CW chief strikes me as a smart, competent, self-aware, reasonably transparent guy. Imagine if the conference commissioner working on the media rights deal had been smart, competent, self-aware and reasonably transparent.
Even if the Pac-12 (before/during the mass attrition) had a smart, competent, self-aware, reasonably transparent conference commissioner, we would still had to deal with incompetent school presidents and chancellors that were seemingly stuck on their high horses either without a clue or simply can't see beyond themselves.
Waiting on the contracts, but most estimates are around $1M per game. The money was incidental to OSU/WSU, after the settlement. The exposure is FAR more important. They can not disappear.
Is there any shot they can carry this into the Big 12. For now take just $1M a game until their next tv deal? Live off Pac 12 money. Seems like a win for Big 12 too? Maybe even get some money from the Pac 12 network facilities as well.
It seems there are more than just ESPN and FSN who want sports programming. TNT just lost its bid for the NBA. CW wants programming. Amazon has expanded its sports footprint with the NFL. Apple, Google, Netflix, Youtube, Microsoft are other potential bidders with lots of money in their bank accounts. Looks like OSU / WSU are playing their cards correctly by not panicking and giving away their assets
I suggest the other day that the PAC 2 commissioner head to Atlanta to talk with TNT. There is an advantage of being hungry and willing to be creative.
I think this could be a beneficial relationship for the Pac if it somehow lasts long-term. Getting on an OTA network that is just beginning to wade into sports, you know the CW is hungry and going to go all out to drive as much viewership as they can; whereas if they ended up on a network like ESPN they would be little more than filler content most weeks with the bare minimum promotion. And having a variety of sports on the channel (golf, NASCAR) gets them promotion in front of eyes that otherwise might not be watching if all the CW did was college football.
CW. Years ago we used to watch programming on that station on a regular basis. Periodically, I scan through channels listed on ROKU, CW being one. Just out of curiosity. We have the local over the air channels but rarely watch their programming, we can't stomach the advertising barrage that comes each half hour of viewing. When streaming first hit the scene there was a lot of great offerings, this week I scanned through the various free sites and noticed they had a lot of content, albeit from the 50's through 90's! My point being, maybe it's time for viewers to give an old friend a new chance to grab some of our viewing time? Frankly, we rarely ever watch CBS, NBC, ABC or FOX over the massive amount of advertising in a half hour. Amazon Prime now has ads, Netflix is toying with the idea. So an ad free experience is fast disappearing. Maybe an innovator like CW can win the fans over of college football if they can offer a different experience than is offered by ESPN, FOX and the regular networks. It sounds like they leave no rock unturned.
It's what keeps me on Dish, I can record on the DVR and watch anywhere anytime I want... Also easy to watch multiple at the same time, live or recorded with split screen.
Thanks for bringing this to us, John! I really hope this is a successful partnership on both sides and can grow in the future. I also would love to see the Pac-12 studio get some more work and bring some revenue to the league (and help the studio retain talent).
Thanks for the viewership chart. The CW also had 5 ACC games under 300,000 nationwide. Charlotte, NC has over 1.3 million TV households alone. Availability, and eyeballs tuning in, are two different things. Though it does appear OS and WSU may benefit from some better time of day slots than they had with the Pac12 Network.
Last September, OSU v WSU on FOX pulled 1.5M viewers. That was a 4-0 WSU team v a 3-1 Beaver team. Should be interesting to see what the numbers are when they meet again this November if one or both are ranked. I think it's gonna surprise you.
As usual it comes down to competition. For me, if Beavs were playing USC on a Saturday night, I'd watch. If playing Fresno St, I would compare the watching option to other things I could be doing.
Does it matter, in terms of viewership/ratings, if one watches the games free OTA vs through a subscription service? I would hate to see us fans short ourselves thinking we’re “sticking it to the man” via viewing free OTA where in reality we’re sticking it to ourselves.
Doing some research, and the three least-watched games on JC's chart were also early in the season. Ga. Tech-Wake was Sept. 23; UVa-BC was Sept. 30 and Marshall-NCSU was Oct. 7. You will notice the viewership numbers increased every week as more people became aware of the games and the channel.
Also, there are numerous other outlets to watch ACC football. The CW will be the only outlet to watch OSU/WSU home games. I believe this exclusivity will drive numbers as well.
Actually if you look at the list of the whole 13 ACC games on the CW by date order, the top games in viewership (except one Florida St game) were all before November 1st. There were 5 games at 307,000 or less. 4 of the 5 were in November.
Not sure what you mean. Most ACC games are on CW, nowhere else... There are some games on espn or fox just like some of OSU and WSU games are on fox this year.
Only certain games, but if you are fans of the conference and teams you have to go to CW... Not sure why this is lost on you other than you are a casual fan.
I am still a little leery about the whole exposure comments. The CW is in 100% of the homes, but how many of those homes think about sports in the CW. PBS is in all the homes too, but I rarely watch it.
Your articles are so good! You would be legendary in NYC. Seems like maybe you need to continue what you are doing but maybe do a once a week regarding the national sports .
I'm really excited for the first CW games on August 31st, even though they're FCS games. It'll be interesting to see what Pac-12 Enterprises is able to put together both with the studio show (I certainly believe in Mike Yam) and with football game production.
fyi: (May have already been posted) PORTLAND Market Area CW= 32.1 In the Eugene Market Area 16.2 CW+ --also carries the sporting events. These are Over The Air FREE that are available with an antenna (type depends upon distance from broadcast tower). Go to settings, pick TV air (instead of cable) and then scan channels.. You may be surprised what is available. Cable companies often carry these channels with different numbers.
Can you please write about something else. All this is getting old fast. There must be something else going on in the world of sports. Pac 10-12-2 is getting to the point of who cares.
So I’m a cable cutter with a smart tv and was wondering how I get the CW. All I had to do is download the app for free and just like that I can watch the PAC 2 games . So I will have my TV on the CW on Saturdays whither or not I’m watching the game to help those ratings and do my part .
CW chief strikes me as a smart, competent, self-aware, reasonably transparent guy. Imagine if the conference commissioner working on the media rights deal had been smart, competent, self-aware and reasonably transparent.
I was thinking that too Barry. He seems like a winner, innovative, hungry to succeed. Just the opposite of what we had in the PAC 12 for years.
Even if the Pac-12 (before/during the mass attrition) had a smart, competent, self-aware, reasonably transparent conference commissioner, we would still had to deal with incompetent school presidents and chancellors that were seemingly stuck on their high horses either without a clue or simply can't see beyond themselves.
I think the problem was some schools were looking for an exit during the negotiations, or ridiculous sums that the Pac 12 was unable to generate.
What this article doesn't say is how much anyone is getting paid.
Waiting on the contracts, but most estimates are around $1M per game. The money was incidental to OSU/WSU, after the settlement. The exposure is FAR more important. They can not disappear.
Is there any shot they can carry this into the Big 12. For now take just $1M a game until their next tv deal? Live off Pac 12 money. Seems like a win for Big 12 too? Maybe even get some money from the Pac 12 network facilities as well.
It seems there are more than just ESPN and FSN who want sports programming. TNT just lost its bid for the NBA. CW wants programming. Amazon has expanded its sports footprint with the NFL. Apple, Google, Netflix, Youtube, Microsoft are other potential bidders with lots of money in their bank accounts. Looks like OSU / WSU are playing their cards correctly by not panicking and giving away their assets
The exposure was priority one. Pac-12 got that. Big win. 100 percent of households.
That Pac12 network facilities I think will, ironically, be the thing that saves osu.com and WSU
ironic.
I suggest the other day that the PAC 2 commissioner head to Atlanta to talk with TNT. There is an advantage of being hungry and willing to be creative.
I think this could be a beneficial relationship for the Pac if it somehow lasts long-term. Getting on an OTA network that is just beginning to wade into sports, you know the CW is hungry and going to go all out to drive as much viewership as they can; whereas if they ended up on a network like ESPN they would be little more than filler content most weeks with the bare minimum promotion. And having a variety of sports on the channel (golf, NASCAR) gets them promotion in front of eyes that otherwise might not be watching if all the CW did was college football.
CW emerging... Pac-12 in a good spot, I think.
CW. Years ago we used to watch programming on that station on a regular basis. Periodically, I scan through channels listed on ROKU, CW being one. Just out of curiosity. We have the local over the air channels but rarely watch their programming, we can't stomach the advertising barrage that comes each half hour of viewing. When streaming first hit the scene there was a lot of great offerings, this week I scanned through the various free sites and noticed they had a lot of content, albeit from the 50's through 90's! My point being, maybe it's time for viewers to give an old friend a new chance to grab some of our viewing time? Frankly, we rarely ever watch CBS, NBC, ABC or FOX over the massive amount of advertising in a half hour. Amazon Prime now has ads, Netflix is toying with the idea. So an ad free experience is fast disappearing. Maybe an innovator like CW can win the fans over of college football if they can offer a different experience than is offered by ESPN, FOX and the regular networks. It sounds like they leave no rock unturned.
It's what keeps me on Dish, I can record on the DVR and watch anywhere anytime I want... Also easy to watch multiple at the same time, live or recorded with split screen.
Yeah, the constant advertisements. Worse in an election year. Probably why, except for sports, 90% of our viewing is on the four PBS stations.
Thanks for bringing this to us, John! I really hope this is a successful partnership on both sides and can grow in the future. I also would love to see the Pac-12 studio get some more work and bring some revenue to the league (and help the studio retain talent).
He was a tough get… but I felt it was important.
Great questions
Insightful answers
Thanks for the viewership chart. The CW also had 5 ACC games under 300,000 nationwide. Charlotte, NC has over 1.3 million TV households alone. Availability, and eyeballs tuning in, are two different things. Though it does appear OS and WSU may benefit from some better time of day slots than they had with the Pac12 Network.
Looked to me like the ACC games were a lot of leftovers. That said… the top-5 broadcasts in 2023 on The CW were ACC football games.
Last September, OSU v WSU on FOX pulled 1.5M viewers. That was a 4-0 WSU team v a 3-1 Beaver team. Should be interesting to see what the numbers are when they meet again this November if one or both are ranked. I think it's gonna surprise you.
If the OSU and WSU fans show up to watch, it will move the needle.
Yep. It would be a travesty if Beaver and Coug fans don't show up and support the broadcasts. I worry that many have tuned out.
I doubt any fans have tuned out. If anything the fanbase have increased furvor
As usual it comes down to competition. For me, if Beavs were playing USC on a Saturday night, I'd watch. If playing Fresno St, I would compare the watching option to other things I could be doing.
Then you aren't really a Beavs fan are you?
Does it matter, in terms of viewership/ratings, if one watches the games free OTA vs through a subscription service? I would hate to see us fans short ourselves thinking we’re “sticking it to the man” via viewing free OTA where in reality we’re sticking it to ourselves.
Doing some research, and the three least-watched games on JC's chart were also early in the season. Ga. Tech-Wake was Sept. 23; UVa-BC was Sept. 30 and Marshall-NCSU was Oct. 7. You will notice the viewership numbers increased every week as more people became aware of the games and the channel.
Also, there are numerous other outlets to watch ACC football. The CW will be the only outlet to watch OSU/WSU home games. I believe this exclusivity will drive numbers as well.
Actually if you look at the list of the whole 13 ACC games on the CW by date order, the top games in viewership (except one Florida St game) were all before November 1st. There were 5 games at 307,000 or less. 4 of the 5 were in November.
Will be curious to see if the ACC/Pac-12 back-to-backs generate a better audience. Also, some better games with OSU-WSU than the stinkers in the ACC.
Not sure what you mean. Most ACC games are on CW, nowhere else... There are some games on espn or fox just like some of OSU and WSU games are on fox this year.
There are plenty of ACC games on ESPN. That's who the conference has its TV contract with. There is also the ACC Network.
Many places to watch the ACC in addition to the CW.
Only certain games, but if you are fans of the conference and teams you have to go to CW... Not sure why this is lost on you other than you are a casual fan.
ESPN is the home TV network of ACC football. Not the CW. Not sure WTF you're smoking to think otherwise.
And there are games not showing on espn but do on CW, not sure why this is hard for you
Never thought I'd become a fan of ACC football but with those games as a lead into PAC12 games I'm in.
GO COUGS and by partnership GO BEAVS!
Will be interesting to see if the OSU/WSU fans show up in droves on TV.
Couch potatoes paradise!
The CW isn't going to get my eyes on LIV golf. I refuse to watch it. Never have; never will.
I am not a LIV fan. NASCAR either. But I'll be there for the football.
I am still a little leery about the whole exposure comments. The CW is in 100% of the homes, but how many of those homes think about sports in the CW. PBS is in all the homes too, but I rarely watch it.
Channel numbers are old school. Comcast still lists them, but none of the others do.
Channel number is a thing of the past.
Your articles are so good! You would be legendary in NYC. Seems like maybe you need to continue what you are doing but maybe do a once a week regarding the national sports .
I love what I do. Appreciate working for my readers. NYC is overrated.
I'm really excited for the first CW games on August 31st, even though they're FCS games. It'll be interesting to see what Pac-12 Enterprises is able to put together both with the studio show (I certainly believe in Mike Yam) and with football game production.
Let's see what those early numbers look like. Will take a few games to get enough sample size.
fyi: (May have already been posted) PORTLAND Market Area CW= 32.1 In the Eugene Market Area 16.2 CW+ --also carries the sporting events. These are Over The Air FREE that are available with an antenna (type depends upon distance from broadcast tower). Go to settings, pick TV air (instead of cable) and then scan channels.. You may be surprised what is available. Cable companies often carry these channels with different numbers.
very easy to get. try it now. don't wait for Saturday morning during college football season.
Can you please write about something else. All this is getting old fast. There must be something else going on in the world of sports. Pac 10-12-2 is getting to the point of who cares.
Clearly, everyone who is commenting here cares. And the info here is unique, something we aren’t seeing anywhere else.
Agree. And John's stories on the Pac-12 tend to generate more comments than his ones covering the Big-10.
So I’m a cable cutter with a smart tv and was wondering how I get the CW. All I had to do is download the app for free and just like that I can watch the PAC 2 games . So I will have my TV on the CW on Saturdays whither or not I’m watching the game to help those ratings and do my part .
Hopefully this is the first half of “underpromise and overdeliver.”