This weekend, the Bama/Tennessee game will be aired on Lincoln Financial, and I can't remember the last time that this game wasn't covered by CBS. TideDruid isn't too happy about this, and rightfully so. He expresses his frustration here:
Last year, the Bama/UT game was easily the top choice. Both Auburn and LSU were playing out of conference patsies, USC had Vanderbilt (SEC patsy), and Arkansas and Georgia were playing the Mississippi schools.
This year, there are two in-conference games where both teams are ranked: Florida/Kentucky, and Auburn/LSU. The Florida game will be covered by CBS, and the Auburn game will be covered by ESPN. But why will the Bama game be on LF instead of ESPN2?
I searched for an explanation of how the television contracts work. The official SEC site gives a list of networks contracted to televise SEC sporting events.
Basically, big wigs from ESPN and CBS get together every winter and rank what they feel as being the ten biggest SEC games in the upcoming year. CBS gets seven of these games, while ESPN gets three (4th, 7th, and 10th ranked games).
After that, CBS gets priority for all SEC home games. ESPN gets second choice, LF gets third, then ESPN2.
There are also certain stipulations each network must follow. CBS can carry only two SEC home games against non-conference teams, which could be one of the reasons why the UA/FSU game was at a neutral site. A team can only be covered four times throughout the regular season by CBS. Lincoln Financial must cover every SEC team at least once.
The line-ups can still change week by week, which is why a full schedule is never released. CBS can change their game, as long as its not one of the three ESPN's preseason choices. I imagine this is what happened this weekend.
One of the three games ESPN chose to cover this year is the Auburn/LSU game. Up until last week, ESPN listed the Bama/Tennessee game as being covered by CBS. This leads me to believe that it was one of CBS's preseason choices. After Kentucky upset LSU last week, CBS decided to cover their game instead. It's either cover a rivalry game that doesn't have hold much importance on a national level, or a game against two ranked teams with Heisman hopefuls.
Apparently, this doesn't happen often, but it does happen. CBS dropped the Iron Bowl in 2003 to cover Ole Miss and LSU. The winner of that game would decide who was going to Atlanta. Eli Manning was in the race for the Heisman, so there was national interest there as well.
So the original schedule was more than likely UA/UT on CBS, AU/LSU on ESPN, UF/UK on LF (probably), and ESPN2 may or may not carry an SEC game. The current schedule is UF/UK on CBS, AU/LSU on ESPN, UA/UT on LF, and no SEC game on ESPN2.
I have to agree with TideDruid's amazement. I never thought I'd see the day when the Bama/Tennessee game gets bumped by Kentucky.
"What amazes me about this AM kick-off is the fact that for the first time in a while, both teams are having pretty decent seasons. The same could not be said these last 2 seasons (2005 UT and 2006 Bama were both mediocre teams, although they ended up on CBS). Now we have to deal with the army of Daves as LF Sports comes to town *grumbles due to hatred of watching LF Sports games*"So why not this year? The answer lies in the other SEC games.
Last year, the Bama/UT game was easily the top choice. Both Auburn and LSU were playing out of conference patsies, USC had Vanderbilt (SEC patsy), and Arkansas and Georgia were playing the Mississippi schools.
This year, there are two in-conference games where both teams are ranked: Florida/Kentucky, and Auburn/LSU. The Florida game will be covered by CBS, and the Auburn game will be covered by ESPN. But why will the Bama game be on LF instead of ESPN2?
I searched for an explanation of how the television contracts work. The official SEC site gives a list of networks contracted to televise SEC sporting events.
"The SEC has television contracts with CBS Sports (national), ESPN (national cable), FSN South/FSN Southwest/SUN Sports (regional cable) and Lincoln Financial Sports (regional syndication)."I then found this article that does a good job explaining the selection process.
Basically, big wigs from ESPN and CBS get together every winter and rank what they feel as being the ten biggest SEC games in the upcoming year. CBS gets seven of these games, while ESPN gets three (4th, 7th, and 10th ranked games).
After that, CBS gets priority for all SEC home games. ESPN gets second choice, LF gets third, then ESPN2.
There are also certain stipulations each network must follow. CBS can carry only two SEC home games against non-conference teams, which could be one of the reasons why the UA/FSU game was at a neutral site. A team can only be covered four times throughout the regular season by CBS. Lincoln Financial must cover every SEC team at least once.
The line-ups can still change week by week, which is why a full schedule is never released. CBS can change their game, as long as its not one of the three ESPN's preseason choices. I imagine this is what happened this weekend.
One of the three games ESPN chose to cover this year is the Auburn/LSU game. Up until last week, ESPN listed the Bama/Tennessee game as being covered by CBS. This leads me to believe that it was one of CBS's preseason choices. After Kentucky upset LSU last week, CBS decided to cover their game instead. It's either cover a rivalry game that doesn't have hold much importance on a national level, or a game against two ranked teams with Heisman hopefuls.
Apparently, this doesn't happen often, but it does happen. CBS dropped the Iron Bowl in 2003 to cover Ole Miss and LSU. The winner of that game would decide who was going to Atlanta. Eli Manning was in the race for the Heisman, so there was national interest there as well.
So the original schedule was more than likely UA/UT on CBS, AU/LSU on ESPN, UF/UK on LF (probably), and ESPN2 may or may not carry an SEC game. The current schedule is UF/UK on CBS, AU/LSU on ESPN, UA/UT on LF, and no SEC game on ESPN2.
I have to agree with TideDruid's amazement. I never thought I'd see the day when the Bama/Tennessee game gets bumped by Kentucky.
2 comments:
If the Iron Bowl were to ever appear on LF Sports, the entire state would implode.
Thanks to the game being pushed back one week, it could happen! Now it's being played on "Rivalry Saturday" or whatever ESPN calls it. That means:
FSU vs. FU
UGA vs. GT
USC vs. Clemson
UT vs. UK
ESPN currently has the Iron Bowl and UF game as being covered by CBS. I'm sure whatever game isn't on CBS will be on ESPN, but what if both Alabama and Auburn lose a few games between now and then? And say that Tebow and Woodson are front-runners for the Heisman...and maybe UF, FSU, UK, and UT are all ranked. It's a stretch, but it definitely could happen.
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