LHN, SECN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPNU branding...

[TDenverFan]

Quote: Originally Posted by Colt45

If money is the only problem, EA is doing it wrong. They should go into CBS, FOX, etc, and pitch having their logos in the game as an advertisement instead of a license. You allow them into your game instead of asking their permission. If they did that, they could have almost any brand they wanted. Where the money comes in (like in the ESPN deal, if there was any) comes from the exclusivity of the logos, something EA doesn't have to worry about now.

That's what I was thinking. I bet they could even tack on a "You're watching this game live on ____ Sports Network, your #1 source for college football" at the start of each broadcast, effectively making an advertisement and increasing realism.

[NinerFan1983]

At the very least, I wouldn't mind seeing ESPN, ABC and CBS in the game. I know they did CBS with NCAA Basketball 10, which looked awesome from a presentation standpoint.

[Ziza9Noles94]

Quote: Originally Posted by Colt45

If money is the only problem, EA is doing it wrong. They should go into CBS, FOX, etc, and pitch having their logos in the game as an advertisement instead of a license. You allow them into your game instead of asking their permission. If they did that, they could have almost any brand they wanted. Where the money comes in (like in the ESPN deal, if there was any) comes from the exclusivity of the logos, something EA doesn't have to worry about now.

Unfortunately, as the room would be filled with people looking at the bottom line and an immediate, guaranteed ROI, that pitch would get laughed out of the room. Using CBS as an example, the first questions/comments would be, "How many copies of the game do you sell, on average, with each yearly iteration?" "Currently more people view our CBS College Sports station on cable and satellite than the number of people that currently purchase your NCAA football game on a yearly basis. There is probably some crossover there with gamers who also watch our family of networks. What is the benefit, other than the obvious to you and those gamers (give them what they want, more profit for you), to us to essentially handing you the gift of our branding for zero cents and zero dollars." "The possibility that maybe, a few thousand fans who likely already watch our channels, listen to our stations will tune in?"

"Thank you gentleman. Maggie will validate your parking at the front desk."

They are going to insist on some licensing agreement to see an actual payoff for the use of their brand.

[jello1717]

Quote: Originally Posted by NinerFan1983

At the very least, I wouldn't mind seeing ESPN, ABC and CBS in the game. I know they did CBS with NCAA Basketball 10, which looked awesome from a presentation standpoint.

I'm not sure why everyone keeps bringing up CBS as they predominantly (only?) show games from 1 conference. That's a serious waste of resources for such a small return since the vast majority of users wouldn't even play games on the CBS network. CBS was great for NCAA Basketball because CBS shows all kinds of basketball games.

Adding another ESPN crew and/or adding ABC (which is essentially ESPN anyway) would be great but it'd be a serious waste to add a network that only shows games from 1 conference (or even worse, 1 team like the Longhorn network or NBC).

[Colt45]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ziza9Noles94

Unfortunately, as the room would be filled with people looking at the bottom line and an immediate, guaranteed ROI, that pitch would get laughed out of the room. Using CBS as an example, the first questions/comments would be, "How many copies of the game do you sell, on average, with each yearly iteration?" "Currently more people view our CBS College Sports station on cable and satellite than the number of people that currently purchase your NCAA football game on a yearly basis. There is probably some crossover there with gamers who also watch our family of networks. What is the benefit, other than the obvious to you and those gamers (give them what they want, more profit for you), to us to essentially handing you the gift of our branding for zero cents and zero dollars." "The possibility that maybe, a few thousand fans who likely already watch our channels, listen to our stations will tune in?" "Thank you gentleman. Maggie will validate your parking at the front desk." They are going to insist on some licensing agreement to see an actual payoff for the use of their brand.

Any ROI on $0 invested is pretty freaking high.

The meeting would go like this:

"Hi, I'm Steve from EA. Would you like some free advertising by letting us use your name and logo in our games? Yes? Great!"

*fade*

[OmahaKnights]

I would almost rather they invent fictional networks for different tiers of programming than continue an exclusive relationship with Disney. Having Brad Nessler call Ball State-Western Michigan is pretty immersion-killing. It's wishful thinking to bring CBS, FOX, and ABC all under one tent, so why not do things your own way?

[Colt45]

I'm good with that, too. Didn't Madden 13 have different announce teams? I actually miss how older games used to have no announcers for any game unless you were on at least a regional game.

[TDenverFan]

Since they already have ESPN, couldn't they at least tack on ESPN2 and ESPNU presentation? I imagine it wouldn't take a lot for EA to add those two networks on to whatever deal they have with ESPN.