Pac-12 Network is ticking me off or is it Comcast that is the problem?

[Quattro]

You seem to think that you are the one getting the $10-$15 Million in cash... Just because some marketing genius hired by the PAC12 told the PAC that they could get X amount of money, doesn't mean that it is money in the bank for these schools.

I say what the Rams are doing is very relevant. For the average Joe sitting around on a Saturday on the Front Range, he is going to watch the Rams because he isn't paying all this extra money to have the right provider and the extra sports packages that in the end cost over $100 a month on just the cable bill. Sure, many die hard Buff fans will pay this, but they are already fans. Meanwhile, while the school is making a good check from the PAC, the locals are turning into Ram fans and snubbing their noses at the elitist CU Buffs. What a way to expand the brand. Just imagine if the Rams win 7 or 8 games and we win 4. Other than Allbufffs posters, who is watching CU games?

Man you're right, we should have just joined the MWC

 

[buff4bcs1985]

You seem to think that you are the one getting the $10-$15 Million in cash... Just because some marketing genius hired by the PAC12 told the PAC that they could get X amount of money, doesn't mean that it is money in the bank for these schools.

I say what the Rams are doing is very relevant. For the average Joe sitting around on a Saturday on the Front Range, he is going to watch the Rams because he isn't paying all this extra money to have the right provider and the extra sports packages that in the end cost over $100 a month on just the cable bill. Sure, many die hard Buff fans will pay this, but they are already fans. Meanwhile, while the school is making a good check from the PAC, the locals are turning into Ram fans and snubbing their noses at the elitist CU Buffs. What a way to expand the brand. Just imagine if the Rams win 7 or 8 games and we win 4. Other than Allbufffs posters, who is watching CU games?

wow

 

[NashBuff]

In addition to what Tim said, you have to look back at the Minnesota moniker that I have talked about in this thread. At the same time the Minnesota admin quit caring about their football team, a new NFL team called the Minnesota Vikings started playing football in 1961. CU was the only big time football option in Colorado until the Denver Broncos started winning football games. CU had a larger season ticket holder base in the 1970's than even the base in the 1990's and I attribute that decline in the CU season ticket base to the Broncos' presence in the Denver area.

Right now, it's a very critical time for CU football to be relevant in the state of Colorado because the Broncos were serious about contending for Super Bowls by signing Peyton Manning to that large contract. Everyone in Colorado can watch the Broncos and even out of state. Can we say that about CU or even every Pac-12 school out there? The answer is no. Arizona is full of transplants and the Cardinals are a threat to the Sun Devil and Wildcat athletic departments there because they play in a weak NFC West and if they win a Super Bowl, what will happen to the fans who are not alumni of either schools? I don't think they are having the same issues with their provider like we are having with Comcast but the point really needs to be nailed into some heads on this board. The Seahawks and Cardinals have both made the Super Bowl and if both have won, it could have had an effect on the Pac-12 schools in the same state. The same goes for the Bay Area schools. Oregon, Utah, and the LA schools (for the time being) do not have this problem. The same could be said for many BCS programs out there and that is where the Pac-12 is unique in its challenges when it comes to exposure. That could explain why the Pac-12 seems to lag behind the other BCS conferences in many areas such as fan support and donations, etc.

 

[Junction]

You have some very good points about why the Pac-12 could have done that instead of this.

Don't get me started about CSU. I will provide the link to the official story: http://www.csurams.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/082712aab.html Read the quote VERY carefully:

Channel 20-KTVD is one of the networks of Denver's NBC affiliate 9NEWS, the top-rated station in the nation's 17th largest media market. All games televised will be carried live over-the-air by Channel 20 covering their Colorado broadcast footprint via satellite on Dish and DirecTV and on cable through Comcast.

I don't know how old you are and what kind of deals Cal had with the media before the Pac-12 Network stuff came about but this is the same way that helped convert me from a Sooner fan to a Buff fan as a young kid and that was the ability to watch CU games above the air back in the late 1980's. All it took was the 1989 CU-Nebraska game to win me over and I was still smarting over the Huskers beating the Sooners the previous year (1988). I don't care about the production values...I want to see my team play and CSU fans can do that (good for them) and at the same time there are many 6-12 year old kids in Colorado who hasn't declared their loyalty to either school just yet. And for the out-of-state CSU fans & alumni, they get to show their kids a part of who they are and what kind of exprience they had in their lives. If I was in the same boat today, I'm not sure if I would end up being the CU fan that I am today. The old Big 8 was a very regional conference back then just like the MWC is today.

Given that a lot of Colorado kids come from Florida, California, and Texas these days, exposure cannot be underestimated at all. Like I said about being an OU fan back then, I came from Texas to Colorado. I know TOO well how important exposure is to non-alumni such as myself. The Pac-12 and Comcast is not doing CU any favors right now in the exposure department and that I why I am upset with both the conference and Comcast. There is only a limited amount of time for CU to convert such fans and once they get to a certain age, they decide on their school's loyalty. If it wasn't for CU's local deal back then, I would still be an Oklahoma Sooner fan due to my family.

And while you are right about CSU picking up the production costs, $60 to 70k per game is small potatoes when it comes to exposure for the school. http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20120824/SPORTS/308240033/11-CSU-s-12-games-fall-will-televised CSU still can offset those costs by selling advertising and you bet CSU will be advertising their academics to prosepctive students and giving alumni that tingling feeling to give back to their school. CU's Benson has talked a lot about last year's USC-CU game which was the only game on ESPN that night and what it did for exposure to CU.

The money is nice but exposure is still a pretty big deal if not a bigger deal than money.

Channel 20 is available on Dish and Directv. Unless, that is, you don't pay for local channels ($5/month to Directv), or if you live in a market that has local TV coverage. It is not available to customers in most of Western Colorado. I don't know, but wouldn't be surprised if it is unavailable in the Springs/Pueblo.

And the difference in TV deals isn't the $60-70k per game in production costs. It is that PLUS the $20-25 million per year that CU gets from the Pac-12 network. That is some pretty expensive ****ing exposure....

 

[NashBuff]

Channel 20 is available on Dish and Directv. Unless, that is, you don't pay for local channels ($5/month to Directv), or if you live in a market that has local TV coverage. It is not available to customers in most of Western Colorado. I don't know, but wouldn't be surprised if it is unavailable in the Springs/Pueblo.

And the difference in TV deals isn't the $60-70k per game in production costs. It is that PLUS the $20-25 million per year that CU gets from the Pac-12 network. That is some pretty expensive ****ing exposure....

That exposure is very critical for the public Pac-12 schools which have seen their state funding dwindle into the single percentage digits of late. Cal did cut some sports but brought them back after the donors stepped up. At one point in the future, it is expected that the ADs from the public schools will no longer need to get money from the school to cover their AD's expenses if there is a shortfall.

I know CU is getting paid big money and that is nice but the money that CU's AD is getting from the Pac-12 is only a tiny part of what the annual CU budget is so exposure to CU is a huge deal in this case and now CSU could be winning the exposure war with CU in this state. CSU can easily write off those production costs as advertising expenses for the school...I won't be shocked if the RamNation posters have picked up on those threads and are gloating about their media deal.

 

[Junction]

That exposure is very critical for the public Pac-12 schools which have seen their state funding dwindle into the single percentage digits of late. Cal did cut some sports but brought them back after the donors stepped up. At one point in the future, it is expected that the ADs from the public schools will no longer need to get money from the school to cover their AD's expenses if there is a shortfall.

I know CU is getting paid big money and that is nice but the money that CU's AD is getting from the Pac-12 is only a tiny part of what the annual CU budget is so exposure to CU is a huge deal in this case and now CSU could be winning the exposure war with CU in this state. CSU can easily write off those production costs as advertising expenses for the school...I won't be shocked if the RamNation posters have picked up on those threads and are gloating about their media deal.

So CU is too poor to be able to afford to take $20 million + per year??

 

[Timbuff10]

Man you're right, we should have just joined the MWC

Don't do that

 

[Duff Man]

Nash and Timmy FTL!

 

[buff4bcs1985]

You seem to think that you are the one getting the $10-$15 Million in cash... Just because some marketing genius hired by the PAC12 told the PAC that they could get X amount of money, doesn't mean that it is money in the bank for these schools.

I say what the Rams are doing is very relevant. For the average Joe sitting around on a Saturday on the Front Range, he is going to watch the Rams because he isn't paying all this extra money to have the right provider and the extra sports packages that in the end cost over $100 a month on just the cable bill. Sure, many die hard Buff fans will pay this, but they are already fans. Meanwhile, while the school is making a good check from the PAC, the locals are turning into Ram fans and snubbing their noses at the elitist CU Buffs. What a way to expand the brand. Just imagine if the Rams win 7 or 8 games and we win 4. Other than Allbufffs posters, who is watching CU games?

You have some very good points about why the Pac-12 could have done that instead of this.

Don't get me started about CSU. I will provide the link to the official story: http://www.csurams.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/082712aab.html Read the quote VERY carefully:



I don't know how old you are and what kind of deals Cal had with the media before the Pac-12 Network stuff came about but this is the same way that helped convert me from a Sooner fan to a Buff fan as a young kid and that was the ability to watch CU games above the air back in the late 1980's. All it took was the 1989 CU-Nebraska game to win me over and I was still smarting over the Huskers beating the Sooners the previous year (1988). I don't care about the production values...I want to see my team play and CSU fans can do that (good for them) and at the same time there are many 6-12 year old kids in Colorado who hasn't declared their loyalty to either school just yet. And for the out-of-state CSU fans & alumni, they get to show their kids a part of who they are and what kind of exprience they had in their lives. If I was in the same boat today, I'm not sure if I would end up being the CU fan that I am today. The old Big 8 was a very regional conference back then just like the MWC is today.

Given that a lot of Colorado kids come from Florida, California, and Texas these days, exposure cannot be underestimated at all. Like I said about being an OU fan back then, I came from Texas to Colorado. I know TOO well how important exposure is to non-alumni such as myself. The Pac-12 and Comcast is not doing CU any favors right now in the exposure department and that I why I am upset with both the conference and Comcast. There is only a limited amount of time for CU to convert such fans and once they get to a certain age, they decide on their school's loyalty. If it wasn't for CU's local deal back then, I would still be an Oklahoma Sooner fan due to my family.

And while you are right about CSU picking up the production costs, $60 to 70k per game is small potatoes when it comes to exposure for the school. http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20120824/SPORTS/308240033/11-CSU-s-12-games-fall-will-televised CSU still can offset those costs by selling advertising and you bet CSU will be advertising their academics to prosepctive students and giving alumni that tingling feeling to give back to their school. CU's Benson has talked a lot about last year's USC-CU game which was the only game on ESPN that night and what it did for exposure to CU.

The money is nice but exposure is still a pretty big deal if not a bigger deal than money.

[video=youtube;5hfYJsQAhl0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hfYJsQAhl0[/video]

 

[SuperD]

If I had to guess, I'd bet that the ACC games on My20 in Denver are a result of the station owner working a deal to piggy back on the portion of the ACC broadcast rights that are owned by Raycom. Including Raycom in that deal was highly questionable and likely cost the ACC a lot of money. The conference commissioners son happens to work for them, and they have a history with league (with some speculation that Raycom might have gone under if they lost those rights). They are an independent broadcast group that is likely trying to sell the broadcasts to other channel owners outside of the group of television stations they own. I don't think there is any grand conspiracy or plan by the ACC to increase their exposure out West. They likely don't have a say one way or the other, once Raycom had those rights they are free to try to sell the broadcasts anywhere that will air them and I wouldn't be surprised if My20 is getting a hell of a deal for live college football.

I would say I think there is a lot of overreaction in this thread, lets see how things carry out over the next month before we proclaim the league and conference commissioner who signed the most valuable college media rights deal in history complete idiots out to deliberately screw over their fans.

 

[NashBuff]

The big question was that why could the Pac-12 have not launched the networks around the football media days in late July instead of August 15th so they would have more time to iron out issues like those with Dish & DTV and Comcast.

I'm ready for a nice long Labor Day weekend, lots of sleep (rough summer in the office), and college football.

I'll revisit this thread in a couple of weeks. Hopefully the P12 announces deals with DTV & Dish and deals for online streaming.

If not, this thread could go nuclear.

 

[skibum]

I think my biggest annoyance at the moment isn't necessarily the DTV situation; my, and I bet the P12's, biggest annoyance is with COX and Comcast. When those deals were announced last summer, it sure sounded and looked like that at least the main network would be available everywhere where COX and Comcast service. But it's not. Both of them have chosen to not carry the channel in major markets, Chicago, DC, Houston, etc. I'm honestly pissed off at all of them: the P12 should not have allowed such a loophole in the original contract, and COX/Comcast should not have misrepresented their intentions.

 

[Dark Bohner]

I think that people need to keep bothering the TV service providers to get what they want. Also, talk with your wallet. If you live in an area that has a provider with the Pac 12 Network, tell your provider that you are leaving them because of the Pac 12 network and walk.

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

I think my biggest annoyance at the moment isn't necessarily the DTV situation; my, and I bet the P12's, biggest annoyance is with COX and Comcast. When those deals were announced last summer, it sure sounded and looked like that at least the main network would be available everywhere where COX and Comcast service. But it's not. Both of them have chosen to not carry the channel in major markets, Chicago, DC, Houston, etc. I'm honestly pissed off at all of them: the P12 should not have allowed such a loophole in the original contract, and COX/Comcast should not have misrepresented their intentions.

This! It's a travashamockery that Comcast is intentionally choosing not to carry the Pac-12 Network here in Houston while they carry it in most other markets.

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

I think that people need to keep bothering the TV service providers to get what they want. Also, talk with your wallet. If you live in an area that has a provider with the Pac 12 Network, tell your provider that you are leaving them because of the Pac 12 network and walk.

Yep. As soon as a provider has the P12N in H-Town, I'll do just that.

 

[Ozbuff]

Yep. As soon as a provider has the P12N in H-Town, I'll do just that.

:stupid:

 

[skibum]

I have 4 television service possibilities where I am: DirecTV, Dish, Cox and Verizon/Fios. I sent emails to each of them today telling them that whoever gets there first gets my business. The trick was: I didn't send the email to their customer service centers - I sent to the highest person in the hierarchy for whom I could find an email address. Turned out to be the COO of Cox (and I threw the regional GM in there as well), EVP of Content for Fios, 2 or 3 C level and EVP's at DTV, Dish was the only one I couldn't find a solid email address - so it went to their generic "email the ceo" address. A few of the emails I sent bounced, but not all of them, so I'm pretty confident the ones that didn't bounce made it to a real person.

We'll see if any of them respond. Strange thing is, I really am going to switch my provider just for this...

 

[PhillyBuff]

You are in DC right? I went to Gallaudet University in DC and I was only able to watch CU one or two times per season between 1999 and 2005 so I do understand your pain of not watching CU football. I really missed watching the Broncos and now with the NFL Rewind stuff today, I would not have that problem since I would be able to watch the replay of the game and watching the game live isn't that big of a deal anymore since I can still see the game. BuffsTV offered us that option until this year so I can understand why CU alumni and fans outside of the Pac-12's media footprint would be very upset. I know that DC has a lot of people from every part of the country so I'm sure the alumni & fans of the 11 other schools are just as ticked off as you are. I wonder if those alumni & fanbases will start shrinking when they CAN'T watch their favorite team play? Where will their money go to?

How I compenstated for the lack of CU and Denver Bronco exposure was to go to Maryland football games and watch the Redskins play. I bought some Maryland & Redskin gear but once I moved back, I was so HAPPY to buy CU & Denver Broncos stuff again.

Now if I had to move back to the DC area (no thanks to going back to that massive rat race called the Beltway and Metro), I can watch my Broncos but what about my Buffs?

Drive up tp Philadelphia.... We get it here! I have lots of room in my house for CU fans to watch!