Fox Sports and C-USA Strike TV Agreement

[MustangStealth]

This does suck. Our games on FSN will likely all be regional broadcasts only, so if you aren't in the FSH or FSSW areas you probably won't get them. Also, FSN still doesn't do all of their college games in HD.

[mrydel]

Didn't Orsini say we were anticipating changing conferences in the not too distant future anyway and then moving again a bit later? We probably need to fret more about what the TV deal is wherever we move.

[redpony]

Yep- he also said ' top 25 in everything we do'. Are we there yet daddy?

GO PONIES!!!

[mustangbill67]

This does suck. Our games on FSN will likely all be regional broadcasts only, so if you aren't in the FSH or FSSW areas you probably won't get them. Also, FSN still doesn't do all of their college games in HD.

If you are a direct tv subscriber with the optional sports tier, you get all the Fox Sports networks. Also many times a FSSW game will be carried on other Fox Sports networks across the country. I do not know how this works on Dish or the other TV providers.

[skyscraper]

From the Houston Chronicle story: (bolded parts from me)

Fox networks – including Fox Sports affiliates such as KRIV (Channel 26), Fox Sports Net regional networks such as Fox Sports Houston, and FX – will air an annual minimum of 20 regular-season football games, 10 men’s basketball game and three women’s basketball games. The current deal with ESPN covered 10 football games, six men’s basketball games and three women’s basketball games each season.

So we are doubling the TV presence with this deal for football. The question is, will the telecasts be regional or national.

Other interesting fact:

Most football games will be on Saturdays, with the occasional Monday, Thursday or Friday games. ESPN’s C-USA regular-season football schedule in 2010 included just two Saturday games, with a game on Sunday, two on Wednesday and five on Friday.

[skyscraper]

Another part from the C-USA press release has me thinking some more, also.

Provisions of the new agreement also allow Fox to televise select Conference USA events on FOX Sports, which reaches over 115 million households nationwide, and on FX, FOX's flagship general entertainment cable network available in over 98 million homes.

Is the conference mentioning FOX Sports and FX just to throw around names, or is this a hint of a change in programming by the Fox Sports head honchos.?
Previously, only the Cotton Bowl and (until this year) the BCS games were broadcast on Fox Sports. And I can't ever remember college football airing on FX.
Is Fox looking to have some Saturday college football programming on it's Fox affiliates throughout the country ala ABC and CBS?
Until now, that hasn't happened, and this would be a new shift in that direction.
The same goes for airing games on FX, which pretty much just airs movies on the weekends.
Definitely something to chew on.

[EastStang]

The Fox Sports and FX is what caught my attention. If for example our conference championship is carried on Fox Network instead of ESPN2, I think its a better deal for us exposure wise. There are still a ton of folks in this country without dishes or cable. I know my mom has cable but only watches ABC, NBC, Fox, CBS and very rarely PBS. Otherwise, she doesn't wander. So, this might be a huge mistake or a ground floor opportunity. I don't know. But we get 80% more money, than we were getting on ESPN. That translates into $3.1 Million per school which is a lot better than $1.8 Million. Eff ESPN.

[RE Tycoon]

Is the conference mentioning FOX Sports and FX just to throw around names, or is this a hint of a change in programming by the Fox Sports head honchos.?
Previously, only the Cotton Bowl and (until this year) the BCS games were broadcast on Fox Sports. And I can't ever remember college football airing on FX.

Is Fox looking to have some Saturday college football programming on it's Fox affiliates throughout the country ala ABC and CBS?

Until now, that hasn't happened, and this would be a new shift in that direction.
The same goes for airing games on FX, which pretty much just airs movies on the weekends.
Definitely something to chew on.

I think they are throwing around the big network and the cable channel to make the deal sound sexy, but I highly doubt we'll ever see anything on Fox. FX is more likely but would almost be worse than FSN because it is not known as a sports outlet.

My hope is the same as your hope that we are out in front of a new FOX strategy to broadcast Saturday college football on their big broadcast network to compete with ABC, CBS and to a lesser extent NBC (Notre Dame). I've posted on here before that CUSA should strike a deal with either NBC or FOX to basically take a cut of profits instead of guaranteed money for the Conference TV rights, because of the exposure and legitimacy a big network brings is priceless for a non-AQ.

We shall see, but this wreaks of a regional deal with a token national game now and then. Regardless of the day of the week, at least ESPN gave us national exposure (I don't recall many mid-week games for CUSA except for special occasions and holidays).

[Topper]

I always enjoyed the 9:30 p.m. Saturday night PAC 10 game. Gave you a reason to stay up late. Loved it when the late games were played at UW or in the Rose Bowl.

Loved the announcers too. The PBP guy had been doing it for years Larry XXXX. Love the analyst with the greek-sounding name.

Perhaps the new relationship will end the ridiculousness of the Wednesday night 8 pm game. Sounded good on paper for exposure for your conference, but I wonder what kind of ratings it truly generated.

Petros Papadakis. He is great! I think he played fullback at USC and, if I'm not mistaken, his father or brother also played there. These late night Saturday PAC 10 games are some of the most entertaining on tv.

[Boston Pony]

Living on the left coast, we get plenty of Big 12 games out here on FSN so I'm thinking the CUSA games will also get visibility. I also assume that like Pac 10 & Big 12, good games in conference and other such as TCU and A&M may get ESPN exposure. We will have to wait and see the results.

[RE Tycoon]

I also assume that like Pac 10 & Big 12, good games in conference and other such as TCU and A&M may get ESPN exposure. We will have to wait and see the results.

As I mentioned before in this thread , THIS IS NOT THE CASE. ESPN no longer has the TV rights to CUSA games that are considered a home game for the CUSA team.

The agreement with Fox, which continues through the 2015-16 school year and includes rights to the conference football and basketball championships, replaces a six-year, $22 million agreement with ESPN that expires at the end of the 2010-11 season.

Our only chance to be one ESPN will be in a neutral site situation, a bowl game broadcast by the network, or by playing an out of conference away game with a team that has a contract with ESPN.

The CUSA TV rights pecking order:

1. Fox Sports (most likely a regional FSN).
2. CBSCS (National broadcast, but not great coverage).
3. Local TV if the previous two do not pick up the rights.
4. Nothing, not ESPN. Channelsurfing.net if it's available.

[RE Tycoon]

Boston, I re-read your post and you said "exposure", and not broadcast. So, if you meant exposure/coverage on SportsCenter and College Football shows, I think you're right.

I still think it'd be better if we were having a undefeated season to have our games on that network to get more exposure.

[SMU89]

DMN. Same info....Double coverage, Double Money, Doubke Mint Gum.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 67d18.html

[Dutch]

Or, and this is a novel idea here, you could actually go to the games to see them.

[Mitch McConnell]

Ron Franklin is available. I wonder if FOX Sports would pick him up. It would be a great move to land one of the signature voices of college football.

It would bring instant credibility to the TV package.

"Good evening everybody, I'm Ron Franklin and welcome to SMU's Gerald J. Ford Stadium for the SMU Mustangs and the Houston Cougars....

Just sayin...