Fox Sports 1 Update

[DudeAnon]

Ratings aren't good, but FS1 in general is having a slow start. Good part for BE, money and games are guaranteed. I don't think FS1 will ever really challenge ESPN but it will definitely get better than it is now.

[MUPanther]

Ratings aren't good, but FS1 in general is having a slow start.

College football ratings are up 39% this year on FS1 from 2013.

[DudeAnon]

5 games involving ranked teams tonight. Each one is on an ESPN channel, crazy.

[MUPanther]

World Cup on FOX untill 2026
http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2015/02 ... -telemundo

[MUPanther]

Jan. 26 to Feb 1, TV ratings
http://awfulannouncing.com/2015/nbcsn-f ... ary-1.html

[robinreed]

Jan. 26 to Feb 1, TV ratings
http://awfulannouncing.com/2015/nbcsn-f ... ary-1.html

MUPanther,

I just do not see how Fox can abide these low ratings forever, or even for a few more years. Of course I come from a school which spent far to long in the A-10 and had much lower TV ratings. However we were not paid what the BE is paid by Fox. At some point they will look elsewhere for a ratings booster or will approach us and either reduce our payments of break the contract. No one can say that the quality of our BB teams is anything but very good to excellent but if this does not translate into viewership we are in trouble.

TV is a dog eat dog business. A local network affiliate, the second highest rated TV station in the city goes so far as to shift major network programming to a secondary station so that they can put paid info commercial programs on their primary station on Saturdays. On the face of it this behavior seems insane however they have been doing it with some rating success and much financial success for 3 or 4 years.

There are those who say that Fox is increasing viewership slowly and this is a long range matter. I do not believe Fox thinks in the long range, nor is this true of cable TV in general.

The awfulannouncing article (and thank you MUPanther for pointing the site out to me) states that Fox 1 is up 19% and FSN 2 is up 18%. What we really need to know is if this is due to college basketball or their absurd fight programs. If it is because of weird boxing our situation is even worse. Apparently the #13,19,25,47 and 80th programs were basketball on FSN1 while only the 28th program was basketball on FSN2. The latter part of this is of no pith or moment as no one really wants to be on FSN 2. I can not even get FSN 2 on my cable.

My sincere hope is that Val and her crew are holding regular meetings with Fox and discussing ways to make our appearances of the FSN more valuable to the network. She has done a very good job thus far in almost all areas and I have confidence there may be solutions to our lack of viewership. We will never be the B10 in sports, or the SEC in football but despite our small student numbers and alumni we provide a watchable and often exciting entertainment experience to the viewer. Let us hope that is good enough for Fox.

Lastly for those who caution that Fox will buy additional sports options which will secure the future of FSN let me say the success of FSN is meaningless if our success is not part of it. Which only means that we must lead the way.

One last note. I believe we will receive 6 bids to the dance this year. If this kind of performance does not raise our numbers on FSN I am uncertain what would. Perhaps a national championship? Yes I know the NCAA is not on Fox but knowing or believing we will have 6 in the dance should raise current and BE tourney numbers.

[billyjack]

Couple of things...

- Rupert Murdoch poops out 50 million dollars every time he goes to the toilet. That amount of money is pennies to him.

- What are the Big East ratings in our conference catchment area? Our BE cities are pretty wealthy with a lot of eyeballs and a lot of older established money-spending fans. If poor ratings are attributed to viewers in Atlanta or Tampa not watching, and are dragging down solid numbers in Philadelphia and Washington, that would be a different, not-bad dynamic.

- if FS1 didn't have Big East basketball, then what would fill in those winter timeslots for them? It's not like they televised Villanova-Providence the other night in place of an Ohio State v Alabama football game. Our games this time of year fill a huge opening in their schedule.

- like in the other thread, i mentioned how older people have seen every scenario play out, with the pendulum swinging back and forth. With that in mind, we have witnessed the Fox Network appear in the late 80's out of nowhere, along with at the time the WB Network I think and maybe one other startup that ive forgotten... seriously, the WB Network was at least as imposing as Fox. Fox was basically the station of "The Simpsons", "Married With Children" and nothing else... "Duet"? They made aggressive moves, specifically to get the NFL, and the channel grew over time. Going back to point #1 above, Rupert Murdoch may be a ruthless guy, but he's not an idiot, and he knows what he's doing.

- The same meteoric rise with Fox News occurred in the 90's... again, Murdoch and Roger Ailes are ruthless guys, and i absolutely can't stand Fox News, but that channel destroyed CNN. CNN in the 90s was spoken of exactly like ESPN is today... exactly the same... these pronouncements by talking heads, ESPN, Jay Bilas, sound exactly like former CNN commentary... with everything... assuming and describing a world of never-ending CNN domination... expectations have a way of changing.

- Side note... the Big East has advantages that are often overlooked. For example, it is in the interest of the NBA and the basketball world to have a strong basketball-centric conference. A college hoops world dominated by dumbass college football is not a good thing for the NBA or the basketball world in general. So i would imagine the NBA etc would be sympathetic to the Big East.

P.S. When Fox won the NFL contract in the early 90s, it was considered a joke. It took several years to be taken seriously, and was a running joke on Letterman etc. The key is that it wasnt like Fox was a overnight sensation... instead, they sucked and had 2 shows and were on par with WB... then they got the NFL but still were a laughingstock, and CBS was a laughingstock for losing the NFL.... and then the NFL was criticized for dealing with a lightweight like Fox... point is, even Fox took a while to grow even after getting the NFL.

[stever20]

Couple of things...

- Rupert Murdoch poops out 50 million dollars every time he goes to the toilet. That amount of money is pennies to him.

- What are the Big East ratings in our conference catchment area? Our BE cities are pretty wealthy with a lot of eyeballs and a lot of older established money-spending fans. If poor ratings are attributed to viewers in Atlanta or Tampa not watching, and are dragging down solid numbers in Philadelphia and Washington, that would be a different, not-bad dynamic.

- if FS1 didn't have Big East basketball, then what would fill in those winter timeslots for them? It's not like they televised Villanova-Providence the other night in place of an Ohio State v Alabama football game. Our games this time of year fill a huge opening in their schedule.

- like in the other thread, i mentioned how older people have seen every scenario play out, with the pendulum swinging back and forth. With that in mind, we have witnessed the Fox Network appear in the late 80's out of nowhere, along with at the time the WB Network I think and maybe one other startup that ive forgotten... seriously, the WB Network was at least as imposing as Fox. Fox was basically the station of "The Simpsons", "Married With Children" and nothing else... "Duet"? They made aggressive moves, specifically to get the NFL, and the channel grew over time. Going back to point #1 above, Rupert Murdoch may be a ruthless guy, but he's not an idiot, and he knows what he's doing.

- The same meteoric rise with Fox News occurred in the 90's... again, Murdoch and Roger Ailes are ruthless guys, and i absolutely can't stand Fox News, but that channel destroyed CNN. CNN in the 90s was spoken of exactly like ESPN is today... exactly the same... these pronouncements by talking heads, ESPN, Jay Bilas, sound exactly like former CNN commentary... with everything... assuming and describing a world of never-ending CNN domination... expectations have a way of changing.

- Side note... the Big East has advantages that are often overlooked. For example, it is in the interest of the NBA and the basketball world to have a strong basketball-centric conference. A college hoops world dominated by dumbass college football is not a good thing for the NBA or the basketball world in general. So i would imagine the NBA etc would be sympathetic to the Big East

There is 1 major difference between network/news and sports. Live rights. ESPN has so much locked up in live rights- to think that's going to change anytime soon is comical .

IF anything, the NBA is wanting to change college basketball by making it 2 years in college instead of 1 year. So instead of guys at Kentucky 1 and done, they'd be 2 and done. With how generally speaking kids coming to our schools are here for 3 or 4 years- that's going to make the football schools even better. The NBA doesn't give a rip who gives them their players- just that they get their players.

[Doge McDermott]

- if FS1 didn't have Big East basketball, then what would fill in those winter timeslots for them? It's not like they televised Villanova-Providence the other night in place of an Ohio State v Alabama football game. Our games this time of year fill a huge opening in their schedule.

Another three hour block of Mike Francesa? I don't understand running a regional radio show on national TV. Bring back the replays of BE games please.

[TheBall]

Another point:
Per game, the fox deal is not all that expensive for them. It is $50 mill per year, but we aren't talking 10 or 20 episodes where they are paying $5 or $2.5 mill per episode. Per game the cost is very low to them.

And the ratings are significantly improved from last year.

And just as important, fs1 still requires an upgraded digital cable subscription. It is not on regular cable like fox. Until that changes, the ratings are never going to sky rocket.