New TV Deal Keeps Big 12 at Disadvantage
6 comments so far
May 10, 2007 by
The Big 12 presidents and athletic directors probably swung the best deal available. It certainly will boost the profile of Big 12 basketball nationally and provides a modest extension of the footprint for regional football broadcasts on ABC. Still, it pales in terms of national exposure for football for Notre Dame, the Big Ten, and the Southeastern conference.
Last July, I examined how AP votes compared to computer polls and found a bias by AP voters toward teams with better TV deals (namely Notre Dame, the Big Ten, and the SEC). Who could forget the injustice of 2000, when a 9-2 Notre Dame team that a 9-2 Nebraska beat in South Bend got to play in a BCS game over the Huskers. The computers ranked the Huskers an average of 7th and Irish an average of 12th, but the pollsters dinged Nebraska and boosted Notre Dame such that the final standings put NU 8th and Notre Dame 11th. Who’s to say if the Fiesta Bowl would have invited Notre Dame over Nebraska if there’d been a five-spot gap in the final rankings?
The new TV deal does little to close the gap on exposure for Big 12 football. In fact, from a competitive standpoint it might have been better to accept less TV revenue in order to get more national broadcasts. But few Big 12 programs are impacted quite to the degree that Nebraska will be. Virtually every Texas game is broadcast (at least on cable) in the state of Texas. Since the Longhorns do almost all of their recruiting in their home state, that’s all they really need. Similarly, all of the Big 12 South teams can build their teams in Oklahoma and Texas. They don’t need to have a national presence. But with Nebraska being so small in terms of population and being geographically about as far as you can get from Texas and still be in the Big 12 (except for Iowa State), the Huskers need to be seen nationally (like Notre Dame). If I’m a stud player in Montana, and all else is equal in terms of what I like about a program am I going to go to the school that’s on TV twice a year, or every week?
I’m not saying the deal is insurmountable (after all, the Irish were on every week in the 1990’s). But it is clearly a disadvantage to the national deals that other teams and conferences have made. So while I’m glad that it’s a better deal than the last one, I’m certainly not about to toast the deal with champagne either.
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Brian May 10 07
Texas AD DeLoss Dodds and the Big 12 are working with ESPN and FSN to get six Saturday primetime games on ESPN this season. Essentially those 6pm games that were on TBS last year could be on ESPN this year. That would be huge for the league.
SA Express-News story
IrishFAN May 11 07
Sniff Sniff.
First off TV deals are rewarded on what programs are going to have the most viewers. Like it or not, teams in the Big 12 to not "travel" well in the ratings. Outside of OU and Texas, not many people in the US care about Big 12 teams.
In regards to the BCS, once again it is about ratings. All the BCS is set to do is deliver a #1 and #2 and make the other bowls not hosting the championship game lots of $$$$. Sorry to break the news but Nebraska fans do not mean Big Bucks in host cities. Furthermore, put a team like Nebraska against a cost team and you can all but guarantee the opposite coast tuning out.
Steve May 11 07
IrishFAN,
You just defined why we have the Yankees and Red Sox shoved down our throats ad nauseum. I understand big markets vs. small markets, but it's not something NU fans have to lovingly embrace. There are many college football fans (outside of Nebraska even) that would like to see a meritocracy as opposed to watching an overmatched Irish team get pummeled in bowl games they don't belong in. When it comes to watching a quality game, a high level of play trumps big name appeal every time (see Boise State vs. OU).
'sa blabg thang May 13 07
IrishFan,
...is correct: it's all about marketing, the media operates on the coasts, so the Big 12 teams do not have near the national audience/following for advertising propaganda. 'Sa blang(bling) thang, as I always say. It's the U.S. & A., friends, consumerism is what it's all about, if ya hadn't noticed(I'm sure you have)!
Domers will always be America's College Team, period--they're Catholic, they're God's chosen FB representatives in this here temporal world, so goes the fairy tale. They 'own' NBC and vice versa. It's NOT fair if they're not playing on a level field, if they are not deserving of high placement in bowls, etc., but whatever, it is what it is. They're an excellent team to hate if it's any consolation!
The SEC is actually deserving of more national air time at this point since they are clearly the superior league, have the most talented athlete's across the board, and are some of the funnest teams to watch. Their games are usually competitive on a high level also(which BTW goes against the 'ethic', these days, of playing a soft schedule).
The Big 10(11) has it's darling too in MI--everybody around the country owns a MI cap/sweatshirt even if only to make a fashion statement. OSU has probably a bigger viewing audience than TX, for e.g., even though nobody buys THE Buckeye paraphenalia outside of Ohi-ah(TX 'stuff' sells well nationally BTW). PSU is fairly high profile too, and considered East coast.
I think NE is televised enough for the purposes of strong recruiting, sure it could always be better; but, really, what is the ratio of TV appearences to recruiting success, anyway? I think the lion's share of recruiting is about the people to people, pound the pavement thing. NE just has to keep winning, that's what attracts recruits--along with our tradition. More air play will also follow from that, albeit begrudgeonly from the likes of ESPN/ABC. FOX seems to be the network most interested in Big 12 teams. I wish there was a way NE could market itself, it's paraphenalia, better nationally, but NE as a state is just not 'sexy'(like ND, MI, FL, USC, and lastly, TX). NE is at a 'class' disadvantage, so to speak, in the national eye: NE is about agriculture, the team has the word 'corn' in it; NE'ans are stereotyped as hicks, farmers; the state is a geographic void, I'm sorry to say, as viewed by the 'hip' coastal peeps. I live out here in MA, midway between Boston(love the Sox BTW) and the Big Apple--believe me, most people couldn't locate NE on a map even if they were offered a million bucks to do so. AND who, other than an in or out of state NE'an has ever bought a NE cap? I can think of one guy I know out here, and he is an immigrant from Equador!
P.S. Where does the PAC 10--namely USC--hash out in all of this?
doombob May 15 07
I'd say it's a good thing that not everyone purchases Husker gear. It's an unspoken thing around here where I live, that if you see someone else wearing a Husker hat or shirt, you can walk up to them and start talking almost immediately. If I'm on vacation on one of the coasts and I see Husker stuff, I know that I can talk or connect with that person. It's a badge of honor to be a Husker fan! If there were Husker stuff that was considered "hip" I probably would not get it. It's so uncool that it's cool to wear Husker stuff.
'sa blang thang May 15 07
doombob,
Well, if BR could market their stuff nationally maybe they could make enough money to schedule more quality teams for the nonC.