CPD
5/30
ANALYSIS
Some OSU football fans are afraid of the dark
Tuesday, May 30, 2006Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus- It's not the teams, but the times, that worry some Buckeyes football fans when they look at the 2006 football schedule. As expressed by one fan in an e-mail, night games at Texas and Iowa "very well might be the most devastating news of the season."
Why the fear? The Buckeyes have lost their past four regular-season night games, including three on the road.
Why are the Buckeyes set to play their sixth and seventh road night games in the past six years, more than any team in the Big Ten? Ratings.
How is it happening? Because ESPN and ABC want powerhouses in prime time, and Ohio State prefers not to play night games at home - so the best chance to get the Buckeyes is on the road. Ohio State can't do anything about it.
Ohio State relented last season.
OSU played just the seventh night game in the history of Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes' first home night loss, to Texas, was the second-highest rated of the season on ABC, reaching more than 7 million households. Four weeks later, the Buckeyes' night loss at Penn State was the second-highest rated regular-season college football game in ESPN history, drawing a 4.9 rating and reaching 4.4 million households.
"Those are stratospheric numbers," said Dave Brown, ESPN's vice president of programming and acquisitions. "That's like running a 9.77 100. It's a huge number. Ohio State football is an incredibly strong brand that has a wide following, and they prove it year after year. When you take a look at schools that are among the best in the business at getting ratings, Ohio State is at the top of the list."
As a result, Ohio State will play its 10th televised prime-time game of the past six regular seasons this year, with seven of them road games. Penn State and Wisconsin are next among Big Ten teams with seven prime-time TV games in six seasons, while Michigan's visit to Penn State this year will be its fifth night road game since 2001. The Wolverines, with no lights at the Big House and no interest in adding them, never have played at home at night.
In some ways, prime-time games are a plus, the national exposure giving free publicity to programs. However, Ohio State's night losses at Wisconsin in 2003, Northwestern in 2004, and home against Texas and at Penn State last year, have made Buckeyes fans afraid of the dark.
Even coach Jim Tressel doesn't like it, saying before the Penn State game last year, "Would you vote for necessarily night games away from home? No, as a coach, you probably wouldn't vote for night games, period."
The decision involves much more than the coach. Each year, ESPN and ABC have a list of the games the networks would like to get in prime time as part of the Big Ten's TV contract. It was the renewal of that contract in 1997 that first brought regular prime-time action to the Big Ten. The conference's latest TV deal is up next year, and talks are already under way.
Last year, Big Ten teams were involved in eight prime-time games, the most ever. Four were in-conference matchups. This year, four prime-time games have been announced, two involving the Buckeyes.
"I think ABC or ESPN would like to have more prime-time games than we have now," said Mark Rudner, an associate commissioner of the Big Ten who oversees the television rights. "But we absolutely support our institutions' rights to choose whether they want to be on in prime time. I can tell you there were requests made by ABC and ESPN that were rejected by the conference."
No part of the current contract requires a certain number of prime-time matchups. Rejected by the conference means rejected by the home team, who in the end has final say over setting game times.
"We prefer to play in the afternoon," Ohio State spokesman Steve Snapp said. "It's easier on our coaches and our players and our fans. But we realize an occasional night game can be exciting."
Penn State has the same approach, worried about traveling fans who might have trouble finding a hotel room after a late game. The Nittany Lions made an exception last season, beating the Buckeyes in the ninth night game in Beaver Stadium history. Iowa made the same exception this season, the 7 p.m. local time kickoff on ABC or ESPN on Sept. 30 to be just the fifth night game for Kinnick Stadium and the first in-conference matchup.
The Buckeyes will be under the lights. Their fans will be worried. The ratings should be huge.
5/30
ANALYSIS
Some OSU football fans are afraid of the dark
Tuesday, May 30, 2006Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus- It's not the teams, but the times, that worry some Buckeyes football fans when they look at the 2006 football schedule. As expressed by one fan in an e-mail, night games at Texas and Iowa "very well might be the most devastating news of the season."
Why the fear? The Buckeyes have lost their past four regular-season night games, including three on the road.
Why are the Buckeyes set to play their sixth and seventh road night games in the past six years, more than any team in the Big Ten? Ratings.
How is it happening? Because ESPN and ABC want powerhouses in prime time, and Ohio State prefers not to play night games at home - so the best chance to get the Buckeyes is on the road. Ohio State can't do anything about it.
Ohio State relented last season.
OSU played just the seventh night game in the history of Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes' first home night loss, to Texas, was the second-highest rated of the season on ABC, reaching more than 7 million households. Four weeks later, the Buckeyes' night loss at Penn State was the second-highest rated regular-season college football game in ESPN history, drawing a 4.9 rating and reaching 4.4 million households.
"Those are stratospheric numbers," said Dave Brown, ESPN's vice president of programming and acquisitions. "That's like running a 9.77 100. It's a huge number. Ohio State football is an incredibly strong brand that has a wide following, and they prove it year after year. When you take a look at schools that are among the best in the business at getting ratings, Ohio State is at the top of the list."
As a result, Ohio State will play its 10th televised prime-time game of the past six regular seasons this year, with seven of them road games. Penn State and Wisconsin are next among Big Ten teams with seven prime-time TV games in six seasons, while Michigan's visit to Penn State this year will be its fifth night road game since 2001. The Wolverines, with no lights at the Big House and no interest in adding them, never have played at home at night.
In some ways, prime-time games are a plus, the national exposure giving free publicity to programs. However, Ohio State's night losses at Wisconsin in 2003, Northwestern in 2004, and home against Texas and at Penn State last year, have made Buckeyes fans afraid of the dark.
Even coach Jim Tressel doesn't like it, saying before the Penn State game last year, "Would you vote for necessarily night games away from home? No, as a coach, you probably wouldn't vote for night games, period."
The decision involves much more than the coach. Each year, ESPN and ABC have a list of the games the networks would like to get in prime time as part of the Big Ten's TV contract. It was the renewal of that contract in 1997 that first brought regular prime-time action to the Big Ten. The conference's latest TV deal is up next year, and talks are already under way.
Last year, Big Ten teams were involved in eight prime-time games, the most ever. Four were in-conference matchups. This year, four prime-time games have been announced, two involving the Buckeyes.
"I think ABC or ESPN would like to have more prime-time games than we have now," said Mark Rudner, an associate commissioner of the Big Ten who oversees the television rights. "But we absolutely support our institutions' rights to choose whether they want to be on in prime time. I can tell you there were requests made by ABC and ESPN that were rejected by the conference."
No part of the current contract requires a certain number of prime-time matchups. Rejected by the conference means rejected by the home team, who in the end has final say over setting game times.
"We prefer to play in the afternoon," Ohio State spokesman Steve Snapp said. "It's easier on our coaches and our players and our fans. But we realize an occasional night game can be exciting."
Penn State has the same approach, worried about traveling fans who might have trouble finding a hotel room after a late game. The Nittany Lions made an exception last season, beating the Buckeyes in the ninth night game in Beaver Stadium history. Iowa made the same exception this season, the 7 p.m. local time kickoff on ABC or ESPN on Sept. 30 to be just the fifth night game for Kinnick Stadium and the first in-conference matchup.
The Buckeyes will be under the lights. Their fans will be worried. The ratings should be huge.
