
Louisiana Tech at FIU
UTEP at Rice
Ball State at Toledo
Northern Illinois at Western Michigan
Bowling Green at Ohio
Miami (OH) at Akron
South Alabama at Arkansas State
Georgia Southern at Georgia State

Monday, November 9, 2020

CFB TV Confirmations for 2020 Week 12 (11/21/20)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 11/21 from the twelve day selection process that most TV networks adhere to. 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), along with the games that have already been set.

Here's the deal - I don't really have a great handle as to the TV slots that are open as some networks aren't providing accurate listings by the time this post is written. What I'll do is list the windows that I've found and the games not yet set for TV, then add windows & reorder them by time as they're announced. That way you'll see the list of games set for TV along with the one(s) you're waiting on. Just don't be alarmed if network X isn't listed with any games here and you don't see any from that network for the games that have already been set.

Games on six day hold
Wisconsin at Northwestern
Michigan State at Maryland
Iowa at Penn State

Options for six day hold (not in order of selection): 12pm FS1, 3:30pm ABC or ESPN or 3:30pm BTN

12pm ABC: Clemson at Florida State
12pm FOX: Indiana at Ohio State
12pm ESPN/SECN: Florida at Vanderbilt
12pm ESPN/SECN: LSU at Arkansas
12pm ESPN2/ESPNU: Houston at SMU
12pm ESPN2/ESPNU: Appalachian State at Coastal Carolina
12pm BTN: Illinois at Nebraska
12pm ACC: Wake Forest at Duke
12pm ESPN+: ECU at Temple
12pm ESPN+: Stephen F. Austin at Memphis
2pm ESPN3: FIU at WKU
2pm ESPN3: Rice at North Texas
2pm ESPN+: Central Arkansas at Louisiana
3pm ESPN3: Arkansas State at Texas State
3pm ESPN+: UTSA at Southern Miss
3:30pm CBS: Ole Miss at Texas A&M
3:30pm ABC or ESPN: Cincinnati at UCF
3:30pm ESPN2: Texas at Kansas
3:30pm FS1: California at Oregon State
3:30pm ESPN3: Middle Tennessee at Troy
4pm FOX: Kansas State at Iowa State
4pm ESPNU: Georgia State at South Alabama
4pm SEC: Kentucky at Alabama
4pm ACC: Virginia Tech at Pitt
4pm ACC RSNs: Abilene Christian at Virginia
4pm ESPN+: UAB at UTEP
5:30pm FS2: UNLV at Colorado State
7pm ESPN: Tennessee at Auburn
7:30pm ABC: Oklahoma State at Oklahoma
7:30pm SEC: Mississippi State at Georgia
7:30pm SEC Alt.: Missouri at South Carolina
7:30pm BTN: Michigan at Rutgers
7:30pm ACC RSNs: Liberty at NC State
8pm FOX: Arizona at Washington
8pm ESPNU: Navy at USF
8pm ACC: Georgia Tech at Miami (FL)
10pm ESPN2: Arizona State at Colorado
10:30pm ESPN: USC at Utah
11pm FS1: Washington State at Stanford

Sunday, November 8, 2020

CFB TV Guesses for 2020 Week 12 (11/21/20)

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

I have done my best to list what TV windows are out there. Every listing service has a little different schedule for these networks. It is also possible that a window could be eliminated or the time of a window could shift slightly to accommodate a network's needs.

Considerations (you might want to read these instead of skipping past them)
* ESPN2 has UFC at 7pm ET
* FS1 has boxing at 7pm ET
* Regional sports networks are listing two ACC games, one at 12pm & one at 3:30pm.
* I gave ESPN the top Big 12 choice. FOX Sports received the top Big Ten & Pac-12 Saturday choices.
* The reason I gave the Big 12 to choice to ESPN is because of what FOX didn't announce earlier in the year, which is that they would be showing Bedlam (Oklahoma State-Oklahoma). FOX Sports has a tendency to announce games in advance like that, such as what they do with Oklahoma-Texas and Michigan-Ohio State, and they have announced carrying Bedlam in advance of the season before. 

Number of six day holds used
ACC: 1 (11/14)
Big 12: 3 (10/3, 11/7, 11/14)
Pac-12: 1 (11/14)
SEC: 1 (10/10)

Here's the six day guesses for 11/14 if you wish to view those.

12pm ABC: Clemson at Florida State 
12pm FOX: Indiana at Ohio State 
12pm ESPN: Florida at Vanderbilt
12pm ESPN2: Tennessee at Auburn
12pm FS1: Texas at Kansas
12pm ESPNU: Appalachian State at Coastal Carolina
12pm SEC: Mississippi State at Georgia
12pm BTN: Illinois at Nebraska
12pm ACC: Virginia Tech at Pitt
12pm ACC RSN: Wake Forest at Duke
3:30pm ABC: Wisconsin at Northwestern  
3:30pm CBS: Ole Miss at Texas A&M
3:30pm ESPN: Cincinnati at UCF
3:30pm ESPN2: Michigan State at Maryland
3:30pm FS1: Kansas State at Iowa State
3:30pm ESPNU: Navy at USF
3:30pm BTN: Iowa at Penn State
3:30pm ACC RSN: Abilene Christian at Virginia
4pm FOX: Arizona at Washington
4pm SEC: Missouri at South Carolina
4pm ACC: Liberty at NC State
6pm FS2: UNLV at Colorado State
7pm ESPN: Kentucky at Alabama
7pm ESPNU: Houston at SMU
7:30pm ABC: Oklahoma State at Oklahoma    
7:30pm SEC: LSU at Arkansas
7:30pm BTN: Michigan at Rutgers
8pm FOX: USC at Utah
8pm ACC: Georgia Tech at Miami (FL)
9:30pm FS1: California at Oregon State
10pm ESPN2: Arizona State at Colorado
10:30pm ESPN: Washington State at Stanford

ESPN3 or ESPN+
ECU at Temple
Stephen F. Austin at Memphis
UAB at UTEP
UTSA at Southern Miss
FIU at WKU
Rice at North Texas
Central Arkansas at Louisiana
Georgia State at South Alabama
Arkansas State at Texas State
Middle Tennessee at Troy

Six Day CFB TV Guesses for 11/14/20

Since there's enough games to pick, here's bonus 11/14 guesses. I'm assuming that the Pac-12 enjoyed their noon ET foray enough to try it again, especially with Arizona hosting to make it a 10am local start. 

Because the Pac-12 stipulates that games cannot be slotted later than 8pm local time, i did have to adjust the late ESPN2 start time from 10:30pm to 10pm ET.

12pm ABC: Miami (FL) at Virginia Tech
12pm FOX: USC at Arizona
12pm ESPN2: Indiana at Michigan State
12pm ACCN: Wake Forest at North Carolina
3:30pm ABC: Notre Dame at Boston College 
4pm FOX: TCU at West Virginia
8pm FOX: Oregon at Washington State
10pm ESPN2: California at Arizona State

Sunday, November 1, 2020

CFB TV Confirmations for 2020 Week 11 (11/14/20)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 11/14 from the twelve day selection process that most TV networks adhere to. 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), along with the games that have already been set.

Here's the deal - I don't really have a great handle as to the TV slots that are open as some networks aren't providing accurate listings by the time this post is written. What I'll do is list the windows that I've found and the games not yet set for TV, then add windows & reorder them by time as they're announced. That way you'll see the list of games set for TV along with the one(s) you're waiting on. Just don't be alarmed if network X isn't listed with any games here and you don't see any from that network for the games that have already been set.

12pm ABC or ESPN2: Indiana at Michigan State
12pm ESPN: Georgia at Missouri
12pm ESPN2 or ACCN: Wake Forest at North Carolina
12pm FS1: Penn State at Nebraska
12pm ESPNU: Coastal Carolina at Troy
12pm SEC: Vanderbilt at Kentucky
12pm BTN: Illinois at Rutgers
12pm ESPN+: Army West Point at Tulane
2pm ESPN+: South Alabama at Louisiana
2:30pm FS2: Fresno State at Utah State
2:30pm ESPN+: Georgia State at Appalachian State
3pm ESPN3: ULM at Arkansas State
3pm ESPN+: USF at Houston
3pm ESPN+: UTEP at UTSA
3:30pm ESPN: Texas A&M at Tennessee
3:30pm ESPN2/ESPNU: Memphis at Navy
3:30pm ESPN2/ESPNU: Colorado at Stanford
3:30pm BTN: Ohio State at Maryland
3:30pm ESPN3: Rice at Louisiana Tech
3:30pm ESPN3: Texas State at Georgia Southern
4pm FS1: Baylor at Texas Tech
4pm SEC: Auburn at Mississippi State
6:30pm FS2: Nevada at New Mexico
7pm ESPN: Arkansas at Florida
7pm ESPN2: SMU at Tulsa
7pm ACC RSN: Pitt at Georgia Tech
7:30pm ABC: Wisconsin at Michigan
7:30pm ESPNU: Temple at UCF
7:30pm SEC: South Carolina at Ole Miss
7:30pm BTN: Northwestern at Purdue
7:30pm ACC: Florida State at NC State
10:30pm FS2: UNLV at San Jose State
11pm FS1: Oregon State at Washington

Games on six day hold
Notre Dame at Boston College - 12pm or 3:30pm ABC, 12pm ESPN2 or ACCN or 4pm ACCN
Miami (FL) at Virginia Tech - 12pm or 3:30pm ABC, 12pm ESPN2 or ACCN or 4pm ACCN
TCU at West Virginia - 12pm, 4pm or 8pm ET on FOX
USC at Arizona - 12pm FOX ??, 3:30pm ABC, 4pm FOX, 8pm FOX or 10:30pm ESPN2
California at Arizona State - 12pm FOX ??, 3:30pm ABC, 4pm FOX, 8pm FOX or 10:30pm ESPN2
Oregon at Washington State - 12pm FOX ??, 3:30pm ABC, 4pm FOX, 8pm FOX or 10:30pm ESPN2

Games to be slotted

CFB TV Guesses for 2020 Week 11 (11/14/20)

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

I have done my best to list what TV windows are out there. Every listing service has a little different schedule for these networks. It is also possible that a window could be eliminated or the time of a window could shift slightly to accommodate a network's needs.

Considerations (you might want to read these instead of skipping past them)
* CBS has selected Alabama at LSU in advance.  All remaining SEC games will be on ESPN channels. Even though Alabama at LSU is not starting until 6pm ET, to my knowledge not an exclusive primetime window for CBS. I am assuming that ESPN will be allowed to use the mid afternoon ESPN and/or ESPN2 windows, keeping the evening windows free for CBS from primetime SEC games on ESPN, ESPN2 and/or ESPNU.
* ESPN's late evening window has Top Rank Boxing. A late evening slot on ESPN2 exists for the Pac-12 to use.
* I am under the impression that the Big Ten has suspended its rules regarding a game's competing schools having to approve primetime appearances after the 1st weekend in November with BTN having a 7:30pm window along with attendance limitations in most Big Ten localities, so I've also placed Indiana at Michigan State in primetime on ESPN.
* There's nothing against competing Big Ten games on ABC and FOX at the same time, hence the dueling games at 12pm ET.
* FS1's primetime slot has Premier Boxing Champions from 8pm-10pm ET. Listings show an 11pm ET college football slot after it, but I'm unsure at this time whether that's a replay or live game, since FS1 has a taped program at 10pm ET, so I'm treating it as a game replay and not using it for any live games.
* Memphis at Navy will air on an ESPN network. It was the remaining Navy home game that was provided to ESPN as part of the American's TV rights.
* TV Passport lists "To Be Announced" on FS2 at 2:30pm ET, 6pm ET and 10:30pm ET.  With all programming blocks being 3 hours and 30 minutes, I'm using them for the three Mountain West games that FOX Sports has chosen to air.
* I gave FOX Sports the top choice from the Big 12 and Big Ten.  ESPN received top pick from the Pac-12.

Number of six day holds used
Big 12: 2 (10/3, 11/7)
SEC: 1 (10/10)

Most conferences have up to 4 six day holds to use in a full season, but I am unsure if that number has decreased for some conferences who are playing shorter schedules.

12pm ABC: Wisconsin at Michigan
12pm FOX: Ohio State at Maryland
12pm ESPN: Arkansas at Florida
12pm ESPN2: Army at Tulane
12pm FS1: TCU at West Virginia
12pm ESPNU: Memphis at Navy
12pm SEC: South Carolina at Ole Miss
12pm BTN: Illinois at Rutgers
12pm ACC: Wake Forest at North Carolina
2:30pm FS2: Fresno State at Utah State
3:30pm ABC: Oregon at Washington State
3:30pm ESPN: Georgia at Missouri
3:30pm ESPN2: Auburn at Mississippi State
3:30pm ESPNU: California at Arizona State
3:30pm BTN: Northwestern at Purdue
4pm FOX: Oregon State at Washington
4pm FS1: Baylor at Texas Tech
4pm SEC: Vanderbilt at Kentucky
4pm ACC: Florida State at NC State
6pm FS2: Nevada at New Mexico
7pm ESPN: Indiana at Michigan State
7pm ESPN2: SMU at Tulsa
7pm ESPNU: Coastal Carolina at Troy
7pm ACC RSN: Pitt at Georgia Tech
7:30pm ABC: Notre Dame at Boston College
7:30pm SEC: Texas A&M at Tennessee
7:30pm BTN: Penn State at Nebraska
8pm FOX: USC at Arizona
8pm ACC: Miami (FL) at Virginia Tech
10:30pm ESPN2: Colorado at Stanford
10:30pm FS2: UNLV at San Jose State

ESPN3 or ESPN+
Temple at UCF
USF at Houston
UTEP at UTSA
Rice at Louisiana Tech
Georgia State at Appalachian State
ULM at Arkansas State
Texas State at Georgia Southern
South Alabama at Louisiana

Monday, October 26, 2020

CFB TV Confirmations for 2020 Week 10 (11/7/20)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 11/7 from the twelve day selection process that most TV networks adhere to. 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), along with the games that have already been set.

Here's the deal - I don't really have a great handle as to the TV slots that are open as some networks aren't providing accurate listings by the time this post is written. What I'll do is list the windows that I've found and the games not yet set for TV, then add windows & reorder them by time as they're announced. That way you'll see the list of games set for TV along with the one(s) you're waiting on. Just don't be alarmed if network X isn't listed with any games here and you don't see any from that network for the games that have already been set.

12pm ESPN: Michigan State at Iowa
12pm ESPN2: North Carolina at Duke 
12pm FS1: Michigan at Indiana
12pm ESPNU: Arkansas State at Louisiana
12pm BTN: Nebraska at Northwestern
12pm ACC: Liberty at Virginia Tech
12pm ESPN3: ULM at Georgia State
12pm ESPN+: Tulane at ECU
12pm ESPN+: USF at Memphis
1pm ESPN3: Troy at Georgia Southern
2pm ACC RSN: Boston College at Syracuse
3pm ESPN3: North Alabama at Southern Miss
2:30pm ESPN+: UMass at Marshall
3:30pm ABC: Purdue at Wisconsin
3:30pm ESPN/ESPN2: Houston at Cincinnati
3:30pm ESPN/ESPN2: Kansas at Oklahoma
3:30pm FS1: Texas Tech at TCU 
3:30pm BTN: Minnesota at Illinois
3:30pm BTN: Maryland at Penn State
3:30pm ESPN3: UTSA at Rice
3:30pm ESPN+: Charlotte at Middle Tennessee
4pm ESPNU: Arizona at Utah
4pm ACC: Pitt at Florida State
4pm ESPN3: FIU at UTEP
4pm ESPN+: Appalachian State at Texas State
7pm ESPN2: UCLA at Colorado
7pm FS1: Baylor at Iowa State
7:30pm ABC: Stanford at Oregon
7:30pm BTN: Rutgers at Ohio State
8pm ESPNU: South Alabama at Coastal Carolina
8pm ACC: Louisville at Virginia
10:30pm ESPN: Washington at California
10:30pm FS1: Washington State at Oregon State

Games to have TV decided after 10/31 games
Tennessee at Arkansas - 7pm ESPN or 7:30pm SECN
Texas A&M at South Carolina - 7pm ESPN or 7:30pm SECN
West Virginia at Texas - 12pm ABC or 4pm FOX
Oklahoma State at Kansas State - 12pm ABC or 4pm FOX

Sunday, October 25, 2020

CFB TV Guesses for 2020 Week 10 (11/07/20)

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

I have done my best to list what TV windows are out there. Every listing service has a little different schedule for these networks. It is also possible that a window could be eliminated or the time of a window could shift slightly to accommodate a network's needs.

Considerations (you might want to read these instead of skipping past them)
* SEC games have already been set for CBS and ESPN Networks, though there is a decision to be made between the evening SEC Network and ESPN games.
* Pac-12 joins the guesses. Please note that FOX has preselected Arizona State at USC for a 12pm ET start and it is not listed here because of that.
* FOX is scheduled to carry boxing at 8pm ET.
* ESPN2 is scheduled to carry a UFC Fight Night at 10-10:30pm ET.
* ESPN originally listed their primetime window as one of two SEC games at 7:30pm ET, but with the Pac-12 returning to play and a window being added at 10:30pm ET, I expect that the primetime ESPN window will move to 7pm ET.
* One ACC RSN game is being listed by most RSNs at 2pm ET leading into Stadium's scheduled C-USA game at 6pm ET.
* BTN's executives have confirmed that they'll carry 28 games this season with two appearances for each Big Ten school, so yes, there's going to be a need to get schools like Ohio State on the network.
* I gave FOX the top Big 12 choice and ESPN the top Big Ten choice.
* I think you'll see usage of ESPNU for the Pac-12 regularly with the Pac-12 Networks sidelined for now. Per the release that the Pac-12 provided, the ESPN outlets for the conference are ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. Not any of ESPN's digital outlets.

12pm ABC: Maryland at Penn State 
12pm ESPN: Houston at Cincinnati
12pm ESPN2: Minnesota at Illinois
12pm FS1: Kansas at Oklahoma
12pm ESPNU: Texas Tech at TCU
12pm BTN: Rutgers at Ohio State
12pm ACC: Boston College at Syracuse
2pm ACC RSN: Louisville at Virginia
3:30pm ABC: Michigan at Indiana 
3:30pm ESPN: West Virginia at Texas
3:30pm ESPN2: Arizona at Utah
3:30pm FS1: Purdue at Wisconsin
3:30pm ESPNU: UCLA at Colorado
3:30pm BTN: Nebraska at Northwestern
4pm FOX: Oklahoma State at Kansas State
4pm ACC: Pitt at Florida State
7pm ESPN: Texas A&M at South Carolina
7pm ESPN2: North Carolina at Duke
7pm FS1: Baylor at Iowa State
7pm ESPNU: South Alabama at Coastal Carolina
7:30pm ABC: Stanford at Oregon
7:30pm SEC: Tennessee at Arkansas
7:30pm BTN: Michigan State at Iowa
8pm ACC: Liberty at Virginia Tech
10:30pm ESPN: Washington at California
10:30pm FS1: Washington State at Oregon State

ESPN3 or ESPN+
Tulane at ECU
USF at Memphis
North Alabama at Southern Miss
Charlotte at Middle Tennessee
UTSA at Rice
FIU at UTEP
UMass at Marshall
Troy at Georgia Southern
ULM at Georgia State
Arkansas State at Louisiana
Appalachian State at Texas State

Monday, October 19, 2020

CFB TV Confirmations for 2020 Week 9 (10/31/20)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 10/31 from the twelve day selection process that most TV networks adhere to. 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), along with the games that have already been set.

Here's the deal - I don't really have a great handle as to the TV slots that are open as some networks aren't providing accurate listings by the time this post is written. What I'll do is list the windows that I've found and the games not yet set for TV, then add windows & reorder them by time as they're announced. That way you'll see the list of games set for TV along with the one(s) you're waiting on. Just don't be alarmed if network X isn't listed with any games here and you don't see any from that network for the games that have already been set.

12pm ABC: Boston College at Clemson
12pm FOX: Michigan State at Michigan
12pm ESPN/ESPN2: Kansas State at West Virginia
12pm ESPN/ESPN2: Memphis at Cincinnati
12pm FS1: Iowa State at Kansas
12pm ESPNU: Coastal Carolina at Georgia State
12pm BTN: Purdue at Illinois
12pm ACC: Wake Forest at Syracuse
12pm ESPN+: Temple at Tulane
2pm ESPN+: UCF at Houston
3pm ESPN3: Troy at Arkansas State
3pm ESPN3: Rice at Southern Miss
3:30pm ABC: Notre Dame at Georgia Tech
3:30pm ESPN: Northwestern at Iowa
3:30pm ESPN2: TCU at Baylor
3:30pm FS1: Wisconsin at Nebraska
3:30pm BTN: Indiana at Rutgers
4pm FOX: Texas at Oklahoma State
4pm ESPNU: Appalachian State at ULM
4pm ACC: Virginia Tech at Louisville
7pm FS1: San Jose State at New Mexico
7pm ACC RSN: Charlotte at Duke
7:30pm ABC: Ohio State at Penn State
7:30pm ESPN2: Navy at SMU
8pm FOX: Oklahoma at Texas Tech
8pm ESPNU: Louisiana at Texas State
8pm ACC: North Carolina at Virginia
10:15pm ESPN: WKU at BYU
10:30pm FS1: Nevada at UNLV

Sunday, October 18, 2020

CFB TV Guesses for 2020 Week 9 (10/31/20)

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

I have done my best to list what TV windows are out there. Every listing service has a little different schedule for these networks. It is also possible that a window could be eliminated or the time of a window could shift slightly to accommodate a network's needs.

Pac-12 will be added with next week's guesses. Maybe the MAC too.

Considerations (you might want to read these instead of skipping past them)
* I dropped the late 10:15pm ESPN window
* SEC games had their TV destinations set in advance for this week. Check the schedule for the week to see where they have been set. 
* I gave ESPN top pick of Big 12 and Big Ten for Saturday games.
* 7pm ACC RSN window could move to 12pm again as it did on 10/24.
* I get the feeling that ESPN will try to use one of Notre Dame's ACC games each season and earmark it for ACCN, so this is the week I can see them trying it.

12pm ABC: Boston College at Clemson
12pm FOX: Michigan State at Michigan
12pm ESPN: Kansas State at West Virginia
12pm ESPN2: Memphis at Cincinnati
12pm FS1: TCU at Baylor
12pm ESPNU: Louisiana at Texas State
12pm BTN: Indiana at Rutgers
12pm ACC: Notre Dame at Georgia Tech
3:30pm ABC: Texas at Oklahoma State
3:30pm ESPN: Iowa State at Kansas
3:30pm ESPN2: Navy at SMU
3:30pm FS1: Purdue at Illinois
3:30pm ESPNU: Temple at Tulane      
3:30pm BTN: Northwestern at Iowa
3:30pm ACC RSN: Wake Forest at Syracuse
4pm FOX: Wisconsin at Nebraska
4pm ACC: Virginia Tech at Louisville
7pm ESPN2: WKU at BYU
7pm FS1:  San Jose State at New Mexico
7pm ESPNU: Coastal Carolina at Georgia State
7pm ACC RSN: Charlotte at Duke
7:30pm ABC: Ohio State at Penn State
8pm FOX: Oklahoma at Texas Tech
8pm ACC: North Carolina at Virginia
10:30pm FS1: Nevada at UNLV

ESPN3 or ESPN+
UCF at Houston
Troy at Arkansas State
Appalachian State at ULM
Rice at Southern Miss

Monday, October 12, 2020

CFB TV Confirmations for 2020 Week 8 (10/24/20)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 10/24 from the twelve day selection process that most TV networks adhere to. 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), along with the games that have already been set.

Here's the deal - I don't really have a great handle as to the TV slots that are open as some networks aren't providing accurate listings by the time this post is written. What I'll do is list the windows that I've found and the games not yet set for TV, then add windows & reorder them by time as they're announced. That way you'll see the list of games set for TV along with the one(s) you're waiting on. Just don't be alarmed if network X isn't listed with any games here and you don't see any from that network for the games that have already been set.

Friday
7pm ESPN3: Jacksonville State at FIU
8pm BTN: Illinois at Wisconsin

Saturday
12pm ABC: Oklahoma at TCU
12pm FS1: Kansas at Kansas State
12pm ESPNU: Georgia Southern at Coastal Carolina
12pm SEC: Auburn at Ole Miss
12pm BTN: Rutgers at Michigan State
12pm CBSSN: Mercer at Army West Point
12pm ACC RSN: Florida State at Louisville
12pm ESPN+: Temple at Memphis
2pm ESPN2: Tulane at UCF
3:30pm ABC: Notre Dame at Pitt
3:30pm CBS: Alabama at Tennessee
3:30pm FOX: Iowa State at Oklahoma State
3:30pm ESPN: Baylor at Texas
3:30pm FS1: Penn State at Indiana
3:30pm BTN: Iowa at Purdue
3:30pm ACC RSN: Virginia Tech at Wake Forest
3:30pm ESPN3: Middle Tennessee at Rice
3:30pm ESPN+: UTEP at Charlotte
4pm ESPNU: Georgia State at Troy
4pm SEC: South Carolina at LSU
4pm ACC: Georgia Tech at Boston College
4pm ESPN3: Chattanooga at WKU
5:30pm ESPN2: West Virginia at Texas Tech
7pm ESPN+: ULM at South Alabama
7pm CBSSN: Wyoming at Nevada (from Zap2It listings)
7:30pm ABC: Michigan at Minnesota 
7:30pm BTN: Maryland at Northwestern
8pm ACC: Virginia at Miami (FL)
8pm ESPNU: Louisiana Tech at UTSA
9pm ESPN2: Cincinnati at SMU
10:15pm ESPN: Texas State at BYU
11pm FS1:

Six Day Holds
Syracuse at Clemson - 12pm ESPN or 12pm ACCN
NC State at North Carolina - 12pm ESPN or 12pm ACCN
Missouri at Florida - 7pm ESPN or 7:30pm SECN
Georgia at Kentucky - 7pm ESPN or 7:30pm SECN

Games not yet set for TV
Air Force at San Jose State
Hawai'i at Fresno State
New Mexico at Colorado State
UNLV at San Diego State
Utah State at Boise State
Wyoming at Nevada

Sunday, October 11, 2020

CFB TV Guesses for 2020 Week 8 (10/24/20)

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

I have done my best to list what TV windows are out there. Every listing service has a little different schedule for these networks. It is also possible that a window could be eliminated or the time of a window could shift slightly to accommodate a network's needs.

Big Ten, and possibly Mountain West, games will now be part of the 12 day selections as their season will start on 10/23 & 10/24.

Considerations (you might want to read these instead of skipping past them)
* ESPN2 is carrying UFC prelims from 12-2pm ET. At this time, they will start carrying games at 2pm ET.
* FOX added a 2nd broadcast network game window after selecting Nebraska at Ohio State. My expectation was that this was for the Big 12, and I think that was the original plan, but as we come into the weekend, I think a Big Ten game is better served being placed there. The network's primetime window is reserved for World Series Game 4.  If you're looking at the minimum required number of games that FOX has to air on their broadcast network from the Big 12, they are right at that six game minimum.
* I don't know if there's been a change as to the number of appearances a SEC team can make on CBS with CBS's regular season game schedule reduced from 15 to 11. I'm hesitant to use Alabama at Tennessee & Georgia at Kentucky if the appearance maximum has decreased from five to four, so I went with Missouri at Florida.
* It hasn't been announced, but with Houston at Navy being set for 3:30pm, I am assuming that Mercer at Army is being changed to a 12pm start, allowing for a pair of Mountain West games to possibly air on CBSSN in the evening.
* I have no idea how Hawai'i's games will be split amongst MW rightsholders and their Spectrum Sports PPV package. I assume some games will air on Spectrum Sports, so their game this week I've listed on.  Boise State's game at Hawai'i is controlled by CBS Sports, so almost all other Hawai'i games could be pay-per-view games to get Hawai'i their money.
* As of this morning, I don't have a good handle on the BTN, FS1 & FS2 telecast windows. One listing service has 3:30pm & 11pm for FS1, so I added 12pm & 7pm on my own & adjusted the 11pm window to 10:30pm per MW rules that a FOX Sports game can't start later than 7:45pm local time. On Friday 10/23 at 6pm ET there happens to a To Be Announced window, so I don't know if that worth watching with respect to a game being moved there. 

12pm ABC: Notre Dame at Pitt
12pm ESPN: Penn State at Indiana
12pm FS1: Baylor at Texas
12pm ESPNU: Tulane at UCF
12pm SEC: Georgia at Kentucky
12pm BTN: Maryland at Northwestern
12pm ACC: NC State at North Carolina
2pm ESPN2: Kansas at Kansas State 
2pm FS2: New Mexico at Colorado State
3:30pm ABC: Iowa State at Oklahoma State
3:30pm CBS: Missouri at Florida
3:30pm FOX: Illinois at Wisconsin
3:30pm ESPN: Syracuse at Clemson
3:30pm FS1: Oklahoma at TCU
3:30pm ESPNU: Georgia Southern at Coastal Carolina
3:30pm BTN: Iowa at Purdue
3:30pm ACC RSN: Georgia Tech at Boston College
4pm SEC: Auburn at Ole Miss
4pm ACC: Virginia Tech at Wake Forest
5:30pm ESPN2: West Virginia at Texas Tech
7pm ESPN: Alabama at Tennessee
7pm FS1: Utah State at Boise State 
7pm ESPNU: Louisiana Tech at UTSA
7pm CBSSN: Wyoming at Nevada
7pm ACC RSN: Florida State at Louisville
7pm KAIL & Spectrum PPV: Hawai'i at Fresno State
7:30pm ABC: Michigan at Minnesota
7:30pm SEC: South Carolina at LSU
7:30pm BTN: Rutgers at Michigan State
8pm ACC: Virginia at Miami (FL)
9pm ESPN2: Cincinnati at SMU
10:15pm ESPN: Texas State at BYU
10:30pm FS1: Air Force at San Jose State
10:30pm CBSSN: UNLV at San Diego State
 
ESPN3 or ESPN+
Temple at Memphis
ULM at South Alabama
Georgia State at Troy
Chattanooga at WKU
Middle Tennessee at Rice
UTEP at Charlotte

Monday, October 5, 2020

CFB TV Confirmations for 2020 Week 7 (10/17/20)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 10/17 from the twelve day selection process that most TV networks adhere to. 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), along with the games that have already been set.

(Here's the deal - I don't really have a great handle as to the TV slots, so what I'll do is list the games not yet set for TV, then reorder them by time as they're set. That way you'll see the list of games set for TV along with the one(s) you're waiting on).

12pm ESPN2: Cincinnati at Tulsa
12pm FS1: Kansas at West Virginia
12pm ESPNU: Texas State at South Alabama
12pm ACC RSNs: Liberty at Syracuse
12pm ESPN+: Navy at ECU
12pm ESPN+: USF at Temple
3:30pm ABC: UCF at Memphis
3:30pm ESPN: LSU at Florida
3:30pm ESPN2: Ole Miss at Arkansas
3:30pm ESPN3: Eastern Kentucky at Troy
3:30pm ACC RSN: Duke at NC State
4pm SEC: Texas A&M at Mississippi State
4pm ACC: Virginia at Wake Forest
7pm ESPN: North Carolina at Florida State
7:30pm ABC: Oklahoma State at Baylor
7:30pm ESPN2: Southern Miss at UTEP
8pm ESPNU: FIU at Charlotte
8pm ACC: Boston College at Virginia Tech

Six day hold
Clemson at Georgia Tech - 12pm ABC or ACCN
Pitt at Miami (FL) - 12pm ABC or ACCN
Kentucky at Tennessee - 12pm ESPN or SECN
Auburn at South Carolina - 12pm ESPN or SECN

Sunday, October 4, 2020

CFB TV Guesses for 2020 Week 7 (10/17/20)

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

I have done my best to list what TV windows are out there. Every listing service has a little different schedule for these networks. It is also possible that a window could be eliminated or the time of a window could shift slightly to accommodate a network's needs.

After this week, Big Ten games will now be part of the 12 day selections as their season will start on 10/23 & 10/24.  It is possible that the Big Ten games in Week Eight will be set ahead of the 12 day selection process.

Six day holds used
ACC: 1 (9/19)
Big 12: 1 (10/3)
SEC: 1 (10/10)

Here's what I'm thinking
* Had both schools won, UCF at Memphis would have been my ABC primetime game. CBS already has a strong game at night with Georgia at Alabama, so my thought was to throw the American a bone & maybe fulfill a few required appearances. 
* The ACC RSN doubleheader threw a wrench into things. Likely would have had North Carolina at Florida State on ESPN instead but had to move things down the line so that the ACC Network gets its three games as currently listed plus the RSN doubleheader.
* It is unclear to me whether a Big 12 game will air on FS1. Some listings have a 12pm ET game & others do not. If there is one on FS1, move Kansas at West Virginia there, move UCF at Memphis to primetime ESPN and put Navy at ECU on mid afternoon ESPN2. 
* The feeling I get is that ESPN is making sure they put at least one American game on ESPN+ each week to keep focus on that platforms for those schools' fans as it will carry a lot of their games in the future.

12pm ABC: Pitt at Miami (FL)
12pm ESPN: Texas A&M at Mississippi State
12pm ESPN2: Kentucky at Tennessee
12pm ESPNU: FIU at Charlotte
12pm SEC: Auburn at South Carolina
12pm ACC: North Carolina at Florida State
12pm ACC RSNs: Liberty at Syracuse
3:30pm ABC: Oklahoma State at Baylor
3:30pm ESPN: LSU at Florida
3:30pm ESPN2: UCF at Memphis
3:30pm ESPNU: Southern Miss at UTEP
3:30pm ACC: Duke at NC State
3:30pm ACC RSN: Virginia at Wake Forest
4pm SEC: Ole Miss at Arkansas
7pm ESPN: Kansas at West Virginia
7pm ESPN2: Cincinnati at Tulsa
7pm ESPNU: Texas State at South Alabama
7:30pm ABC: Clemson at Georgia Tech
7:30pm ACC: Boston College at Virginia Tech

ESPN3 or ESPN+
Navy at ECU
USF at Temple
Eastern Kentucky at Troy

Monday, September 28, 2020

CFB TV Confirmations for 2020 Week 6 (10/10/20)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 10/10 from the twelve day selection process that most TV networks adhere to. 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). If you have trouble accessing my site to see games that have already been set, it may be temporarily down. I ask that you please try back in a few minutes

(Here's the deal - I don't really have a great handle as to the TV slots, so what I'll do is list the games not yet set for TV, then reorder them by time as they're set. That way you'll see the list of games set for TV along with the one(s) you're waiting on).

12pm ABC: Virginia Tech at North Carolina
12pm ESPN2: Texas State at Troy
12pm ESPNU: ULM at Liberty
12pm SECN: South Carolina at Vanderbilt
12pm ACCN: NC State at Virginia
12:30pm ACC RSN: Duke at Syracuse
3:30pm ABC: Texas Tech at Iowa State
3:30pm ESPN2: UTSA at BYU
4pm FOX: Kansas State at TCU
4pm ESPNU: Middle Tennessee at FIU
4pm SECN: Arkansas at Auburn
4pm ACCN: Pitt at Boston College
6pm ESPN: Alabama at Ole Miss
7pm ESPN+: ECU at USF
7:30pm ABC: Miami (FL) at Clemson
7:30pm ESPN2: UTEP at Louisiana Tech
7:30pm SECN: Mississippi State at Kentucky
8pm ESPNU: Charlotte at North Texas
9pm ESPN: Missouri at LSU

Six Day Hold for the following games
Tennessee at Georgia - 12pm ESPN or 3:30pm CBS
Florida at Texas A&M - 12pm ESPN or 3:30pm CBS

Games To Be Slotted for TV
Central Arkansas at Arkansas State

Sunday, September 27, 2020

CFB TV Guesses for 2020 Week 6 (10/10/20)

Here are the games already set for television and/or webcast. Here are the known available telecast windows. Please understand that my site has been intermittently unavailable.  I've tried working with the hosting company but they don't see a problem, so I may need to find a new host when I have time.

I have done my best to list what TV windows are out there. Every listing service has a little different schedule for these networks. 

12pm ABC: Texas Tech at Iowa State
12pm ESPN: Arkansas at Auburn
12pm ESPN2: Texas State at Troy
12pm ESPNU: ULM at Liberty
12pm SECN: Mississippi State at Kentucky
12pm ACCN: Pitt at Boston College
12:30pm ACC RSN: Duke at Syracuse
3:30pm ABC: UTSA at BYU
3:30pm CBS: Tennessee at Georgia
3:30pm ESPN2: UTEP at Louisiana Tech
3:30pm ESPNU: Charlotte at North Texas
4pm FOX: Kansas State at TCU
4pm SECN: South Carolina at Vanderbilt
4pm ACCN: NC State at Virginia
6pm ESPN: Alabama at Ole Miss
7pm ESPN2: ECU at USF
7pm ESPNU: Middle Tennessee at FIU
7:30pm ABC: Miami (FL) at Clemson
7:30pm SECN: Missouri at LSU
7:30pm ACCN: Virginia Tech at North Carolina
9pm ESPN: Florida at Texas A&M

ESPN3 or ESPN+
Central Arkansas at Arkansas State

Friday, September 25, 2020

Admin Stuff For 2020

A few things

* To be clear, I do hope as much football is played as possible in 2020 and spring 2021 for the FCS conferences choosing to play at that time. I'm not going to banter about my feelings about medical directives & safety plans, and to be clear, I don't care about your opinion on the matter. My site or Twitter account won't be used for that. I have other places to banter those opinions and you likely do to.

* Over the past week, you have likely encountered periods of time, whether its minutes or hours, where my site has either encountered an error when viewing a season or a week, or if the front page is completely down. I'm sorry you've had to experience that.

I'm extremely frustrated and exasperated that you've had to experience that. My experience with my website host's support services have been extremely poor. I have made one of their suggested updates, but I don't believe it has remedied the issue. I do have a couple other tricks up my sleeve that I may try before I look to go website host shopping, but my desire to do that would be outside of sports being in season, so that would be the summer.

* It is a bit stressful to a) deal with the game cancelations that come at random times and b) the questions about "What is network X going to do? What games are they going to move? Why did they move that game?". Coupled with the website instability, plus the regular stresses of daily life, my anxiety has been a bit high. So I won't be trying to forecast schedule changes if and when they do occur. I'm just going to follow them as best I can to keep the site's accuracy as a schedule and repository for upcoming TV.

Situations like the added C-USA games on linear TV channels and ESPN+ carrying UCF at ECU while its on ABC - those I'll do my best to get answers about. Some entities are more willing to answer and discuss TV related items than others. Things like game X being cancelled and how its going to be replaced aren't going to get my attention.

* The available TV windows each week aren't going to be 100% accurate and this season even moreso. RSNs are posting their intended listings for a future date closer to that date instead of the two weeks in advance that I'm accustomed to. Events being added throughout the fall, whether it was the NBA, WNBA, golf, combat sports and others are eating up windows that would normally be planned for college football, and now might be needed for games with the return to play of the Big Ten, Mountain West and Pac-12, along with the MAC voting on their plan in the near future.

* Men's basketball TV schedule announcements could come thick and fast, leaving me with an avalanche of schedules to have ready. Normally the top ten or so conferences would have this information released as smaller conferences finalize their windows through October. Right now, we're waiting to see how non-conference games will be played alongside multi-team events. Getting schools committed to those events, placing them in bubble-like environments and then getting TV time or streaming plans in place are no doubt occurring right now.

Monday, September 21, 2020

CFB TV Confirmations for 2020 Week 5 (10/3/20)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 10/3 from the twelve day selection process that most TV networks adhere to.  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).  I would provide you a link to my site, but it is down due to a server attack (I'm not the only site affected).  I hope it will be up later today.

(Here's the deal - I don't really have a great handle as to the TV slots, so what I'll do is list the games not yet set for TV, then reorder them by time as they're set.  That way you'll see the list of games set for TV along with the one(s) you're waiting on).

12pm ABC: Baylor at West Virginia
12pm ESPN2: Arkansas State at Coastal Carolina
12pm ESPNU: ECU at Georgia State
12pm ACCN: NC State at Pitt
3:30pm ABC or ESPN: North Carolina at Boston College
3:30pm ABC or ESPN: Oklahoma State at Kansas
3:30pm ESPN2: Memphis at SMU
3:30pm FS1: Texas Tech at Kansas State
3:30pm ESPN+: USF at Cincinnati
4pm ESPNU: Charlotte at Florida Atlantic
4pm ACCN: Virginia Tech at Duke
4pm ACC RSNs: Jacksonville State at Florida State
5pm ESPN3: WKU at Middle Tennessee
7pm ESPN+: Georgia Southern at ULM
7:30pm ESPN2: Tulsa at UCF
8pm ESPNU: Troy at South Alabama
8pm ACCN: Virginia at Clemson

Six Day Hold for 12pm FOX or 7:30pm ABC
Oklahoma at Iowa State
TCU at Texas


Sunday, September 20, 2020

CFB TV Guesses for 2020 Week 5 (10/3/20)

Here are the games already set for television and/or webcast, which includes several SEC games.  Here are the known available telecast windows. Please understand that my site has been intermittently unavailable.  I've tried working with the hosting company but they don't see a problem, so I may need to find a new host this week.

I have done my best to list what TV windows are out there. Every listing service has a little different schedule for these networks. I can tell you that FS1 has NASCAR trucks in the afternoon and Premier Boxing Champions in the evening.  

12pm ABC: Virginia at Clemson
12pm FOX: TCU at Texas
12pm ESPN2: Memphis at SMU
12pm ESPNU: ECU at Georgia State
12pm ACCN: NC State at Pitt
3:30pm ABC: USF at Cincinnati 
3:30pm ESPN: Baylor at West Virginia
3:30pm ESPN2: Tulsa at UCF
3:30pm FS1: Oklahoma State at Kansas
3:30pm ESPNU: Troy at South Alabama
4pm ACCN: North Carolina at Boston College
4pm ACC RSNs: Jacksonville State at Florida State
7pm ESPN2: Georgia Southern at ULM
7pm ESPNU: Arkansas State at Coastal Carolina
7:30pm ABC: Oklahoma at Iowa State
8pm ACCN: Virginia Tech at Duke

ESPN3 or ESPN+
WKU at Middle Tennessee
Charlotte at Florida Atlantic
Texas Tech at Kansas State

Monday, September 14, 2020

CFB TV Confirmations for 2020 Week 4 (9/26/20)

 This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 9/26 from the twelve day selection process that most TV networks adhere to.  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.

(Here's the deal - I don't really have a great handle as to the TV slots, so what I'll do is list the games not yet set for TV, then reorder them by time as they're set.  That way you'll see the list of games set for TV along with the one(s) you're waiting on).

12pm ABC: Notre Dame at Wake Forest
12pm ESPN2: Georgia Southern at Louisiana
12pm ESPNU: Georgia State at Charlotte
12pm ACCN: Louisville at Pitt
12pm ACC RSNs: Georgia Tech at Syracuse
12pm ESPN+: UCF at ECU
12pm ESPN+: Campbell at Appalachian State
1:30pm FS1: Iowa State at TCU
3:30pm ABC or ESPN: West Virginia at Oklahoma State
3:30pm ABC or ESPN: Army at Cincinnati
3:30pm ESPN2: Tulsa at Arkansas State
3:30pm ESPNU: UTEP at ULM
4pm ACCN: Duke at Virginia
6pm ACC RSNs: Texas State at Boston College
7pm ESPNU: Kansas at Baylor
7pm ESPN3: Houston Baptist at Louisiana Tech
7pm ESPN+: Stephen F. Austin at SMU
7pm ESPN+: North Texas at Houston
7:30pm ABC: Florida State at Miami (FL)
8pm ACCN: NC State at Virginia Tech

Sunday, September 13, 2020

CFB TV Guesses for 2020 Week 4 (9/26/20)

Here are the games already set for television and/or webcast, which includes several SEC games.  Here are the known available telecast windows.

I have done my best to list what TV windows are out there. Every listing service has a little different schedule for these networks. I can tell you that FOX & FS1 intend to have evening MLB.  

12pm ABC: Army at Cincinnati
12pm ESPN2: West Virginia at Oklahoma State
12pm ESPNU: UCF at ECU
12pm ACCN: Louisville at Pitt
12:30pm ACC RSNs: Texas State at Boston College
1:30pm FS1: Kansas at Baylor
3:30pm ABC: Florida State at Miami (FL)
3:30pm ESPN: Duke at Virginia
3:30pm ESPN2: Tulsa at Arkansas State
3:30pm ESPNU: Georgia Southern at Louisiana
3:30pm ACCN: Georgia Tech at Syracuse
7pm ESPN2: Iowa State at TCU
7pm ESPNU: North Texas at Houston
7:30pm ABC: Notre Dame at Wake Forest
7:30pm ACCN: NC State at Virginia Tech

ESPN3 or ESPN+
Stephen F. Austin at SMU
UTEP at ULM
Houston Baptist at Louisiana Tech
Georgia State at Charlotte


Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Notes on CFB TV Revised Early Season Releases for 2020

Here's the releases from the ACC, American, Big 12, CBSESPN, FOX Sports, SEC (CBS and ESPN) and Sun Belt. An updated release wasn't provided from C-USA, though you can find the additional linear TV games ESPN has elevated in their release.

So many games were selected in advance. Why? In the case of the SEC, where it was more prominent, the following release was provided in the CBS release:

CBS Sports, at the request of the SEC, worked in conjunction with the Conference to assist them and their schools with their advanced planning and logistics. CBS selected games in six of the first eight weeks. For the remaining games on the schedule, the normal 12- or six-day selection process will be used during the season.

I get the feeling that this is something that is already ongoing. Whether its the Pac-12 & its priority pick concept for ESPN and FOX, or the Big Ten releasing several weeks of partial TV picks beyond the first few weeks, these networks typically have a path plotted out for the season. Unless a major story develops in season like a team far exceeding expectations or playing below them, it seems pretty rare to deviate from them. And that's why the dreaded six day hold is used.

Notre Dame on USA. Why? Several things converged on the NBC Sports calendar.

  • The US Open being carried on NBC that weekend
  • NBCSN carrying some Premier League soccer and the Tour de France
  • The need to keep the calendar open for the Stanley Cup playoffs
The soccer conflict is Premier League Goal Zone currently scheduled for NBCSN at 2:30pm, but that could disappear if the NHL needs it. IndyCar needing it was also mentioned, but the articles I've seen mention that the rescheduled Mid-Ohio event (now a doubleheader) is rumored for the weekend prior.

1986 was the last time USA aired any college football.

Why the odd start time for Alabama at LSU? CBS chose Georgia at Alabama as its primetime game on 10/17. When the revised SEC schedule was released, Alabama at LSU was placed on the same weekend as CBS carrying the Masters. The golf is now being played in limited daylight and will air earlier in the day on CBS, but would overlap the usual 3:30pm ET CBS window, so an adjustment was made for this one to air at 6pm ET.

Two Navy home games on ESPN Network? Yes. It appears that the BYU game replaces the canceled Notre Dame game being part of the American's TV package with ESPN, so ESPN then grabbed the Memphis game on 11/14 as their "regular" Navy game in 2020. 

Big 12 member retained games: Are those a thing in 2020? It looks like it. I haven't had time to reach out to anyone to ask about it, but this makes a lot of sense:
Texas Tech also seems to have had their member retained game accounted for, so there should be seven more ESPN+ games coming throughout the season.

Saw the item regarding FOX's pregame show and you tweeted that it would air even on weeks when FOX doesn't have a game. Tell me more. The way the Big 12 has scheduled, there won't be games on 9/19, and it is my understanding they won't have a Big 12 game one weekend each in October & November, but they'll still carry their pregame show coming into the 12pm Eastern games. The October weekend would likely involve FOX carrying the MLB playoffs.

The Sun Belt has a lot more games on ESPN this year. Yes, the conference has really been able to take advantage of the openings created by other conferences not playing or not starting right away, plus several changes within the American and ACC schedules to open up some Thursday night windows that were previously filled. I would assume at least one Saturday Sun Belt game is considered for linear TV each week, even when the SEC is added in as both they and the ACC will likely be making sure they can fill as many of their SEC Network and ACC Network openings first.

Are there still appearance maximums that need to be followed by, say, the SEC on CBS? I would assume so, but they may be scaled back due to CBS carrying less games. With CBS carrying 11 regular season games instead of 15, it would stand to reason that the appearance maximum could be decreased by one, but that is not something I'm aware of. That would give CBS the leeway to choose the Iron Bowl on 11/28 as Alabama & LSU both already have three games planned for CBS.

A Big 12 game at 10pm ET? Yes. FS1 has a MLB game scheduled for 7pm ET on 9/12, so Coastal Carolina at Kansas is pushed to that time slot (9pm CT). No fans will be attending, but its still a later start. Big 12 games used to have exclusivity rules around their ABC, FSN and TBS windows over a decade ago, so a game not selected for those TV partners would either have to air their game on PPV or start at 10pm, which happened last in 2004.

I'm not as bullish as those of you that believe the Big 12 could regularly have 10pm ET starts. I think this was a rare occurrence due to the MLB game plus how the Big 12 stacked all of its non-conference games initially on one day with SMU at TCU being moved to alleviate some of that pressure. FOX will air usually one game at 12pm ET each week and if ESPN+ takes roughly one game a week to work in the member retained games, there should be 2-3 games to split amongst both ESPN and FOX Sports without needing to use late night. 

Late night likely will be reserved for BYU and I don't get the sense that ESPN is planning to use it for anyone else at this time. Notice that some of their primetime games are starting at 7:30pm ET, which would likely end at 11pm and lead right into SportsCenter. 

What else are you waiting to hear about? Two items:

  • Some of the items regarding C-USA rightsholders that I haven't been able to get answered. Especially since more games were selected to air on linear TV.
  • Where is Navy at Air Force going to air on 10/3? It is the only Mountain West controlled game being played in the fall this season. I assume CBS or CBS Sports Network as there are openings available to the game.