There's no planning ahead in TV when it comes to football
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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Wondering why you’re shelling out $29.95 to watch today’s Nebraska-Ball State game on TV?
Looking at next week’s nontelevised game against Iowa State, and fondly remembering when you knew every home game (except Oklahoma) would kick off at 1:05 p.m. (or 1:30 p.m.)?
Dreading a potential 8:15 p.m. kickoff next month in Columbia? (Or is that just the sportswriters?)
Televised games these days seem to be all over the map — more networks, more time slots, more days, more confusion.
What’s a fan to do?
The best advice would be to check your local listings each Saturday.
How about some more insight?
With apologies to Ball State alum David Letterman — and many thanks to Big 12 Conference associate commissioner Tim Allen — here’s some answers to a Top 10 list of frequently asked questions regarding the process of televising Big 12 games.
1. What’s the Big 12’s current TV contract situation?
The conference has two television contracts — one for exclusive over-the-air network broadcasts (ABC), and one for exclusive cable broadcasts (Fox Sports Net. Not to be confused with the over-the-air FOX network).
The key word here, Allen said, is “exclusive.” That means the rights fees are higher, which means more $$$ for member schools.
ABC will utilize 16 to 18 windows in a combination of afternoon and prime-time broadcasts (2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.) this season. FSN will utilize 22 to 24 windows (mostly, 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.).
Because FSN also has a contract with the Pac-10 Conference, the cable network didn’t have enough windows in the afternoon and night to take care of both Big 12 and Pac 10 agreements.
So, FSN this year sublicensed five Big 12 games to ESPN. Those are the games that previously would’ve been aired on TBS, which is no longer doing college football games.
The ESPN games are all in prime time, mostly 8:15 p.m. kickoffs. (The Nov. 3 ESPN game is scheduled for 6 p.m.).
The Nebraska-Missouri game on Oct. 6 is a strong candidate for ESPN prime time, with the OU-Texas game likely on ABC at 2:30 p.m.
2. OK, the Big 12 has contracts with FSN and ABC. So why were there no league games on FSN last week? And why is there no game on ABC this week?
Good questions.
ABC has the contractual right to request one exclusive prime-time window and two exclusive early-afternoon windows (11 a.m.) each season. That means FSN cannot broadcast any games on those days.
Last week’s USC-Nebraska game was ABC’s one exclusive prime-time window this season. Hence, no game on FSN. Sorry.
(Because ABC owns ESPN, it agreed to waive the exclusivity clause so that ESPN could air the Florida State-Colorado game last Saturday.)
As for no ABC game this week … ABC is not contractually obligated to broadcast a Big 12 game every week. Evidently, the network yawned when it looked at this week’s list of Big 12 games, so it passed. (FSN then picked up the lone game between Big 12 teams, Texas Tech at Oklahoma State at 2:30 p.m.).
In fact, there’s currently one more date (Oct. 20) when it’s uncertain whether ABC will broadcast a Big 12 game. Nebraska hosts Texas A&M that day.
ABC is using one of its exclusive 11 a.m. windows on Oct. 27, so there will be no FSN game that day, either. That’s when NU plays at Texas.
3. What is Versus?
No, it’s not just an Iowa State thing.
Versus, formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network, is available in more than 70 million homes nationwide. (In Lincoln, it’s only available to digital subscribers on channel 229). It’s most known for NHL broadcasts and coverage of the Tour de France. Last year, the network broadcast some Mountain West Conference games.
Versus, Allen said, approached the Big 12 and FSN and offered to sublicense some games. FSN had an interest in televising additional games (above its scheduled 22-24), so the Big 12 agreed to sell up to six games a year to Versus.
Not saying it’s a bad thing to be on Versus … but this game is at the bottom of the pecking order. (So maybe it is an Iowa State thing, after all.)
With a few notable exceptions, ABC has the rights to select first on each weekend. When ABC has a doubleheader, it selects first and second. Then FSN selects third and fourth (if it has two games), and Versus selects fifth.
Versus is televising at least five Big 12 games this year. (It broadcast last week’s Iowa-Iowa State game). Tentative remaining dates include Oct. 20 (4 p.m.), and Nov. 3, Nov. 10 and Nov. 17 (11:30 a.m.). FSN will also broadcast 11:30 a.m. games those days.
4. What about ESPN2, CSTV and some of those other networks and different time slots Big 12 teams may appear?
It’s important to keep in mind the aforementioned TV contracts are for Big 12 home games only.
The Big 12 has 10 games this season on ESPN or ESPN2 that are on other conference packages.
Games like Nebraska at Wake Forest, Baylor at TCU, Texas at Central Florida, Oklahoma State at Troy and Texas A&M at Miami have nothing to do with the Big 12 TV contracts.
5. Why can’t we know the times of games more than two weeks — and sometimes only one week — in advance? How are we supposed to plan around that?
Allen hears these gripes from fans quite often.
The No. 1 complaint?
“We get phone calls from brides in the spring and the summer about game times,” Allen said. “We get calls from upset dads who have thought the game was probably going to be in the afternoon, and now it’s at night, and they can’t go to their daughter’s wedding and the football game.”
Decisions, decisions.
The Big 12 isn’t alone here, though. Other conferences, like the SEC, for example, have the dreaded 12-day window, when networks wait to decide which games they’ll air. Three times a year, networks can pull the ultra-dreaded six-day window, waiting until the week of the game to decide their lineups.
Advice? Grin and bear it. You’re at the mercy of the TV bigwigs.
“You have to approach it from the standpoint that the fans that want to find the games are going to be able to find the games,” Allen said, ”regardless of when or where they’re televised.
“Television is such an important part in finances and recruiting and in the overall exposure and branding of the university. People are willing to wait for the two weeks, or the one week, because that’s important.”
6. Yeah, but basketball doesn’t mess with its times throughout the season. Those TV times are already set. Why can’t it be like that for football?
Ah, that would be nice, wouldn’t it?
Basketball, though, has more games, can be done in a tidy, two-hour package, and is far cheaper to produce.
Plus, the ratings for football are going to follow the teams with the most success, which is why television is paying big bucks for the rights to select those games.
7. Is there any stipulation that says a Big 12 team must appear on TV a certain number of times? Say, could Baylor conceivably go an entire season with no televised games?
The ABC agreement limits a team to six appearances; there are no limitations on the number of times a school can appear on the FSN package.
FSN and the Big 12 work cooperatively to assure that each institution receives at least one appearance, but there is no contractual provision that mandates that.
In the history of the Big 12, each institution has had at least one appearance on either ABC or FSN (or a sublicensee like TBS/ESPN) every year.
8. What’s up with the pay-per-view games? How are those decided?
Pay-per-view games, believe it or not, are not very common in the Big 12. The conference averages about two per year, although today’s NU broadcast will be the third this season (joining Arkansas State-Texas and Utah State-Oklahoma).
For games not selected for over-the-air or cable broadcasts, FSN can provide the opportunity for a PPV broadcast. It’s mutually agreeable with the host school.
The PPV games, however, cannot be inside an ABC exclusive window, meaning start times must be either 11:30 a.m. or 6 p.m.
9. Is this the perfect TV set up for the Big 12?
Well, there’s no such thing as perfect.
But, by and large, Allen said the exposure the Big 12 currently receives is second-to-none.
“I may be wrong here, but I think the Big 12, with the exception of (the SEC) being on CBS … I don’t think there is any other conference in America that has games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports Net and Versus in this year,” Allen said. “That means of all the major players, other than CBS, we have a game on the air during the course of the season.
“That’s good. ... There can be fan confusion about where to find your games, but by the same token, it tells us that the networks out there have a keen interest in Big 12 football. Everybody wants to be wanted.”
10. The Big 10 Conference launched its own television network this season. Is there any possibility the Big 12 might someday do the same?
Every conference is closely monitoring not only the Big 10 Network, but also the network for Mountain West games. Allen described it as a “staunch evaluating mode.”
The Big 12, Allen said, is fortunate in that ABC and ESPN wanted to pay a rights fee to keep the Big 12 from being in the television business on its own.
“That does not that mean that we are not going to go that route down the road,” Allen said. “But right now, I think everybody is in a wait-and-see mode.”
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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