College Rugby on NBC

[MagicCat]

Re: College Rugby on NBC

I love how this turned into discussion about international following of Rugby. I didn't even know College Rugby existed until I started seeing commercials for it on NBC.

Rugby is more of a European thing just like American football is our thing.

And the interest in the World Cup here in the U.S. really depends on how the U.S. national team does. At the last World Cup, quite a lot of interest was garnered in the World Cup because the U.S. national team was playing well.

The interest was there because the US did well in the previous world cup (2002) making it to the quarters to lose a heartbreaker against Germany (god**** torresten frings). This years squad is coming off a silver in the confederations cup which they should have won.

 

[Bakunin]

Re: College Rugby on NBC

Utah pulls off a massive upset in the championship to knock off Cal in OT. Wow.

 

[SteveP]

Re: College Rugby on NBC

Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Notre Dame and Michigan State come to mind, but overall you're probably right.

Add Penn State to that list. The women's squad is 2-time defending national champion.

 

[SteveP]

Re: College Rugby on NBC

some of those small island nations we laugh at (you know the ones with fewer persons than the population of Worcester) are world powers in Rugby. Particularly Samoa. I think that'll throw a lot of people when they start to follow this sport.

Particularly New Zealand's All Blacks

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tdMCAV6Yd0Y&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tdMCAV6Yd0Y&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

 

[unofan]

Re: College Rugby on NBC

Although it is slow they still have an interest. ie. the EPL gives them millions of dollars to show highlights and televise their games. Follow the money.

Yeah, television rights don't work that way. The EPL does not give ESPN millions.

 

[uwbadgers14]

Re: College Rugby on NBC

So, you're telling me that rugby can make money on network TV and NCAA hockey can't on cable?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/400735-rugby-nbcs-collegiate-sevens-championship-preview

Discuss...

I have the same feelings about it as you do, but its going to be in the olympics is 2016 and i'll be honest, i found it pretty exciting to watch, granted there wasn't much else on tv at the time but I probably wouldn't have watched baseball over it. But i understand what you are saying and it frustrated me a little bit. Maybe with the success NBC is having with the Stanley Cup playoffs this year, specially there finals maybe they will branch out and attempt to do more hockey, new ownership of NBC is in the making, GE sold it to comcast and comcast is big into hockey so some changes may be in the making with NBC, its about time.

Also anybody notice Michael Jordan at the Cup final last night... wow, what a slap in the face that is for the NBA... I personally loved it. Also what does a 22 year old like Toews think when he finds out the greatest athlete of all time is rocking his jersey... Gotta be mind boggling...

 

[JohnN]

Re: College Rugby on NBC

the EPL gives them [ESPN] millions of dollars to show highlights and televise their games. Follow the money.

You're following the money the wrong way. ESPN pays the EPL a lot of money for a share of the games and then advertisers pay ESPN a lot of money because of the number of people watching the games.

Soccer isn't getting a free ride on US TV. US Networks pay for the rights and make a profit off soccer.

 

[unofan]

Re: College Rugby on NBC

Also what does a 22 year old like Toews think when he finds out the greatest athlete of all time is rocking his jersey... Gotta be mind boggling...

Jesse Owens was rocking a Blackhawks jersey last night?

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: College Rugby on NBC

Yeah, television rights don't work that way. The EPL does not give ESPN millions.

I'm sure the EPL isn't paying ESPN to air them.

However, there are a number of niche sports that do pay for air time on the networks or cable stations. Usually the way the deal works is the sport then owns the ad time, so if they sell enough ads to make up for the price they pay for the air time, they make out. If not, then they call it an "investment" to get their sport on TV, so their sponsors can get some air time. All the risk is placed on the sport instead of the network.

They are still called television rights, but kind of in a reverse mentality...

 

[4four4]

Re: College Rugby on NBC

Yeah, television rights don't work that way. The EPL does not give ESPN millions.

Unless of course the NHL is in partnership with NBC. My guess is the EPL is doing the same thing.

I heard the NHL had to give ESPN money to televise their highlights or ESPN wouldn't give the NHL the time of day.

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: College Rugby on NBC

I heard the NHL had to give ESPN money to televise their highlights or ESPN wouldn't give the NHL the time of day.

I would be surprised if this were the case for the highlights you see on SportsCenter. Because then you get into journalistic integrity issues.

However, it wouldn't surprise me at all if this is why ESPN has an NHL show (the one that Barry Melrose is on). In fact, I always wondered why ESPN would do this when they would be helping to market games on a rival network.

As someone who has intimately followed racing (not NASCAR) my whole life, I find that people are quite surprised over how air time actually works for many of the "non-popular" sports. Especially after the explosion of TV options when cable really hit its stride. (And this includes radio, too, these days. Many of the local minor league/small college sport teams are paying their local radio station to cover them.)

 

[unofan]

Re: College Rugby on NBC

Unless of course the NHL is in partnership with NBC. My guess is the EPL is doing the same thing.

I heard the NHL had to give ESPN money to televise their highlights or ESPN wouldn't give the NHL the time of day.

Yeah, but the NHL is run by an imbecile.

The EPL is a tremendously successful business. They have no need for exposure or "partnerships" with networks.

Trust me, the EPL is being paid for rights to their games, not the reverse.

 

[4four4]

Re: College Rugby on NBC

Yeah, but the NHL is run by an imbecile.

The EPL is a tremendously successful business. They have no need for exposure or "partnerships" with networks.

Trust me, the EPL is being paid for rights to their games, not the reverse.

You are right especially after ESPN is spending $100 million on their World Cup coverage this year.