The mtn. Not Sharing Potential BYU-Utah Matchup Of Unbeatens
The mtn. is scheduled to televise the November 22 BYU-Utah football game, which could feature both teams with 11-0 records, and the mtn. VP & GM Kim Carver said that there are "no thoughts of allowing the [game] to go to another station if any came asking," according to Lya Wodraska of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. Carver: "We have the rights." While last year's game was shown on Versus and CBS College Sports as well as the mtn. "to give the game national coverage," there currently are "no plans for the game to be simulcast on any other networks." Carver said that simulcasting the game "isn't necessary because her network is national" due to its recent carriage deal with DirecTV. Wodraska notes even if the net "wanted to simulcast the game it couldn't do so without disrupting other programming." If both teams remain undefeated until that matchup, the mtn. will broadcast "what should be its highest-rated game in its three years of existence as the two teams battle for a BCS berth" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 10/16).
THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: In Utah, Jeff Call notes BYU plays at TCU tonight as Mountain West Conference (MWC) schools, in a "continual search for national respect ... must play Thursday night games on networks like Versus." But Call wonders, "How much does it help the conference? For the MWC, the limited national exposure can be both good and bad." MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson: "It depends on your perspective. Short weeks are brutal. It's hard on both teams. But it's an opportunity to play in front of a potential audience of 75 million people. It could be very positive for the MWC." BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall: "The brutal fact is, our conference is fighting for respect and our conference is fighting for recognition and our conference is fighting a system that is exclusionary. ... The best teams in our league are almost obligated to play on Thursday nights for the benefit of the league to gain attention for our conference" (DESERET NEWS, 10/16). In San Diego, Mick McGrane writes in the "most anticipated MWC game to date this season ... the principals have had all of three days to prepare." McGrane: "In a world where television often holds hostage college football's less fortunate, making non-Saturday games [is] a necessary evil" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 10/16).
|
