(12-15-2021 12:52 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(12-14-2021 08:39 PM)UTEPDallas Wrote:  

(12-14-2021 08:33 PM)AuzGrams Wrote:  People love watching Gonzaga because they aren’t a “P5” program.

Kinda like people watching Boise State because they’re not part of the cartel. People love the underdog and it’s good for tv ratings.

Boise doesn't get great ratings at all.

Exactly. No one cares as the shine has completely worn off.

Conference Games Over 1 Million:

Big Ten (10):
Ohio State at Purdue, Sun. 1/30, noon, CBS, 2.277M
Michigan at Michigan State, Sat. 1/29, 12:30pm, CBS, 1.842M
Michigan at Purdue, 2/7, 2:30pm, FOX, 1.337M
Indiana at Michigan State, Sat. 2/12, 3:30pm, FOX, 1.22M
Purdue at Illinois, Mon. 1/17, noon, FOX, 1.2M
Maryland at Purdue, Sun. 2/13, 1pm. CBS, 1.198M
Ohio State at Michigan, Sat. 2/12, 6pm, ESPN, 1.187M
Maryland at Ohio State, Sun. 2/6, 1pm, CBS, 1.15M
Illinois at Indiana, Sat. 2/5, noon, ESPN, 1.109M
Illinois at Purdue, Tue. 2/8, 9pm, ESPN, 1.03M

ACC (6):
Duke at North Carolina, Sat. 2/5, 6pm, ESPN, 2.188M
NC State at Duke, Sat. 1/8, 2pm, ABC, 1.29M
Duke at Louisville, Sat. 1/29, noon, ESPN, 1.218M
Virginia at Duke, Mon. 2/7, 7pm, ESPN, 1.17M
Duke at Florida State, Tue. 1/18, 9pm, ESPN, 1.121M
Syracuse at Duke, Sat. 1/22, noon, ESPN, 1.035M

SEC (5):
Kentucky at Auburn, Sat. 1/22, 1pm, CBS, 2.483M
Kentucky at Alabama, ESPN, Sat. 2/5, 8pm, 1.694M
Kentucky at LSU, Tue. 1/4, 7pm, ESPN, 1.484M
Tennessee at Kentucky, Sat. 1/8, 1pm, ESPN, 1.384M
Florida at Kentucky, Sat. 2/12, 4pm, ESPN, 1.141M

Big 12 (5):
West Virginia at Kansas, Sat. 1/8, 2pm, CBS, 1.548M
Oklahoma at Kansas, Sat. 2/12, 1pm, CBS, 1.212M
Baylor at Kansas, Sat. 2/5, 4pm, ESPN, 1.17M
Kansas at Texas, Mon. 2/7, 9pm, ESPN, 1.11M
Texas Tech at Kansas, Mon. 1/24, 9pm, ESPN, 1.055M

Big East (2):
Georgetown at. St. John's, Sun. 1/9, 4:30pm, FOX, 2.018M
Villanova at DePaul, Sat. 1/8, 2:30pm, FOX, 1.032M

Pac 12 (1):
Arizona State at Arizona, Sat. 1/29, 2:30pm, CBS, 1.182M

Which conference rules men's basketball on TV? Every ACC game features Duke, every SEC game features Kentucky, every Big 12 game features Kansas. Meanwhile I don't see a Big Ten team with more than five appearances (Purdue). Take out their games and only the ACC has more games over 1 M.

https://twitter.com/FOXSportsPR/status/1...5716423735

Kentucky at Arkansas is the 7th game this year to surpass 2 million viewers. Their 2.361M viewers now ranks third overall behind Duke/Gonzaga and Kentucky/Auburn, also on CBS. They were so strong UCLA/Oregon State (a team that's 3-25) got over a million viewers following them! CBS now has three of the top four most watched games (Ohio State/Purdue is the other). Of the seven games with 2 million or more viewers, 3 aired on CBS, 3 on ESPN, and 1 on FOX (the post NFL game Georgetown/St. John's). 19 games have had 1.5 million or more viewers and it is also a virtual 50-50 split, 9 on CBS, 9 on ESPN, 1 FOX. FOX isn't really the player in men's basketball that it is in football. Five of CBS's nine games with 1.5M or more viewers are Big Ten games. FOX doesn't have one Big Ten game with 1.5M or more viewers.

Another interesting statistic is ONE ABC game this year had over 1 million viewers, Duke at NC State. I assume ABC is not allowed to air Big Ten or SEC games (they will be once the SEC moves to ESPN/ABC full time). Obviously they are allowed to air ACC games and I remember Big 12 games being aired. Kansas hasn't had any games on ABC the whole season. Baylor had a non conference home game vs. Villanova on ABC but it aired on a Sunday during the NFL season so it didn't make 1M viewers (just 537,000). Both Baylor/Kansas games aired on Saturdays but both were on ESPN. Same with both Duke/North Carolina games. If Disney gave ABC their top games, they could have the ratings that CBS is getting, maybe even better ratings. If Duke and North Carolina are Duke and North Carolina and the game aired on ABC, they'd blow away any Big Ten game on CBS. They are leaving viewership on the table leaving these games on ESPN. And if you're going to air college basketball on ABC, why leave them with a bunch of irrelevant games no one cares about?

(03-02-2022 07:55 AM)schmolik Wrote:  Kentucky at Arkansas is the 7th game this year to surpass 2 million viewers. Their 2.361M viewers now ranks third overall behind Duke/Gonzaga and Kentucky/Auburn, also on CBS. They were so strong UCLA/Oregon State (a team that's 3-25) got over a million viewers following them! CBS now has three of the top four most watched games (Ohio State/Purdue is the other). Of the seven games with 2 million or more viewers, 3 aired on CBS, 3 on ESPN, and 1 on FOX (the post NFL game Georgetown/St. John's). 19 games have had 1.5 million or more viewers and it is also a virtual 50-50 split, 9 on CBS, 9 on ESPN, 1 FOX. FOX isn't really the player in men's basketball that it is in football. Five of CBS's nine games with 1.5M or more viewers are Big Ten games. FOX doesn't have one Big Ten game with 1.5M or more viewers.

Another interesting statistic is ONE ABC game this year had over 1 million viewers, Duke at NC State. I assume ABC is not allowed to air Big Ten or SEC games (they will be once the SEC moves to ESPN/ABC full time). Obviously they are allowed to air ACC games and I remember Big 12 games being aired. Kansas hasn't had any games on ABC the whole season. Baylor had a non conference home game vs. Villanova on ABC but it aired on a Sunday during the NFL season so it didn't make 1M viewers (just 537,000). Both Baylor/Kansas games aired on Saturdays but both were on ESPN. Same with both Duke/North Carolina games. If Disney gave ABC their top games, they could have the ratings that CBS is getting, maybe even better ratings. If Duke and North Carolina are Duke and North Carolina and the game aired on ABC, they'd blow away any Big Ten game on CBS. They are leaving viewership on the table leaving these games on ESPN. And if you're going to air college basketball on ABC, why leave them with a bunch of irrelevant games no one cares about?

It's simple: ESPN is a larger revenue generator (MUCH larger) than ABC. In fact, even with cord cutting, ESPN continues to be the single largest profit generator of any media or entertainment entity anywhere (including compared to any other unit of Disney, e.g. Marvel, Lucasfilm, Disney Parks, etc.). A game is generally more valuable to Disney by having it on ESPN compared to ABC with all things being equal. Any advantage that Disney gets from a game being on ABC is generally more secondary (e.g. promotions for ABC shows and other Disney properties), whereas the revenue is much more direct with a game on ESPN (e.g. exclusive games on ESPN = higher subscriber fees).

That doesn't mean that won't change (as you're starting to see games that used to be ESPN exclusive, such as certain NFL Monday Night Football games, start being moved or simulcast on ABC), but I feel like it's important to regularly remind people how extraordinarily profitable ESPN specifically continues to be compared to *anything* else in the media and entertainment industry (not just sports). The financial balance between ESPN and ABC compared to what Fox has with FS1 or CBS has with CBS Sports Network (where the OTA networks are clearly much more important and valuable by comparison) are totally different.

I think a lot of fans here often overrate how much ESPN "controls" college football in terms of conference realignment, but underrate just how much revenue ESPN makes. ESPN's subscriber revenue is equal to Disney releasing the #1 box office hit of all time (Disney/Marvel's own Avengers: End Game)... every single month... AND it's guaranteed... AND it's before they even sell a single ad (which are the highest in the industry because it's live sports where people actually watch the commercials). ESPN is a complete profit monster that totally funded all of Disney's purchases (e.g. Fox, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar) for the past 20 years.

Well in football, Disney for the most part puts their biggest college football games on ABC with the current exception of the SEC and that is to protect CBS. I remember Penn State/Michigan in 2018 was on ESPN as opposed to ABC and I took it as an insult but in general Disney is pretty good with the Big Ten in putting its biggest games on ABC as opposed to ESPN. Now will they screw us in the future when the SEC is present I don't know? The ABC 3:30pm slot will exclusively be the SEC's so that will cut the # of potential ABC games for the B1G. CBS might not have paid the SEC a lot in their last contract but they were the only conference with an exclusive weekly OTA game and a network plugging them (if you think ESPN plugs the SEC, of course CBS plugs them even more). The exposure they got IMO was big and helped in their success. If the Big Ten could get that in the future with CBS or FOX and it leads to the Big Ten winning multiple national championships in the future, I'd take less money now to get more money in the future.

Coach K's last home game at Duke smoked everyone in the ratings, getting almost 4 million viewers.

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2022/03...ll-season/

Sports Media Watch Men's Basketball TV Viewerships for conference championship games:



Of course it should say Texas "A&M". It's not my photo, I just post it.

To give you approximate TV windows for these finals:

Tue. 9pm: WCC
Sat. 6pm/6:30pm: Big 12, MWC, Big East
Sat. 8:30pm/9pm: ACC, Pac 12

Sun. 1pm: SEC, A-10
Sun. 3:15/3:30pm: AAC, Big 10

The Pac 12 alternates between FOX and ESPN each year until the end of their contract. They improved their rating vs. 2021 going to FOX and that was going head to head vs. the ACC which skyrocketed in the ratings (because of Duke). This year they had Arizona and UCLA, the two top seeds and one of the biggest markets featured. Last year one of the teams was Oregon State, a bubble team, and arguably the Pac-12's least popular team if not one of the least popular.

While the Big Ten final was down from 2021, it still was the top of the week.

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2022/03...ec-pac-12/

In fact, the second Big Ten SEMIFINAL (Michigan State-Purdue) topped every other conference final other than the Big Ten Final ("3.09 million"). The first Big Ten semifinal (Indiana-Iowa) topped every other conference final other than the Big Ten and ACC finals ("2.80 million").

Full conference tournament games over 1M:

Big Ten Final: Iowa vs. Purdue, Sun. 3/13, 3:30pm, CBS, 3.585M
Big Ten SF: Michigan State vs. Purdue, Sat. 3/12, 3:30pm, CBS, 3.088M
ACC Final: Duke vs. Virginia Tech, Sat. 3/12, 8:30pm, ESPN, 3.055M
Big Ten SF: Indiana vs. Iowa, Sat. 3/12, 1pm. CBS, 2.799M
SEC SF: Kentucky vs. Tennessee, Sat, 3:30pm, ESPN, 2.514M
Big 12 Final: Kansas vs. Texas Tech, Sat. 3/12, 6pm, ESPN, 2.484M

ACC SF: Duke vs. Miami, Fri. 3/11, 7pm, ESPN, 1.862M
SEC F: Texas A&M vs. Tennessee, Sun. 3/13, 1pm, ESPN, 1.792M
SEC SF: Texas A&M vs. Arkansas, Sat. 3/12, 1pm, ESPN, 1.689M
MWC Final: San Diego State vs. Boise State, Sat. 3/12, 6pm, CBS, 1.538M

A-10 Final: Davidson vs. Richmond, Sun. 3/13, 1pm, CBS, 1.322M
Pac-12 Final: Arizona vs. UCLA, Sat. 3/12, 9pm, FOX, 1.303M
ACC SF: North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech, Fri. 3/11, 9:30pm, ESPN, 1.277M
Big East Final: Creighton vs. Villanova, Sat. 3/12, 6:30pm, FOX, 1.221M
SEC QF: Arkansas vs. LSU, Fri. 3/11, 2:30pm, 1.219M
AAC Final: Houston vs. Memphis, 3pm, 1.2M
ACC QF: North Carolina vs. Virginia, Thur. 3/10, 9:30pm, 1.128M
WCC Final: Gonzaga vs. St. Mary's, Tue. 3/8, 9pm, 1.074M
MVC Final: Loyola vs. Drake, Sun. 3/6, 2pm, CBS, 1.030M

Not from the SMW article: The SEC semifinal featuring Kentucky had way more viewers than the final and had the fifth most viewership in Championship Week and the 2.514M was the most watched Kentucky game of the entire season, passing Kentucky-Auburn on CBS (2.483M). SEC men's basketball wasn't dominated by Kentucky this season but they were in viewership by Kentucky. If the Big Ten wanted to dominate the SEC in viewership and men's basketball revenue, all they would have to do is steal UK from the SEC. They can't do that in football even if they added just Alabama, the SEC would still have Georgia, Florida, LSU, Texas A&M, and coming soon, Oklahoma and Texas. The ACC could do the same. SEC basketball on the court isn't dependent on Kentucky, they are dependent on the screen on Kentucky.

I think in general having the championship on Sunday is better than on Saturday in general because you then get to have the semifinals on Saturday. Look at the huge viewership numbers the Big Ten got from their SF's on CBS and compare Kentucky's SF on ESPN on Saturday afternoon (vs. the Big Ten) vs. Duke's SF on ESPN on Friday evening. I don't think there is anything stopping FOX from moving the Big East Tournament schedule back a day to have the championship game to Sunday afternoon on FOX and they can air the semifinals on FOX on Saturday afternoon. I'd start the SF's and championship at noon ET before ESPN starts, FOX starts men's basketball coverage at noon on most Saturdays. Certainly the WCC on Tuesday is hurting their ratings although I don't know where else they would put it. Once the Pac 12 goes back to ESPN they likely air post ACC on Saturday night. They could go to ESPN post ACC on Saturdays on years FOX hosts the Pac-12 tournament but they couldn't start until at least 10:30pm ET and the semifinals on Friday would be either late night or ESPNU. Where the Big 12 and Pac 12 wind up in their next media contracts could affect whether or not the WCC could get a reasonable Saturday slot or not (don't forget BYU leaves for the Big 12 soon). Would the WCC accept a Saturday night final on ESPN2?

I'm guessing the MWC is higher than other finals since they are getting a jump from the Big Ten SF. On the other hand, that slot is taking away from local news in the Eastern and Central Time Zones. No doubt it's worth it for SEC football games drawing say 10.369M viewers for Alabama/Auburn or even 6.120M for Georgia/Florida. Is it worth it for affiliates to give up their local news for 1.538M for a MWC final? The MVC final on CBS the previous Sunday barely got 1M. If CBS aired another Big Ten game, they'd easily top that. An AAC REGULAR SEASON game that aired right before it almost topped it in viewership. Next year, Loyola, arguably the most popular MVC team, is leaving for the A-10. CBS really has to question whether that final is worth wasting a prime CBS Sunday spot.

The Pac-12 championship game with UCLA vs Arizona gets 1.3 million. The Big East Final with Creighton vs Villanova gets 1.2 million. Both were on Fox. Those were two of the best CCG games of the weekend, yet they both got beat out in the ratings by nearly everyone else, including San Diego State-Boise State.

That does not make sense. Is this about college basketball on Fox? Two of the best Championship games of the weekend got smoked in the TV ratings and lost to the MWC CCG? Just difficult to understand.

(03-16-2022 09:37 AM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  The Pac-12 championship game with UCLA vs Arizona gets 1.3 million. The Big East Final with Creighton vs Villanova gets 1.2 million. Both were on Fox. Those were two of the best CCG games of the weekend, yet they both got beat out in the ratings by nearly everyone else, including San Diego State-Boise State.

That does not make sense. Is this about college basketball on Fox? Two of the best Championship games of the weekend got smoked in the TV ratings and lost to the MWC CCG? Just difficult to understand.

Yes, it’s pretty much the location on Fox.

For a huge known event (e.g Michigan-Ohio State football), the channel isn’t as relevant as viewers will actively seek out that specific game wherever it might be.

It’s really the next tier of games where the viewers are more passive (e.g. “I just want to watch a decent football or basketball game on a random Saturday) where the instinct of simply seeing what’s on ESPN (or in the case of college basketball, CBS) kicks in for sports fans. Fox just isn’t that rotation in the minds of the average sports fan to check for a basketball unless you’re a fan of that specific conference.

I doubt that’s changing since we’ve had several years of FOX having Big Ten, Big East and Pac-12 basketball rights, so it’s not as if though they don’t have excellent basketball content. The habits of sports fans are simply entrenched here where ESPN and CBS dominate for college basketball.

It’s a reason why I believe that it would be foolish for the Big Ten to leave ESPN entirely as long as ESPN is presenting an offer that’s in the same ballpark as other competitors. ESPN knows how to promote sports in general far beyond anyone else since they have so many platforms to utilize, while CBS will have an advantage for college basketball specifically as long as they have the NCAA Tournament rights.

Interesting that the "barren wastelands of the MWC" outdrew the "Major Media Markets" of the AAC by a large percentage.

(03-16-2022 12:49 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  Interesting that the "barren wastelands of the MWC" outdrew the "Major Media Markets" of the AAC by a large percentage.

Well one aired against the Big Ten final and one aired after the Big Ten semifinals on the same network.

(03-16-2022 11:50 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(03-16-2022 09:37 AM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  The Pac-12 championship game with UCLA vs Arizona gets 1.3 million. The Big East Final with Creighton vs Villanova gets 1.2 million. Both were on Fox. Those were two of the best CCG games of the weekend, yet they both got beat out in the ratings by nearly everyone else, including San Diego State-Boise State.

That does not make sense. Is this about college basketball on Fox? Two of the best Championship games of the weekend got smoked in the TV ratings and lost to the MWC CCG? Just difficult to understand.

Yes, it’s pretty much the location on Fox.

For a huge known event (e.g Michigan-Ohio State football), the channel isn’t as relevant as viewers will actively seek out that specific game wherever it might be.

It’s really the next tier of games where the viewers are more passive (e.g. “I just want to watch a decent football or basketball game on a random Saturday) where the instinct of simply seeing what’s on ESPN (or in the case of college basketball, CBS) kicks in for sports fans. Fox just isn’t that rotation in the minds of the average sports fan to check for a basketball unless you’re a fan of that specific conference.

I doubt that’s changing since we’ve had several years of FOX having Big Ten, Big East and Pac-12 basketball rights, so it’s not as if though they don’t have excellent basketball content. The habits of sports fans are simply entrenched here where ESPN and CBS dominate for college basketball.

It’s a reason why I believe that it would be foolish for the Big Ten to leave ESPN entirely as long as ESPN is presenting an offer that’s in the same ballpark as other competitors. ESPN knows how to promote sports in general far beyond anyone else since they have so many platforms to utilize, while CBS will have an advantage for college basketball specifically as long as they have the NCAA Tournament rights.

Totally agree....
And look at the competition the 2 Fox properties had to go up against-
Big East- vs Big 12
Pac 12- vs ACC

That's brutal. You aren't winning those battles. Especially the Pac 12 one.

Both CBS and FOX aired Big Ten men's basketball games OTA:

Regular season games:

Ohio State at Purdue, Sun. 1/30, noon, CBS, 2.277M
Michigan at Michigan State, Sat. 1/29, 12:30pm, CBS, 1.842M
Ohio State at Maryland, Sun. 2/27, 4pm, CBS, 1.613M
Illinois at Michigan, Sun. 2/27, 2pm, CBS, 1.591M
Michigan at Wisconsin, Sun. 2/20, 1pm, CBS, 1.588M
Maryland at Michigan State, Sun. 3/6, 4:30pm, CBS, 1.411M
Maryland at Purdue, Sun. 2/13, 1pm. CBS, 1.198M
Maryland at Ohio State, Sun. 2/6, 1pm, CBS, 1.15M

Michigan at Ohio State, Sun. 3/6, 12:30pm, FOX, 1.602M
Michigan at Purdue, 2/5, 2:30pm, FOX, 1.337M
Indiana at Michigan State, Sat. 2/12, 3:30pm, FOX, 1.22M
Purdue at Illinois, Mon. 1/17, noon, FOX, 1.2M
Iowa at Ohio State, Sat. 2/19, 2:30pm, FOX, 1.014M

Games below 1M viewership excluded.

CBS games tend to be more watched than FOX games for sure on average. Michigan/Ohio State did draw a lot of viewers, larger than all but three regular season games on CBS. I'm not sure who aired more Big Ten games but CBS had more games above 1M viewers and had one game topping 2M viewers.

(03-16-2022 03:08 PM)schmolik Wrote:  

(03-16-2022 12:49 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  Interesting that the "barren wastelands of the MWC" outdrew the "Major Media Markets" of the AAC by a large percentage.

Well one aired against the Big Ten final and one aired after the Big Ten semifinals on the same network.

So NOT being on ESPN has it's advantages...

(03-16-2022 03:10 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(03-16-2022 11:50 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(03-16-2022 09:37 AM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  The Pac-12 championship game with UCLA vs Arizona gets 1.3 million. The Big East Final with Creighton vs Villanova gets 1.2 million. Both were on Fox. Those were two of the best CCG games of the weekend, yet they both got beat out in the ratings by nearly everyone else, including San Diego State-Boise State.

That does not make sense. Is this about college basketball on Fox? Two of the best Championship games of the weekend got smoked in the TV ratings and lost to the MWC CCG? Just difficult to understand.

Yes, it’s pretty much the location on Fox.

For a huge known event (e.g Michigan-Ohio State football), the channel isn’t as relevant as viewers will actively seek out that specific game wherever it might be.

It’s really the next tier of games where the viewers are more passive (e.g. “I just want to watch a decent football or basketball game on a random Saturday) where the instinct of simply seeing what’s on ESPN (or in the case of college basketball, CBS) kicks in for sports fans. Fox just isn’t that rotation in the minds of the average sports fan to check for a basketball unless you’re a fan of that specific conference.

I doubt that’s changing since we’ve had several years of FOX having Big Ten, Big East and Pac-12 basketball rights, so it’s not as if though they don’t have excellent basketball content. The habits of sports fans are simply entrenched here where ESPN and CBS dominate for college basketball.

It’s a reason why I believe that it would be foolish for the Big Ten to leave ESPN entirely as long as ESPN is presenting an offer that’s in the same ballpark as other competitors. ESPN knows how to promote sports in general far beyond anyone else since they have so many platforms to utilize, while CBS will have an advantage for college basketball specifically as long as they have the NCAA Tournament rights.

Totally agree....
And look at the competition the 2 Fox properties had to go up against-
Big East- vs Big 12
Pac 12- vs ACC

That's brutal. You aren't winning those battles. Especially the Pac 12 one.

That is the problem, because the UCLA-Arizona game was a much better game with two of the best teams in the nation.

(03-16-2022 04:11 PM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  

(03-16-2022 03:10 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(03-16-2022 11:50 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(03-16-2022 09:37 AM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  The Pac-12 championship game with UCLA vs Arizona gets 1.3 million. The Big East Final with Creighton vs Villanova gets 1.2 million. Both were on Fox. Those were two of the best CCG games of the weekend, yet they both got beat out in the ratings by nearly everyone else, including San Diego State-Boise State.

That does not make sense. Is this about college basketball on Fox? Two of the best Championship games of the weekend got smoked in the TV ratings and lost to the MWC CCG? Just difficult to understand.

Yes, it’s pretty much the location on Fox.

For a huge known event (e.g Michigan-Ohio State football), the channel isn’t as relevant as viewers will actively seek out that specific game wherever it might be.

It’s really the next tier of games where the viewers are more passive (e.g. “I just want to watch a decent football or basketball game on a random Saturday) where the instinct of simply seeing what’s on ESPN (or in the case of college basketball, CBS) kicks in for sports fans. Fox just isn’t that rotation in the minds of the average sports fan to check for a basketball unless you’re a fan of that specific conference.

I doubt that’s changing since we’ve had several years of FOX having Big Ten, Big East and Pac-12 basketball rights, so it’s not as if though they don’t have excellent basketball content. The habits of sports fans are simply entrenched here where ESPN and CBS dominate for college basketball.

It’s a reason why I believe that it would be foolish for the Big Ten to leave ESPN entirely as long as ESPN is presenting an offer that’s in the same ballpark as other competitors. ESPN knows how to promote sports in general far beyond anyone else since they have so many platforms to utilize, while CBS will have an advantage for college basketball specifically as long as they have the NCAA Tournament rights.

Totally agree....
And look at the competition the 2 Fox properties had to go up against-
Big East- vs Big 12
Pac 12- vs ACC

That's brutal. You aren't winning those battles. Especially the Pac 12 one.

That is the problem, because the UCLA-Arizona game was a much better game with two of the best teams in the nation.

Here's the dilemma with the Pac-12. Assuming they stick with alternating between FOX and ESPN, when they are on FOX they likely wind up vs. the ACC. If they are on ESPN they follow the ACC but it doesn't start until 10:30pm ET. Remember the ratings this year on FOX as bad as they were were better than last year on ESPN because who on the East Coast wants to stay up until 12:30am to see a game, especially if some dud like Oregon State is in the final? Pick your poison. Maybe they can get on CBS and get the post Big Ten slot. I think every conference would want that slot if they could get it. I could be crazy but I thought the Pac 12 or Pac 10 at one point had it.

(03-16-2022 04:20 PM)schmolik Wrote:  

(03-16-2022 04:11 PM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  

(03-16-2022 03:10 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(03-16-2022 11:50 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(03-16-2022 09:37 AM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  The Pac-12 championship game with UCLA vs Arizona gets 1.3 million. The Big East Final with Creighton vs Villanova gets 1.2 million. Both were on Fox. Those were two of the best CCG games of the weekend, yet they both got beat out in the ratings by nearly everyone else, including San Diego State-Boise State.

That does not make sense. Is this about college basketball on Fox? Two of the best Championship games of the weekend got smoked in the TV ratings and lost to the MWC CCG? Just difficult to understand.

Yes, it’s pretty much the location on Fox.

For a huge known event (e.g Michigan-Ohio State football), the channel isn’t as relevant as viewers will actively seek out that specific game wherever it might be.

It’s really the next tier of games where the viewers are more passive (e.g. “I just want to watch a decent football or basketball game on a random Saturday) where the instinct of simply seeing what’s on ESPN (or in the case of college basketball, CBS) kicks in for sports fans. Fox just isn’t that rotation in the minds of the average sports fan to check for a basketball unless you’re a fan of that specific conference.

I doubt that’s changing since we’ve had several years of FOX having Big Ten, Big East and Pac-12 basketball rights, so it’s not as if though they don’t have excellent basketball content. The habits of sports fans are simply entrenched here where ESPN and CBS dominate for college basketball.

It’s a reason why I believe that it would be foolish for the Big Ten to leave ESPN entirely as long as ESPN is presenting an offer that’s in the same ballpark as other competitors. ESPN knows how to promote sports in general far beyond anyone else since they have so many platforms to utilize, while CBS will have an advantage for college basketball specifically as long as they have the NCAA Tournament rights.

Totally agree....
And look at the competition the 2 Fox properties had to go up against-
Big East- vs Big 12
Pac 12- vs ACC

That's brutal. You aren't winning those battles. Especially the Pac 12 one.

That is the problem, because the UCLA-Arizona game was a much better game with two of the best teams in the nation.

Here's the dilemma with the Pac-12. Assuming they stick with alternating between FOX and ESPN, when they are on FOX they likely wind up vs. the ACC. If they are on ESPN they follow the ACC but it doesn't start until 10:30pm ET. Remember the ratings this year on FOX as bad as they were were better than last year on ESPN because who on the East Coast wants to stay up until 12:30am to see a game, especially if some dud like Oregon State is in the final? Pick your poison. Maybe they can get on CBS and get the post Big Ten slot. I think every conference would want that slot if they could get it. I could be crazy but I thought the Pac 12 or Pac 10 at one point had it.

I kind of remember that as well with them at 6pm after the 2 Big Ten games. Maybe they get that back in a few years when the new tv deals come around.