Drexel MBB will be getting some very rare national TV exposure coming up in a few weeks. Their game at La Salle at noon on 12/10 will be televised by USA Network (How USA picked that game for a national telecast, I'll never figure out). USA took over the A-10's national TV package after NBCSN went off the air.

Drexel's following home game at Seton Hall at the Prudential Center will be televised by FS1.

Doesn't look like they had any other option if they were set on putting basketball on TV at noon on Dec. 10:

Long Island University @ UConn (FS1)
Penn State @ Illinois (BTN)
Johnson University (TN) @ Chattanooga (ESPN+)
Vermont @ Colgate (ESPN+)
Drexel @ La Salle

Whatever, I'll take it.

I'm assuming this game is part of the A-10 TV package and probably could have gotten another A-10 team to play in that timeslot. SJU, Richmond, URI, Dayton, GW, and SL all have home games that day on ESPN+. Then again, all of their opponents are generally weak mid-majors, so maybe Drexel is the best of the worst. But like you said, we'll take it.

Edit. Richmond is hosting 6-0 Drake that day at 2:00 on ESPN+

what does that a-10 use for streaming their games?

(11-30-2022 12:47 PM)hiroshimacarp Wrote:  what does that a-10 use for streaming their games?

ESPN+

got it. i'm trying to get educated on the options. i like flo but have never said i wouldn't be opposed to whatever else is out there...and at least learning about it.

probably the best argument for espn+ is what you get with it...except the flyers suck that having the nhl isn't all that helpful. my biggest point to make about streaming is the story is yet to be told. i have to believe at some point things will start to consolidate. if you like multiple different sports from multiple different countries...it starts getting expensive to buy everything you need on top of having cable like i do. it used to be you created a channel and added yourself to a cable package. things are very different and we'll see how it all plays out.

One interesting tidbit about streaming options. Tonight, for the Big 5 doubleheader at the Palestra. The Temple/La Salle game was not on TV because La Salle in the A-10 was the home team and the Atlantic 10's contract with ESPN does not allow for linear local TV, so it was only on ESPN+. The 2nd game, SJU at Penn, is on NBCSP+ tonight, because the Ivy League's deal with ESPN does allow for linear TV. Whatever streaming deal the CAA goes with, they do have to make sure that linear TV is offered as an option.

(11-30-2022 09:52 PM)J.B. Wrote:  One interesting tidbit about streaming options. Tonight, for the Big 5 doubleheader at the Palestra. The Temple/La Salle game was not on TV because La Salle in the A-10 was the home team and the Atlantic 10's contract with ESPN does not allow for linear local TV, so it was only on ESPN+. The 2nd game, SJU at Penn, is on NBCSP+ tonight, because the Ivy League's deal with ESPN does allow for linear TV. Whatever streaming deal the CAA goes with, they do have to make sure that linear TV is offered as an option.

Don't let em lie to you like this JB! That's the BS that certain collegiate pro-flo and/or cheap front offices are putting out.

St. Louis has games on Bally midwest. Mason and VCU have games on MASN. GW has them on NBC Sports Washington, Richmond uses both MASN and NBC Sports Wash, Loyola Chicago has it on NBC Sports Chicago, even the Bonnies use YES network.

In order to be on ESPN+ and also linear, non-ESPN local TV you have to pay a buyout fee for the local rights. La Salle and SJU could do that, as could Drexel, but they are all too cheap to do so. They don't invest in the brand, yadda yadda, we've been down this road before I don't need to rehash it. And then after letting the athletics brand fall apart, they play in the Palestra, no one shows up and there is a front sports page article on the Inky about how "kids these days are just different and dont believe in tradition"

The buck passing is hilarious, but its always easiest to blame the consumer, or the big network. The thing these Philly schools athletics offices are best at is pointing fingers.

(12-01-2022 11:04 AM)metsox Wrote:  

(11-30-2022 09:52 PM)J.B. Wrote:  One interesting tidbit about streaming options. Tonight, for the Big 5 doubleheader at the Palestra. The Temple/La Salle game was not on TV because La Salle in the A-10 was the home team and the Atlantic 10's contract with ESPN does not allow for linear local TV, so it was only on ESPN+. The 2nd game, SJU at Penn, is on NBCSP+ tonight, because the Ivy League's deal with ESPN does allow for linear TV. Whatever streaming deal the CAA goes with, they do have to make sure that linear TV is offered as an option.

Don't let em lie to you like this JB! That's the BS that certain collegiate pro-flo and/or cheap front offices are putting out.

St. Louis has games on Bally midwest. Mason and VCU have games on MASN. GW has them on NBC Sports Washington, Richmond uses both MASN and NBC Sports Wash, Loyola Chicago has it on NBC Sports Chicago, even the Bonnies use YES network.

In order to be on ESPN+ and also linear, non-ESPN local TV you have to pay a buyout fee for the local rights. La Salle and SJU could do that, as could Drexel, but they are all too cheap to do so. They don't invest in the brand, yadda yadda, we've been down this road before I don't need to rehash it. And then after letting the athletics brand fall apart, they play in the Palestra, no one shows up and there is a front sports page article on the Inky about how "kids these days are just different and dont believe in tradition"

The buck passing is hilarious, but its always easiest to blame the consumer, or the big network. The thing these Philly schools athletics offices are best at is pointing fingers.

OK...so what you're saying is that it's not an Atlantic 10 thing, but a LaSalle thing for being cheap. That makes sense. But I wouldn't put Drexel in the same sentence as La Salle and SJU for being cheap. Drexel is putting a significant number of their athletic events on NBCSP while other CAA schools are not investing in RSN broadcasts. So it's safe to assume that if the CAA did get an ESPN+ streaming deal, that they would continue to invest in broadcasting these games, assuming that the deal brings in the $$ for them to do so.

As a university, La Salle is in survival mode. A quick method to determine the health of a university is their bond rating. La Salle was downgraded to "junk" in September.

https://www.fitchratings.com/research/us...13-09-2022

i definitely watched the lasalle-temple game on nbc sports philadelphia. can't remember if it was the + station or not.

(12-01-2022 11:31 AM)hiroshimacarp Wrote:  i definitely watched the lasalle-temple game on nbc sports philadelphia. can't remember if it was the + station or not.

It it was on TV, I stand corrected. I was at the Drexel game last night and the Inquirer didn't have it listed as being on.

JB, the difference, IMO is that DU/the CAA elects to be on Flo and at least part of the reason for that is to avoid the cost of the ESPN+ buyout. From what I've heard, moving to ESPN+ would mean that Drexel would not put the games on linear TV... I don't know the total spend/rake but the choice given what Drexel budgets for media spend seems to kind of be to go with the ESPN+/ no linear TV route, or Flo with linear TV, with ESPN+ and linear TV an available option, but off the table since we won't spend to do it.

One other thing to note, going to ESPN+ requires some schools around the conference, possibly including DU, but I'm not sure after the offseson DAC changes, to put some money into improving their production facilities. Another cost that keeps us off the platform.

(12-01-2022 01:50 PM)metsox Wrote:  One other thing to note, going to ESPN+ requires some schools around the conference, possibly including DU, but I'm not sure after the offseson DAC changes, to put some money into improving their production facilities. Another cost that keeps us off the platform.

Since you seem to have some inside info on this topic, do you know if there are any other options for the CAA? There are many other streaming services out there that might not be as popular as ESPN, but are better than FLO. Is NBC/Peacock or CBS/Paramount+ an option? Are these really the only two options out there for the CAA?

Just tell me our USA Network game will be intro'd one of these ways:

(12-01-2022 11:15 AM)bmf25 Wrote:  As a university, La Salle is in survival mode. A quick method to determine the health of a university is their bond rating. La Salle was downgraded to "junk" in September.

https://www.fitchratings.com/research/us...13-09-2022

Time to bring my #BuyLaSalle plan over from Slack!

(12-01-2022 11:15 AM)bmf25 Wrote:  As a university, La Salle is in survival mode. A quick method to determine the health of a university is their bond rating. La Salle was downgraded to "junk" in September.

https://www.fitchratings.com/research/us...13-09-2022

I know we're going off topic but....

That's one school I would never send my kids to in a million years. It wouldn't shock me if they end up getting absorbed by another university and their athletic programs go away, like how University of Sciences got bought by St. Joseph's.

"Net tuition revenue has fallen 18% from fiscal year 2018 to fiscal year 2022 (unaudited), and auxiliary revenues remain well below pre-pandemic levels. With its student-dependent revenue base, La Salle has needed supplemental endowment draws to offset student revenue declines at levels which Fitch does not consider to be sustainable."

La Salle has much bigger problems than college basketball.

Agree with you all on La Salle problems. If you enroll as a freshman, go to school for four years and graduate, I'm not sure that you'll have La Salle on the degree at this point. And if you do, in 20 years time that name is potentially worthless.

JB, I've had conversations, both within Drexel, around the conference and w the conf office. Obviously, no one wants to totally show their cards, esp because I've pretty clearly got my mind made up on this one. I have been told that they've looked at a number of options beyond Flo and ESPN. Obiously "looked at" could mean anything from "we googled" to "we sent an RFP and reviewed feedback and toured their office and had a final proposal on our desk".

I don't feel like there is a big search this time around. I think they are happy to cash Flo's checks and will continue to do so without much additional review. It's been considered a done deal to renew flo for months now, and that's sourced from multiple schools within the conference. And while no one will confirm it, I believe John Fry is a driver of that.

Listen, I'd much rather be Drexel or Northeastern or Hofstra with this Flo deal than Elon or Charleston. At least we have decent regional RSN's to partner with. But having a media deal that harms teams like Charleston and UNCW is also a longterm concern that I have. Those schools are basketball first, in good sized markets (as in, there are no pro teams, they are the big deal in town, but the town is still large enough to be meaningful to sponsers). Those are the teams you're going to want in your conference longterm! I don't see UNCW jumping anywhere so thats fine, but losing Charleston will be tough, I think it will happen in the next decade, and I think deals like this will be a small part of the reason why. At the very least, if I force this down their throat, I'm going to give them good positioning on the CBS National deal.

I'll say it til I'm blue in the face, and I'll use the Palestra doubleheader as the prime example... Short term cash at the expense of the long term brand is killing mid major college basketball. It's the downside of having most athletics programs run by <ahem> academics, or business minds that want a new position within three years. All the leadership gets geared to now, and no one minds that in 5 years there's no sponsors left since all the fans were run out. $44 dollar tix for Temple? Absurd. The business practices among the city schools are a joke. JMU going to 1-A when you know that level won't exist in 5 years, after Jeff Bourne is long gone and taken his victory lap on the backs of his student athletes?

Yes, I'm cynical (and off topic) but if you want the audience disappear like this, why wouldn't you be cynical. Show me a school that is valuing the long term above cashing checks, and I'll show you stock I want to buy. They'll run circles around their competition (hi VCU).

(12-02-2022 09:58 AM)metsox Wrote:  Agree with you all on La Salle problems. If you enroll as a freshman, go to school for four years and graduate, I'm not sure that you'll have La Salle on the degree at this point. And if you do, in 20 years time that name is potentially worthless.

JB, I've had conversations, both within Drexel, around the conference and w the conf office. Obviously, no one wants to totally show their cards, esp because I've pretty clearly got my mind made up on this one. I have been told that they've looked at a number of options beyond Flo and ESPN. Obiously "looked at" could mean anything from "we googled" to "we sent an RFP and reviewed feedback and toured their office and had a final proposal on our desk".

I don't feel like there is a big search this time around. I think they are happy to cash Flo's checks and will continue to do so without much additional review. It's been considered a done deal to renew flo for months now, and that's sourced from multiple schools within the conference. And while no one will confirm it, I believe John Fry is a driver of that.

Listen, I'd much rather be Drexel or Northeastern or Hofstra with this Flo deal than Elon or Charleston. At least we have decent regional RSN's to partner with. But having a media deal that harms teams like Charleston and UNCW is also a longterm concern that I have. Those schools are basketball first, in good sized markets (as in, there are no pro teams, they are the big deal in town, but the town is still large enough to be meaningful to sponsers). Those are the teams you're going to want in your conference longterm! I don't see UNCW jumping anywhere so thats fine, but losing Charleston will be tough, I think it will happen in the next decade, and I think deals like this will be a small part of the reason why. At the very least, if I force this down their throat, I'm going to give them good positioning on the CBS National deal.

I'll say it til I'm blue in the face, and I'll use the Palestra doubleheader as the prime example... Short term cash at the expense of the long term brand is killing mid major college basketball. It's the downside of having most athletics programs run by <ahem> academics, or business minds that want a new position within three years. All the leadership gets geared to now, and no one minds that in 5 years there's no sponsors left since all the fans were run out. $44 dollar tix for Temple? Absurd. The business practices among the city schools are a joke. JMU going to 1-A when you know that level won't exist in 5 years, after Jeff Bourne is long gone and taken his victory lap on the backs of his student athletes?

Yes, I'm cynical (and off topic) but if you want the audience disappear like this, why wouldn't you be cynical. Show me a school that is valuing the long term above cashing checks, and I'll show you stock I want to buy. They'll run circles around their competition (hi VCU).

Thank you for posting. This is good information. I pretty much agree with you on all fronts about the fall of mid-major athletics. I didn't think about it from a sponsorship standpoint. In the CAA, every team has the opportunity to showcase their teams on local TV, but sadly most aren't. I think that Drexel, Northeastern, Monmouth, Delaware, W&M are doing this. Maybe I missed one. There's no excuse for UNCW and Charleston who are in small local TV markets with local stations that could air some of their games.