NBC Moving Some ND Home Games to Versus

[alohagoirish]

. Since the press release also was confirming the information that Verus would undergo a name change to NBC SPORTS this JANUARY as part of their new marketing effort, i think its reasonable to assume that the switch of an ND game to NBC Sports would likely not occur until the new name had settled in to the new network, that would be NEXT season.
No guarantee for that but it sounds like the most likely outcome from my perspective.

Afterall if the major goal is to use the ND fan base as a boost for their fledgling network it would be best to both announce the SPECIFIC game or games that are being moved and in addition offer a large throw time for the wheels of the gods to turn anxiety about missing games into pressure & subscriptions for the NBC SPORTS.

 

[irishtrinity]

NCAA Team Schedule - Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Football - NBC Sports

it seems everything is going downhill... we need the team to bring this kind of stuff to an end...

i'll miss seeing them on nbc every home game..

 

[AdmiralBackhand]

NCAA Team Schedule - Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Football - NBC Sports

it seems everything is going downhill... we need the team to bring this kind of stuff to an end...

i'll miss seeing them on nbc every home game..

Find a bar that has satellite and will play the game, homey.

 

[dshans]

... They want everybody paying for what we used to get for free.

The paying part is true, but there ain't no sucha thang as a free lunch – or a free football game. The current business model is a "double dip." Advertising is one stream of revenue while a subscriber fee is another. The likes of ESPN, TNT, Versus, Comcast, etc. reap both.

I have no problem at all with a reasonable return on reasonable effort or reasonable product. Sheer greed, though, is simply that.

 

[wakeuptheechoes]

Obviously, if it is a fledgling network many areas may not carry it now. ABC & ESPN swap games all the time. If you are tune into ABC and the game you want to watch is not on that channel, out of 2nd nature you say to yourself "Oh, it must be on ESPN." and immediately tune to ESPN. The mere fact that it won't be on an NBC is irrelevant, provided NBC gets the Versus as readily available as ESPN.
Now for all of you that want a Notre Dame network; if that were to happen do you think NBC will abdicate their local channel and let ND have it? Or would ND have to get their own separate channel? Obviously the latter. So the same scenario exist either way. Not every cable company would pick up the ND Network right away, until ND fans called and requested it.

 

[irishtrinity]

Find a bar that has satellite and will play the game, homey.

i got the channel, i will hate to see BYU on NBC or any other team..

 

[irishtrinity]

ND network...2015 at least we have until then... think if we win the NC they would renew the contract?

 

[nlroma1o]

So confused as to why ND would allow this to happen... What happened to making ND Footabll games avaiable ANYWHERE in the country... They just took that away by making ceratin games ONLY on versus... WTF!?

 

[Grahambo]

I have VS through Verizon Fios so I'm not going to miss any games. However, I need to hear what Jack Swarbrick has to say before I get upset at this. Maybe this is news to him.

I heard a rumor months ago about him working on getting ND Network up and running although that would take awhile to launch. I can't see Mr. Swarbrick allowing this to happen WITHOUT some type of fight, unless of course he is okay with it. I don't see how he could be okay with this though.

This all could be a ploy by NBC right now to get people prepared for the new NBC Sports Network (or whatever they are calling it). They need to drive up interest asap in the channel and get people motivated for it. What better way then to advertise ND football. Arguably the best thing NBC has going for it. They need people to get the VS channel now in preparations for the Olympics because that channel will be used for Olympic events. NBC is under new management and need to create a buzz for the channel. I truly don't see them throwing ND to the VS channel in my honest opinion. They think it would get more people to subscribe to the new channel but it will anger A LOT of the country (ND fans).

 

[ryno 24]

no other sources have this information I dont want to be a conspiracy theorist but how credible is this source? I have checked other sites and have not seen this

 

[irishtrinity]

i hope it's not true we have like 7/6 home games 2 gone that would leave only 5/4 games a yr on NBC. THAT IS WEAK

 

[ndcoltsfan2010]

I have the Versus channel so I am good to go for this upcoming season, however I am concerned about losing so much visibility over the next few years if NBC starts airing alot of our games on Versus. The neat thing for me was being able to catch a Notre Dame game virtually anywhere I was at and now I worry that if I am out of town for some reason on a Saturday I stand a good chance at missing the game because it won't be on NBC. I personally think it's a mistake, because many people will not have the Versus channel so many people out there will not have the opportunity to catch our games. Just my two cents worth. I don't like it.

 

[IrishLax]

If the title said "ND games to be shown on ESPN" instead of "ND games to be shown on NSN" it's completely different.

It's clear to me that NBC wants NSN to be as indispensable as ESPN... and the only way they can get there is through:
1. Olympics
2. Hockey
3. ND Football

Interested to see how this plays out; could be very good or very bad. I can envision a very interesting scenario where Notre Dame joins the Big East "super conference" and NBC gobbles up rights to all Big East athletics to include ND football... which will be shown on the main channel for all good games and on NSN for "weak" games.

 

[ryno 24]

I do want to say this was reported on the salt lake tribune article so we do not know when this will happen it does not sound like this year and if it has been discussed a lot with notre dame. the contract has only been signed through 2015 so we will see where we will go from there

 

[ACamp1900]

I have had vs. for a while... if you don't have it you want it anyway, NHL being covered reg. is reason enough... now this. I like VS.

 

[edgesofsanity]

According to SI, it looks like Versus/NBC sports is upping the ante with MLS. Though it'd be more exciting if they got Premier League action instead.

 

[mick2]

Versus - 75.1 million households

5th behind
espn/2
golf
speed

this is an up and coming channel and having ND be its premiere football entertainment could really help vs. stake its claim in sports network territory. Vs. grows we grow.

With the big ten network, longhorn network, secs deal with cbs and espn, big 12s deal with espn, and the pac 12 making moves in television. ND has to do something, and a Defact ND network through VS. is a great idea.

 

[Buster Bluth]

NBC should make a deal with a conference if they're going to pump up another network.

NBC
12:00-3:30 -
3:30-7:00 - Notre Dame vs. _____
8:00-11:00 -

NBC Sports
12:00-3:30 -
3:30-7:00 -
7:00-10:00 -

You could fit in ten teams from a conference during the conference season. The Big East would fit in nicely there...

 

[alohagoirish]

i think one of the reasons this is unlikely to occur this season is simply the tiiming as it relates to the advertisers.

I would expect that those companies that have in the past or want this season to advertise on ND games have already inked the deals in many cases. Once you sell time on these games you cant very well tell advertisers your moving to less exposure. ND home games and high profile home games have been a package and has been marketed to advertisers as that for years now as we know, so it seems most games for 2011 should have many of their advertising blocks already booked, based on that i would say NEXT SEASON will likely be the first season we see this strategy employed.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

According to SI, it looks like Versus/NBC sports is upping the ante with MLS. Though it'd be more exciting if they got Premier League action instead.

That's not much of a selling point for me, and I love soccer.

It's been said that any man can sleep with an attractive woman, but only the manliest men can make love to an ugly woman. So it is with soccer. Only the most hardcore soccer fans can stomach MLS.

 

[Rhode Irish]

True, but they have to start somewhere and I think they are buying low on hockey and soccer hoping they can increase their market share, and hitching those properties to two of their most valuable commodities: the Olympics and Notre Dame. Their most valuable property is still Football Night in America, which will not be moved off of broadcast NBC, but they need to put a star-studded pre- and post-game NFL shows on the new channel. They also need to aggressively get involved in the next NFL television rights sale and get as much NFL content onto the channel as possible, even if it isn't games yet.

 

[IrishRugger2013]

Gotta say I'm a big fan of Versus. They broadcast every stage of the Tour de France which is one of my favorite sporting events. This does make me a little wary though...

 

[Rocket89]

NBC Sports Network has the Olympics, NHL, and ND football. There's no way they will ever challenge ESPN. It's a pipe dream as far as I'm concerned. Fox, a company with a lot more power and money, tried to do this and failed miserably. I don't see how lowly NBC is going to do it.

Question, is...what is Notre Dame going to get out of this? That's most important right now.

 

[Rhode Irish]

NBC Sports Network has the Olympics, NHL, and ND football. There's no way they will ever challenge ESPN. It's a pipe dream as far as I'm concerned.

What did ESPN have when they launched? I recognize that one thing ESPN didn't have is a competitor and NBCSports will be going up against a monopoly, but if they have the stomach and the resources to survive getting throttled early and they invest in programming that people want to watch I think it is possible that ten years from now they are a viable competitor, even if they are still a clear #2.

 

[Buster Bluth]

Fox's presentation was also horrendous. Everything they do is cliche, cheesy and generally pathetic from a sports standpoint. I couldn't stand it when they did the BCS games, they were terrible.

ESPN is vulnerable right now because NBC can be the classier sports presentation program. Take the same class that they present Notre Dame and the Olympics and bring it to other ventures and I'd watch it.

Right now, nobody beats ABC/ESPN's presentation of events, but Sportsecenter is a tired program right now and shows like NFL Live and whatnot are even more so. NBC can definitely get a niche if they do it correctly.

 

[IrishLax]

NBC Sports Network has the Olympics, NHL, and ND football. There's no way they will ever challenge ESPN. It's a pipe dream as far as I'm concerned. Fox, a company with a lot more power and money, tried to do this and failed miserably. I don't see how lowly NBC is going to do it.

Question, is...what is Notre Dame going to get out of this? That's most important right now.

If there was "no way" then they wouldn't be trying to do it.

I'll give you one sure fire way they could do it: March Madness. If they treat it like a sunk cost and buy the March Madness rights next year EVERYONE will demand NSN. Seriously, there is nothing stopping NSN from becoming a direct competitor to ESPN except the $$$ and the balls to do it.

Now imagine they not only have ND football rights but also sign a contract with a BCS conference. They already have CSN which can function as their NSN2 if it gets to that point and NSN will become as syndicated as ESPN nearly overnight. Just have to have the money to make some big moves. They already are making a great one betting on the NHL considering we aren't going to have an NBA season in the winter.

 

[Rocket89]

What did ESPN have when they launched? I recognize that one thing ESPN didn't have is a competitor and NBCSports will be going up against a monopoly, but if they have the stomach and the resources to survive getting throttled early and they invest in programming that people want to watch I think it is possible that ten years from now they are a viable competitor, even if they are still a clear #2.

Perhaps, but it will take a long time, a lot of effort, and a ton of money.

As far as Notre Dame is concerned, I don't think they are in for the long haul. But I'll wait and see what Jack has to say about it.

 

[mick2]

doesnt vs. show quite a bit of MMA as well?

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

This is going to be big for Versus. If they have ND football that will draw a ton of new viewers. Then, this is setting up to be a huge year for hockey with the NBA work stoppage looming. This could be a great thing for the network. We could really see it blow up right away - which would be good for ND in the long run, I think. I know a lot of people either don't get Versus or they have to pay extra (my cable provider has Versus as a higher tier), but I like the sports programming versus offers now.

I would love to see Versus give a little more pregame than we used to get on NBC. It would be great to have a dedicated ND pregame show. Don't know if that will ever happen, but I can hope.

 

[Rocket89]

If there was "no way" then they wouldn't be trying to do it.

I'll give you one sure fire way they could do it: March Madness. If they treat it like a sunk cost and buy the March Madness rights next year EVERYONE will demand NSN. Seriously, there is nothing stopping NSN from becoming a direct competitor to ESPN except the $$$ and the balls to do it.

Now imagine they not only have ND football rights but also sign a contract with a BCS conference. They already have CSN which can function as their NSN2 if it gets to that point and NSN will become as syndicated as ESPN nearly overnight. Just have to have the money to make some big moves. They already are making a great one betting on the NHL considering we aren't going to have an NBA season in the winter.

Well there's also no way Georgia State can beat Alabama...but they will try to do it too.

There's far too many what if's involved here and frankly fantasy dreams about what NBC could do. I think it would be great if NBC could pull it off, but what are the chances when we have to be like, "They can do it they just need to buy A,B,C,and D...and then create E, F, G, H, I, and J.

I wish it was that easy.