Owning a Broadcast Network Critical for Future

[star2city]

Did Everyone Get it Wrong? Except Texas?

Guess who already has a network? Guess who already has a national TV contract? Yes, admittedly there are not the Big Ten Network, but nevertheless absolutely critical for future success of athletic programs. Texas fully acknowledges this. Once A&M announced its intentions to move to the SEC if UT went to the PAC-10, UT still would have gone to the PAC-10 if the PAC-10 had allowed Texas to have their own network.

A cable network was so important to Texas that they chose starting their own cable network over a PAC10 invite.

One of the unstated hesitancies with the Summit League accepting UND, is that UND is so far ahead of the curve in broadcast capabilities compared to any of the other Summit schools (except possibly Oral Roberts ), that once UND starts gaining momentum in DI, it may be difficult for any other school to overcome - at least financially. UND would never abandon its own network.

If the Texas network is successful, the college athletic world we know today will look very different. Other schools with large and loyal followings will want to tap into this new revenue source.

Cable and satellite have capacity limits that AT&T and Verizon don’t face with their cable product. With cable and satellite, the signal for every channel streams into your home whether you subscribe to the channel or not. The IPTV system used by AT&T and Verizon is different. Their switches only send you the channels you are watching. They can add channels with ease.

[Rick]

Any idea on how much it would cost a school like NDSU, or anyother school to launch a network? Also, if they did decide to launch a network, will someone like Fox College Sports automatically pick them up or is there more to it than just purchasing the equipment and telling FCS "here we are and we're ready to go national with our sports programs"???

[star2city]

Any idea on how much it would cost a school like NDSU, or anyother school to launch a network? Also, if they did decide to launch a network, will someone like Fox College Sports automatically pick them up or is there more to it than just purchasing the equipment and telling FCS "here we are and we're ready to go national with our sports programs"???

Not sure how much it would cost to set up a network - probably several million. A big part of it is satellite access and equipment. Now it is probably imperative to start up with HD and even 3D. But a bigger issue is gaining access and a business relationship with local cable and then national cable. The Big Ten fought cable companies for access and finally won. Part of it is time and experience: get on local cable and/or satellite and establish a track record if you are a smaller school.

The product is beyond important. Having a 7-time national championship team with a sold-out modern arena and enthusiastic fans was key to national exposure. Having 20 homes games with that type big-time atmosphere on TV is just huge. Other Summit schools can't match that.

Using that exposure to establish a fan base beyond alumni and beyond the state is part of the next step. One of the reasons that I think it is important that UND establish a lacrosse program is precisely TV: the Alerus is telegenic (Kraft can never be that) with practically guaranteed start times (contrasted with baseball rainouts), higher-level players from out West, Canada, and Minnesota are available, and it would extend the televised season to May.

What hurts UND now is the rebranding that is required away from Sioux to some other nickname.

There are conventions dedicated what type of strategy a school should pursue:

College Sports Video Summit

[MplsBison]

Any idea on how much it would cost a school like NDSU, or anyother school to launch a network? Also, if they did decide to launch a network, will someone like Fox College Sports automatically pick them up or is there more to it than just purchasing the equipment and telling FCS "here we are and we're ready to go national with our sports programs"? ??

Assuming you've got teams worth watching, you need the camera and editing equipment and then the talent to create a product with some professional quality that people will want to put on their screens. That's one aspect.

The other is you need some way to distribute your content. Currently the best way is cable networks, but the internet might be the future of distribution.

[Shawn-O]

Assuming you've got teams worth watching, you need the camera and editing equipment and then the talent to create a product with some professional quality that people will want to put on their screens. That's one aspect.

The other is you need some way to distribute your content. Currently the best way is cable networks, but the internet might be the future of distribution.

UND had almost a decade track record on the production side, which made it more of a no-brainer for Fox. NDSU is "just a bit" behind on this one. But you have teh microwaves and the North Dakota NBC network so what was UND thinking??

[FSSD]

I was reading a white paper titled "Rationale for the University of Wyoming To Remain Division I-A (FBS)" http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/accreditation/Re...1A_response.pdf and in Appendix B - Comparison of I-A MWC Television Appearances and UW Television Appearances

[FSSD]

Did Everyone Get it Wrong? Except Texas?

One of the unstated hesitancies with the Summit League accepting UND, is that UND is so far ahead of the curve in broadcast capabilities compared to any of the other Summit schools (except possibly Oral Roberts ), that once UND starts gaining momentum in DI, it may be difficult for any other school to overcome - at least financially. UND would never abandon its own network.

I agree that UND would continue with FSSN. But, I don't think this is holding up UND and the Summit. I think the Summit League would welcome the additional exposure. Plus, I noted several Oakland and UMKC games this year on FCS. So, the Summit would have the following schools with some level of national cable broadcasts:

- Oral Roberts

- UND

- Oakland

- UMKC

The UND/Summit problem was all about the nickname and making sure that it was changed ---- opps I mean resolved.. darnit..

[johnson]

Any idea on how much it would cost a school like NDSU, or anyother school to launch a network? Also, if they did decide to launch a network, will someone like Fox College Sports automatically pick them up or is there more to it than just purchasing the equipment and telling FCS "here we are and we're ready to go national with our sports programs"???

I believe NDSU is in the process of getting a network on TV. There has been talks of FSN North possibly picking up some NDSU games and also an odd mention of a few local cable companies interested in working with NDSU. A while back there was also talk of the MVFC looking at larger regional network providers. Haven't heard much lately though. The Fargodome is installing new lighting this summer to be able to broadcast in HD. At the spring game this year the four screens would flash BSN which I assumed stood for Bison Sports Network. The ND NBC network has been a good starting point for NDSU. It is getting their product out to every home in ND. NDSU has a long ways to go and I think that they are very aware of where UND is at right now and they are working hard trying to catch up. Fox College Sports is a good network to be working with and I hope NDSU will soon have a provider with that reach. However, I think that the local market needs the most attention right now. After NDSU can get a solid footing then they can focus on finding a national provider such as FCS.

[iceberg]

UND had almost a decade track record on the production side, which made it more of a no-brainer for Fox. NDSU is "just a bit" behind on this one. But you have teh microwaves and the North Dakota NBC network so what was UND thinking??

NDSU already had the microwave/fibre setup for the NBC Network so there is no expense there

A microwave feed from the dome to the studio isnt that expensive