Letter to CSTV about ECACHL Tournament Coverage

[atb9]

From USCHO:

CSTV, acknowledging an significant public demand, will now air Friday's first ECACHL semifinal between Cornell and Vermont on the same day, albeit still tape delayed.

Originally, CSTV, the only station available nationally to carry the ECAC semifinals, was only going to televise the first semifinal on tape delay Saturday morning at 11 a.m. But after receiving an influx of letters, CSTV will now also air the game on tape delay immediately following the first semifinal between Colgate and Harvard, which will air live at 7:30 p.m.

CSTV is contractually obligated to carry NCAA basketball studio programming during the afternoon when Game 1 is taking place.

http://www.uscho.com/news/2005/03/15_010336.php

[adamw]

Trust me when I tell you that the ECAC did everything imaginable to get all the games on live, including trying in Boston, FoxNE, Yes, NESN, Empire (defunct), FoxNY, MSG and everywhere else. No one would take it for a variety of reasons.

That the game is on as many places as it is, should be considered a tremendous testament to the work done at the ECAC office and cooperation of CSTV -- because there was a time that it wasn't going to happen at all.  It's just an unfortunate set of circumstances with CSTV and their NCAA hoops contract - and the fact that it's Cornell in that early game, which has by far the most demand.

[abmarks]

Adam-

Thanks for the update.  I am sure that the league had to work hard.  That doesnt mean that we have to be happy about theresult.  Had many people not blistered both the network and the league I'm sure we wouldn't even havegotten the tape-delay changed.  

But you raise an interesting point.  Our beef should be with the NCAA and CSTV.  I don't think it will do much good, but what if people hammered the NCAA with contacts?  I know all the money is in hoop, but do they really need a 497th place to have tourney talk type shows?  (Or is it that they control the actual content on the CSTV shows as opposed to say an ESPN show....)  

I'm going to send them a complaint and see what they say at the NCAA...or rather how eloquently they word their blow-off response....

[jtwcornell91]

[Q]atb9 Wrote:
CSTV is contractually obligated to carry NCAA basketball studio programming during the afternoon when Game 1 is taking place.[/q]

I think we have to think of this action in the following light: if they realize how much demand there is to have the hockey carried live, they may be less likely in the future to contractually oblige themselves to something so stupid as airing yet another squeakball analysis show when there's live hockey that's not being carried on any other outlet.

[adamw]

[Q]abmarks Wrote:
I know all the money is in hoop, but do they really need a 497th place to have tourney talk type shows?  (Or is it that they control the actual content on the CSTV shows as opposed to say an ESPN show....) [/q]

I don't know why it was part of the deal - I just know that it is.  Not making any value judgments on whether it was a good idea or not.  I believe it was part of the package that included the right to video webcast all the NCAA men's tournament games.

[KeithK]

[q]I don't know why it was part of the deal - I just know that it is. Not making any value judgments on whether it was a good idea or not. I believe it was part of the package that included the right to video webcast all the NCAA men's tournament games.[/q]It probably was a fairly reasonable decision from a business perspective.   I were running a fledgling network you want to line up programming that you know has solid appeal.  NCAA squeakball, even analysis, has that.  Maybe once the network is firmly established you can be free to branch out more.  Maybe the concerted effort by college hockey fans to ask for coverage demonstrates that there is a sizeable market there.  But I can't necessarily say this is a bad decision on CSTV's part, even while I complain about it.

[CrazyLarry]

If you want to establish yourself as a place to go for College Sports, and on the first day of the NCAA Basketball tourney, you're not showing/talking about or somehow dealing with that, people are going to write you off.  The potential for that is pretty severe, and if I were CSTV I'd definitely want to make sure it doesn't happen.

[abmarks]

[Q]CrazyLarry Wrote:

 If you want to establish yourself as a place to go for College Sports, and on the first day of the NCAA Basketball tourney, you're not showing/talking about or somehow dealing with that, people are going to write you off.  The potential for that is pretty severe, and if I were CSTV I'd definitely want to make sure it doesn't happen.[/q]


Serve both audiences....Talk about hoop:

-in the afternoon
-use most of the in-between period time to talk about hoop and cut down the inane banter  and just show quick highlits of the hockey.
-go back to hoop talk for the half hour between the games.

They cut away from hoop halftimes all the time to talk about other games in progress...

[jtwcornell91]

OTOH, by making our presence known and voicing our disappointment that the ECAC semi is not live, we increase the chance that the next time around they do both: show the hockey games, but cram every minute before and between games, and in the intermissions, with the squeakball analysis.

[billhoward]

When you're starting out, you're probably just glad to fill in your programming hours. Later you start thinking about having - requring - escape clauses in case other more interesting programming comes along.

[ugarte]

[Q]CrazyLarry Wrote:

 If you want to establish yourself as a place to go for College Sports, and on the first day of the NCAA Basketball tourney, you're not showing/talking about or somehow dealing with that, people are going to write you off.  The potential for that is pretty severe, and if I were CSTV I'd definitely want to make sure it doesn't happen.[/q]I wouldn't be so worried. The other networks will be showing games and 800 channels will have analysis. Coverage of live sports wouldn't hurt their credibility.

Still, CSTV probably made the right decision at the time it was made. A Cornell game at the time of the broadcast is more or less the only scenario (highly devoted, geographically dispersed) where the demand would be high enough to give them pause.

[Luke 05]

Anyone know what ESPNU's agreement for hockey broadcasts consists of?

[abmarks]

[Q]adamw Wrote:

 Trust me when I tell you that the ECAC did everything imaginable to get all the games on live, including trying in Boston, FoxNE, Yes, NESN, Empire (defunct), FoxNY, MSG and everywhere else. No one would take it for a variety of reasons.

That the game is on as many places as it is, should be considered a tremendous testament to the work done at the ECAC office -- because there was a time that it wasn't going to happen at all.  It's just an unfortunate set of circumstances with CSTV and their NCAA hoops contract - and the fact that it's Cornell in that early game, which has by far the most demand.
[/q]

Since I've got time in my hands I made more calls....

I spoke with Chris Farrow, Mgr of broadcasting at the NCAA, who seems to be a big hockey fan himself.  CSTV IS NOT showing NCAA contracted programming in that 430-730 slot according to Chris.

So I Called CSTV and talked to Eric Handler,     Director, Corporate Communications   (212-342-8760    pr@cstv.com).  His response?  They have exclsusive programing you can't get anywhere else- student campus correspondents and coverage of press conferences!   THey think this is going to get big ratings!  

Anyway, that's what I was told.  Nothing about contractual obligations was mentioned.  I don't know which is right but I think a barrage on CSTV still can't hurt, if at the least to get them right for next year.


Arik

[KeithK]

[q]So I Called CSTV and talked to Eric Handler, Director, Corporate Communications (212-342-8760 pr@cstv.com). His response? They have exclsusive programing you can't get anywhere else- student campus correspondents and coverage of press conferences! THey think this is going to get big ratings![/q]It might (compared to hockey at least), when you consider that there are probably at least ten times as many college basketball fans as college hockey fans, and I'm being conservative.  When you consider how much time we spend babbling about college hockey on this and other boards would it surprise you that squeakball fans obsess about that tournament and want to see endless analysis?

Besides, the guy is Director of Communications.  His job is to listen to you and then tell you how great CSTV's coverage is.  Even if he agreed with you totally he probably wouldn't say so, because he isnt the guy in charge of programming.

[adamw]

It's time to chill out on the CSTV bombardment.  It's starting to get counter-productive.  They've heard you.