Wednesday, October 10, 2018

2018 (Kinda) Midseason CFB TV Selection Report

I wanted to get a midseason report out after the 10/13 selections, but I ran out of time.  This is based on the selections just completed for 10/20, which leaves five weeks of selections remaining.

A lot of the counting up of appearances was done manually, so if I'm off on the count, correct me so I can correct the counts here.

American
* The minimum of three ABC games has been achieved (yes, I'm aware two were shoved into a single reverse mirror window on 9/8).  I believe you'll see one more ABC game on Black Friday based on the available windows and games.
* 22 games have been scheduled for ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU with a minimum of 28 games across those networks.  Two more games are likely for those networks on Black Friday.

Big 12
* ESPN has used 17 of their 23 Big 12 selections.  The conference championship game is not part of the 23 selections.

  • ABC: 4
  • ESPN: 7
  • ESPN2: 3
  • ESPNU: 2
    • A maximum of four to five games on ESPNU
  • Longhorn Network: 1 (vs. Iowa St.)

* 27 games have aired on ABC, FOX, ESPN and FS1, which meets a requirement of at least 25 national exposures across those four networks.

Big Ten
* Michigan needs to appear once on BTN over the remaining games to fulfill requirements to have two games, with one being a game vs. another Big Ten school, on BTN.
* FOX Sports can air up to nine games in primetime on FOX & FS1, but they look like they'll only have around five to seven, with one games being the Akron-Nebraska game that ended up being canceled.  ESPN should easily get into the six to nine game range of primetime windows.  They've already carried five games at night and have two more ABC windows scheduled for 7:30pm that could end up being Big Ten games.
* FOX Sports has used 20 of their Big Ten selections and ESPN has used 16.  Both conferences have a max of 27 selections per season.
* Week Ten (11/3/18) is the last week that both ESPN Networks and FOX Sports can select a game to air at night without prior consultation with the competing schools.  From that point forward, networks will make schools available multiple weeks in advance of the possibility of a night game and both competing schools must agree to the night game selection.  In 2017, only one night game was played past the after this deadline: Purdue at Northwestern on ESPN2 at 7pm on 11/11/17.

Independents
* BYU has one more required ESPN appearance to be made.  There is an allowance for at least one game on ESPNU.  They have made three appearances on ESPN2, which fulfills a requirement for at least three BYU home games to appear on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.

Pac-12
* ESPN has met their ABC minimum of two games, with one being a night game.  Fourteen of ABC's 22 selections have been used.
* FOX Sports hit their required four Pac-12 games on FOX at night and needs to place one more game on their broadcast network.  They have used 16 of their 22 selections.
* Stanford, UCLA and Washington must have one of their remaining games air on Pac-12 Networks, as there is a maximum of nine games total for a school that can air amongst the FOX Sports and ESPN packages.  UCLA and Stanford play the final week of the regular season.  Both Stanford and Washington also have games available vs. Oregon St.

SEC
* LSU & Georgia has three CBS appearances scheduled.  There is a maximum of five times that a school can appear on CBS.  A sixth appearance can be allowed for under special circumstances.
* Alabama, Florida and Tennessee have two appearances scheduled each.
* Georgia's appearance vs. South Carolina does not count as a CBS appearance as it was a game sublicensed from ESPN.  The same for Tennessee's appearance vs. West Virginia.

Some commentary
* An early takeaway I have is that FOX will likely go heavy on the Big 12 in November since they're a bit ahead of ESPN on their usage in the Big Ten and Pac-12.  Their Big 12 package is not capped on the FOX Sports side in terms of the number of games they can carry.  They do have UFC commitments potentially each of the first three Saturdays of November, which could limit the number of games they can carry unless the UFC items in some areas are moved to F/X or FS2.  They also have a pair of FSN windows for the Big 12 in November.
* Six day holds should start to be used more regularly over the next five weeks worth of selections.  Only one has been used on the ACC (10/6) and one on the Pac-12 (10/6 by FOX).
* Both 10/27 and 11/3 have ABC windows scheduled for 7:30pm ET.  I think there are games (no, I'm not telling you what I think, but you can guess) targeted by ESPN to place on ABC and I'm unsure that there are better options.  Notre Dame at Northwestern was preselected by ESPN to air at some point during the day.

Monday, October 8, 2018

CFB TV Confirmations for 2018 Week 8 (10/20/18)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 10/20 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 (one used on 10/6)
American: 2
Big 12: 4
Big Ten: 4
SEC: 2
Pac-12: 3 (10/6 by FOX)

12pm ABC: Oklahoma at TCU
12pm FOX: Michigan at Michigan St.
12pm ESPN: Auburn at Ole Miss
12pm ESPN2: Maryland at Iowa
12pm FS1: Illinois at Wisconsin
12pm ESPNU: Cincinnati at Temple
12pm SEC: Tulsa at Arkansas
12pm BTN: Northwestern at Rutgers
12:20pm Raycom: North Carolina at Syracuse
12:30pm ACC RSNs: Virginia at Duke
3:30pm ABC or ESPN: Penn St. at Indiana
3:30pm ABC or ESPN: NC State at Clemson
3:30pm ESPN2: Wake Forest at Florida St.
3:30pm CBS: Alabama at Tennessee
3:30pm FOX: Colorado at Washington
3:30pm FS1: Kansas at Texas Tech
3:30pm ESPNU: SMU at Tulane
3:30pm BTN: Minnesota at Nebraska
4pm SEC: Memphis at Missouri
5pm Pac-12: California at Oregon St.
7pm ESPN: Mississippi St. at LSU
7pm ESPN2: UCF at East Carolina
7pm CBSSN: Connecticut at USF
7:30pm ABC: Ohio St. at Purdue
7:30pm FOX: Oregon at Washington St.
7:30pm ESPNU: Fresno St. at New Mexico
7:30pm SEC: Vanderbilt at Kentucky
10:30pm ESPN2: Arizona at UCLA
TBA Pac-12: USC at Utah

Sunday, October 7, 2018

CFB TV Guesses for 2018 Week Eight (10/20/18)

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

* FOX Sports selected Michigan at Michigan St. in advance of the season & ESPN selected Penn St. at Indiana in advance too.
* Assuming Michigan at Michigan St. was the top Big Ten choice, I slotted the top Big 12 choice to ESPN (Oklahoma at TCU) and the top Pac-12 choice to FOX (Colorado at Washington).
* So I've slotted Michigan at Michigan St. on FS1 under the assumption of NLCS Game Seven being required.  They can't leave it until the last second, but they'll know the results of the first two games of the series.  I could see see the game moving up to FOX and swapping places with Colorado at Washington.  That's also why USC at Utah could be the sacrificial lamb FOX game if there's a NLCS Game Seven (ie. don't compete with yourself).
* An alternate strategy on that: ESPN takes no Big 12 games (already has selected 16 of 23 Big 12 games this season) & has the top Pac-12 choice, choosing Colorado at Washington at 3:30pm.  No Big 12 six day holds have been used yet, so FOX can keep Michigan at Michigan St. at 3:30pm, move USC at Utah to 3:30pm, then slot the Big 12 games appropriately on a six day hold
* ABC's primetime window is scheduled for 7:30pm ET, which often indicates a Big Ten game.
* Three other Big Ten games are scheduled for noon ET as homecoming games: Illinois at Wisconsin, Northwestern at Rutgers & Maryland at Iowa.
* The late evening ESPN window is not being used.  They have a NBA game scheduled: Rockets at Lakers (Lebron James' 1st Lakers home game).
* ESPNU's late window has been marked for a tape delayed airing of a SWAC game.
* ESPNEWS has no windows scheduled due to live practice & qualifying coverage of the Formula 1 US Grand Prix.
* The sole CBSSN opening is for the American Athletic Conference.

12pm ABC: NC State at Clemson
12pm FOX: Maryland at Iowa
12pm ESPN: Illinois at Wisconsin
12pm ESPN2: Wake Forest at Florida St.
12pm FS1: Kansas at Texas Tech
12pm ESPNU: Cincinnati at Temple
12pm SEC: Memphis at Missouri
12pm BTN: Northwestern at Rutgers
12:20pm Raycom: North Carolina at Syracuse
12:30pm ACC RSNs: Virginia at Duke
3:30pm ABC: Oklahoma at TCU
3:30pm CBS: Alabama at Tennessee
3:30pm FOX: Colorado at Washington
3:30pm ESPN: Penn St. at Indiana
3:30pm ESPN2: UCF at East Carolina
3:30pm FS1: Michigan at Michigan St.
3:30pm ESPNU: Connecticut at USF
3:30pm BTN: Minnesota at Nebraska
4pm SEC: Tulsa at Arkansas
4pm Pac-12: Arizona at UCLA
7pm ESPN: Mississippi St. at LSU
7pm ESPN2: Auburn at Ole Miss
7pm ESPNU: Fresno St. at New Mexico
7pm CBSSN: SMU at Tulane
7:30pm ABC: Ohio St. at Purdue
7:30pm FOX: USC at Utah
7:30pm SEC: Vanderbilt at Kentucky
9pm Pac-12: California at Oregon St.
10:30pm ESPN2: Oregon at Washington St.

Monday, October 1, 2018

CFB TV Confirmations for 2018 Week 7 (10/13/18)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 10/13 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 Six 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 (one used on 10/6)
American: 2
Big 12: 4
Big Ten: 3 (one potentially being used on 10/13)
SEC: 2
Pac-12: 3 (10/6 by FOX)

12pm ABC or ESPN2: Nebraska at Northwestern
12pm ABC or ESPN2: Iowa at Indiana
12pm ESPN or SEC Network: Tennessee at Auburn
12pm ESPN or SEC Network: Florida at Vanderbilt
12pm FS1 or BTN: Minnesota at Ohio St.
12pm FS1 or BTN: Rutgers at Maryland
12pm ESPNU: Oklahoma St. at Kansas St.
12pm CBSSN: Akron at Buffalo
12pm ESPN+: Toledo at Eastern Michigan
12:20pm ACC Network: Duke at Georgia Tech
12:30pm ACC RSNs: Louisville at Boston College
2:30pm ESPN+: Kent St. at Miami (OH)
3pm ESPN3: Ball St. at Central Michigan
3:30pm CBS: Georgia at LSU
3:30pm ABC/ESPN/ESPN2:  Washington at Oregon
3:30pm ABC/ESPN/ESPN2: Baylor at Texas
3:30pm ABC/ESPN/ESPN2:  UCF at Memphis
3:30pm FS1 or BTN: Michigan St. at Penn St.
3:30pm FS1 or BTN: Purdue at Illinois
3:30pm ESPNU: Army vs. San Jose St.
3:30pm SEC: Texas A&M at South Carolina
3:30pm ESPN+: Ohio at Northern Illinois
6pm ESPN3: UL-Monroe at Coastal Carolina
7pm ESPN: Missouri at Alabama
7pm ESPN2/ESPNU: Miami (FL) at Virginia
7pm ESPN2/ESPNU: Virginia Tech at North Carolina
7pm FS1: West Virginia at Iowa St.
7pm CBSSN: Houston at East Carolina
7pm Pac-12: UCLA at California
7:30pm ABC: Wisconsin at Michigan
7:30pm SEC: Ole Miss at Arkansas
10:15pm ESPN2: Hawai'i at BYU
10:30pm FS1: Colorado at USC
10:30pm ESPNU: Wyoming at Fresno St.

Sunday, September 30, 2018

CFB TV Guesses for 2018 Week Seven (10/13/18)

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

* FOX Sports' only windows are scheduled for FS1.  The broadcast network is scheduled to carry NASCAR, NLCS Game 2 and non-sports programming in the evening.
* Five of the seven Big Ten games are homecoming games and set for specific parts of the day.  Nebraska at Northwestern, Rutgers at Maryland at Iowa at Indiana are set for 12pm, with Iowa at Indiana selected to air on either ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.  Michigan St. at Penn St. & Purdue at Illinois will start in mid-afternoon.
* ABC also has a 7:30pm ET start time for their primetime game, so look for a Big Ten game at that time.  Wisconsin at Michigan and Minnesota at Ohio St. are the options, in my opinion.  You could easily swap the two places where I have them.  I went with Ohio St. by looking ahead at the possibility that Michigan's home game vs. Penn St. could be at night on 11/3, even if that competes with Notre Dame at Northwestern for a primetime slot within the conference and Alabama at LSU on CBS.  That also should speak to why looking ahead that far can make your head spin because there's still plenty of games to be played.
* BTN only has 12pm & 3:30pm windows.  Their fall schedule has a volleyball match scheduled for 8pm.
* ESPN does not have a late evening telecast window.  They have a Top Rank boxing card scheduled.
* I gave ESPN the top Big Ten and Big 12 choices.  Top Saturday choice in the case of the Big 12 since TCU at Texas Tech is already on ESPN on Thursday night. 
* I tossed the top Saturday Pac-12 choice to FOX, but I have Pac-12 Networks choosing before ESPN2 as they can do periodically during the year.  It would not surprise me if Pac-12 Networks has the top choice as they have the option at least once a season.
* I didn't have a use for the two ESPNEWS windows listed at 12pm & 4pm ET.  When I looked at ESPN MediaZone this morning, only the 12pm window remained.

12pm ABC: Wisconsin at Michigan
12pm ESPN: Tennessee at Auburn
12pm ESPN2: Iowa at Indiana
12pm FS1: Rutgers at Maryland
12pm ESPNU: Louisville at Boston College
12pm SEC: Florida at Vanderbilt
12pm BTN: Nebraska at Northwestern
12pm CBSSN: Houston at East Carolina
12:20pm ACC Network: Virginia Tech at North Carolina
12:30pm ACC RSNs: Duke at Georgia Tech
3:30pm ABC: Baylor at Texas
3:30pm CBS: Georgia at LSU
3:30pm ESPN: Michigan St. at Penn St.
3:30pm ESPN2: UCF at Memphis
3:30pm FS1: Oklahoma St. at Kansas St.
3:30pm ESPNU: Hawai'i at BYU
3:30pm BTN: Purdue at Illinois
4pm SEC: Ole Miss at Arkansas
4pm Pac-12: Colorado at USC
7pm ESPN: Missouri at Alabama
7pm ESPN2: Miami (FL) at Virginia
7pm FS1: West Virginia at Iowa St.
7pm ESPNU: Wyoming at Fresno St.
7pm CBSSN: Ohio at Northern Illinois
7:30pm ABC: Minnesota at Ohio St.
7:30pm SEC: Texas A&M at South Carolina
10:30pm ESPN2: UCLA at California
10:30pm FS1: Washington at Oregon
10:30pm ESPNU: Army vs. San Jose St.

Streaming
Akron at Buffalo
Ball St. at Central Michigan
Toledo at Eastern Michigan
Kent St. at Miami (OH)

Monday, September 24, 2018

CFB TV Confirmations for 2018 Week 6 (10/6/18)

This post will be updated as announcements come out for start times for 10/6 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 Five 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 (one used on 10/6)
American: 2
Big 12: 4
Big Ten: 4 
SEC: 2
Pac-12: 3 (one used on 10/6 by FOX)

Games held for six day option
Florida St. at Miami (FL)
Clemson at Wake Forest
Notre Dame at Virginia Tech
Vanderbilt at Georgia
Auburn at Mississippi St.
Kentucky at Texas A&M
Utah at Stanford
Washington at UCLA

ACC options are 3:30pm ABC, 3:30pm ESPN and 8pm ABC.

SEC options are 7pm ESPN, 7:30pm ESPN2 and 7:30pm SEC Network.  The SEC holds do not constitute using a six day hold for time & does not count as a true six day hold.  ESPN does this a lot with night games in the SEC.

Pac-12 options are 7:30pm FOX & 10:30pm ESPN.

12pm ABC: Maryland at Michigan
12pm ESPN: Alabama at Arkansas
12pm ESPN2/ESPNU: Kansas at West Virginia
12pm ESPN2/ESPNU: Tulane at Cincinnati
12pm FS1: Northwestern at Michigan St.
12pm ESPNEWS: East Carolina at Temple
12pm SEC: Missouri at South Carolina
12pm BTN: Illinois at Rutgers
12pm CBSSN: Buffalo at Central Michigan
12pm ESPN+: Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan
12:20pm ACC Network: Syracuse at Pittsburgh
12:30pm ACC RSNs: Boston College at NC State
3pm ESPN3: Northern Illinois at Ball St.
3:30pm CBS: LSU at Florida
3:30pm ESPN2/ESPNU: Iowa St. at Oklahoma St.
3:30pm ESPN2/ESPNU: San Diego St. at Boise St.
3:30pm FS1: Kansas St. at Baylor
3:30pm BTN: Iowa at Minnesota
4pm FOX: Indiana at Ohio St.
4pm SEC: UL-Monroe at Ole Miss
4pm Pac-12: Arizona St. at Colorado
7pm ESPNU: SMU at UCF
7pm CBSSN: Connecticut at Memphis
7:30pm BTN: Nebraska at Wisconsin
9pm Pac-12: Washington St. at Oregon St.
10pm FS1: California at Arizona
10:30pm ESPNU: Fresno St. at Nevada

Sunday, September 23, 2018

CFB TV Guesses for 2018 Week Six (10/6/18)

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

* FOX Sports selected Oklahoma vs. Texas in advance of the season and set the start time & TV network in advance of the 12 day selection process.
* Four Big Ten homecoming games are scheduled this week.  Maryland at Michigan and Northwestern at Michigan St. will be played at 12pm ET, while Indiana at Ohio St. and Iowa at Minnesota are set for mid-afternoon start times.
* FS1 is scheduled to carry prelim matches for the UFC pay-per-view from 8pm - 10pm ET.
* CBS Sports Network will have MAC and American Athletic selections, but they are not set for a specific conference in the 12pm & 7pm windows.
* Notre Dame at Virginia Tech would have looked a lot better had the Hokies not lost to Old Dominion.  With that said, I think its best available game for ESPN to work with for ABC primetime.  If anything, there might be a consideration for Florida St. at Miami along with this one to be held for a six day decision based on the result of Stanford-Notre Dame
* I gave LSU at Florida the slot nod over Auburn at Mississippi St.  I could be swayed to swap the two games, but Mississippi St.'s loss yesterday didn't help.
* I slotted FOX with the top Big 12 selection (OU-Texas) and the top Big Ten pick (Indiana-OSU).  I pushed the top Pac-12 selection to ESPN, where I think another six day hold could be used.  ESPN could use a pair of six day holds with the result of Stanford-Notre Dame shaping both the game selections of the Pac-12 (10:30pm ESPN vs. 8pm FOX) and the ACC..

12pm ABC: Maryland at Michigan
12pm ESPN: Alabama at Arkansas
12pm ESPN2: Kansas at West Virginia
12pm FS1: Iowa St. at Oklahoma St.
12pm ESPNU: SMU at UCF
12pm ESPNEWS: East Carolina at Temple
12pm SEC: Missouri at South Carolina
12pm BTN: Northwestern at Michigan St.
12pm CBSSN: Buffalo at Central Michigan
12:20pm ACC Network: Boston College at NC State
12:30pm ACC RSNs: Syracuse at Pittsburgh
3:30pm ABC: Florida St. at Miami (FL)
3:30pm CBS: LSU at Florida
3:30pm ESPN: Clemson at Wake Forest
3:30pm ESPN2: Iowa at Minnesota
3:30pm FS1: Kansas St. at Baylor
3:30pm ESPNU: Connecticut at Memphis
3:30pm BTN: Illinois at Rutgers
4pm FOX: Indiana at Ohio St.
4pm SEC: UL-Monroe at Ole Miss
4pm Pac-12: California at Arizona
7pm ESPN: Auburn at Mississippi St.
7pm ESPN2: Vanderbilt at Georgia
7pm ESPNU: San Diego St. at Boise St.
7pm CBSSN: Tulane at Cincinnati
7:30pm FOX: Washington at UCLA
7:30pm SEC: Kentucky at Texas A&M
7:30pm BTN: Nebraska at Wisconsin
8pm ABC: Notre Dame at Virginia Tech
9pm Pac-12: Washington St. at Oregon St.
10pm FS1: Arizona St. at Colorado
10:30pm ESPN: Utah at Stanford
10:30pm ESPNU: Fresno St. at Nevada

Streaming
Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan
Northern Illinois at Ball St.
Ohio at Kent St.
Miami (OH) at Akron
Bowling Green at Toledo