I like the night kickoffs and ending my Saturday watching a good game. In fact, over the years I’ve liked it more and more. My Saturday afternoon is full of life activities .. kids, responsibilities, etc. kicking back and watching a game with teams I care about after all of that is my ideal ending to a Saturday in the Fall.
As a WSU fan, I love night games when we're on the road, for all the same reasons you mention. But night games in Pullman are rough when you live in Seattle and have to deal with hotel room scarcity, price-gouging, and two-night stay requirements. Short windows for announcing kickoff times certainly don't help, either.
Ditto for me living in Portland and getting back from Eugene at 1:30-2:00 in the morning. Hotels are two night minimums and kickoff times are sprung on you maybe a week before the game. Gave up our season tickets a few years back and settled on a nice tv with refreshments at home. I still see single games once in awhile.
Yeah, I graduated in 2002 and have had WSU season tickets ever since. This might be my last year with them. Between all the reasons I mentioned above, plus family activities, it's already hard to make it to more than 2-3 games each year. (And candidly, given our demoted status, it's going to become even easier to find single game tickets going forward, making the STs less necessary.)
Several years before I moved to the sunshine and away from the rain, I gave up my 4 Seahawk season tickets. Lots of reasons. If I wanted to watch a game in person, I would go to the stadium and hang outside until just before kickoff. A desperate seller would always have a ticket and I could be choosy who to buy from dependent on seat location. At the Super Bowl in New Orleans, desperate sellers outside the stadium were begging for buyers.
Yep, I've found that too. There isn't a pro or college game, including playoffs and championship games, you can't get a ticket for at or below face value if you just show up to the game and wait out the delusional people thinking they were going to get $10 mil for their extra tickets. At the game, there just isn't the market. Scalpers offer them 50 cents on the dollar, and the honest fan isn't taking out a loan. Pretty soon theyvl realize there is no market and they're begging people to buy their tickets.
Pullman is tough late at night. I've stumbled on broken sidewalks in the dark on the wrong street because they aren't well marked more than once! And that drive back to the hotel in the Tri-Cities because there were no rooms available to book in Lewiston when you have already been up 18 hours is...treacherous.
I bought an RV just because of WSU night games and that's even with living in Tri-Cities. The two lane roads through the middle of nowhere dodging deer late at night is no fun. 86 grad so I've been doing this a while and the night games in persona are only really worth it when you have a place to stay in Pullman.
Yes, the road between Connell and Washtucna is pretty in the day but not so much at night.
I've always believed Kahlotus was an abandoned Russian Potemkin village, used to harbor sleeper agents. There are buildings there but I never seen any people.
You should try the short cut road from Kahlotus to Pasco. Take a left just as you’re hitting town. Cuts about 10 miles off the drive and can be done pretty much ignoring speed limit signs, but makes road to Connell seem like a breeze!
I love that drive! (I'm originally from the Tri-Cities, and still stay at my parents' house occasionally for game weekends if I can't get a hotel in Pullman.) It's a gorgeous drive on game days when you leave first thing in the morning and watch the sun rise as you drive.
Mike, as a fellow WSU supporter, I can't help but respectfully laugh whenever a fan of another team complains about late kickoffs and getting home "late". I am fortunate in that my folks still live in the Tri-Cities, so even for 7:30 kickoffs that take 4 hours, I can still get to their house no later than 2 AM even when I stay to the bitter (often very cold) end. That being said, the vast majority of WSU supporters live west of the mountains in the Puget Sound region and are faced with either being priced-gouged up the Wazzu (pun intended) for Whitman County lodging arrangements or pulling the family minivan into the Cougar Foodmart in Colfax for Red Bull (another pun intended, this one with an Andy Grammer spin) after the game in order to get "Back Home" safely around the time the sun rises on Sunday morning.
As far as complaints about Friday night kickoffs go, I would watch the Cougs kick off at 12 AM every Tuesday for all 12 games if it would result in a Big 10 invite.
They are more difficult to love if you live in the Eastern time zone and 'your team' kicks off at 11 PM and College Football Final comes on around 3 AM.
Also tougher to love when your youth is a distant memory, if you can remember anything about your youth.
Atlanta Husky here. All of these West Coast complaints about the "late" window. Sheesh. Cannot tell you how tired I got watching my Dawgs the past two years get relegated to that 11p slot. No amount of napping in the afternoon can prep you for watching a live game until 2am. And then your Sunday morning is shot.
As a season ticket holder I enjoy the 1-2 night games Oregon usually lates each season. The late night drive back to Portland is a mild nuisance but two times in 365 days is much ado about nothing.
I wonder how the 4 former Pac-12 schools will like being viewed as the Big 10's Friday night or late night squads. Breaking up the Pac 12 continues to be one of the dumbest things to ever happen to college football.
So far through 7 games Oregon has been or will be on major network TV 5 times, with at least 3 more appearances in those prime spots to come. That’s more and better exposure than they had in the Pac
Through those same 7 games they will have played only twice in the Saturday late night window with at most 1 more appearance to come at that time in the following 5 games. Again, better than they got in the Pac the last several years
The majority of Oregons games will be played in either the 12:30 or 4pm time slots (PT). Again, as good or better than the Pac
All for much much more money and eyeballs and better quality games too
The decision to join the Big Ten bas been undeniably a smashing success
Better quality games? So instead of Washington State, Cal, Utah, Oregon now has Indiana, Purdue, Rutgers, Northwestern. Oregon isn't playing Ohio State and Michigan every week. Then the Big10 Network has a spat with Xfinity. Not so sure about the smashing success part. At least OSU/WSU's games are on nationwide.
Oregons games have all been and will be available nationwide. More importantly, they draw 5x the viewership
Yes, The 8 Big Ten games Oregon plays this season are collectively better matchups than the 8 games they would have played in the Pac. Significantly increased ticket sales, more prime network TV slots, and overall viewership all demonstrate this to be true
Sorry, but Oregon vs. Maryland, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio State, Purdue, and Michigan State is not a better schedule than Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, Cal, Stanford, Utah, and USC. It just isn't. The Pac 12 network was messed up, I'll give you that. We are losing the things that made college football great. Nobody wants to see USC v. Indiana. Oregon vs. Michigan State. People want to see Cal v. UCLA. Stanford v. USC etc. All the things you mentioned will fade when the novelty wears off.
I guess you may have a different definition of "smashing success". UCLA playing Indiana in an empty Rose Bowl is no better than UCLA playing Stanford. Ohio State is only one game. The rest is against teams nobody on the west coast cares about. And.... the Pac 12 was just as good a conference as the B10, with less dead weight.
More viewership. More money TV money coming in. More money from payouts from CFP payouts and NCAA tournament units. More recruiting areas opened up. Oregon State and Washington State would trade spots in a heartbeat. In the long run, the 4 schools are in a good position. More opportunities at our disposal.
We played USC at 7:30 last year (only late game). 8 pm is ridiculous. We start our “big” intro with ucla. We have two Friday night games. We had a week 4 break. It’s a crap schedule.
Better exposure leads to what? Oregon has been touting tv viewership for years, yet the first game of season, on what many believe to be a historic season, logged just 425,000 viewers. UW was less. As soon as the Ducks are taken off a marque network in prime time, the viewership shrinks back to reality.
Fortunately this season they won't spend most of their games on CW or CBSN. The reality is the average viewership is high because they get a bunch of Fox and NBC. The Beavers high will be the Fox game, hosting the Ducks.
The viewership is a product of being on FOX/ABC etc in a good time slot, not people tuning in because it's Oregon. We saw what the Oregon viewership was without the prime time slot on major network tv. The Civil War on FOX was the big draw, eyeballs split equally between OSU and Oregon. You were the one laughing at the CW numbers until Oregon logged the 425,000 number. That's a reality check on true size of 'Duck Nation'. You'd think the Duck viewership would be in the millions on the Big10 net according to some commenters on here, in reality, it's not even close without the help of ABC/FOX.
That’s true for every school . Also reminder that they played 3 games per year to no viewers on the Pac-12 network and another 3-4 annually late night on cable TV where they outperformed most of the comfercne.
Luckily most Duck games Will be on bigger and better platforms. Cherry picking the lowest watched game of the year is some serious attempt at spin
I’ll take the expertise at Fox who decided Oregon’s brand value warranted addition to the Big Ten and regular appearances on their network over your jelaous opinion
Remember when USC and UCLA joined, they got full shares and Oregon wasn't invited. They weren't wanted. Only when the Pac12/Apple TV deal was ready to be signed did FOX make their move. Don't pretend Oregon was wanted from the beginning, they weren't. Oregon and UW were used to stop Apple.
The Oregon brand created the opportunity to be on Fox, ABC, ESPN, FS1 - and the subsequent viewership numbers supported the faith the networks had in those decisions. The OSU brand created the opportunity to be on Pac12 Network. Aside from the Sunday game with San Jose St, the best numbers for OSU in 2023 were against Oregon and Washington, and against Coach Prime. Orange you're starting to resemble a pretzel in your spin efforts.
The best numbers for OSU are always driven by the opponent. The only GameDay visit to Corvallis was when Oregon was the opponent.
A brand that is Phil Knight's money. I'm sure Nike advertising money influences the networks too. Duck football has been astroturfed and currently needs about $100M a year outta Phil's pocket to keep it floating. It's being subsidized. When the money runs out, it's gonna be a hard fall. The Big10 media deal and ticket sales won't even be close to enough. Enjoy the brand while it lasts.
Phil Knight created the opportunity for Oregon. Say it for what it is. There is nothing uinique about it. Without Phil, Oregon would in the same mess as OSU/WSU
Michigan and Ohio State run the conference and can do pretty much whatever they choose. It's a clear competitive advantage for them not to play on Friday nights. Yet the conference allows it.
It's the Big Two and the other 16, as the West Coast schools will soon find out.
Every Big Ten team has Friday games except Michigan, Ohio St, and Penn ST. Ten of the 18 have 2 Friday games, most are one at home, one on the road. 5 of the 18 have one Friday game. Fox didn't pay over $1 Billion, then more still to add USC/UCLA, without some assurance it could fill Friday and late game slots. I think that is why Jon Wilner advocated a year or so ago for the Pac12 to consider Thursday, Friday, and Sunday games. Too late for that now, though the new PacMt may want to consider it.
The viewership was lower with the first Duck game, due to Comcast blacking out the game on the west coast! Hopefully they get that mess worked out soon with the B10!
Comcast didn't black it out. The Big 10 Network blacked out the game since Comcast would not add the channel to every subscriber's lowest tier. Comcast carries the channel.
Pac 12 Network being included was one thing - two schools and basically the whole state had an interetst. Now its a higher fee for Big 10 over Pac 12, and it only applies to half. Half of the customers would be forced to be charged for Big 10 and they don't care and do not want it.
I doubt this really changes unless customers leave in droves. They have not so far
Chris, we have the upper trier Comcast bundle….this summer we added the B10 for an additional $10 a month….ALL of the west coast team games carried by the B10 are blacked out, even the rebroadcast…we spent a morning in the XFINITY store discussing this with a very knowledgeable representative…..it’s all about the amount $, per game, per viewer, that was negotiated, when the 4 teams joined the B10…..now, the B10 wants more..Comcast declined…until that gets settled, NO Comcast user (even with the extended package) will see the West coast teams on the B10 network. I’m not interested in watching Rutgers play Maryland….we will find a sports bar with Direct Tv & give them our business….
Correct! Our HOA provides our cable service (Comcast) fee is included in their negotiated rate…we have no choice…to get another cable service would cost us between the 2, approx $1800 a year ( for a lot of junk we don’t watch) …so looking for a local sports bar to help out their business!
Haters gonna hate! Oregon and UW getting away from the PAC-12 was a very smart decision in all phases. The “Knockoff” PAC/8/10/12 will be lucky to get 10 mil a year in their next media rights deal.
Oregon and Washington did what they had to do after the Pac 12 fumbled everything so badly. But when all is said and done, the break up of the Pac 12 is a sad, dumb thing. The conference's football product was strong. The media rights deal would have come if USC and UCLA didn't do what they did. It's the first year of this new reality, will USC still have the excitement of playing Northwestern, or Purdue in year 4 or 5? Will Oregon be pumped for that conference matchup with Minnesota? No real college football fan wants to see that crap.
LOL! You obviously didn't follow the Pac-12's missteps. Even if USC and UCLA would have stayed, media rights were evaluated at 500 million. That still would have put every team behind the other 4 conferences. Like Texas and Oklahoma, USC and UCLA were smart to leave for a conference that puts football first. Larry Scott and the past presidents didn't do that. Again, Oregon State and Washington State would trade places in a heartbeat.
82-year old here. Jeff needs to nap so he can be more alert later. I had never napped much in my life and actually had to teach myself to do so those afternoons before late football and hockey night games/matches. Breaking News: I'm pretty good at it now.
The Michigan AD’s comment about night games makes me dislike them even more. What fanbase doesn’t travel from “far and wide” for games? Why should Michigan get special treatment? Disgusting.
Though I'm sure part of FOX's thinking with that game is them betting on a NY vs LA World Series, since the Rutgers/USC game immediately follows Game 1. Might pump up the NYC viewership numbers if they are already tuned in.
The Michigan AD, Warde Manuel, is the Playoff Committee's 'Chairman' and will be the person dodging the questions from ESPN.
Michigan is not out of the woods regarding the sign-stealing situation. It would be very interesting if Michigan were dinged a bowl game when its AD represents the PO Committee.
I feel Jeff’s pain. 77 yr old in the dreaded Eastern time zone. Ducks kick at about 11:15 pm. With commercials and OT I may not make the 8am Mass at Fleming Island Sacred Heart!
John - Are you aware Pullman has a new runway which can accommodate chartered 737's. 5-10 min drive to the Marriott in Pullman? I think a shorter drive than any of the old Pac-12 schools and probably the "Small"10/12. I'm not sure teams are landing there but I do know some landed in Lewiston which is 32 miles.
Man, I remember the old Quonset Hut terminal at Pullman, flying in on a 12-seat Evergreen Airlines prop plane. Then the new terminal opening in 1990 or so.
Now there's a Marriott in Pullman? The University Inn over in Moscow used to be the top hotel in the region, but that was in the days of Pelican Pete's and the old Hilltop.
The PUW runway has been able to accommodate large charter jets for a long time now. I have a photo from about 2005 of two Airbuses next to each other on the ramp -- one for the WSU team charter, and one for the Idaho team charter. The new runway allows for scheduled service of Boeings/Airbuses etc., although I doubt there's still much customer demand for that.
To your point, however -- teams that choose to charter their flights directly to PUW have a ridiculously easy commute to the stadium or hotel. Given the short distance and lack of traffic, it's probably faster than pretty much any other CFB location. But as you mention, I don't think too many teams actually do that, and instead fly into and stay in Spokane to avoid distractions.
I do not say this with a mean spirited intent as you're a good poster on here and I appreciate your thoughts....but from a Coug's perspective we can relate to how you are now feeling about Michigan's pomposity. Honestly, it's a well earned feeling for a lot of UW, Oregon and USC fans and administrations from my perspective. Glad the 4 are getting to experience it from a different angle. Enjoy!
I think it is antenna TV outside Portland because it is an extra channel that doesn't get fed to DISH, DirecTV, Spectrum, etc. But, Best Buy has some excellent and relatively cheap antennas. I bought a TERK brand a couple years ago just to watch a local station when there was a carriage dispute with my local cable company. Would recommend it as opposed to rabbit ears or a coat hanger.
Here in Eastern Oregon as a Dish subscriber I added "local" channels many years ago. Worth every penny to get all the Portland networks. It was also worth it to get rid of the Boise channels. I do not live in Idaho for crying out loud.
If you live in a market with local network affiliates such as ABC, CBS, etc. in your immediate area you cannot swap them for ABC local in some other market. The Blazers "antenna TV" means, for example, if the CBS affiliate in Portland is the home station, the CBS affiliate in Medford would carry it on an extra channel. Instead of channel 10, it would be channel 10.1 only available by antenna.
The antenna option also may be standard def, not high def.
Yes, but the search for the games on the various streaming sites is annoying. Let's see, is it CW, Netflix, Prime, Paramount+, Peacock.......or ESPN, FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS...or.. The Sci Fi channel, FUBO, Youtube TV, ROKU...Sigh
You think 8pm PST is a late start! That is 11pm EST for all of out here. We have a national brand who like to watch us play. Terrible for them to put this game so late. It will greatly diminish the fans who will see the game. Over 76% of Americans live in CST or EST - East Coast: 48% - Population: 141,631,478 - Central Time Zone : 28.9% - Population: 85,385,031. Half time is 1 am!!!
TV viewership is based on network, time of day, brand of opponent, competing games in same time slot, W-L record of participants, notoriety of individual players (think of Caitlin Clark)
452,000 - Purdue at Oregon St - The CW - 8:30 ET Saturday
2.82 million - Oregon at Oregon St - Fox - 3:30 ET Saturday
381,000 - Idaho St at Oregon St - The CW - 6:30 ET Saturday
The Friday night games: Illinois at Nebraska on Fox (4.21 million) was No. 3 overall for the weekend, and the San Jose St at WSU on Friday night (542,000) was the top CW game for the weekend. Uh fans, you better get comfortable with Friday night games.
So UNLV committed to the Mountain Weat last week but is reconsidering and might go PAC-12 because Utah State changed their mind, also the two leagues are suing each other. Obviously the problem with college football is players making rash, selfish decisions based on money. laugh
Thanks for tracking the TV ratings, John. I think it's going to really interesting to see how those hold up for OSU and WSU on the CW vs the Big Ten Network and FS1 - I hope you'll continue to track those for us!
The whole college football deal, which you have so competently reported John, this morning leaves me (y’all welcome) in a state of inability to devise any comment whatsoever. Just sayin’, Charlie
Yeah, and let me add that agreeing to Pac 12 After Dark back in 2010 was probably the worst decision the conference could have made. Forced marquee matchups into no-man's land for the majority of the nation's population, lowering both the conference profile and the schools' brands as well. That is the unspoken truth in the demise of the Pac-12. They did it to themselves.
Its important to understand Sluka isn't asking for more money, just the money he was already promised and never received. A key difference in the matters Gundy is referring to.
It's not the first NIL promise that has been reneged on, and I expect it won't be long before lawsuits arise when that happens. Also, Gundy is restricting free trade with his policy, and I don't think it will go well for him once the lawyers take him to court on that.
100% agree. If a company you worked for pulled back your compensation package, and after several meetings with them wouldn’t budge, who wouldn’t look elsewhere? It’s the game that’s in front of college athletics now. He’s playing by the rules and I applaud him for looking out for #1.
I don't tend to listen to a co-worker who says I got a raise, I only listen to the boss or HR. The kid should have gone to the collective and gotten it either in writing or an actual check well before he got on a plane. Those are the current rules, not a coach on a recruiting visit. I didn't even know assistant coaches had access to NIL money.
Oh, there are so many stories as to who was promised what and at what time period. It may be just as likely that the season went better than expected, the family got a NIL agent who was able to find out a transfer deal for next season. Most NIL deals that are agreed and reneged on happen before the transfers are made or before signing day, not 3 games into the season.
I like the night kickoffs and ending my Saturday watching a good game. In fact, over the years I’ve liked it more and more. My Saturday afternoon is full of life activities .. kids, responsibilities, etc. kicking back and watching a game with teams I care about after all of that is my ideal ending to a Saturday in the Fall.
Maybe it’s just me
As a WSU fan, I love night games when we're on the road, for all the same reasons you mention. But night games in Pullman are rough when you live in Seattle and have to deal with hotel room scarcity, price-gouging, and two-night stay requirements. Short windows for announcing kickoff times certainly don't help, either.
Ditto for me living in Portland and getting back from Eugene at 1:30-2:00 in the morning. Hotels are two night minimums and kickoff times are sprung on you maybe a week before the game. Gave up our season tickets a few years back and settled on a nice tv with refreshments at home. I still see single games once in awhile.
Yep me too. My man cave is warm and cozy. And I can have a hotdog and beer without taking out a 2nd mortgage.
No restroom lines either…👍
Yeah, I graduated in 2002 and have had WSU season tickets ever since. This might be my last year with them. Between all the reasons I mentioned above, plus family activities, it's already hard to make it to more than 2-3 games each year. (And candidly, given our demoted status, it's going to become even easier to find single game tickets going forward, making the STs less necessary.)
Several years before I moved to the sunshine and away from the rain, I gave up my 4 Seahawk season tickets. Lots of reasons. If I wanted to watch a game in person, I would go to the stadium and hang outside until just before kickoff. A desperate seller would always have a ticket and I could be choosy who to buy from dependent on seat location. At the Super Bowl in New Orleans, desperate sellers outside the stadium were begging for buyers.
Yep, I've found that too. There isn't a pro or college game, including playoffs and championship games, you can't get a ticket for at or below face value if you just show up to the game and wait out the delusional people thinking they were going to get $10 mil for their extra tickets. At the game, there just isn't the market. Scalpers offer them 50 cents on the dollar, and the honest fan isn't taking out a loan. Pretty soon theyvl realize there is no market and they're begging people to buy their tickets.
Agree. They are great for TV but not for attending in person.
Pullman is tough late at night. I've stumbled on broken sidewalks in the dark on the wrong street because they aren't well marked more than once! And that drive back to the hotel in the Tri-Cities because there were no rooms available to book in Lewiston when you have already been up 18 hours is...treacherous.
I bought an RV just because of WSU night games and that's even with living in Tri-Cities. The two lane roads through the middle of nowhere dodging deer late at night is no fun. 86 grad so I've been doing this a while and the night games in persona are only really worth it when you have a place to stay in Pullman.
Yes, the road between Connell and Washtucna is pretty in the day but not so much at night.
I've always believed Kahlotus was an abandoned Russian Potemkin village, used to harbor sleeper agents. There are buildings there but I never seen any people.
I always thought Kahlotus was some new-world STD. Thank you for letting me know it's a waypoint on the way to/ from Siberia.
You should try the short cut road from Kahlotus to Pasco. Take a left just as you’re hitting town. Cuts about 10 miles off the drive and can be done pretty much ignoring speed limit signs, but makes road to Connell seem like a breeze!
I love that drive! (I'm originally from the Tri-Cities, and still stay at my parents' house occasionally for game weekends if I can't get a hotel in Pullman.) It's a gorgeous drive on game days when you leave first thing in the morning and watch the sun rise as you drive.
Mike, as a fellow WSU supporter, I can't help but respectfully laugh whenever a fan of another team complains about late kickoffs and getting home "late". I am fortunate in that my folks still live in the Tri-Cities, so even for 7:30 kickoffs that take 4 hours, I can still get to their house no later than 2 AM even when I stay to the bitter (often very cold) end. That being said, the vast majority of WSU supporters live west of the mountains in the Puget Sound region and are faced with either being priced-gouged up the Wazzu (pun intended) for Whitman County lodging arrangements or pulling the family minivan into the Cougar Foodmart in Colfax for Red Bull (another pun intended, this one with an Andy Grammer spin) after the game in order to get "Back Home" safely around the time the sun rises on Sunday morning.
As far as complaints about Friday night kickoffs go, I would watch the Cougs kick off at 12 AM every Tuesday for all 12 games if it would result in a Big 10 invite.
Go Cougs!
Understand
They are more difficult to love if you live in the Eastern time zone and 'your team' kicks off at 11 PM and College Football Final comes on around 3 AM.
Also tougher to love when your youth is a distant memory, if you can remember anything about your youth.
The good thing is, the older I get, the better I was.
AMEN!
Atlanta Husky here. All of these West Coast complaints about the "late" window. Sheesh. Cannot tell you how tired I got watching my Dawgs the past two years get relegated to that 11p slot. No amount of napping in the afternoon can prep you for watching a live game until 2am. And then your Sunday morning is shot.
LOL!!! 😊 I live in the Central Time Zone…I understand and feel your pain!!!
As a season ticket holder I enjoy the 1-2 night games Oregon usually lates each season. The late night drive back to Portland is a mild nuisance but two times in 365 days is much ado about nothing.
Exactly. First world problems on steroids.
Night games were fine until November, then they sucked, and as the older I get, the less willing I am to do it.
I wonder how the 4 former Pac-12 schools will like being viewed as the Big 10's Friday night or late night squads. Breaking up the Pac 12 continues to be one of the dumbest things to ever happen to college football.
So far through 7 games Oregon has been or will be on major network TV 5 times, with at least 3 more appearances in those prime spots to come. That’s more and better exposure than they had in the Pac
Through those same 7 games they will have played only twice in the Saturday late night window with at most 1 more appearance to come at that time in the following 5 games. Again, better than they got in the Pac the last several years
The majority of Oregons games will be played in either the 12:30 or 4pm time slots (PT). Again, as good or better than the Pac
All for much much more money and eyeballs and better quality games too
The decision to join the Big Ten bas been undeniably a smashing success
Better quality games? So instead of Washington State, Cal, Utah, Oregon now has Indiana, Purdue, Rutgers, Northwestern. Oregon isn't playing Ohio State and Michigan every week. Then the Big10 Network has a spat with Xfinity. Not so sure about the smashing success part. At least OSU/WSU's games are on nationwide.
Oregons games have all been and will be available nationwide. More importantly, they draw 5x the viewership
Yes, The 8 Big Ten games Oregon plays this season are collectively better matchups than the 8 games they would have played in the Pac. Significantly increased ticket sales, more prime network TV slots, and overall viewership all demonstrate this to be true
Sorry, but Oregon vs. Maryland, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio State, Purdue, and Michigan State is not a better schedule than Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, Cal, Stanford, Utah, and USC. It just isn't. The Pac 12 network was messed up, I'll give you that. We are losing the things that made college football great. Nobody wants to see USC v. Indiana. Oregon vs. Michigan State. People want to see Cal v. UCLA. Stanford v. USC etc. All the things you mentioned will fade when the novelty wears off.
I disagree. Like Doug said, it has been a smashing success. Especially being highlighted on the B1G Network shows.
I guess you may have a different definition of "smashing success". UCLA playing Indiana in an empty Rose Bowl is no better than UCLA playing Stanford. Ohio State is only one game. The rest is against teams nobody on the west coast cares about. And.... the Pac 12 was just as good a conference as the B10, with less dead weight.
More viewership. More money TV money coming in. More money from payouts from CFP payouts and NCAA tournament units. More recruiting areas opened up. Oregon State and Washington State would trade spots in a heartbeat. In the long run, the 4 schools are in a good position. More opportunities at our disposal.
We played USC at 7:30 last year (only late game). 8 pm is ridiculous. We start our “big” intro with ucla. We have two Friday night games. We had a week 4 break. It’s a crap schedule.
Better exposure leads to what? Oregon has been touting tv viewership for years, yet the first game of season, on what many believe to be a historic season, logged just 425,000 viewers. UW was less. As soon as the Ducks are taken off a marque network in prime time, the viewership shrinks back to reality.
Fortunately this season they won't spend most of their games on CW or CBSN. The reality is the average viewership is high because they get a bunch of Fox and NBC. The Beavers high will be the Fox game, hosting the Ducks.
The viewership is a product of being on FOX/ABC etc in a good time slot, not people tuning in because it's Oregon. We saw what the Oregon viewership was without the prime time slot on major network tv. The Civil War on FOX was the big draw, eyeballs split equally between OSU and Oregon. You were the one laughing at the CW numbers until Oregon logged the 425,000 number. That's a reality check on true size of 'Duck Nation'. You'd think the Duck viewership would be in the millions on the Big10 net according to some commenters on here, in reality, it's not even close without the help of ABC/FOX.
Child please! Civil War viewership eyeballs was because of Oregon, not the nutrias.
That’s true for every school . Also reminder that they played 3 games per year to no viewers on the Pac-12 network and another 3-4 annually late night on cable TV where they outperformed most of the comfercne.
Luckily most Duck games Will be on bigger and better platforms. Cherry picking the lowest watched game of the year is some serious attempt at spin
Only proves that the numbers are a product of being on FOX/ABC at 1230 or 5pm, not some huge fictious army of Duck fans tuning in every Saturday.
I’ll take the expertise at Fox who decided Oregon’s brand value warranted addition to the Big Ten and regular appearances on their network over your jelaous opinion
Remember when USC and UCLA joined, they got full shares and Oregon wasn't invited. They weren't wanted. Only when the Pac12/Apple TV deal was ready to be signed did FOX make their move. Don't pretend Oregon was wanted from the beginning, they weren't. Oregon and UW were used to stop Apple.
The Oregon brand created the opportunity to be on Fox, ABC, ESPN, FS1 - and the subsequent viewership numbers supported the faith the networks had in those decisions. The OSU brand created the opportunity to be on Pac12 Network. Aside from the Sunday game with San Jose St, the best numbers for OSU in 2023 were against Oregon and Washington, and against Coach Prime. Orange you're starting to resemble a pretzel in your spin efforts.
The best numbers for OSU are always driven by the opponent. The only GameDay visit to Corvallis was when Oregon was the opponent.
A brand that is Phil Knight's money. I'm sure Nike advertising money influences the networks too. Duck football has been astroturfed and currently needs about $100M a year outta Phil's pocket to keep it floating. It's being subsidized. When the money runs out, it's gonna be a hard fall. The Big10 media deal and ticket sales won't even be close to enough. Enjoy the brand while it lasts.
Phil Knight created the opportunity for Oregon. Say it for what it is. There is nothing uinique about it. Without Phil, Oregon would in the same mess as OSU/WSU
GO DUCKS!
Michigan and Ohio State run the conference and can do pretty much whatever they choose. It's a clear competitive advantage for them not to play on Friday nights. Yet the conference allows it.
It's the Big Two and the other 16, as the West Coast schools will soon find out.
Every Big Ten team has Friday games except Michigan, Ohio St, and Penn ST. Ten of the 18 have 2 Friday games, most are one at home, one on the road. 5 of the 18 have one Friday game. Fox didn't pay over $1 Billion, then more still to add USC/UCLA, without some assurance it could fill Friday and late game slots. I think that is why Jon Wilner advocated a year or so ago for the Pac12 to consider Thursday, Friday, and Sunday games. Too late for that now, though the new PacMt may want to consider it.
Amen
The viewership was lower with the first Duck game, due to Comcast blacking out the game on the west coast! Hopefully they get that mess worked out soon with the B10!
Comcast didn't black it out. The Big 10 Network blacked out the game since Comcast would not add the channel to every subscriber's lowest tier. Comcast carries the channel.
Pac 12 Network being included was one thing - two schools and basically the whole state had an interetst. Now its a higher fee for Big 10 over Pac 12, and it only applies to half. Half of the customers would be forced to be charged for Big 10 and they don't care and do not want it.
I doubt this really changes unless customers leave in droves. They have not so far
Chris, we have the upper trier Comcast bundle….this summer we added the B10 for an additional $10 a month….ALL of the west coast team games carried by the B10 are blacked out, even the rebroadcast…we spent a morning in the XFINITY store discussing this with a very knowledgeable representative…..it’s all about the amount $, per game, per viewer, that was negotiated, when the 4 teams joined the B10…..now, the B10 wants more..Comcast declined…until that gets settled, NO Comcast user (even with the extended package) will see the West coast teams on the B10 network. I’m not interested in watching Rutgers play Maryland….we will find a sports bar with Direct Tv & give them our business….
Agreed.
Big 10 is blacking out. Not Comcast.
Big 10 wants Comcast to pay more...all subscribers paying more.
When this was Pac 12 you had 2 schools in the mix. Now you have one school driving up cable rates for every Comcast subscriber. That's a tough sell.
I dumped Comcast last spring. I'm fine
The real issue is most areas do not have an alternative provider for internet. I do.
Correct! Our HOA provides our cable service (Comcast) fee is included in their negotiated rate…we have no choice…to get another cable service would cost us between the 2, approx $1800 a year ( for a lot of junk we don’t watch) …so looking for a local sports bar to help out their business!
Haters gonna hate! Oregon and UW getting away from the PAC-12 was a very smart decision in all phases. The “Knockoff” PAC/8/10/12 will be lucky to get 10 mil a year in their next media rights deal.
Oregon and Washington did what they had to do after the Pac 12 fumbled everything so badly. But when all is said and done, the break up of the Pac 12 is a sad, dumb thing. The conference's football product was strong. The media rights deal would have come if USC and UCLA didn't do what they did. It's the first year of this new reality, will USC still have the excitement of playing Northwestern, or Purdue in year 4 or 5? Will Oregon be pumped for that conference matchup with Minnesota? No real college football fan wants to see that crap.
LOL! You obviously didn't follow the Pac-12's missteps. Even if USC and UCLA would have stayed, media rights were evaluated at 500 million. That still would have put every team behind the other 4 conferences. Like Texas and Oklahoma, USC and UCLA were smart to leave for a conference that puts football first. Larry Scott and the past presidents didn't do that. Again, Oregon State and Washington State would trade places in a heartbeat.
Stop the whining. Who's in the P4 and who's not? That how every school is viewed.
82-year old here. Jeff needs to nap so he can be more alert later. I had never napped much in my life and actually had to teach myself to do so those afternoons before late football and hockey night games/matches. Breaking News: I'm pretty good at it now.
The Michigan AD’s comment about night games makes me dislike them even more. What fanbase doesn’t travel from “far and wide” for games? Why should Michigan get special treatment? Disgusting.
The Michigan AD sounded spoiled and arrogant.
Perhaps that's because he is.
Michigan has the audience pull and the political pull to make demands and get them honored few others can right now.
USC went for the B1G bucks and is no longer driving the bus.
Rutgers at SC kicks off at 11 PM Eastern.
So much for the notion that Rutgers draws the NYC market. If that were the case there is no way would they be kicking off at 11pm ET against USC.
Though I'm sure part of FOX's thinking with that game is them betting on a NY vs LA World Series, since the Rutgers/USC game immediately follows Game 1. Might pump up the NYC viewership numbers if they are already tuned in.
The Michigan AD, Warde Manuel, is the Playoff Committee's 'Chairman' and will be the person dodging the questions from ESPN.
Michigan is not out of the woods regarding the sign-stealing situation. It would be very interesting if Michigan were dinged a bowl game when its AD represents the PO Committee.
Yes, but that won't happen. It's money ball, the Networks would have a fit if Michigan was excluded.
I feel Jeff’s pain. 77 yr old in the dreaded Eastern time zone. Ducks kick at about 11:15 pm. With commercials and OT I may not make the 8am Mass at Fleming Island Sacred Heart!
John - Are you aware Pullman has a new runway which can accommodate chartered 737's. 5-10 min drive to the Marriott in Pullman? I think a shorter drive than any of the old Pac-12 schools and probably the "Small"10/12. I'm not sure teams are landing there but I do know some landed in Lewiston which is 32 miles.
https://news.wsu.edu/news/2024/05/08/pullman-moscow-regional-airport-terminal-project-nears-completion/
Interesting.
Man, I remember the old Quonset Hut terminal at Pullman, flying in on a 12-seat Evergreen Airlines prop plane. Then the new terminal opening in 1990 or so.
Now there's a Marriott in Pullman? The University Inn over in Moscow used to be the top hotel in the region, but that was in the days of Pelican Pete's and the old Hilltop.
Hey Dwain, hope you're doing well. Lets not forget Wisconsin was able to land a 757 when they came to town last year. Runway length now 7100', which is 600 ft longer than LWS. Also, ground crews know how to block a plane so that the tail doesn't bump on the ground like USC's did three years ago. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32230018/usc-trojans-team-plane-tips-backward-tarmac-coaches-staff-board
The PUW runway has been able to accommodate large charter jets for a long time now. I have a photo from about 2005 of two Airbuses next to each other on the ramp -- one for the WSU team charter, and one for the Idaho team charter. The new runway allows for scheduled service of Boeings/Airbuses etc., although I doubt there's still much customer demand for that.
To your point, however -- teams that choose to charter their flights directly to PUW have a ridiculously easy commute to the stadium or hotel. Given the short distance and lack of traffic, it's probably faster than pretty much any other CFB location. But as you mention, I don't think too many teams actually do that, and instead fly into and stay in Spokane to avoid distractions.
I’m just happy I can watch the Husky games down here in Klamath in the first place, irregardless of kickoff times
Michigan’s pomposity is amazing…
No more Kraken
No more Blazers
GO DAWGS 😎
I do not say this with a mean spirited intent as you're a good poster on here and I appreciate your thoughts....but from a Coug's perspective we can relate to how you are now feeling about Michigan's pomposity. Honestly, it's a well earned feeling for a lot of UW, Oregon and USC fans and administrations from my perspective. Glad the 4 are getting to experience it from a different angle. Enjoy!
Matthew 7:3-5
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Blazers are now on your local ABC channel this coming season.
Thank you, sir - news to me
Fired of an email to KDRV
I think it is antenna TV outside Portland because it is an extra channel that doesn't get fed to DISH, DirecTV, Spectrum, etc. But, Best Buy has some excellent and relatively cheap antennas. I bought a TERK brand a couple years ago just to watch a local station when there was a carriage dispute with my local cable company. Would recommend it as opposed to rabbit ears or a coat hanger.
Here in Eastern Oregon as a Dish subscriber I added "local" channels many years ago. Worth every penny to get all the Portland networks. It was also worth it to get rid of the Boise channels. I do not live in Idaho for crying out loud.
If you live in a market with local network affiliates such as ABC, CBS, etc. in your immediate area you cannot swap them for ABC local in some other market. The Blazers "antenna TV" means, for example, if the CBS affiliate in Portland is the home station, the CBS affiliate in Medford would carry it on an extra channel. Instead of channel 10, it would be channel 10.1 only available by antenna.
The antenna option also may be standard def, not high def.
https://www.blazersedge.com/2024/9/23/24252758/portland-trail-blazers-how-to-watch-streaming-local-network-antenna-league-pass
Yes, but the search for the games on the various streaming sites is annoying. Let's see, is it CW, Netflix, Prime, Paramount+, Peacock.......or ESPN, FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS...or.. The Sci Fi channel, FUBO, Youtube TV, ROKU...Sigh
Ya' know, even though we readers are in the seats, it feels like, with many thanks to you, that we are in the thick of it. Cheers!
You think 8pm PST is a late start! That is 11pm EST for all of out here. We have a national brand who like to watch us play. Terrible for them to put this game so late. It will greatly diminish the fans who will see the game. Over 76% of Americans live in CST or EST - East Coast: 48% - Population: 141,631,478 - Central Time Zone : 28.9% - Population: 85,385,031. Half time is 1 am!!!
West coast rules! Haha.
TV viewership is based on network, time of day, brand of opponent, competing games in same time slot, W-L record of participants, notoriety of individual players (think of Caitlin Clark)
452,000 - Purdue at Oregon St - The CW - 8:30 ET Saturday
2.82 million - Oregon at Oregon St - Fox - 3:30 ET Saturday
381,000 - Idaho St at Oregon St - The CW - 6:30 ET Saturday
Your friend won't be the first person to fall asleep listening to Jerry Allen.
BiMart shoppers, get a two for one deal on Clorox Bleach!!! Love old Jerry.
I wonder if he also has Jorgy at home, correcting his mistakes.
The Friday night games: Illinois at Nebraska on Fox (4.21 million) was No. 3 overall for the weekend, and the San Jose St at WSU on Friday night (542,000) was the top CW game for the weekend. Uh fans, you better get comfortable with Friday night games.
So UNLV committed to the Mountain Weat last week but is reconsidering and might go PAC-12 because Utah State changed their mind, also the two leagues are suing each other. Obviously the problem with college football is players making rash, selfish decisions based on money. laugh
Thanks for tracking the TV ratings, John. I think it's going to really interesting to see how those hold up for OSU and WSU on the CW vs the Big Ten Network and FS1 - I hope you'll continue to track those for us!
The whole college football deal, which you have so competently reported John, this morning leaves me (y’all welcome) in a state of inability to devise any comment whatsoever. Just sayin’, Charlie
Great and certainly understandable, comment in regards to not having a comment to make.
My comment. It's tough to watch a game that starts at 8 Pacific. Those of us on the Right Coast can catch the KO at 11 PM Eastern. 😒
Media runs college football. If you want the money, a price will have to be paid. Including having games on The Bird, Peacock.
Yeah, and let me add that agreeing to Pac 12 After Dark back in 2010 was probably the worst decision the conference could have made. Forced marquee matchups into no-man's land for the majority of the nation's population, lowering both the conference profile and the schools' brands as well. That is the unspoken truth in the demise of the Pac-12. They did it to themselves.
Its important to understand Sluka isn't asking for more money, just the money he was already promised and never received. A key difference in the matters Gundy is referring to.
It's not the first NIL promise that has been reneged on, and I expect it won't be long before lawsuits arise when that happens. Also, Gundy is restricting free trade with his policy, and I don't think it will go well for him once the lawyers take him to court on that.
100% agree. If a company you worked for pulled back your compensation package, and after several meetings with them wouldn’t budge, who wouldn’t look elsewhere? It’s the game that’s in front of college athletics now. He’s playing by the rules and I applaud him for looking out for #1.
I don't tend to listen to a co-worker who says I got a raise, I only listen to the boss or HR. The kid should have gone to the collective and gotten it either in writing or an actual check well before he got on a plane. Those are the current rules, not a coach on a recruiting visit. I didn't even know assistant coaches had access to NIL money.
Oh, there are so many stories as to who was promised what and at what time period. It may be just as likely that the season went better than expected, the family got a NIL agent who was able to find out a transfer deal for next season. Most NIL deals that are agreed and reneged on happen before the transfers are made or before signing day, not 3 games into the season.
Do you know the assistant coach was empowered to make such a promise on behalf of the program?
He'd hardly be the first assistant coach to promise the moon during a recruiting trip.