FOX Sports reaches deal with Bowl Championship Series

[SnDvls]

hxxp://msn.foxsports.com/story/3185088

DEAL ESTABLISHES STAND-ALONE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Also Includes Television, Radio, Internet, Sponsorship & Merchandising Rights
The League Championship Series and World Series. The NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl. NASCAR's Daytona 500. Clearly, FOX Sports is America's king of televised sports championships, and its crown now shines more brilliant as college football's most precious jewel moves to FOX.

FOX Sports and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) announced today that they have reached an exclusive four-year agreement covering all media distribution and sponsorship rights for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, FedEx Orange Bowl and Nokia Sugar Bowl from 2007 through 2010, and a new, stand-alone, BCS National Championship Game from 2007 through 2009. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with FOX Sports," said Kevin Weiberg, Big 12 Commissioner and BCS Coordinator. "We very much look forward to the creative energy that the FOX team will bring to the Bowl Championship Series, and I am certain that college football fans will find that the presentation of the games will bring a new level of excitement and energy to these classic bowl contests."

"I am also pleased that we were able to successfully negotiate a television contract for the expanded BCS," added Weiberg. "The new model brings an enhanced opportunity for highly-rated teams to play in BCS games, including teams from conferences that have not had an automatic berth. This model will also showcase in a more distinct fashion the BCS National Championship Game in a unique telecast window after the BCS bowl games."

"Few sports boast the passion and pageantry of college football, and the BCS is the Mt. Everest of college football," said Peter Chernin, President & COO, News Corp. "The deal we‘ve agreed to with the BCS will prove to be financially advantageous for all concerned."

In addition to telecast rights, the contract also covers national radio rights; Internet rights; all sponsorship rights, including naming rights, signage and virtual signage opportunities and in-game enhancements; ancillary programming on FOX and/or FSN; and a joint venture (FOX, BCS and Bowls) to identify and exploit merchandising opportunities.

"The agreement with FOX proves that the new BCS model has great market appeal," said David Frohnmayer, President, University of Oregon and BCS Presidential Oversight Committee Chair. "We look forward to our partnership with the network and joining its lineup of high-profile championship sporting events."

The addition of the BCS to FOX's already impressive array of championship caliber events comes just two weeks after the network reached a new six-year agreement to continue as television home to the NFL's NFC Sunday afternoon package, which gives FOX the next eight NFC Championship games plus Super Bowls this February and in 2008 and 2011. Existing agreements with MLB and NASCAR guarantee that the next two American and National League pennant winners and world champions will be decided on FOX, as will Daytona 500 victors in 2005 and 2007. Since 1995, over 35 champions have been crowned on FOX.

"Since our inception, FOX Sports has worked aggressively to provide our viewers the very best sports programming possible," offered FOX Sports Chairman David Hill. "Some of the nation's most dramatic and memorable sports series, games and moments over the last decade have been captured by our cameras, and described by our announcers, and I know that in years to come that the BCS will add to our legacy. We're just sorry that we'll have to wait two years for this to begin."

Over the last two years, the Fiesta, Orange, and Sugar Bowls have averaged an 11.1 household rating, which would rank the three BCS Bowls in a tie for seventh among all prime time shows this broadcast season-to-date. These games also attract audiences that are both upscale and better-educated than average, both compelling features for advertisers.

The BCS championship game, which right now is presented as the Fiesta, Orange, Rose or Sugar Bowl on a rotating basis, is one of the most powerful events in television. The last two BCS title games (the 2004 Sugar Bowl and 2003 Fiesta Bowl) averaged a 15.0/26 household rating/share. Only one show in all of prime time is averaging a better rating this season-to-date. The 15.0 for the last two BCS title games is better than the two-year averages of the NBA Finals (9.0/16), NCAA Tournament Final (11.8/19), Monday Night Football (11.5/19), the final round of the Masters (7.8/19), and the Belmont Stakes (10.4/25). An estimated 50 million Americans are expected to watch the 2005 Orange Bowl, this year's BCS championship game.

FOX and its related cable channels are not strangers to college football. FOX Sports has televised the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day since 1999. FSN has national cable rights to Pac 10 and Big 12 football, and the recently launched Fox College Sports carries over 100 games culled from FSN's owned-and affiliated regional sports networks.

[SunDancer]

So what does this mean for the Rose Bowl, Pac-10/Big 10, and the BCS?

Fox is the worst I think of the network channels in covering sports.

[SnDvls]

So what does this mean for the Rose Bowl, Pac-10/Big 10, and the BCS?

Fox is the worst I think of the network channels in covering sports.


ABC keeps the Rose Bowl as the Rose has their own TV deal.

[The_herd]

It means that they got someone to pay a lot of money to show the 5th BCS game that no one really wants.

[JasonC23]

Yay, Fox. After the bang-up job they've done with baseball and WHHHOOOOOOSSSHHH ZAP BEEP BEEP LOOK AT MY PRETTY GRAPHICS NOT THE GAME YOU SILLY pro football, I can hardly wait for their take on college football.

[SunDancer]

Yay, Fox. After the bang-up job they've done with baseball and WHHHOOOOOOSSSHHH ZAP BEEP BEEP LOOK AT MY PRETTY GRAPHICS NOT THE GAME YOU SILLY pro football, I can hardly wait for their take on college football.

I hate the graphics of fox. Too dark and almost "cloudy" color picture.

[Tekneek]

Right now I can't pick up the local HD signal for ABC, but I can always get the Fox one. Only for that reason am I glad when Fox has the rights to a broadcast. A football game in HD always trumps the standard definition version.

[vex]

I wish TBS would shell out the big bucks. They're the best.

[SackAttack]

"The agreement with FOX proves that the new BCS model has great market appeal," said David Frohnmayer, President, University of Oregon and BCS Presidential Oversight Committee Chair.

No it doesn't, you ass. It proves that Fox was willing to line your pockets to secure your silly BCS coverage.

[RebelMan]

I, unlike most Nascar fans hate FOX's Nascar coverage.

[Draft Dodger]

Also Includes Television, Radio, Internet, Sponsorship & Merchandising Rights
The League Championship Series and World Series. The NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl. NASCAR's Daytona 500. Clearly, FOX Sports is America's king of televised sports championships, and its crown now shines more brilliant as college football's most precious jewel moves to FOX.

and this clearly was an unbiased article.

[ISiddiqui]

I hate the graphics of fox. Too dark and almost "cloudy" color picture.

Hmmm, that's very interesting. I consider Fox to have vibrant color picture showing NFL games as opposed to CBS's coverage which looks washed out.

[SunDancer]

I, unlike most Nascar fans hate FOX's Nascar coverage.

I agree.

[Draft Dodger]

Hmmm, that's very interesting. I consider Fox to have vibrant color picture showing NFL games as opposed to CBS's coverage which looks washed out.

I agree. Not too thrilled with all the extemporaneous sounds/visual effects, but the FOX picture, IMO, looks 100 times better than CBS.

[Tekneek]

I agree. Not too thrilled with all the extemporaneous sounds/visual effects, but the FOX picture, IMO, looks 100 times better than CBS.

Even in HD? I have read that CBS has the best HD amongst the broadcast networks.

[Ryan S]

I, unlike most Nascar fans hate FOX's Nascar coverage.
I prefer Fox's coverage because they don't have Benny Parsons in the booth. The weakest link at Fox is Chris Myers, and he is not on screen as much as Parsons. I am sure some people will hate Waltrip, but I rate him highly.

I also think that image and sound quality is better on Fox, but that may be a local issue because I am watching it on a UK station which is showing FOX/NBC Nascar programming. NBC seems to be worse with the commercials, but I don't care because our coverage continues while the US network is on a break.

[Butter]

It means that they got someone to pay a lot of money to show the 5th BCS game that no one really wants.


:confused:

[gstelmack]

Even in HD? I have read that CBS has the best HD amongst the broadcast networks.
But CBS only has one NFL game / week in HD, while Fox has six (or most of their broadcasts). There's also a debate as to whether the 1080i CBS uses is better/worse for sports than the 720p Fox uses, with the general consensus that CBS is better for movies while Fox is better for sports.

CBS has made a much larger all-around commitment to HD, though. Fox is focusing on sports, while CBS produces a ton of content in full HD. My local CBS station (WRAL) even produces its newscasts in full HD.

[Leonidas]

I think most folks are missing the point. Which network covers BCS is irrelevant. What is relevant is the fact the BCS is renewed at all. We have until 2010 to tolerate this ridiculous crap now. My prediction, watch the ratings slowly drop as the public gets fed up with legit contenders being locked out. With more parity hitting college football, the situation is only going to get worse.

[The_herd]

:confused:

The championship game after the bowls makes no sense. Most seasons it just wouldn't work and you'd end up with a rematch of whatever the BCS title game is. It's a cheap way of putting in a half-assed playoff without actually putting a playoff in.

This season (assuming Auburn and Oklahoma finish unbeaten) and last season it would sort of work, but its actually rare. Before that, the extra game would have been a rematch between Ohio State and Miami. They were clearly the 2 best teams. Would that have made sense? If Miami wins the second time, then they are National Champs and the first bowl game wouldn't have meant a damn thing. The BCS is trying to patch the holes as they appear and all they do is create bigger problems. You can't continually overhaul the way the championship is determined and continue to convince people that championships are meaningful.

However, we can complain all we want, but ratings are better in sports when there is controversy. The BCS works perfectly ratings wise. It keeps drawing us in. Until fans quit watching, then we'll be stuck with the BCS. I don't think the BCS will be going anwhere any time soon.

[Capital]

The championship game after the bowls makes no sense. Most seasons it just wouldn't work and you'd end up with a rematch of whatever the BCS title game is. It's a cheap way of putting in a half-assed playoff without actually putting a playoff in.

This season (assuming Auburn and Oklahoma finish unbeaten) and last season it would sort of work, but its actually rare. Before that, the extra game would have been a rematch between Ohio State and Miami. They were clearly the 2 best teams. Would that have made sense? If Miami wins the second time, then they are National Champs and the first bowl game wouldn't have meant a damn thing. The BCS is trying to patch the holes as they appear and all they do is create bigger problems. You can't continually overhaul the way the championship is determined and continue to convince people that championships are meaningful.

However, we can complain all we want, but ratings are better in sports when there is controversy. The BCS works perfectly ratings wise. It keeps drawing us in. Until fans quit watching, then we'll be stuck with the BCS. I don't think the BCS will be going anwhere any time soon.

Actually, ratings wise it doesn't work. Part of the reason is that ABC didn't want to pay for declining ratings, especially in the non-championship games. The ratings for the Rose Bowl was up last year but not the Sugar Bowl with LSU/Oklahoma. No one thought Oklahoma (just like this year when a defense gives up 70 points in two games) deserved to play and the ratings showed it. At least a game after the bowls is a start. It would basically be a 4 team tourney and now 3 games would have meaning instead of the 2 team playoff we have today.

[The_herd]

It would basically be a 4 team tourney and now 3 games would have meaning instead of the 2 team playoff we have today.

The problem is, what about next year. What if we don't have a situation where there 3 unbeatens or more? When Ohio State won a couple years ago they were the only unbeaten left after the title game. When Miami won in '01 they were clearly the best team. Adding another game is simply needless in these 2 situations. The extra bowl game solves nothing if the 2 team in the BCS title game are still ranked 1-2 after the game or there is only 1 unbeaten left after the bowls.

If you look at the NCAA's website for past champions, you see that the BCS has actually cleared things up from past season. The BCS isn't perfect, but it's doing it's job a lot better than the bowl games with tie-ins. Until we get true playoff, this is the best we're going to get.

hxxp://www.ncaa.org/champadmin/ia_football_past_champs.html

[Cuckoo]

Actually, ratings wise it doesn't work. Part of the reason is that ABC didn't want to pay for declining ratings, especially in the non-championship games. The ratings for the Rose Bowl was up last year but not the Sugar Bowl with LSU/Oklahoma. No one thought Oklahoma (just like this year when a defense gives up 70 points in two games) deserved to play and the ratings showed it. At least a game after the bowls is a start. It would basically be a 4 team tourney and now 3 games would have meaning instead of the 2 team playoff we have today.

This is bunk. The ratings for the Sugar Bowl were lower than the Rose Bowl because LSU has a lower fan base than USC or Michigan.

And to clarify a few things for you about Oklahoma: The defense didn't give up 70 points in those two games. Special teams miscues counted for a large percentage of that, and OU was without its top corner.

Auburn is ranked number one in scoring defense, USC is second, and Oklahoma is seventh. I don't see a huge difference there. Plus, Oklahoma has two shutouts this season, USC has two shutouts, Auburn only one. And OU's strength of schedule is higher than both.

Hey, argue as you will that OU didn't deserve to play in the championship game last year. I'm not sure that I can disagree with you, although saying that "no one" thought they should play is pretty incorrect.

But this year, the difference between the three teams is miniscule, and a lot of people think that they deserve to be in the championship game.

Now back to your regularly scheduled BCS discussion, about which I pretty much agree with the herd. :)

[govols]

Actually, ratings wise it doesn't work. Part of the reason is that ABC didn't want to pay for declining ratings, especially in the non-championship games. The ratings for the Rose Bowl was up last year but not the Sugar Bowl with LSU/Oklahoma. No one thought Oklahoma (just like this year when a defense gives up 70 points in two games) deserved to play and the ratings showed it. At least a game after the bowls is a start. It would basically be a 4 team tourney and now 3 games would have meaning instead of the 2 team playoff we have today.


My take from this is that we now have basically a 4 team playoff... I don't understand why people would be upset at that. As long as they match 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3 in the other games and my understanding is that this is what is going to happen. I may be wrong but I see this as step 1 to a playoff system.

[Noop]

I think some of you have it wrong... they will have the four BCS games. Meaning 10 teams make in the BCS not 8...

Example
Rose Bowl
Michigan vs. Cal
Fiesta Bowl
Utah vs. Boston College
Sugar Bowl
Auburn vs. Virgina Tech
Orange Bowl (Non title game)
Boise State vs. Texas
National Title game held at the Orange Bowl
USC vs. Oklahoma

[The_herd]

I think some of you have it wrong... they will have the four BCS games. Meaning 10 teams make in the BCS not 8...

Example
Rose Bowl
Michigan vs. Cal
Fiesta Bowl
Utah vs. Boston College
Sugar Bowl
Auburn vs. Virgina Tech
Orange Bowl (Non title game)
Boise State vs. Texas
National Title game held at the Orange Bowl
USC vs. Oklahoma

There is a deal in discussion that would make the 5th game played as a championship game after the other bowls have been played and the polls come out. They want to put the #1 and #2 teams against each other after the final polls come out.

The plan you have above is the other one being considered.

[Noop]

There is a deal in discussion that would make the 5th game played as a championship game after the other bowls have been played and the polls come out. They want to put the #1 and #2 teams against each other after the final polls come out.

The plan you have above is the other one being considered.
Isnt that a playoff? Strange wouldnt it be a good thing though?

[The_herd]

Isnt that a playoff? Strange wouldnt it be a good thing though?

Read my posts above as to why it isn't necessarily a good idea.

[RebelMan]

Just add a different 5th game and all will be fine.

[Solecismic]

If there's a playoff some day, I hope it isn't as completely screwed up as division I-AA's playoff. What a disaster.

The best team in I-AA (and the only undefeated team), according to the Sagarin Ratings, is Harvard. But the Ivy League doesn't participate in playoffs, so the Crimson is staying home.

The second-best team is New Hampshire. Their reward? A road game at Georgia Southern.

If I-A ditched the BCS and used a playoff system, it would only solve some of the problems, and would effectively eliminate the major bowls.

[wade moore]

If there's a playoff some day, I hope it isn't as completely screwed up as division I-AA's playoff. What a disaster.

The best team in I-AA (and the only undefeated team), according to the Sagarin Ratings, is Harvard. But the Ivy League doesn't participate in playoffs, so the Crimson is staying home.

The second-best team is New Hampshire. Their reward? A road game at Georgia Southern.

If I-A ditched the BCS and used a playoff system, it would only solve some of the problems, and would effectively eliminate the major bowls.

I have to cry foul here Jim for those who do not follow I-AA...

How the heck do you figure New Hampshire as the second best team in the nation?

#5 - ESPN USA/Today Poll
#3 - RPI

And they were FOURTH in their CONFERENCE. New Hampshire did not get screwed by any stretch of the means. It is a travesty as it is that they are #5 and William and Mary is #6 (W&M beat new Hampshire and won the Atlantic-10 when NH finished 4th).

The only team I can think of claiming screw job is Cal Poly who did not even get a spot, but NH having a road game against Georgia Southern was totally legit.

Besides, they won anyways ;)...

[rkmsuf]

and now get to go to Montana!

[duckman]

Pretty funny watching ESPNEWS this afternoon and hearing how the BCS system is "flawed". It was just a two weeks ago that they were saying it was a great system and now it's crap. It's pretty obvious that Disney thought it was great when they had the TV contract.