Television Plans and Starting Times Released for Five Ohio State Football Games

[Kamd50]

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Starting times for five of Ohio State's 2007 football games, including four road contests, were announced today by the Big Ten Conference in conjunction with ABC and ESPN.

The Buckeyes are slated to play three prime-time road games against conference foes this fall, taking on Minnesota (Sept. 29), Purdue (Oct. 6) and Penn State (Oct. 27) under the lights. All three contests will kickoff at 8 p.m. EDT and will be nationally televised by ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.

Additionally, the Buckeyes' games at Washington and against Michigan State in Columbus, will kickoff at 3:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by ABC.

Ohio State's 2007 Television Schedule as of May 1:
Sept. 15 - at Washington, 12:30 p.m. PT (3:30 p.m. ET), ABC-TV
Sept. 29 - at Minnesota, 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET), ABC/ESPN or ESPN2
Oct. 6 - at Purdue, 8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN or ESPN2
Oct. 20 - Michigan State, 3:30 p.m., ABC
Oct. 27 - at Penn State, 8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN or ESPN 2

[longtimefirsttime]

That seems like quite a few night games. Day, night, grass, turf, home, away....it will matter little. OSU Buckeyes, 2007-08 Big 10 (and hopefully National) Champions!

[The Butler]

I wonder how many of the other games are going to be on the "Big 10" network? I think they still plan to launch that this fall.

[Kamd50]

Are you referring to this, Butler? Or is that something different yet?

Saturday Night Football Will Return on ABC

http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=34830

[Tigress]

Kamd50:

Here is a link to the Big Ten Network set to launch August 2007.

http://www.bigtennetwork.com/

[Kamd50]

Tigress to my rescue, lol:thanx:

[longtimefirsttime]

I found this in the Rep:

"Big Ten Network sets prime-time football lineup Iowa is featured in the lineup of prime-time football on the Big Ten Network. The Hawkeyes will play Syracuse at 7 p.m. Sept. 8 at Kinnick Stadium — one of five televised night games the network announced Tuesday. The new cable network is expected to start in August and show at least 35 Big Ten football games. That will be followed by more than 100 men’s and women’s basketball games and broadcasts of baseball, volleyball and other sports. Ohio State is not slated for one of the prime-time telecasts."

Will this be carried on Massillon Cable? I know they've resisted carrying NFL Network because it would likely lead to an increase in fees to subscribers.

[Kamd50]

Big Ten Network: No luck so far with local cable companies

Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman didn't have any firm answers Monday for those wondering if the fledgling network will be picked up by Central Ohio cable television systems.

At issue is whether Columbus viewers will be able to watch the Ohio State University football games to be aired on the Big Ten Network this fall and other Buckeye sports contests, including men's basketball games, the rest of the year.


The network said Monday it has reached an agreement to be carried by Buckeye CableSystem, which has 150,000 customers in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.

Agreements with about 40 other cable systems are ready to be signed, Silverman said, but Columbus' big three cable operators -- Time Warner Cable, Insight Communications and Wide Open West -- are not among them.

The pending deals, he said, are with smaller cable systems that don't offer as many multimedia platforms, including wireless and broadband, as large operators like the ones in Columbus.

"There are a lot more parts to them," Silverman said of negotiations with the companies. "Conversations are moving forward in a productive way."

The network wants cable systems in the eight Big Ten states to pay $1.10 per subscriber to carry it on their analog distribution tiers, said a recent story in Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal, a national weekly magazine covering the sports industry. Some large cable operators have balked at paying such a high fee, the report said.

Silverman declined to provide specifics on what the Big Ten Network is asking from cable operators.

"We believe the deals on the table are fair," he said, "and we're making progress. We haven't had to vary from our initial thoughts."

The Big Ten Network, which will launch in August, plans to televise 35 to 40 Big Ten football games this season. It will air at least two Ohio State games, but Silverman said the schedule will not be finalized until early July. That's when ABC and ESPN will decide which games they want to televise this season. That will leave the rest available for coverage by the Big Ten Network, which is a partnership between the conference and Fox Cable Networks.

Silverman said all Ohio State football games will be televised by one of the three networks. Unlike past years, however, games not picked up by ABC or ESPN will not be offered on a syndicated basis to local channels such as Columbus' WBNS-TV.

In addition to football games, the Big Ten Network expects to broadcast more than 105 men's basketball games next season, including about 10 featuring the Buckeyes. It also plans to carry at least 55 women's basketball contests and 170 Olympic sporting events at Big Ten schools. Also planned are a nightly studio show, coaches shows, replays of classic games and more than 600 hours of campus programming of non-sports activities at Big Ten universities.

[MTown]

Those who missed out on the Indiana game last year because it was on ESPNU are going to experience more of the same. These upstart networks like NFL Network, ESPNU, and now Big Ten Network are strong arming cable companies to pick them up.

[monte81]

That seems like quite a few night games. Day, night, grass, turf, home, away....it will matter little. OSU Buckeyes, 2007-08 Big 10 (and hopefully National) Champions!


LIFT-- I like you but you are dreaming if you think any QB on OSU's roster is good enough to take it all in the Big Ten and win the National Championship. Wisconsin and UM are definitey better stacked on offense but OSU does have a top ranked defense but that alone wont be enough if they cannot score points.
Wells will be able to run but when they stack up they will have problems. I see a year like 2003 with around2/3 losses but I could be wrong. I know my brother Travis would start tripping if he heard me say that about his buckeyes.

[The Butler]

Thanks for the update Kamd. Good info. $1.10 just for this channel does seem kind of steep.

[longtimefirsttime]

LIFT-- I like you but you are dreaming if you think any QB on OSU's roster is good enough to take it all in the Big Ten and win the National Championship.


Like Chris Leak last year (who went undrafted in the NFL) in the SEC? Never say never. It's possible with an exceptional defense, solid running game and a smart QB.

[monte81]

Like Chris Leak last year (who went undrafted in the NFL) in the SEC? Never say never. It's possible with an exceptional defense, solid running game and a smart QB.

Chris Leak was a four year starter for Florida and always had talent. I remember he was the MVP of the All-American game the same year Prescott Burgess and Crable played in the game. I was front and center at the scarlet/gray game and I see the buckeyes losing at least 2 games but the schedule is somewhat cupcake and Wells should be able to run for alot a wins because the defense is nice. However the National Championship is pushing it IMO!!

[TigerswillbeTigers]

Monte! OSU's schedule next year is "somewhat cupcake"? That's an understatement if there ever was one.

Now I know I'm going to upset some other Buckeye fans when I say this, but as a Buckeye fan, I'm going to ad my two cents anyway.

The out of conference schedule is a joke and the pollsters and computers will and should punish them for it. To play Youngstown State, Akron and Kent State in the same year is rediculous if you want to be known as a football powerhouse. Throw in the mighty Washington Huskys and it might be as weak of out of conference schedule as there is.
Now I no the die hard OSU fans are going to say "well all that matters is going undefeated and playing in the BCS championship game", or, "Tressel is giving the other Ohio schools a chance to play against the Buckeyes and it's good for Ohio", and then there's those that will say, well as "tough" as the big 10 schedule is OSU needs a few breathers. Uh huh!
The big 2 proved last year that the conference was weak and that on the national stage they both got embarassed by teams from the SEC and PAC10, which were being laughed at as "WEAK" conferences right up until the beatings those teams gave OSU and UM.
Big time recruits want to play big games in big venues on National TV and even though the Buckeyes have several prime time TV games this year the fact is the only game with national attention is the UM game. The 4 out of conference games don't even excite the OSU players and they will play down to their competition in those games, which does them no good in the end.

The 08 schedule includes 3 cupcakes and USC. The USC game should be a classic with all of the talent both teams will have.

[MTown]

The Buckeye's non-conference schedule is atrocious. I like the fact that Tressel wants to play Ohio schools...but play one per year. If Michigan is going to play Notre Dame in it's non-conference schedule then Ohio State needs to play games like Texas and now USC and Miami in the future. All that being said, our schedule sets up perfectly for this team, this year. We will not have a great passing game but we have time to get it together reasonably well. We will have to pass it efficiently so we can keep the defenses honest with Wells. Our D will be awesome and we'll once again have the best set of linebackers in the Nation.

As is the expectation at Ohio State, we should win the Big Ten and beat Michigan. Let the national polls and bowl games take care of themselves.

[longtimefirsttime]

Chris Leak was a four year starter for Florida and always had talent.


Leak was inconsistent. That's why he split time his senior year with a freshman QB. No doubt he has a quality arm and is a quality guy. He should do fine in life. But (ask those who follow Florida and they'll tell you) he didn't live up to expectations and is considered a longshot in the NFL. And he definitely proves my point that it's possible to win a national championship without a premier QB if you have a top-tier defense and a good running game. (Florida was 6th in the nation in points allowed with 13.5. The Gators allowed just 74.5 yards rushing per game to rank 6th in that category as well.)

[MTown]

Dude....we won the National Championship with Craig Krenzel. It can be done.

[longtimefirsttime]

Dude....we won the National Championship with Craig Krenzel. It can be done.
Another example. His smarts made up for whatever physical skills he lacked.

[longtimefirsttime]

"Big Ten fans may miss out this fall"
http://www.indeonline.com/index.php?ID=18280&r=2&Category=2

[ReineyKicker15]

After last year I was really down about Ohio States chances this year. However the more I think about it if our qaurterback just doesnt make mistakes we actually have a shot at it. We have a good line, wells is gonna be a stud at RB, receivers are gonna be better than people think, and I think the defense will be better than last years with Lauranaitis anchoring the D and they should be one of the best in the country. Not to mention we should easily start out 8-0, and our team will be ranked highly and they will have confidence when they get to the tough games on the schedule. Its a small longshot but if we stay healthy and have a few bounces go are a way there is a chance they could end up in the National Championship again. The team reminds me of the 02 team that won it all.

Go Bucks!