Sports Center--interrupted by a hockey game.

[NMU8405]

Re: Sports Center--interrupted by a hockey game.

I expect some changes to college hockey in the near future in regards to TV. With Paul Kelly now in charge of NCAA hockey I think he will shake things up. Its time for the NCAA to put College hockey into more homes or you are going to see more and more top level talent go to major Junior. I think you will start to see him apply more pressure on university's to find a TV deal. If college hockey wants to survive against the CHL its going to have to make some changes...

I would also like to see the NCAA back away from ESPN for the national tournament and i think that will happen once this current agreement is up.

Id like to see a weekly game on VS.

[uwbadgers14]

Re: Sports Center--interrupted by a hockey game.

ESPN's coverage has got to be the laziest ever. The main deal is sports center, with some breaks to watch hockey. They couldn't have done any coverage of the teams? Any stories of the games leading up to this one? Maybe a summary of each team's season?

They didn't even cover all the regionals live. Can Fox Sports please take the NCAAs back again?

When will all these rhetorical questions end?

I expect some changes to college hockey in the near future in regards to TV. With Paul Kelly now in charge of NCAA hockey I think he will shake things up. Its time for the NCAA to put College hockey into more homes or you are going to see more and more top level talent go to major Junior. I think you will start to see him apply more pressure on university's to find a TV deal. If college hockey wants to survive against the CHL its going to have to make some changes...

I would also like to see the NCAA back away from ESPN for the national tournament and i think that will happen once this current agreement is up.

[dggoddard]

Re: Sports Center--interrupted by a hockey game.

The NCAA Basketball TV money provides 98% of the NCAA's revenue. The next Hoops deal is going to be worth $800-$840 million per season.

The hoops tourney truly is the goose that lays the golden and makes everything else happen as far as the NCAA is concerned.

Re: Sports Center--interrupted by a hockey game.

The college hockey final is not listed among the top-rated sports programs for the week. The Masters first and second rounds drew 4.9 and 3.9 million viewers, respectively. The lowest-rated broadcast to make the list was the Yankees-Red Sox opener on ESPN2 with 1.22 million viewers.

But on the bright side, ESPN's NCAA Bowling didn't make the list either.

Re: Sports Center--interrupted by a hockey game.

And they still had all the games except the Gold Medal game on MSNBC.

The USA semifinal was on NBC at 3pm ET on the final Friday, I believe. I think the QF game was on NBC as well, but tape delayed for everyone but the Eastern timezone.

[The Rube]

Re: Sports Center--interrupted by a hockey game.

The Olympics coverage outdrew any NHL broadcast in history including the Stanley Cup, we can conclude that more than just NHL fans were watching the Olympics telecasts. I suspect that a majority of the viewers in the US and Canada haven't been to an NHL game in the past 20 years or so.

And they still had all the games except the Gold Medal game on MSNBC.

[Jon]

Re: Sports Center--interrupted by a hockey game.

Yep. It's all about you.

There's a meeting in Bristol to decide how to **** you off next. My sources tell me it's between a special feature on what an awesome coach Tim Army is and a Kitler reality show...

I knew it! I'm sure the Eagles will provide the soundtrack and every other commercial will have Scott Brown and Martha Chokely singing to Kobe Bryant about McDonalds fish sandwiches!

Re: Sports Center--interrupted by a hockey game.

I think ESPN does things just to **** me off. If they care that much about ratings, why the reality show about Barry Bonds?

Yep. It's all about you.

There's a meeting in Bristol to decide how to **** you off next. My sources tell me it's between a special feature on what an awesome coach Tim Army is and a Kitler reality show...

[Jon]

Re: Sports Center--interrupted by a hockey game.

The final game of women's basketball between UConn and Stanford was 14th, with 3.53 million viewers.

Strangely enough, that game was more competitive than any Frozen Four game...

Shocking.


I think ESPN does things just to **** me off. If they care that much about ratings, why the reality show about Barry Bonds?

Re: Sports Center--interrupted by a hockey game.

Two playful thoughts:

1. Unless you're working for ESPN, why in Hades would you care about the ratings?
2. Was anyone outside of BC fans still watching by the end of that slaughter?

1. Because the ratings explain ESPN's actions.
2. Yes.

Speaking of ratings, the top 25 cable shows were released and surprisingly the NCAA College Hockey Championship wasn't listed. The final game of women's basketball between UConn and Stanford was 14th, with 3.53 million viewers.

[Jon]

Re: Sports Center--interrupted by a hockey game.

Two playful thoughts:

1. Unless you're working for ESPN, why in Hades would you care about the ratings?
2. Was anyone outside of BC fans still watching by the end of that slaughter?

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Sports Center--interrupted by a hockey game.

As for complaining about the intermission reports this year, I thought it was nice that they were a little more unique. Last year every intermission of every game on ESPNU showed 1 of 2 segments with Bob Norton. That gets really old when you watch all the games

[dggoddard]

Re: Sports Center--interrupted by a hockey game.

Yep. Heck, even Olympic/NHL hockey fans fall in the same group. Look at this past Olympics. MSNBC's ratings were through the roof, relatively.

The Olympics coverage outdrew any NHL broadcast in history including the Stanley Cup, we can conclude that more than just NHL fans were watching the Olympics telecasts. I suspect that a majority of the viewers in the US and Canada haven't been to an NHL game in the past 20 years or so.

[bigmrg74]

Re: Sports Center--interrupted by a hockey game.

This is not entirely accurate. Yes ESPN is all about self-promotion. That in and of itself is OK. Nothing wrong with finding reasons to drive folks back to your product. But when you watch a baseball game on ESPN (or a college football game, NFL game, college or pro basketball, anything else) they cater to your sport. Between halves of football games, they talk football, they show highlites, they talk ENDLESSLY about the draft. They may do a quick blurb about the upcoming SportCenter following a game with a snippet or two of what else they are covering, but the primary focus is on the sport you are watching. With the Frozen Four or the regionals ESPNU covered, it is not. Between periods was simply a 15 minute mini- SportsCenter talking about anything besides college hockey.

It's never going to change, unfortunately. The only way it could is if the NCAA mandates certain commitments to the broadcasts. As long as the checks clear, that isn't going to happen.

That or a lone crazed fan slips into the ESPN production trailer, bars the door with a hockey stick, and holds a sharpen hockey skate to somebody's throat for them back in Bristol to keep talking about the Frozen Four.

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Sports Center--interrupted by a hockey game.

Sorry for the rant here but it's not just college hockey that gets the shaft -- EVERY game ESPN televises, whether it's college football or basketball, is treated the same way. They go to the venue at the exact moment the game starts, they cut away to Sportscenter at the exact second the game goes to halftime or ends altogether. I mean, they had 4 minutes the other night before 10pm to have more post-game, but decided to start "Baseball Tonight" early instead!

ESPN, more than any other network, is all about its own self-promotion. Forget about "setting the scene" like most sports broadcasts once did, showing you the venue, fans, other players, etc. -- they don't care where or when the game is. They want to spend time pushing their own "brand" relentlessly any chance they can, which means unless the game is on, they have no interest in it. Cue the Bottom Line (which airs on everything except The Masters because that contract states that neither that nor their other, omni-present running graphics will air during it) and the endless promotion that happens whenever a stoppage occurs. "Next on the NBA2Tonight!" "The Twins Open their New Stadium Monday at 4pm!" "Stay Tuned for Sportscenter!"

Obviously I watch a lot of ESPN, who doesn't, because of everything they control. But they take a lot of criticism for the amount of self-promotion they air every day. The quality of their game broadcasts took a hit a long time ago because of it IMO, and it's not just college hockey that feels like a "break" for Sportscenter.

This is not entirely accurate. Yes ESPN is all about self-promotion. That in and of itself is OK. Nothing wrong with finding reasons to drive folks back to your product. But when you watch a baseball game on ESPN (or a college football game, NFL game, college or pro basketball, anything else) they cater to your sport. Between halves of football games, they talk football, they show highlites, they talk ENDLESSLY about the draft. They may do a quick blurb about the upcoming SportCenter following a game with a snippet or two of what else they are covering, but the primary focus is on the sport you are watching. With the Frozen Four or the regionals ESPNU covered, it is not. Between periods was simply a 15 minute mini- SportsCenter talking about anything besides college hockey.

It's never going to change, unfortunately. The only way it could is if the NCAA mandates certain commitments to the broadcasts. As long as the checks clear, that isn't going to happen.