ESPN signs 7 year deal with the NHL
- Thread starter MMC
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That doesn't really mean anything most Conferences have their own network but do exclusive deals with channels. The B1g 10 has their own network while also having a deal with FOX, ESPN. The SEC has their own but also has deal with CBS(expiring) and ESPN. ESPN went all in with a mega offer to win all SEC rights to boot with ESPN'S SEC Network. PAC 12 has a deal with FOX and ESPN but ESPN acquisition of the CBS rights which feature those big window late afternoon SEC games on Saturday we've all grown accustomed to means the PAC would be relegated to mainly #PAC12AfterDark as ESPN will boot the majority of PAC12 games 9 of 10 times to show SEC Football. So PAC 12 they are the odd man out right now(have been) even more now and are looking for a feature network home. This has actually been talked about too, not merely a suggestion.
I seriously doubt you'll see the Pac 12 jump to a major network, though, and not to a rival network.... what you might see is some of the lesser conferences that ESPN has been showing (the SWAC comes to mind.... as Jackson State was on this weekend, the Sun Belt w/ Coastal Carolina as the featured team is another)....
I'm a B1G guy(Maryland) so I have no rooting interest here, just stating what I've heard on sport media pods and online articles. It's in the PAC 12s best interest to partner with CBS as they are at risk of falling further behind. What you say may be correct and CBS scoops up some of the lesser conferences but OTA networks out of tradition all have some sort of College Football package during the fall months those are a ratings bonanza for those networks. I'm not sure CBS could generate that same sort of viewership with Jackson State vs Alabama A&T vs Oregon vs USC. You are kinda right though with doubting if the PAC 12 can land a major network deal, they've been horrible at getting good media deals and were offered a long deal with ESPN for a lot of money that would've extended their current deal expiring 2024 well into the 2030s, they turned it down thinking they could make more cash in the long run. They've finally fired their inept Commissioner who made that decision.
"We weren't wanted": The Pac-12 Networks' smoke & mirrors can't hide failures anymore
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The Pac-12 is already on Fox and ESPN, so they're already on a network. The ESPN coverage got so bad they jumped at Fox possibly putting them into the High Noon slot ( 9 AM Pacific) just for the chance at East Coast exposure. A guaranteed, weekly 3:30 slot on CBS would be a dream for the Pac-12.
Heck, I'd give the Pac-12 on CBS much more of a possibility of happening than the NHL on CBS.
And yes, I am also a Big Ten guy (Penn State).
IU Hawks fan
They call me IU
Seriously, who is going to watch early season NHL on Saturdays during CFB season?
Hockey is my favorite sport but there's no way I'm watching it over college football that time of year. If the Hawks are playing maybe they find their onto my 2nd screen, but if there's 2 big games in that window, it ain't happening.
Perhaps CBS could begin a Saturday NHL package the week after the Conference title games as a lead in to or lead out of Army/Navy. Anything before that is just plain stupid.
Hockey is my favorite sport but there's no way I'm watching it over college football that time of year. If the Hawks are playing maybe they find their onto my 2nd screen, but if there's 2 big games in that window, it ain't happening.
Perhaps CBS could begin a Saturday NHL package the week after the Conference title games as a lead in to or lead out of Army/Navy. Anything before that is just plain stupid.
I’m pretty much the same. College Football is my #2 sport after hockey. In October and November I am Penn State at 3:30 and Pens at 7:00 - with a whole lotta channel flipping in between.
Marshmallow Man
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I'm not at all saying this is a bad thing, but as a Canadian, I'll never understand American's interest in college sports. It's part of US culture that does not translate to Canada at all.
I guess the closest we have is the World Junior hockey tournament, but that's only 2 weeks and a fairly recent (1990s) phenomenon mostly created by TSN.
Yeah college sports are HUGE here it's hard to explain, but college sports are just as big as Pro leagues here.
IU Hawks fan
They call me IU
College sports pre-date pro sports in the US. The same year the NFL celebrated 100 seasons, college football celebrated 150 years since the 1st game was played. If you told someone in 1910 you had an idea called 'professional football', they'd have laughed at you.
Similarly, pro basketball didn't become a thing until 1946, 8 years after the 1st NCAA tournament, even though there are college basketball record books dating back to 1892. Yet the NBA really didn't gain any popularity until the 80s.
There was a time when college football was a MUCH bigger deal in the US than the NFL. For the most part now, it is basketball and football on the college level. 2 sports where the pro league does NOT have a minor league system.
Thinking you would never understand what HS football is like in places like Florida, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Georgia to name a few.
But as a side, I am an American, and I do not get it either. I can understand the student body being interested. Can understand alumni to a point and even locals if there are no pro teams around. But a random guy from NYC who has lived in this area his whole life being a diehard of Michigan football? Don't understand it. For me, I watch college football, but really do not have much of a rooting interest. Was a Notre Dame fan as a kid as I am Irish and thought the name was cool, didnt hurt they were the one team who were always on tv in NY every week. Then, developed a little loyalty to Alabama when they beat Miami in the Sugar Bowl after the 92 season for the National title. 1) As an ND fan, I hated Miami back then. 2) Bet a few of my friends as they all thought Miami would crush them. Won about $60, which is a lot of money in 11th grade.
On the otherhand, there are people who do not understand why I am so into pro sports like I am.
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Except for the northeast. Even schools with D1 teams do not get nearly the following of the local pro teams. Schools like Boston College, Syracuse, Rutgers, have a very small following outside of students and alumni. The exception would be Penn St.
College sports used to be a very big deal in Canada up until maybe 1970s. The funding/scholorship model dried up and that was the end of that.
I'd argue Maryland even though we've sucked at Football and Basketball have a large following. Fans have grown fickle after largely meh performances in both major revenue sports the last decade.
Do High Schools in Canada have full sports programs or is it more clubs outside of school?
varsaku
Registered User
It is good they are back on ESPN but with majority games behind a paywall, I don't see how this will attract casual viewers. With streaming games, unless you are looking for it, many casual fans are not going to tune into it. Majority of the casual viewers on ESPN is due to many places and houses having it on as a default sports channel to play.
That probably explains a large part of the appeal. Also, if there is a pro team around, the tickets are far more expensive. Oh, and at least for football, it's a lot easier to get wasted watching the games on Saturday than it is watching an NFL game on a Sunday.
I had a roommate my freshman year of college from Queens who was a huge Michigan football fan. He was also a Yankee fan. And he was on a serious amount of drugs. That probably explains the love for Michigan and the Yankees (and yes, I responded to your post just so I could write the preceding paragraph. It's not often I get to express my hatred for both of those at once.
)That probably explains a large part of the appeal. Also, if there is a pro team around, the tickets are far more expensive. Oh, and at least for football, it's a lot easier to get wasted watching the games on Saturday than it is watching an NFL game on a Sunday.
I had a roommate my freshman year of college from Queens who was a huge Michigan football fan. He was also a Yankee fan. And he was on a serious amount of drugs. That probably explains the love for Michigan and the Yankees (and yes, I responded to your post just so I could write the preceding paragraph. It's not often I get to express my hatred for both of those at once.
I am responding to this post - only because it is 8:22 PM, AND MICHIGAN STILL SUCKS!!!
Not really Canadian sporting culture is not very prevalent. People get behind hockey as they see it as a big deal due to the NHL being the best sports league for the sport also the origins/culture. CFL has been around longer but the NFL basically took off in the late 60s/70s and the talent followed. We don't invest a lot of money in sports here. Basbeall is a part of our culture and was more prevalent in the 60s, 70s, 80s, early 90s when we had two baseball teams here. Basketball has always been played at the youth and collegiate levels but with the NBA coming into canada in the mid 90s it's still relatively young. The Raptors winning has probably added more seeds to it's foundation.
Ultimately we don't have very many high calibre sports teams in Canada outside of Toronto so you don't have that natural progression from highschool to college to the pros.
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Marshmallow Man
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It seems that baseball lives or dies in Canada based on how the Blue Jays are doing. It's strange... baseball is normally a distant 3rd place behind both hockey and basketball in Toronto. But when they Jays are doing well, it jumps to number 1. It's hard to explain unless you live here. The Leafs are still the biggest team in the city, but the Jays have a much higher ceiling, if that makes sense. When they are winning, suddenly EVERYBODY is following them.
That is the case with several MLB teams in the US, as well. I was referring more to participation at the youth/HS level.
Not so much in Boston. It's a pro town.
Very little interest in any college sports whether Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern, UMass-Amherst (flagship, huge student body but 90 miles from Boston) or even UConn elite programs in men's and women's basketball.
So the high school and college male jock, Big Man on Campus, so part of American male culture, doesn't really exist in Canadian high schools and colleges?
Except junior hockey players while in the junior city, perhaps?
I'm still confused: in the ESPN/ABC package, will ESPN2 not show games, just ESPN and ABC, along with ESPN+?
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