#MACtion

Denver spends as much or more on Hockey than Montana does on FCS Football. It would be a wash, so I don't understand what the problem would be with Montana.

I like the Picture-in-Picture option. Im watching North Dakota vs Manitoba while Miami vs Simon Frasier in 2nd intermission.

And that is the requirement from ESPN. The production will be in-house from Miami and WMU staff and we will be required to produce quality broadcasts that meet ESPN's standards. It's part of the contract and ESPN will reject broadcasts not up to their standards so both ESPN and WMU/Miami will put whatever resources required into making these high-quality in every aspect. Those same resources will be available for NCHC.tv. These same ESPN3 Miami productions are eligible to be upgraded to ESPN2 or ESPNU so they will have to be flawless as ESPN won't risk damaging their quality standards and brand by having Miami/WMU produce sub-par broadcasts.

Give them some time and soon they'll be one of the best. The MAC just signed a new TV deal with ESPN that requires all the MAC schools to spend a few million dollars on in-house production studios, top-flight HD equipment/switchers, and will be trained by ESPN to produce ESPN3 high quality feeds. The equipment, studio, and employees will be owned by the Individual schools and will be able to be used by hockey for NCHC.tv (no espn3 graphics of course). In the next 2 years WMU and Miami will have the best NCHC.tv broadcasts.

9 NCHC games on Fox Sports North and then simulcast on FCS Atlantic. 2 more at Minnesota. Oct. 17 Friday Minnesota St. vs. Minnesota Duluth 7:00 PM+ Oct. 31 Friday Minnesota vs. St. Cloud State 7:30 PM Nov. 1 Saturday St. Cloud State vs. Minnesota 4:00 PM Nov. 7 Friday Minnesota Duluth vs. St. Cloud State 7:30 PM+ Nov. 14 Friday Minnesota Duluth vs. Minnesota 7:00 PM+ Nov. 15 Saturday Minnesota vs. Minnesota Duluth 7:00 PM+ Nov. 21 Friday North Dakota vs. St. Cloud State 7:30 PM+ Dec. 6 Saturday Colorado College vs. Minnesota Duluth 7:00 PM+ Jan. 9 Friday Miami (OH) vs. St. Cloud State 7:30 PM+ Feb. 21 Saturday Nebraska Omaha vs. St. Cloud State 7:00 PM Feb. 28 Saturday Nebraska Omaha vs. Minnesota Duluth 6:00 PM + airs on FOX Sports North Plus All Times Central http://www.foxsports.com/north/story/fox-sports-north-announces-extensive-college-hockey-tv-package-092414

FCS has TV listings from now until November 1. I found two NCHC games on Fox College Sports - Atlantic. No games found on FCS Pacific or FCS Central. So two games in October, no schedule released yet for November on... (HKY) NCHC Hockey 2014-15 #1 Minnesota St. at Minnesota Duluth (L) 10/17/14 (HKY) NCHC Hockey 2014-15 #2 Minnesota at St. Cloud State (L) 10/31/14 http://www.foxsports.com/content/dam/fsdigital/fscom/Programming/2014/09/12/9.12.14%20FCSA.pdf

Another option that would probably work better than airplay is to just buy an android set-top box for your TV. This is basically just like a Roku and would act just like one. It is powered by Android the same as an android phone (except more powerful) or tablet and acts like a Roku connected to your TV via HDMI. This box has the the google play app store and web browser. just browse to nchc.tv and launch the stream without having to connect your laptop or airplay. http://www.amazon.com/G-Box-Midnight-MX2-Android-Streaming/dp/B00CH643A8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410833533&sr=8-1&keywords=matricom+g-box+midnight+mx2 or http://matricom.net/products/g-box-midnight-mx2/ It would work the same with the UND Insider app

You will still be able to air-play to your apple tv straight from your iphone or ipad. Nchc.tv using adaptive web allowing you to launch the stream straight from you smartphone web-browser. Once the game is playing you can hit the airplay button. No app required.

That info came from the ND Beat Reporter Schlossman...

https://twitter.com/thenchc/status/509796737737707520 . https://twitter.com/thenchc/status/509798326129016833 . https://twitter.com/thenchc/status/509812756195717121 Regional broadcasts like Root, TWCSC, Fox North, and MidCo are to broadcast via NCHC.tv .

That's great for UND, but what about for the rest of us? If CBS has 10 less NCHC games than that is 10 less chances for Miami to be on National TV? Is the FCS deal conference-wide or just negotiated individually by the schools? In other words, is only UND gonna benefit by being on FCS? If that is the case then we should have just let Notre Dame join the NCHC and let them hog all the broadcasts. If I remember correctly, UND whined about that and so Notre Dame was not allowed to join and yet UND is doing the same thing to the rest of this league. The NCHC needs increased conference-wide TV deals, not cut down the rest of the conference with CBS negotiations so that it helps UND at the expense of everybody else. This league won't last long and will break apart quick if that is the case. I hope there is more to this. Also, why doesn't the NCHC sign a TV deal with Sinclair Broadcasting's new "American Sports Network"? It has national reach and reaches a minimum 40% of all United States households (same as CBS Sports Network) and can be limited to just the conference foot-print to avoid exclusivity concerns if need be or can go national. They are new, looking for new sports content, and reach OTA broadcast TV, cable, and Regional Sports Networks in addition to their existing stations listed below: http://www.sbgi.net/business/television.shtml Conference USA just signed with them and are reaching 65+ markets around the country. http://www.conferenceusa.com/genrel/071714aaa.html http://www.americansportsnet.com/

I agree, Big Sky much better than than the MVFC and their obscure 2-game TV package that Patty cobbles together. Bison are in a crap conference. Its shame for a decent program. Missouri State making improvements getting ready to jump ship to the Sun Belt.

Well, here is the answer to Western Michigan's production and broadcast quality. As part of our newly signed TV deal with ESPN, the mothership is helping build a production and broadcast studio at each MAC school so we can produce high-quality ESPN3 content and pipe it straight to ESPN. NCHC's Digital Network will also benefit from this on WMU and Miami's end when we upgrade all our equipment and get some help from ESPN staff on the production side. MAC will own the equipment and studio, but will benefit from the training and consulting that can be used for hockey. Just wont be able to use any ESPN trademarked graphics for NCHC produced games of course. "In addition, the MAC and its member institutions, with assistance from ESPN, will establish on-campus production capabilities that will provide a significant increase in the national coverage" http://mac-sports.com/news/2014/8/19/GEN_0819145904.aspx

The ECHL just hired Neulion to bring them ECHL.TV which will launch before the season and will be like "AHL Live" as the E is dropping America One Sports. I'd assume the new NCHC Digital Network will be similar in concept and pricing. Team Pass, League Pass, or Game Passes. But PLEASE, get a ROKU app to broadcast these games. Should be priority #1. And also standards across all schools regarding graphics and layouts so we arent watching WMU do it one way and UNO do it another. In some cases it makes sense if it is a transmission of a TV game. I.e. Miami's Neulion All-Access would broadcast the TWC Sportschannel feed and stream it.

6 of 8 NCHC schools use Neulion and because of that Neulion allows the schools to share their broadcasts for free. Example, when UND played at Miami, UND got to watch our stream for free and Miami gets to watch WMU's feed for free as long as you have bought your home team's Neulion package. I think this is what Fenton referred to about having a conference-wide package on the NCHC website. 2 schools don't currently use Neulion but the rest of us could watch each other's streams as a conference-wide streaming package hosted on the NCHC website. I'd have to check, but I think it is Colorado College and St. Cloud or UMD who are non Neulion users. NHL Gamecenter Live is powered and designed by Neulion so there is nothing wrong with Neulion, any problems of buffering or camera-work or clarity come from the individual schools, not Neulion.

If Buffalo's plan was to add hockey and be in a MAC hockey conference, we'd tell them "no" you better not add hockey then. Besides a conference needs "6" not "4" to sponsor a sport, so two more would have to also add hockey and it won't happen. If the MAC had their own conference network on a national scale like the Big Ten Network it would all make more sense but we don't so it wont happen. The CBS Sports Network deal and now an expanded deal with possibly Fox College Sports 2nd tier and TWC SportsChannel as our local broadcaster is a good deal for us. We'd welcome Buffalo to add hockey so we have close OOC games but wouldn't leave the NCHC to join a league with them. Obviously BG was upset with Miami and WMU when the NCHC formed and they weren't included, but we said "sorry" and left them anyway. You think we'd then leave for Buffalo? Nope. If Miami cared at all about UAB and your academic theory then we'd have been in a league with Michigan Tech.

Big A HG is a regular on the Miami message board. Hope to see you back this season.

LOL, Miami and WMU aren't leaving the NCHC if Buffalo starts hockey. There would be no incentive too. We'd both probably schedule them out of conference though.

But Fox Sports North is a regional sports network, why would any national exclusivity effect it? Was it not allowed last year? What was all the other schools Tier 2 TV last season? I expected to see WMU on Fox Sports Detroit but didn't and was surprised. Was this because CBS was blocking it?

Yep, it's our version of MidCo Sports Channel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Warner_Cable_Sports_Channel_%28Ohio%29

The biggest complaint about UND’s new hockey league, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, was the television deal, which barred the league’s teams from appearing on national networks outside of CBS Sports. Fenton has been in contact with officials at CBS Sports this summer and multiple sources tell the Herald that CBS appears willing to alter, in some way, the exclusivity clause in the network's contract with the NCHC. http://www.grandfork...ing-tv-contract More national TV hockey games on the way. At a minimum this sounds like it will allow for Fox College Sports to pick up games like North Dakota had before the CBSSN deal. I just hope FCS picks up a conference-wide package and not just a UND package where they get a ton more coverage like the Notre Dame / NBCSN / Hockey East deal. Really hope Miami is doing a much better job getting Miami home games televised as I think they can do better than the 4 TWCSC games we got last season.

The biggest complaint about UND’s new hockey league, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, was the television deal, which barred the league’s teams from appearing on national networks outside of CBS Sports. Fenton has been in contact with officials at CBS Sports this summer and multiple sources tell the Herald that CBS appears willing to alter, in some way, the exclusivity clause in the network's contract with the NCHC. http://www.grandfork...ing-tv-contract More national TV hockey games on the way. At a minimum this sounds like it will allow for Fox College Sports to pick up games like North Dakota had before the CBSSN deal. I just hope FCS picks up a conference-wide package and not just a UND package where they get a ton more coverage like the Notre Dame / NBCSN / Hockey East deal. Really hope Miami is doing a much better job getting Miami home games televised as I think they can do better than the 4 TWCSC games we got last season.

Big XII Commish was just on Doug Gotlieb ESPN Radio show and said the stipend will be for ALL athletes.... ..... Which includes Big Ten Hockey teams. I sure hope the NCHC agrees to offer stipends. I don't think the WCHA or Atlantic Hockey, ECAC will be able to afford them. Gives the NCHC a wider recruiting gap margin over those three conferences. The NCHC, BTH, Hockey East will be the College Hockey haves... Lets get Arizona State on board too.

Voting on the Council shall be weighted on matters other than football as follows: - representatives from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC will be weighted 1x4; - Representatives from the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA (C-USA), Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West Conference and Sun Belt Conference will be weighted 1x2, - and the remaining 22 conferences, and two student-athletes and two designated faculty seats will be weighted 1x1. MAC has twice as much say as the Big East now. Thats amusing.

College Hockey News (@chnews) 8/8/14, 10:22 AM Big Ten was one of 5 conferences granted more autonomy from NCAA to do -- whatever. Also, BC and Notre Dame. What does it mean for hockey? Is the NCHC going to pay stipends if Big Ten Hockey does? Would the WCHA be able to afford it? What would that do for recruiting?