National NCAA hoops coverage disappearing even further? - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

noah · 2009-12-13, 02:27 PM

First it was Raptors NBA TV dropping their weekly coverage last year and now "The Score" too?

While it's incredible to have the Big Ten Network in Canada, their mandate and rightly so is to cover their own conference 99% of the time.
Executives there know that they are only a secondary option to ESPN, who along with FSN have a stranglehold on national cable coverage of NCAA hoops.

It was a breakthrough when in 2001 or 02 Raptors TV picked up what was then a tripleheader of NCAA coverage on Monday Nights. This unfortunately ended before last season, when Raptors' US content provider NBA TV beefed up their live game lineup and provided a convenient and somewhat justifiable reason to eliminate all of the college coverage.

"The Score" had a live game package of 1-2 games a week up until last season ever since 2004. It appears from the lack of updates on their website that this too will be ending, much the same way other programming that serves their audience well has been eliminated for no other reason than to fatten the bottom line.

Sportsnet had a "trial" package of 3-4 FSN Sunday games last year, games that regularly feature the best teams in the country like Duke and North Carolina along with Pacific coast teams that would serve their regional audience out there well. This seems to have been put off to the side with all the resources focused on the Olympics, although the gaping holes in their programming lineup in JAN and MAR would appear to be well served with the addition of at least another limited trial run.

I find it quite amazing that with the impending entry of Canadian university Simon Fraser into the NCAA college ranks next season, no broadcaster wants to take an incredibly minor risk and roll the dice that interest in an annual package of games will only continue to grow once Canadians get a taste of NCAA action north of the border.

NB Josh · 2009-12-13, 06:18 PM

Simon Fraser will be going into Division II athletics, something that is barely covered in the US.

As for The Score, apparently you didn't check their website well enough. They will air Wednesday Night Hoops again this year, here is the schedule

1/13 - 7:00pm - Boston College @ Duke
1/13 - 9:00pm - Kansas @ Nebraska
1/20 - 7:00pm - South Florida @ Cincinnati
1/20 - 9:00pm - Baylor @ Kansas
1/27 - 7:00pm - Notre Dame @ Villanova
1/27 - 9:00pm - Florida State @ Duke
2/3 - 7:00pm - Depaul @ Marquette
2/3 - 9:00pm - Kansas @ Colorado
2/10 - 7:00pm - Connecticut @ Syracuse
2/10 - 9:00pm - Duke @ North Carolina
3/3 - 7:00pm - Connecticut @ Notre Dame

I personally don't see a big problem with the number of games on Canadian TV. Even the NCAA Tournament does absolutely terrible in the ratings, so why would Sportsnet or TSN pick up regular season games? Peachtree and TV38 will both have multiple games in a week, 2-3 a piece, CBS will have anywhere from 1-5 games a week from now out and KHQ in Spokane has quite a few Gonzaga games.

Dean W · 2009-12-13, 08:44 PM

NCAA package on Bell and Rogers and others will have multiple games each night as well in SD and HD.

noah · 2009-12-13, 08:50 PM

Thanks for the info. Where did you find the schedule info on the score's website?

Although SFU will be DII, it will still put NCAA hoops in general on the radar of sports fans that would have otherwise ignored it.

Can I get KHQ on Shaw in Vancouver for Gonzaga games?

Sportsnet has a big hole in their winter schedule for live sports after losing the NBA, so anything worthy of being shown live would seem to fit well. I assume that's why they gave it a shot last year.

emcee · 2009-12-14, 11:43 AM

Noah, I totally agree with you. As a huge NCAA hoops fan it is very frustrating that their is so little coverage in Canada. I guess most providers hope we just subscribe to the super sports package of equiv. I would hope TSN will eventually get the rights back from the score and use TSN2 to air some ESPN games. It would be really nice if a rogers or shaw would file an application to air ESPNU. With Big10 and CbsCS the CRTC would likely have to grant it.

NB Josh · 2009-12-14, 12:39 PM

I got The Score's schedule from their NCAA Football page, I guess it is a bit hard to find. I thought it just said "NCAA" not NCAA Football.

I don't see anyway that TSN wants college basketball coverage, they are so busy in March with NBA, NHL and curling that I don't know where they would find the time. Plus as I said before the ratings are horrible, even the NCAA Tournament is hardly worth the bother.

waterug · 2009-12-14, 04:20 PM

It's sad to see the NCAA's March Madness deteriorate the way it has over the last few years. This is due to the fact that too many players from the big-name basketball colleges depart after only one year and head for greener pastures in the NBA. Just look at the number of NBA stars who never went to college and turned pro right after high school. Lebron James comes to mind.

leaffan1967 · 2009-12-14, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waterug

It's sad to see the NCAA's March Madness deteriorate the way it has over the last few years. This is due to the fact that too many players from the big-name basketball colleges depart after only one year and head for greener pastures in the NBA. Just look at the number of NBA stars who never went to college and turned pro right after high school. Lebron James comes to mind.

You can thank the NBA's rules that require a player to attend college for at least one year before entering the draft.

takeaim · 2009-12-15, 07:37 AM

what about shaw direct customers? right now they don't offer a super sports or ncaa sports pack, so they are outta luck right now for those espn games

noah · 2009-12-19, 04:46 AM

That's a great point about ESPNU!
Although their live games are second tier compared to ESPN/ESPN2 (still a definite leg up from CBS College Sports' fifth tier), they do appear to air ESPN games on a tape-delayed basis as well. In addition, they air shows like ESPN's daily "college football live" and other recap-type/analysis programming.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espntv/espnGuide

If Shaw received enough feedback on ESPNU, I can't imagine why they wouldn't add it since it is a lot easier on their part than organizing the resources to match Rogers'/Bell's NCAA "sports pack"-type offering.

The reason why Shaw must have applied for a license to air the Big Ten Network in the first place was to take the cheap way out of offering a "sports pack". Now that Rogers' has added the Big Ten Network as well, Shaw/Shaw Direct should be stepping up to keep their customers from switching to the competition.

NB Josh · 2009-12-27, 03:36 AM

Mods feel free to make a new thread for this if you think it should be a new thread...

NCAA basketball is coming to TSN2. On Saturday January 9 they will air a doubleheader with Connecticut-Georgetown at 12:00 and Duke-Georgia Tech at 2:00. No word on what other games they will air.

noah · 2009-12-27, 01:29 PM

Wow, this is great news! A couple of heated conference rivalries renewed in both the big east and ACC.

Thanks TSN2, let's hope this continues!

2009-12-13, 02:27 PM	#1
noah Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 71	National NCAA hoops coverage disappearing even further? First it was Raptors NBA TV dropping their weekly coverage last year and now "The Score" too? While it's incredible to have the Big Ten Network in Canada, their mandate and rightly so is to cover their own conference 99% of the time. Executives there know that they are only a secondary option to ESPN, who along with FSN have a stranglehold on national cable coverage of NCAA hoops. It was a breakthrough when in 2001 or 02 Raptors TV picked up what was then a tripleheader of NCAA coverage on Monday Nights. This unfortunately ended before last season, when Raptors' US content provider NBA TV beefed up their live game lineup and provided a convenient and somewhat justifiable reason to eliminate all of the college coverage. "The Score" had a live game package of 1-2 games a week up until last season ever since 2004. It appears from the lack of updates on their website that this too will be ending, much the same way other programming that serves their audience well has been eliminated for no other reason than to fatten the bottom line. Sportsnet had a "trial" package of 3-4 FSN Sunday games last year, games that regularly feature the best teams in the country like Duke and North Carolina along with Pacific coast teams that would serve their regional audience out there well. This seems to have been put off to the side with all the resources focused on the Olympics, although the gaping holes in their programming lineup in JAN and MAR would appear to be well served with the addition of at least another limited trial run. I find it quite amazing that with the impending entry of Canadian university Simon Fraser into the NCAA college ranks next season, no broadcaster wants to take an incredibly minor risk and roll the dice that interest in an annual package of games will only continue to grow once Canadians get a taste of NCAA action north of the border.

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2009-12-13, 06:18 PM	#2
NB Josh Veteran Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: New Brunswick - Shaw Direct Posts: 3,150	Simon Fraser will be going into Division II athletics, something that is barely covered in the US. As for The Score, apparently you didn't check their website well enough. They will air Wednesday Night Hoops again this year, here is the schedule 1/13 - 7:00pm - Boston College @ Duke 1/13 - 9:00pm - Kansas @ Nebraska 1/20 - 7:00pm - South Florida @ Cincinnati 1/20 - 9:00pm - Baylor @ Kansas 1/27 - 7:00pm - Notre Dame @ Villanova 1/27 - 9:00pm - Florida State @ Duke 2/3 - 7:00pm - Depaul @ Marquette 2/3 - 9:00pm - Kansas @ Colorado 2/10 - 7:00pm - Connecticut @ Syracuse 2/10 - 9:00pm - Duke @ North Carolina 3/3 - 7:00pm - Connecticut @ Notre Dame I personally don't see a big problem with the number of games on Canadian TV. Even the NCAA Tournament does absolutely terrible in the ratings, so why would Sportsnet or TSN pick up regular season games? Peachtree and TV38 will both have multiple games in a week, 2-3 a piece, CBS will have anywhere from 1-5 games a week from now out and KHQ in Spokane has quite a few Gonzaga games.

2009-12-13, 08:44 PM	#3
Dean W Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 842	NCAA package on Bell and Rogers and others will have multiple games each night as well in SD and HD.

2009-12-13, 08:50 PM	#4
noah Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 71	Thanks for the info. Where did you find the schedule info on the score's website? Although SFU will be DII, it will still put NCAA hoops in general on the radar of sports fans that would have otherwise ignored it. Can I get KHQ on Shaw in Vancouver for Gonzaga games? Sportsnet has a big hole in their winter schedule for live sports after losing the NBA, so anything worthy of being shown live would seem to fit well. I assume that's why they gave it a shot last year.

2009-12-14, 11:43 AM	#5
emcee Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 68	Noah, I totally agree with you. As a huge NCAA hoops fan it is very frustrating that their is so little coverage in Canada. I guess most providers hope we just subscribe to the super sports package of equiv. I would hope TSN will eventually get the rights back from the score and use TSN2 to air some ESPN games. It would be really nice if a rogers or shaw would file an application to air ESPNU. With Big10 and CbsCS the CRTC would likely have to grant it.

2009-12-14, 12:39 PM	#6
NB Josh Veteran Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: New Brunswick - Shaw Direct Posts: 3,150	I got The Score's schedule from their NCAA Football page, I guess it is a bit hard to find. I thought it just said "NCAA" not NCAA Football. I don't see anyway that TSN wants college basketball coverage, they are so busy in March with NBA, NHL and curling that I don't know where they would find the time. Plus as I said before the ratings are horrible, even the NCAA Tournament is hardly worth the bother.

2009-12-14, 04:20 PM	#7
waterug Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Peterborough, ON Posts: 868	It's sad to see the NCAA's March Madness deteriorate the way it has over the last few years. This is due to the fact that too many players from the big-name basketball colleges depart after only one year and head for greener pastures in the NBA. Just look at the number of NBA stars who never went to college and turned pro right after high school. Lebron James comes to mind.

2009-12-15, 07:37 AM	#9
takeaim Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 370	what about shaw direct customers? right now they don't offer a super sports or ncaa sports pack, so they are outta luck right now for those espn games

2009-12-19, 04:46 AM	#10
noah Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 71	That's a great point about ESPNU! Although their live games are second tier compared to ESPN/ESPN2 (still a definite leg up from CBS College Sports' fifth tier), they do appear to air ESPN games on a tape-delayed basis as well. In addition, they air shows like ESPN's daily "college football live" and other recap-type/analysis programming. http://sports.espn.go.com/espntv/espnGuide If Shaw received enough feedback on ESPNU, I can't imagine why they wouldn't add it since it is a lot easier on their part than organizing the resources to match Rogers'/Bell's NCAA "sports pack"-type offering. The reason why Shaw must have applied for a license to air the Big Ten Network in the first place was to take the cheap way out of offering a "sports pack". Now that Rogers' has added the Big Ten Network as well, Shaw/Shaw Direct should be stepping up to keep their customers from switching to the competition.

2009-12-27, 03:36 AM	#11
NB Josh Veteran Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: New Brunswick - Shaw Direct Posts: 3,150	Mods feel free to make a new thread for this if you think it should be a new thread... NCAA basketball is coming to TSN2. On Saturday January 9 they will air a doubleheader with Connecticut-Georgetown at 12:00 and Duke-Georgia Tech at 2:00. No word on what other games they will air.

2009-12-27, 01:29 PM	#12
noah Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 71	Wow, this is great news! A couple of heated conference rivalries renewed in both the big east and ACC. Thanks TSN2, let's hope this continues!