|
RELIVE GEORGIA TECH'S FOOTBALL
SEASON WITH MTM RADIO SHOWS |
| Moderated by: Double B |
|
|||||||||||||
| ESPN and the BCS - Georgia Tech Football - Sports - Georgia Tech Football Message Board Forum Blog | ||||||||||||||
| Author | Post | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||
|
Yukonwreck Letterman 
|
ESPN just won the rights for BCS games for the next few years. Doesn't anyone see a conflict of interest here? Won't a TV network, that is televising the BCS games have a temptation to (through it's affiliation with conferences, member schools, and sponsors) influence the rankings so that teams that are to be on their network be the most marketable, the most rating-friendly teams? ? What would ESPN rather see this year? Flarda/Texas or Boise/Texas Tech?
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
|
That_Guy Letterman 
|
The door was opened for them to do this when the ESPN rankings were taken out of the BCS formula. There would have been a HUGE conflict of interest, but now I don't see one anymore than them having a contract with the SEC and hyping those schools.
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
|
3yardsandacloudofdust Member 
|
Don't they have their own ranking that factors into the BCS formula? So conceivably they could hand pick the match ups.
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
|
bradlgt Member
|
By the nature of ESPN being the dominant figure in the sports world (it's like ESPN is both the Democratic and Republican parties combined and the other sports networks are the 3rd parties) they play a huge part in how the human polls look. Whatever they say about a team or conference generally becomes accepted as fact as long as they have all their "experts" say the same things repeatedly (which they do). I had hope that Fox Sports would challenge the monopoly but that pretty much died a while ago. Can't we get someone to step up and challenge them?
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
|
therulebookman Letterman 
|
I don't believe that ESPN has or ever had a segment in the BCS rankings. There are 6 computer rankings the USA Today Coaches poll and the Harris interactive poll. The AP poll used to be used in place of the harris until the AP told the BCS to stop using it. ESPN used to be a co-title sponsor of the coaches poll, but they had no influence over the voting as the coaches association members were/are the voters.
____________________ Did Johnson grab any of the hedge? "Nah -- I figure I'll be back." he said. |
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
|
GTwakeandsnow Member 
|
That is true, I really wish there was a sports network to challenge espn. Its not like sports fans don't debate the crap out of everything so how would another sports network lose money? Plus it would add coverage that might not get it otherwise, long as its not Raycom.
____________________ Favorite Team = GT; Second Favorite Team = Whoever UGAg is playing |
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
|
GT_FOX Letterman 
|
the scary thing is that with ESPN taking those rights, the BCS is a step closer to being PPV and less and less people getting the chance to see it on TV. Don't know that they will take it that far, but if they see potential to make money they might.
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
|
GTwakeandsnow Member
|
GT_FOX wrote: the scary thing is that with ESPN taking those rights, the BCS is a step closer to being PPV and less and less people getting the chance to see it on TV. Don't know that they will take it that far, but if they see potential to make money they might. I think that would result in pure bedlam. The amount of white trash fans of say LSU/UF/etc that would be rioting in the streets would make the DC riots look like nuns protesting profanity.
____________________ Favorite Team = GT; Second Favorite Team = Whoever UGAg is playing |
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
|
That_Guy Letterman
|
therulebookman wrote: I don't believe that ESPN has or ever had a segment in the BCS rankings. There are 6 computer rankings the USA Today Coaches poll and the Harris interactive poll. The AP poll used to be used in place of the harris until the AP told the BCS to stop using it. ESPN used to be a co-title sponsor of the coaches poll, but they had no influence over the voting as the coaches association members were/are the voters. ESPN poll was part of the BCS prior to the 2004 season when Auburn got left out I believe. They protested the BCS and pulled their poll from being used, so the BCS formula changed. As far as ESPN having great coverage- I agree they do, but that doesn't make it a conflict of interest with the BCS. It would be them marketing a product their selling just like anyone else, but since the BCS is independent (technically), there's no real conflict of interest to debate.
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
|
rivalfan1 Letterman 
|
You're right. You're also about 2 years short on this one. ESPN has wielded TREMENDOUS sway on voters (the biggest component of the BCS system) for some time now, namely since the ABC/ESPN merger and since Gameday On Campus has shot up and out. Tubberville was lamenting, and in print and in press, i.e. seriously lamenting as oppossed to snippets said at a booster meeting, the power ESPN wielded in collegiate atheletics. And he wasn't the only coach to comment as such. No surprise, but I think its taken their deal with the SEC (i.e. OH NOES SEC ADVANTAGE) for anyone in the ACC to notice, but this has been an on-going question arguably since '06, if not since '04. Furthermore, ESPN has admitted to their bias, and even had one of thier personalities, can't remember which one, comment before THIS SEASON that 1) Yes, Gameday is biased in choosing a location that typically favors the ABC primetime game of the week, but 2) There is no bias for any individual team or conference and 3) ESPN does not intentionally attempt to sway pollsters. Of course, this leaves out the obvious issue, that being that ESPN does sway pollsters, even if UNINTENTIONALLY. ESPN has gotten stronger (with influence) with the SEC deal, i.e. Big 10 and now SEC conferences along with USC will get an awful lot of sway, specifically with Gameday, but ESPN has been unchallenged in the college landscape for sometime now. Seriously, think about it. LF (JP) is regionally. CBS has ONE GAME a week at 3:30 for SEC. NBC has ONE GAME a week (i.e. ND excepting the one time Bayou Classic and Army/Navy, sometimes). Now look at the "Go Network". Three games at noon (ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU, usually involving Big 10). Nothing at 3:30. Then three more games at night in primetime (ESPN, ESPN2, ABC). Then usually another game late from the west coast. So, a general recap. ESPN Family (8) Gameday (really only nationally televised collegiate pregame; noon coverage across three networks, primetime coverage over three networks, late night coverage usually at least on one network. And this number can be more, of course. NBC (1) ND game of the week CBS (1) SEC game of the week Fox (1) Usually a regional game of the week from Big 12 on cable Fox Sports stations. ---------------- So losing the BCS championship to Fox does had influence, but Fox wasn't a major player to begin with. ESPN has LONG, LOOOONG been the dominant force in sports, and as much as I DESPISE GAMEDAY, and I really, really, really loathe Gameday, it doesn't seem like anyone is going to step up and challenge them. The Big 10 network is/was a failure. And CBS is more concerned with Golf and Tennis coverage then stepping up and being an "all day" platform for cfb coverage. If Fox isn't going to do anything (and it looks like they're not), then we better get used to it. ESPN, unfortunately, is here to stay.
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Current time is 10:26 am | |
| Georgia Tech Football Message Board Forum Blog > Sports > Georgia Tech Football > ESPN and the BCS | |
