More info regarding the new Bradley TV deal

[MacabreMob]

For the record - I am NOT on the inside. I do NOT know anyone on the inside.

I come to Bradleyfans.com to find out the latest about Bradley and college hoops and respond to it/discuss it.

I like the positive information/discussions (and constructive criticism) found here.

[AE Braves Fan]

What Insight channel will the games be on?

This will be the same Insight channel used to show Cubs games when they were on "CSN+". If there are any Cubs fans out there, you'll know right where to go.

74 for East Peoria and Pekin.
44 says Da Coach for Peoria.

[Dubl R 1]

This package sounds pretty good, especially with the very short notice given to BU by
WEEK. Nice job by KK or any other officials at BU and to the people at Insight for stepping up to make this happen. Thanks.

[squirrel]

The interesting phrase to me was:

". . .Insight also has expressed a willingness to share their productions with other cable providers outside its service area to provide what amounts to a Bradley Basketball television network.???

As for on-air talent, there are numerous possibilities. BU has a history of putting alums into sports broadcasting. They can also possibly get somebody like a David Kaplan out of Chicago (who has welcomed Bradley interns at WGN and helped jump start their careers). He has traveled throughout the Midwest doing MAC games the last few years. I don't know if he still does, but that's a possibility if this turns out to be lucrative enough.

But even more than TV, I want satellite radio. Creighton has its own Sirius deal. There's no reason the MVC or BU can't have that within 2 years now that we're winning again. It's a quality broadcast and BU has national appeal unlike most smaller schools.

[BradleyBrave]

The interesting phrase to me was:

". . .Insight also has expressed a willingness to share their productions with other cable providers outside its service area to provide what amounts to a Bradley Basketball television network.???

As for on-air talent, there are numerous possibilities. BU has a history of putting alums into sports broadcasting. They can also possibly get somebody like a David Kaplan out of Chicago (who has welcomed Bradley interns at WGN and helped jump start their careers). He has traveled throughout the Midwest doing MAC games the last few years. I don't know if he still does, but that's a possibility if this turns out to be lucrative enough.

But even more than TV, I want satellite radio. Creighton has its own Sirius deal. There's no reason the MVC or BU can't have that within 2 years now that we're winning again. It's a quality broadcast and BU has national appeal unlike most smaller schools.

Great point Squirrel. It would be another great outlet for the Braves to capitalize on.

[CABUFan]

I wonder if they will combine the radio commentary from Dave Snell and Joe Stowell at the begining???? This would probably save money, but from what I have seen and heard in the past, the combination of radio commentary paired with the televison broadcast seems to be a little disconnected and I am certain that it is difficult for the announcer to do this.

I guess it must be hard, since it doesn't seem to be done very much, but Chick Hearn (who I believe called Bradley games early in his career) did both the TV and radio broadcasts for the Lakers for many, many years. Anyway, the Snell/Stowell broadcast seems to work pretty well with bubraves.tv.

[ghunt]

Bad ratings? High production cost?

Ok, I have heard it stated numerous time that WEEK was losing ratings by doing BU games, as well as it being too costly. However, this seems not right at more than one level. First, they have been carrying games for as far back as the 1970's, and just now it is a losing proposition for them? High production cost? No way, they already employee on-air personalities, already have the equipment and have been doing it for decades, so the marginal costs of "adding" the games to their line-ups are negligible (unless what BU has asked them to pay to air the games was increased,but no one has addressed that issue direclty). Second, bad ratings? Could someone please look up the real ratings figures so we can see. Other than being a good PR move by acting like a good community member by airing games across the span of 4 decades, I think it has been good business and a money maker for WEEK. Third, if ratings have declined, especially as the program has rebounded, whoa, what the heck does that say about Central Illinois, which in some folk's minds is only second to Hoosierland in it's appreciation for basketball? With the garbage that airs on network TV nowdays, you can't tell me (well, you can, but I would hate to believe it) that most Central Illinoians would rather watch reality cr** over one of the 50 if not top 25 best college basketball programs in the country, that just so happens to reside in their own community.

To me, the thing has overtones/seems analogus to what the Cardinals pulled with KMOX (except BU isn't buying a station, just controling production), asked for when the ownership asked for more than what they knew the station could deliver, and then the ownership moved to create the formation of a network they could develop, control, and get more revenue out of. Which begs a question, what is the revenue to BU out of this deal?

Also, if I can throw out another issue for folks to ponder, if there are over 370,00 people in the metro area, why are not all the games sold out? People supposedly love their basketball, and it's not like Peoria has a pleathora of social alternatives in the winter--even if we consider high school ball competing with the games, most do not coincide with BU games. Creighton and Wichita are putting them in the seats with larger arenas, and we don't always fill ours up. And, to stir the pot some more, we are lucky if we stand and cheer any more then 10 minutes of any give game. But then again, there has always been the contention that the students are integral to the fanbase, and it has proven difficult to get them downtown through the years. (I'm guessing that people may respond a little passionatelty to this, but it is a set of honest observations of fans at the games that I am throwing out there, and if stirs folks up, that is sort of intent--we need and should always have 11,000 plus, standing, yelling fans, including the 3,000 red Bradley sweatered blue-hairs

[shaunguth]

Ok, I have heard it stated numerous time that WEEK was losing ratings by doing BU games, as well as it being too costly. However, this seems not right at more than one level. First, they have been carrying games for as far back as the 1970's, and just now it is a losing proposition for them? High production cost? No way, they already employee on-air personalities, already have the equipment and have been doing it for decades, so the marginal costs of "adding" the games to their line-ups are negligible (unless what BU has asked them to pay to air the games was increased,but no one has addressed that issue direclty). Second, bad ratings? Could someone please look up the real ratings figures so we can see. Other than being a good PR move by acting like a good community member by airing games across the span of 4 decades, I think it has been good business and a money maker for WEEK. Third, if ratings have declined, especially as the program has rebounded, whoa, what the heck does that say about Central Illinois, which in some folk's minds is only second to Hoosierland in it's appreciation for basketball? With the garbage that airs on network TV nowdays, you can't tell me (well, you can, but I would hate to believe it) that most Central Illinoians would rather watch reality cr** over one of the 50 if not top 25 best college basketball programs in the country, that just so happens to reside in their own community.

To me, the thing has overtones/seems analogus to what the Cardinals pulled with KMOX (except BU isn't buying a station, just controling production), asked for when the ownership asked for more than what they knew the station could deliver, and then the ownership moved to create the formation of a network they could develop, control, and get more revenue out of. Which begs a question, what is the revenue to BU out of this deal?

Also, if I can throw out another issue for folks to ponder, if there are over 370,00 people in the metro area, why are not all the games sold out? People supposedly love their basketball, and it's not like Peoria has a pleathora of social alternatives in the winter--even if we consider high school ball competing with the games, most do not coincide with BU games. Creighton and Wichita are putting them in the seats with larger arenas, and we don't always fill ours up. And, to stir the pot some more, we are lucky if we stand and cheer any more then 10 minutes of any give game. But then again, there has always been the contention that the students are integral to the fanbase, and it has proven difficult to get them downtown through the years. (I'm guessing that people may respond a little passionatelty to this, but it is a set of honest observations of fans at the games that I am throwing out there, and if stirs folks up, that is sort of intent--we need and should always have 11,000 plus, standing, yelling fans, including the 3,000 red Bradley sweatered blue-hairs

I can't really speak to the television side of things, because I don't have all the facts and I would much rather take a wait and see approach to the new deal rather than bash it right out of the box like some have done since it was announced. I wish every single game was a sellout and really don't have an explanation for that other than there could (and should) be a lot more students at the games. I had upper bowl tickets to the Providence game last season and personally saw an older man in my row spend half the game yelling at a BU student couple that stood and cheered on their school at appropriate times of the game. These two were not obnoxious and they didn't stand the entire time, yet this man would not let up on them. I simply cannot bring myself to understand the concept of getting on someone's case that is there to cheer on their school! Carver Arena should be rocking each and every game! Also, there should never the need to have RED-out games. EVERY game should be a RED-out if only everyone would dare put on a red shirt/sweater when they go to a Bradley game. A white-out every once in awhile would be nice, but there should never be the need to pass out red shirts at a Bradley game!

[Da Coach]

I have said about all I can say about what I know of this deal. Again, I can assure you Bradley never made a lot of money with their TV deals, and was not looking to make more money with this deal. WEEK does lose money on most of the basketball broadcasts. If there was money to be made, I assure you there would be other TV stations lined up to try to get the games. But there aren't. In fact, not one of the MVC schools has any kind of deal with local TV stations that was as good as Bradley's previous deal, and most of the schools either never have games on TV, or it is a rare event.
Basketball and Bradley are popular in Peoria, but there are an overwhelming majority of people in the Peoria area who do not care about Bradley and would rather see Deal or No Deal.

And finally, you seem to take a swipe at Bradley's fan following. We are now in an era when people have more options to choose from for their entertainment than ever before. Most college basketball programs are seeing a decline in attendance. Yet Bradley has not. They perennially remain one of the top 50 programs in the country in attendance. For many years, Bradley lead the MVC in attendance, and has always finished in the top 3 for as long as I can remember. Omaha and Wichita are by far the largest cities and metropolitan areas in the MVC, much larger than Peoria. A size comparison would be closer to Bloomington-Normal (which is actually slightly larger in metro population than Peoria area), and Bradley draws far better than ISU does. The only city and metro areas that are smaller than Peoria, benefit from the fact that they are all large state schools with far greater student enrollment, and far more numerous alumni in the areas surrounding the school.
The final point is that, for a small school in a small market, Bradley does astonishingly well.


MVC...........cities..(US rank)..Metro populations--
Omaha......419,545 (#42)........822,549
Wichita.....357,698 (#50)........592,126
Des Moines.193,886 (#110).....534,230
Springfield..150,797 (#152)......407,092
Evansville...115,738 (#206)......350,356
Peoria........113,107 (#216)......370,194

Terre Haute..59,614................168,217

Waterloo......68,747
Cedar Falls...36,145
Combined population of CF/W - 104,892
Metropolitan area population - 162,263

Bloomington..74,975................
Normal.........45,386
combined population of B/N - 120,361- larger than Peoria
Metropolitan area population - 161,202

Carbondale..25,597.............59,627

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population

http://www.citypopulation.de/USA-Metro.html

[lefty]

Not sure I understand the metro comparison between Peoria and B/N areas Coach.
Peoria metro is much bigger than B/N..Not that it makes a huge difference in this discussion

[Da Coach]

You are right, lefty. I meant to say that B/N was slightly larger than Peoria in total population of the 2 cities compared to the population of Peoria. The metropolitan area population is larger for Peoria, but not as much difference as you might think. The B/N and the Peoria markets are considered very similar as marketing areas.

I was responding to the original suggestion that Bradley should be able to draw crowds like they do in Omaha and Wichita. However, those markets are so much larger, that is an unfair comparison. Peoria and B/N would be much more of a fair comparison.

[lefty]

I understand coach. In reality one of the reasons B/N doesn't do as well as BU in filling seats is their population is much more transient. They don't have near the percentage of people living there that actually grew up in the area as the Peoria area. Therefore not near the passion for the Redbirds as BU fans for their team.
That's not a knock on those fans that are passionate it's just the way it is.

[MacabreMob]

Also, there should never the need to have RED-out games. EVERY game should be a RED-out if only everyone would dare put on a red shirt/sweater when they go to a Bradley game. A white-out every once in awhile would be nice, but there should never be the need to pass out red shirts at a Bradley game!

I agree.

But everyone needs to accept the fact that some people go to the games that aren't really a big fan of Bradley. Some are going just to see the local show. Some are going hoping to see them lose. I know there are fewer now than there has been in years past... but that's probably because there is less of a chance to see them lose.

For ex:

I know a guy took his boys to a game or two every year... but never took them to a game last year. Why? Cause he usually got free tix in the past but not any last year. So money was the issue? But he took them to an Illini game. And he went with a friend to the Mo St game - and in that game, he got what he was hoping for.

And then at the Providence game... I noticed a couple chaps a section over with their jackets on... standing but not really cheering... hands in pockets... I knew them... and they are Illini fans... one even had on an orange t-shirt... and with about a minute to go in OT, they left without saying much.

[Da Coach]

That points to another factor in how well teams in the MVC draw. Some Bradley fans are also Illinois basketball fans. If the Illini are on TV, there are those who will stay home from the BU game to watch the Illini on TV. Now maybe that will change a little if Illinois doesn't have an NCAA caliber team this year, but it has always been a factor Bradley (and IlSU) has had to deal with--- being a secondary basketball program in the state.

It could be worse, though. Indiana State will never be able to draw the IU fans that greatly outnumber the InSU fans in the Terre Haute area, and the same is true to some degree with Evansville and with the 2 Iowa schools in the MVC.

By contrast, Omaha is a very strong Creighton town, as Nebraska basketball has not been good for many years.

Most programs see a downturn in attendance when they have off-years. Indiana State, Drake, IlSU, and even MSU are examples. But Bradley has usually maintained surprisingly strong attendance even with bad years.
As I have heard it said by several highly successful D1 coaches-- There are about 250 D1 programs who would love to have the fans and support that Bradley gets.

In the long run, the Bradley TV deal will expose more people, in Peoria, and elsewhere, to Bradley basketball. That will hopefully produce more fans, and mean even better support in the future.

[Beninator]

I can't really speak to the television side of things, because I don't have all the facts and I would much rather take a wait and see approach to the new deal rather than bash it right out of the box like some have done since it was announced. I wish every single game was a sellout and really don't have an explanation for that other than there could (and should) be a lot more students at the games. I had upper bowl tickets to the Providence game last season and personally saw an older man in my row spend half the game yelling at a BU student couple that stood and cheered on their school at appropriate times of the game. These two were not obnoxious and they didn't stand the entire time, yet this man would not let up on them. I simply cannot bring myself to understand the concept of getting on someone's case that is there to cheer on their school! Carver Arena should be rocking each and every game! Also, there should never the need to have RED-out games. EVERY game should be a RED-out if only everyone would dare put on a red shirt/sweater when they go to a Bradley game. A white-out every once in awhile would be nice, but there should never be the need to pass out red shirts at a Bradley game!

Shaunguth, I have seen similar instances at BU games that I have attended and I dont understand this either. I wonder what the guy in your example would do if he attended a game at a place like Duke in which he would have to put up with the Cameron Crazies? I have posted in the past here about a disconnect between the team and the students...and again I am not knocking the students when I post this... I say this as I remember the atmosphere at games in the fieldhouse and find this lacking at the Civic Center. I was at the Providence game as well and thought that the crowd was one of the best that I had seen at a Bradley game in quite some time. I thought that the pregame festivities helped contribute to the college game atmosphere that night. I hope that the powers that be at Bradley will do more pregame activities like this.