The Rest of College Football

[Tony G]

Interesting tv news that could eventually affect the B1G's tv contract n a few years...Fox's new all-sports channel, Fox Sports 1, successfully manages to get itself on all the nation's biggest cable systems

http://www.ohio.com/blogs/sports-med...-dish-1.421223

Fox Sports 1 is the current Speed channel. Most systems already carry it

[Dr. Strangelove]

Fox Sports 1 is the current Speed channel. Most systems already carry it

Right, but they were asking more money for it now

[Wild Hoss]

Anything to give ESPN competition.

Anything.

Even al Jazeera. I'll take it.

IMO, this attitude is prevalent...although most might draw the line at Al Jazeera v ESPN. Might.

I think the Worldwide Leader is going to be surprised at the market share that's available for FOX1 with the people who are sick and tired of ESPN's non-stop coverage of the Yankees/Red Sox, LaBron, the SEC, NFC East and the Lakers, plus their daytime talking heads.

That doesn't mean people will like FOX of course, but I believe the window exists to provide them a chance to compete.

[Mike]

I'm anxious to try a new sports station because I don't even watch ESPN anymore except for specific live broadcasts - primarily Big Ten football. I like to go straight to the source. If I want MLB highlights I watch MLB Network. If I need my Tigers fix, I watch FSD, Big Ten stuff, BTN, etc. I'm not really interested in Portland Trailblazer highlights or how Yankees-Red Sox is such a big deal.

That said, I probably won't have much use for Fox Sports 1 as it will be a national show meaning I won't give a shit about 90% of the teams and players covered.

[iam416]

Unfortunately, the one show that is hugely popular is College Gameday, and that won't change. And that show is their CFB dominance foothold.

FOX really can't compete with it. Now, the door is wide open for them to dominate any studio show because ESPN insists on the Holtz/May caricature. Really, anything other than Gameday, FOX can put out a product that is better than ESPN's. Whether they do it remains to be seen. Hiring Clay Travis inspires little confidence.

The one thing that FOX may have going for it is that I get the sense that they're using CFB to build this channel, or at least that's the endgame. ESPN is heavily invested in the NFL and MLB -- and for good reason -- those are great properties. But, as noted, most of us can't stand the incessant Yankees/Red Sox shit nor do we care much about the NFL. If FOX is more CFB-centric they have a credible chance of making significant gains.

And, of course, the key for FOX in CFB is the B10. They absoluely have to have it. And what's more, they really want it at 16. And they really want marquee names. ESPN has, on two occasions, saved the ACC (directing Big East schools there and then agreeing to laughable ACC Network to push through the GoR). FOX is working to increase the value of the B10 and, IMO, the P12. And if I had to guess, that will happen at expense of B12.

[Wild Hoss]

Unfortunately, the one show that is hugely popular is College Gameday, and that won't change. And that show is their CFB dominance foothold.

FOX really can't compete with it. Now, the door is wide open for them to dominate any studio show because ESPN insists on the Holtz/May caricature. Really, anything other than Gameday, FOX can put out a product that is better than ESPN's. Whether they do it remains to be seen. Hiring Clay Travis inspires little confidence.

The one thing that FOX may have going for it is that I get the sense that they're using CFB to build this channel, or at least that's the endgame. ESPN is heavily invested in the NFL and MLB -- and for good reason -- those are great properties. But, as noted, most of us can't stand the incessant Yankees/Red Sox shit nor do we care much about the NFL. If FOX is more CFB-centric they have a credible chance of making significant gains.

And, of course, the key for FOX in CFB is the B10. They absoluely have to have it. And what's more, they really want it at 16. And they really want marquee names. ESPN has, on two occasions, saved the ACC (directing Big East schools there and then agreeing to laughable ACC Network to push through the GoR). FOX is working to increase the value of the B10 and, IMO, the P12. And if I had to guess, that will happen at expense of B12.

Agree with everything but the bolded part. Just based on the people I have contact with, most every one of them thinks Gameday is garbage, an unbearable SEC circle-jerk, and few watch it. I believe there is a market for an alternative out there, and a large one.

[The Oracle]

I just hope the new people on Fox don't begin with their over the top "takes" and come up with bullshit debates, creating controversy for ratings. That will suck balls.

[lineygoblue]

Now, the door is wide open for them to dominate any studio show because ESPN insists on the Holtz/May caricature. Really, anything other than Gameday, FOX can put out a product that is better than ESPN's.

I almost jumped out of my seat and shouted "amen" on that ...

The longer ESPN insists on using people like Holtz and May as their "experts", they leave the door wide open for someone like FOX to come in and steal their lunch.

[Hannibal]

Agree with everything but the bolded part. Just based on the people I have contact with, most every one of them thinks Gameday is garbage, an unbearable SEC circle-jerk, and few watch it. I believe there is a market for an alternative out there, and a large one.

I have had that same experience. I don't know if it's because I am getting older, but Gameday was a huge, huge thing in the mid to late 90s. Now it's a clown show and I don't know anyone who makes it a point to tune into it. That could also just be because the internet makes a lot of the information redundant. Not to mention, Disney has absolutely destroyed the 12:00 time slot, which means that you can do chores around the house until 3:30 and not miss anything worth watching. The days of sitting down in front of the TV at 11:00 to catch the noon game between Miami and Florida State are long gone. I don't know if that's me getting old or the show itself becoming irrelevant. One thing that has changed is that Corso, while never the greatest analyst, used to make some pretty good comments before his headgear gimmick became his thing.

[lineygoblue]

Agree Hanni. The early games are like the JV games for the day. No "good" game comes on until the 3:30 slot or later.

[Hannibal]

FOX can put out a product that is better than ESPN's. Whether they do it remains to be seen. Hiring Clay Travis inspires little confidence.

I would argue that they already have. Their top pair doing college football last year was excellent. Better than anyone that is doing Disney's marquee games nowadays.

To me, the big question is whether it makes a difference from a business standpoint. Does shitty coverage affect ratings or advertising dollars? I don't know. Probably not. It probably affects the ratings for the pre-game and post-game shows, but the revenue generated by those shows is probably dwarfed by the live events.

I'd love the see the NCAA do what politics does for the State of the Union address or the Presidential debates -- let everyone cover it and let people watch it where they want.

[Mike]

Fox can go two ways with this. 1, is to attract the discerning viewers who have abandoned the clown show from Bristol with heady programming and analysis. 2, is attempt to out-clown ESPN. Given Fox's history with robots and lasers, my money is on the latter.

[Tony G]

Always bet on the lowest common denominator

[Hannibal]

Fox has deservedly taken a lot of shit over the years for FoxTrax and robots, but their bits of college football coverage the past decade haven't had a sniff of that. The PAC 12 game of the week coverage and their coverage of the Big Ten championship games has been really good.

[iam416]

I agree. Though, I think Clay Travis is an obvious nod to trolling.

Also, re CFB Gameday -- I don't like it. But I think it's so entrenched it would be tough to beat ratings wise, or even come close. I'd much rather watch a well-done preview show from a studio. But, I don't think a show like would top Gameday.

I do think a well-done Recap show could beat ESPN's unwatchable shit.

I'd love to see FOX take what I'll refer to as the "Jay Bilas" approach -- hire guys who know WTF they're talking about, can say it intelligently and with tact. The flames/trolling is unwatchable. I still hold out hope that modestly nuanced analysis has an audience in this country, a mountain of evidence to the contrary.