By Matt Thacker
A new pre-game football tradition has started in Louisville, and it has nothing to do painting your body red or consuming large amounts of food. It begins with checking your TV Guide to find out where you can watch the next Cards game, panicking once you realize it can only be seen on ESPNU, frantically calling your friends or local bars to see if anyone has heard of this obscure channel and then realizing midweek you can stay home because the game will now air on your regular cable package.
For the second time this year, Cardinal fans have been bailed out last minute. Last Saturday’s game against Cincinnati was scheduled for ESPNU, the upstart network devoted to 24 hours of college sports coverage. According to the Cincinnati Post, ESPN eventually picked up the game in select markets, including Louisville, after the postponement of the Georgia Tech/Miami game.
A similar situation occurred in September when WHAS found out two weeks before the start of the South Florida game that ESPNU had decided to exercise their rights to broadcast the game. Because of contractual agreements, the ESPN networks have the right to pick up any Big East game until 12 days before kickoff. However, just prior to the game, Insight worked out an agreement with ESPNU allowing them to cover the game in return for negotiations about adding the channel. This meant the game was also broadcasted on Insight channel two. Recently, Insight added the all-college channel as part of a premium package available to subscribers.
For Cardinal fans who feel they’ve dodged two bullets, ESPNU still has one more shot to pick up a game this football season with the unclaimed Syracuse game on Nov. 26. Most of the Big East basketball games have not been picked up either.
While ESPN made the most logical business move by backing Insight into a corner and forcing them to add the new network, does the self-proclaimed “worldwide leader in sports” really need to resort to such tactics for the network to survive? Most likely they do, which is generally a good sign that the demand isn’t there.
Even the most dedicated sports fans don’t feel they need to buy a channel devoted to nonstop coverage of sports like cross country and golf. By throwing in some high-profile games in large media markets as they have done around the country, they successfully convince fans to buy the channel they’ll use for maybe 10 hours all year.
In an era of stadiums named after corporations rather than coaches and awards comparing athletes to automobile manufacturers, sports fans really shouldn’t be surprised that they’re once again being used in the ever-increasing sports market.
But more frustrating than the battle is the last-minute changing of plans. Fans buy the premium package just to see the game, or don’t turn on the television at all thinking the game won’t be there just to find out it has been moved.
Eventually, the luck will run out, and reluctant fans will either have to pay extra for the channel or just turn on the radio. You have the right to be angry and complain. Just make sure you address your letters to ESPN.
