Fox Sports 1 Update

[Bill Marsh]

Disagree. The fact that some consider Providence to still be on the bubble makes the game more compelling.

The casual basketball fan in Dallas, Miami, LA, or even Chicago likely has no idea where Providence College is located, or really cares about them.

My guess is that the fans you're talking about never learned their state capitols in 5th grade either. It doesn't really take a genius to know that Providence College is located in the state capitol of Rhode Island.

This ridiculous allegation would be like saying that casual fans wouldn't know where the University of Miami, or the University of Houston, or where UCLA, or where the University of Chicago are located. Duh! Is this a trick question?

[billyjack]

So big deal, some idiot who lives in Possum Hollow Texas can't locate Providence, a capital city, on a map...

Oh, okay, so viewership numbers don't matter to Fox. I didn't know that. But I'm sure Fox agrees with you.

I thought Fox was in this to make money. Every TV dialed onto Fox Sports counts my friend. Maybe you need to go back and take a refresher in Econ 100.

So Providence + Creighton = Villanova + Creighton in your world?

First of all it's your opinion. Secondly, the National Player of the Year is running around.
ESPN was praying for a Duke-Syracuse semi, and a UNC-Duke-SU final, and that went to pot. Do you think someone in Chicago or Denver feels like watching Virginia-Pitt play another 45-44 game? Or McDermott put up 45 by himself?

[Bill Marsh]

What Fox really needs to DL something about is the fact that the Big East and the PAC-12 are playing their championship games tonight (East Coast time). The result is that Fox is broadcasting college baseball this afternoon, motorcycle racing tomorrow afternoon, and NASCAR tomorrow night?

Fox simply cannot have that kind of programming on Championship Sunday afternoon and Selection Sunday night, not if they want to cultivate the interest of college basketball fans.

[cu blujs]

FoxSports ought to go cut a deal with MVC and a couple of similar conference (i.e., pernnial 8-12 ranked conferences with decent sized alumni bases) to show their championship games Saturday afternoon prior to the Big East final. I am sure the Valley would love to move their tournament back a week if they could get a national television slot for their championship game. They could still have their first three rounds on Fox Midwest. If you find three such conferences, then you are looking at championship games at something like, 1:00, 3:30, 6:00 and 8:30 ET. Start with a couple of the small conferences and move up to MVC at 6:00 and cap it with the Big East finals at 8:30.

Of course, MVC is just an example becuase of Wichita this year. If they don't recover next year, then maybe you go find Conf. USA or one of hte other leagues that is generally around the top 10.

[stever20]

FoxSports ought to go cut a deal with MVC and a couple of similar conference (i.e., pernnial 8-12 ranked conferences with decent sized alumni bases) to show their championship games Saturday afternoon prior to the Big East final. I am sure the Valley would love to move their tournament back a week if they could get a national television slot for their championship game. They could still have their first three rounds on Fox Midwest. If you find three such conferences, then you are looking at championship games at something like, 1:00, 3:30, 6:00 and 8:30 ET. Start with a couple of the small conferences and move up to MVC at 6:00 and cap it with the Big East finals at 8:30.

Of course, MVC is just an example becuase of Wichita this year. If they don't recover next year, then maybe you go find Conf. USA or one of hte other leagues that is generally around the top 10.

The MVC does have national slot for the championship game. 2pm last Sunday.

[HoosierPal]

So big deal, some idiot who lives in Possum Hollow Texas can't locate Providence, a capital city, on a map...

Oh, okay, so viewership numbers don't matter to Fox. I didn't know that. But I'm sure Fox agrees with you.

I thought Fox was in this to make money. Every TV dialed onto Fox Sports counts my friend. Maybe you need to go back and take a refresher in Econ 100.

So Providence + Creighton = Villanova + Creighton in your world?

First of all it's your opinion. Secondly, the National Player of the Year is running around.
ESPN was praying for a Duke-Syracuse semi, and a UNC-Duke-SU final, and that went to pot. Do you think someone in Chicago or Denver feels like watching Virginia-Pitt play another 45-44 game? Or McDermott put up 45 by himself?

Your statement doesn't matter. McDermott is playing no matter if it is Providence or Villanova. People who want to watch him will watch him no matter who is on another network.

So you really think that Providence - Creighton will draw an equal audience to what Villanova-Creighton would have. Good for you. When you take off your Blue Colored Big East glasses you might find out that there is a significant difference between the national recognition of Villanova and Providence.

[stever20]

I think there's 2 things that are way different then before tonight...

1- We won't have an hour pregame show- at most 30 minutes, and that's if the Pac 12 doesn't overrun.
2- We will have major competition in the Big 12. Last year, we were just going up against WAC or SWAC or something smalltime like that..

think Fox got lucky that it's not Kansas/anyone really in the Big 12 title game.

[HoosierPal]

Disagree. The fact that some consider Providence to still be on the bubble makes the game more compelling.

The casual basketball fan in Dallas, Miami, LA, or even Chicago likely has no idea where Providence College is located, or really cares about them.

My guess is that the fans you're talking about never learned their state capitols in 5th grade either. It doesn't really take a genius to know that Providence College is located in the state capitol of Rhode Island.

This ridiculous allegation would be like saying that casual fans wouldn't know where the University of Miami, or the University of Houston, or where UCLA, or where the University of Chicago are located. Duh! Is this a trick question?

Sometimes you get off topic BM. Please give me a one word answer: Yes or No, Providence v Creighton will draw just as well or better than Villanova v Creighton. Obviously we'll never know, but you have drifted off point.

[Bill Marsh]

The casual basketball fan in Dallas, Miami, LA, or even Chicago likely has no idea where Providence College is located, or really cares about them.

My guess is that the fans you're talking about never learned their state capitols in 5th grade either. It doesn't really take a genius to know that Providence College is located in the state capitol of Rhode Island.

This ridiculous allegation would be like saying that casual fans wouldn't know where the University of Miami, or the University of Houston, or where UCLA, or where the University of Chicago are located. Duh! Is this a trick question?

Sometimes you get off topic BM. Please give me a one word answer: Yes or No, Providence v Creighton will draw just as well or better than Villanova v Creighton. Obviously we'll never know, but you have drifted off point.

Nope. Not going to be sucked in.

The point in the post to which I responded was that casual fans don't even know where Providence is.

Frankly. Casual fans are probably only watching the conference that they root for. So, it doesn't really matter what fans in Miami, Dallas, or LA know or don't know. I'd be shocked if casual fans inChicago don't know where Providence is since the team has been coming to town every year for most of the past decade. Casual fans of the Big East will tune in regardless of who's playing in the finals.

You act like we're talking about a group of mid majors that no one' sever heard of before. Providence has been a member of one of college basketball's most prominent conferences for the past 35 years. I think that casual fans know very well who they are. Although they've been pretty much down for the past decade, any fan older than 35 who follows college basketball is capable of remembering them as a program from the 1987-97 era that went to a Final Four (1987), won a Big East championship (1994), and went to an Elite 8 (1997). Fans over 50 will remember them as the most consistent and successful program in the 1960's and 1970's. Just check their number of top 20 appearances in those 2 decades.

How many programs can say the same? What reasons have most programs from the ACC after UNC and Duke given anyone a reason to know who they are? Or in the SEC, after Kentucky and Florida? Same in the Big XII after Kansas or in the PAC-12 after UCLA or Arizona.

I thought that casual fans like watching good basketball. Providence brings not only a good team to the championship game but a player who was the conference's leading scorer last year and who is the conference's assists leader this year. They bring one of the few teams who beat Creighton this year, setting up a David vs Goliath matchup, which is what most casual fans love about March Madness.

Casual fans who only tune in at this time of year are often watching games this weekend to prepare the brackets sheets that they're going to fill out over the next few days. They are scouting teams precisely so they can find teams of pulling off upsets when the tournament starts in less than a week. The Big east finals gives them the opportunity to see just such a team. This is not a regular season game that only draws ratings if a game can tear people away from their usual routines. This is the beginning of March Madness. This is the Big East finals, a tournament that casual fans are very used to watching.

[billyjack]

Oh, okay, so viewership numbers don't matter to Fox. I didn't know that. But I'm sure Fox agrees with you.

I thought Fox was in this to make money. Every TV dialed onto Fox Sports counts my friend. Maybe you need to go back and take a refresher in Econ 100.

So Providence + Creighton = Villanova + Creighton in your world?

First of all it's your opinion. Secondly, the National Player of the Year is running around.
ESPN was praying for a Duke-Syracuse semi, and a UNC-Duke-SU final, and that went to pot. Do you think someone in Chicago or Denver feels like watching Virginia-Pitt play another 45-44 game? Or McDermott put up 45 by himself?

Your statement doesn't matter. McDermott is playing no matter if it is Providence or Villanova. People who want to watch him will watch him no matter who is on another network.

So you really think that Providence - Creighton will draw an equal audience to what Villanova-Creighton would have. Good for you. When you take off your Blue Colored Big East glasses you might find out that there is a significant difference between the national recognition of Villanova and Providence.

Straw man argument. Irrelevant question. You introduce something that isnt an issue, and then demand an answer. Read what Bill Marsh wrote.