Canzano: Is ESPN/ABC still interested in the Pacific Time Zone?
East Coast bias?
Keith Jackson grew up dirt poor on a farm near the Alabama state line. It was a fortunate twist for the Pacific Time Zone that he attended Washington State on the G.I. Bill, where he took an interest in broadcasting.
His first game on the mic was a Stanford-Washington State football game in the 1950s. He later got a full-time job at KOMO-TV in Seattle, where he anchored the broadcast of Washington football games, among other things.
What would Jackson think of the ABC/ESPN strategy?
Remember, those ABC Wide World of Sports broadcasts? It doesn’t feel very worldly at ABC or at ESPN, the so-called “worldwide leader,” these days.
ESPN/ABC didn’t buy the media rights of the Mountain West Conference. That’s not a surprise. It’s not a ‘Power 4’ conference. ESPN also passed on the Pac-12’s rights. Again, no surprise. (More on that in a bit.)
ESPN/ABC doesn’t have the Big Ten. Fox got that and took the four biggest Pacific Time Zone college brands and TV markets in the process. I find it interesting that ESPN/ABC doesn’t have a major investment in college football in the time zone.
Sound strategy?
A cyclical coincidence?
Or is there an East Coast bias?
An ESPN spokesperson pushed back.