Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba.com

http://sports.espn.go.com/i/abcsports/m ... nfixed.pdf

According to this, a lot of the country is televising the BG-OU game at noon, including the Toledo affiliate. Does this mean the jackarses at WTVG were given the BG game by ABC, and yet they still turned it down somehow so they could go out and get OSU? Thank God for Fox 36!

No surprise, we're stuck with the Miami-Michigan game.

I don't understand. So even though ABC game WTVG the BG game they turned it down for OSU? What a load of crap.

I don't understand. So even though ABC game WTVGay the BG game they turned it down for OSU? What a load of crap.

That is definitely a load of crap. I know OSU has a bigger program than us but I think more people would rather see BG-OU anyways. I even know some OSU fans that said they would rather watch the BG-OU game over their own team!!! What I find interesting is that on the OSU Athletics site, http://ohiostatebuckeyes.collegesports. ... sched.html, their schedule says they are having regional coverage from ESPN for the game. If that is true, why would WTVG even pick that game up? Or by regional, do they mean WTVG?

Not to get off on an tangent, but when I checked that link I also looked at OSU's future schedules. In 2006 they play Northern Illinois, but the location says TBA. The only reason I can think that it would still be TBA, is if NIU is "hosting" the game but are still trying to find the right site (Soldier Field). Anybody know anything about this?

I'm not getting the BG-OU game here in Lexington either. We're to close to UC and Miami-OH I guess. But luckily I'll be able to watch it on ESPN GamePlan. Did anyone else notice that Alaska won't be able to watch Cole and the Falcons? They get to watch UM-Miami. What a shame all around.

Anyone else think it is cool that we will be on tv over 2/3rds of the country?

I wish I didn't get stuck with Miami - Michigan, but All the lt blue on that map was cool to see.

Warthog wrote:Not to get off on an tangent, but when I checked that link I also looked at OSU's future schedules. In 2006 they play Northern Illinois, but the location says TBA. The only reason I can think that it would still be TBA, is if NIU is "hosting" the game but are still trying to find the right site (Soldier Field). Anybody know anything about this?

Folks on the NIU board at MACBBS seem to think that Soldier Field has a policy of not having any collegiate games other than some game for small black college schools from down south.

Warthog wrote:http://sports.espn.go.com/i/abcsports/m ... nfixed.pdf

According to this, a lot of the country is televising the BG-OU game at noon, including the Toledo affiliate. Does this mean the jackarses at WTVG were given the BG game by ABC, and yet they still turned it down somehow so they could go out and get OSU? Thank God for Fox 36!

Looks that way to me.

I e-mailed WTVG and got the following response from a BG alumnus from 1976 who apparently works at WTVG:

"Dear Tom, We contracted for a package of Ohio State games earlier this
year so when ABC, in a late decision to even televise this game, offered
us the BG game, we were already committed to the OSU one. Fortunately,
the local Fox channel will be showing the BG game live. Thanks for
writing. And go Falcons!"

"in a late decision to even televise this game"??? Does ABC even schedule the games more than a week in advance any time? I mean they don't want to be broadcasting Illinois at Minnesota because they made that decision months ago when the schedules came out, do they? Don't they wait to see which games are important, competitive, ranked teams involved? I am not buying that excuse. Also, if they have a contract to broadcast OSU games, I am sure they could have worked a deal to exchange the Cincinnati one for a different game (Marshall you say? that would have more local interest than Cincinnati!). Sounds like they are slinging some bs and just don't want to admit they would rather broadcast OSU than BG.

I got the same response from the BG grad as Tom did.

It makes some sense.

ABC's decision to air Bowling Green/Oklahoma was a relatively recent one. BGSU announced it on June 7.

WTVG's contract with Ohio State/ESPN Regional could have been executed months before that.

I'm a tiny bit skeptical -- I would think that WTVG would want to be in a position to be able to choose the game it wants, and would be reluctant to promise to air any Ohio State game over any game being aired by ABC.

But maybe ESPN Regional doesn't allow that. They need to guarantee a certain number of eyeballs to justify the expense of doing a regional telecast.

Hard to say. I'm no expert.

Schad, I think the flexibility you talk about would apply to almost any situation EXCEPT Ohio State, or maybe Notre Dame in the old days. The OSU audience is so solid that you could comfortably make that programming decision any day. There isn't going to be something to draw more eyeballs here than that.

I received a simlar response too...

Schadenfreude wrote:I'm a tiny bit skeptical -- I would think that WTVG would want to be in a position to be able to choose the game it wants, and would be reluctant to promise to air any Ohio State game over any game being aired by ABC.

But maybe ESPN Regional doesn't allow that. They need to guarantee a certain number of eyeballs to justify the expense of doing a regional telecast.

Hard to say. I'm no expert.

They can get any game they want since they are all one big happy family. WTVG is one of the few stations owned directly by ABC. Since ABC owns ESPN, it means there are significantly fewer barriars to them getting the game they really wanted. Remember they picked up our game against OSU last year from ESPN and aired it locally.