I don't like negative posters, and I think this is my first one in over a year (mostly because I haven't posted much since the format change), but I am really disappointed with our lack of TV coverage through three weeks. I live in Cranberry Twp, which is one of the more populous suburbs of Pittsburgh...this is the THIRD straight week Pitt is not on cable. That is unacceptable in my opinion. Robert Morris and Slippery Rock have been on...not Pitt...Pitt needs to cut more deals with the CW and the low-rent local stations to get us on TV when it is an espn3 game.
This is Big Time College Football?
- Thread starter mehinpgh
- Start date
You do realize that because Akron and Iowa are road games, Pitt has no control on when/wear they will be played. Those rights belong to the home team/their conference.
The MAC doesn't have a great deal, and the Big Ten decided to put the game on the BTN.
The rest of the games should be on TV either via the ACC Network on WTAE, on an ESPN platform, and ABC since they are either home/ACC games.
As for making a deal with the CW, how are they going to do that when the rights are assigned through the ACC who has an agreement through ESPN, who then sells off some of those right to Fox sports and Raycom?
The MAC doesn't have a great deal, and the Big Ten decided to put the game on the BTN.
The rest of the games should be on TV either via the ACC Network on WTAE, on an ESPN platform, and ABC since they are either home/ACC games.
As for making a deal with the CW, how are they going to do that when the rights are assigned through the ACC who has an agreement through ESPN, who then sells off some of those right to Fox sports and Raycom?
Exactly. FCS games are pretty commonly not televised or end up on tier 4 channels or ESPN3. Akron and Iowa are away games, so we fall under their TV deals. Like with Iowa, we are on the shitty BTN.
excuses are plenty.. Doesn't change the facts that pitt fans need an HDMI cable to watch pitt games every year. But the worst is over now and we SHOULD have the rest of the games on actual TV and with HD.. Until next year's epic matchup with Villanova, and i'll just go ahead and assume the Marshall game too..
Oh I know, I didn't mean to sound like it was just BS.. They are valid excuses, just really sucks the quality of the product that a P5 fanbase shouldn't have to deal with in this day and age.. Watching Pine Richland on Friday night and then Slippery Rock on Saturday afternoon, one being in HD, both being very high quality productions, then having to get laptop hooked up for Pitt, and watching it thru what looked like was a water-logged telescope, just really sucked..
Of course you could also choose to go to the game and see it live. I get that some people don't have the financial resources to travel to away games. However, living in Cranberry, it should not be too tough for you to make it to Heinz Field to see Pitt play Youngstown, as opposed to watching it on a computer. Hail to Pitt!
rumors swirling that this could change, specifically if you have Comcast.. to be determined..
And of course.... I have DirecTV lol. Also caused me to miss a couple basketball games that were on MyTV.
That is just as big of a problem. A basketball team that goes to the tourney almost every year, but Channel 4 gets more views showing soap operas and dramas over an ACC basketball game.
I have direct tv. All games that I have ever watched on big ten alt channels are always in hd.
Sounds promising for this weekend then. Although to be honest as much as it would suck, if Pitt wins, I don't care if the TV is 4 foot wide and in black and white. H2P!
I have to admit, I did not think about the fact that the two games I am most annoyed by are away games...that makes sense. Regardless, they need to figure out a way to get us on TV more easily, at least in the local Pittsburgh area.
I was at the Opener and had a ticket for Akron but decided the laptop was a better option when I called my friends who had already set up the tailgate and they advised me not to make the 100 minute drive...at that point it was Forest Gump-style sideways raining so I took their advice.
I'm guessing you watched on ESPN3 as well then. I don't know if it was my computer or just in general (I hooked mine up to the TV), but to be honest the quality was so bad I could not even tell how bad it was raining. I realize why you would rather sit at home, but man I can't imagine anything worse than what ESPN3 produced for that game lol.
The Comcast feed will be HD. FIOS will not. Here is the TV listings direct from the BigTen Network: http://btn.com/btn-gamefinder/
All the excuses given are legitimate, but it is definitely just another absurd aspect of college football in general and Pitt in particular. It stems from the conference model and the free for all that is non conference games, which causes all these terrible OOC games and uncertain broadcasts ... which extends to game starting times. I have friends out of town that want to come to certain games, but can't make definite plans since most of our games don't have start times. This matters if they want to try to pick ideal flights, family plans, etc.
Fact is, there are too many programs. Many schools simply shouldn't be playing, at least at the top level. Pitt may very well be one of those, frankly. But the glut and the decentralization leads to the absurdity we have, where rivals don't play at all, but nearly all teams play teams that are not 1A, or certainly below their stature. That is absolutely crazy. Congress is sticking its nose into fantasy football leagues; if it's going to waste time associated to sports, it SHOULD be muscling college football into some kind of sense.
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Yeah, in a perfect world, every single game would be on WTAE or something. But that is why the networks pay big time money to these conferences. They want to control when, how, etc these games are broadcast.
When it is a road game, there really is not much Pitt or the ACC can do to get the game on TV here.
ESPN running it on ESPN3 is the best way to get it. Most people have SmartTVs now that can just stream it directly into the TV. Before the internet age, you'd have to listen on the radio if you were lucky enough to be close enough to get a signal.
A little rain won't hurt you.
My wife and I drove 6 hours in for the Akron game and the rain kind of made it fun. Well, I suppose I wouldn't have had much fun if Pitt lost!I posted something similar yesterday. Add in the Week 4 Bye and that means the Casual Yinzer wont get to watch Pitt until Oct 3.
This isnt Pitt's fault but the ACC has got to get its own network. They YSU game should have been televised. Rutgers/Norfolk was televised in its place because the BT ESPN contract does not allow internet-only broadcasts.
Im sorry but this is big boy football. Every Pitt game should be televised. Every WVU and PSU game is.
This isnt Pitt's fault but the ACC has got to get its own network. They YSU game should have been televised. Rutgers/Norfolk was televised in its place because the BT ESPN contract does not allow internet-only broadcasts.
Im sorry but this is big boy football. Every Pitt game should be televised. Every WVU and PSU game is.
If there was an ACC Network, ESPN, since it owns the MAC rights could have put the Pitt/AKR game on ACCN in those markets. That would have required approval by the MAC and ACC but something like that could have been done if we had a network.
I like HD, but I don't get the fanaticism for it? I guess I could watch it on a black and white TV with rabbit ears because I'm just looking at the game, not the picture quality, lol.
Rain games aren't bad when the weather is still warm, last Saturday I stood in the rain for 1.5 hours for my daughter's soccer game, it was 80 degrees so it didn't bother me.A little rain won't hurt you.
1) ACC Network would not have televised the Akron and Iowa game as it is not an ACC home game.
2) The Iowa game is televised this weekend.
3) There is no guarantee that YSU game would be televised.
You can watch every Pitt football and basketball game. Get a smart TV, which almost all TVs are, and watch it on the Watch ESPN app. Pretty simple solution
Do you have cable or rabbit ears. If you have rabbit ears you are out of luck. If you have cable and don't get BTN, call your cable company. Blame them, not Pitt.
One thing that cold rain didn't do was make it fun.A little rain won't hurt you.
Nothing worse than watching a game in cold rain, miserable. I remember being at a Pitt game in pitt stadium in '98, ironically enough, It was against akron, pouring rain, cold too, early October. I remember hanging out in the bathroom under the hand warmer/blower, just to unfreeze my hands..
I agree with you....now to beat a dead horse...
We are in this predicament because of general admin apathy seasoned with an unhealthy does of SP Volume II.
It will take time to move Pitt athletics into the mainstream.
Our new AD has the chops and has moved pretty quickly and decisively.
There are those who want us off 93.7....for what? KQV?
I don't know the restictions placed on Pitt by the ACC TV deals...but I do know that the lack of coverage is upsetting and correcting this has to be a priority.
Rome was not built in a day...but it sure can burn quickly.
Now that the fire is out, time for us to build from scratch.
It's funny that you post this:
right before you post this:
In other words, I have no idea what I am talking about, but I sure like to hear myself bitch.
right before you post this:
In other words, I have no idea what I am talking about, but I sure like to hear myself bitch.
1. ESPN owns the rights to the MAC. If they wanted to put the game on their ACCN (if it existed) as long as the MAC agreed to it. Pretty sure they would have. Its good for the MAC to be on TV.
2. Its televised but on one of the most obscure channels there are, a bizzaro Big Ten Network that nobody knows exists. We'll find the game but nobody else will.
3. Conference networks televise ALL league home games. Pitt/YSU would have bee televised if there was a network.
1) I still doubt it. But I guess we'll find out in a few years.
2-3) That game would probably be broadcast on the obscure alternate ACC channel then that nobody knows exist.
Again, the ideal model is:
1. 4 Super-power (SP) conferences of the top 64 programs, max, organized regionally, broken into divisions
2. None of these can play any teams outside the 4 SP conferences
3. Networks bid on covering the games of these conferences, similar to AFC/NFC in the NFL
4. Intra-division/conference games are shown on "its" network main channel, broken out in regions. There would be other games on the obscure sub-channels for each network, or PPV package of some kind to get all of them, like the NFL Ticket. Inter-conference, handle much like today: Game is broadcast on the road team's conference network.
5. Did I mention that these teams can ONLY play other Super Power conference teams? No more YSU or Akron ... or maybe Pitt, if Pitt isn't good enough to be included(right now, it would be dubious, frankly).
6. What about those that can't make it into a SP conference originally? Doomed to drop the sport? Perhaps many should drop it, frankly. Others can continue playing at 1-AA level, or perhaps a new tier of D1. Networks can even strike deals to show games from those levels, like NIT games on ESPN2, etc.
7. Want to give an avenue for 1-AA/lower tier to rise to the SP level (at the expense of bottom level performers that would drop down)? Kind of like European soccer leagues? I'm fine with that too. Conduct a re-eval of the SP conference make-up every 3 or 5 years. That would force a perennial knuckledragger like, well, Pitt to invest adequately and compete hard. And give a quality lower-tier like Toledo or ECU hope that their high quality could pay off.
8. If you want to have a preseason game or two as well, to ward off one of the other oft-mentioned reasons there are 1-AA games, I'm not averse to that either. I wouldn't see schools wanting to give up regular season or playoff games for that, though. Probably would have to be informal scrimmages during August.
9. I'll leave the length of season, regular season scheduling, and length/set up of the playoff for others to debate.
10. But this would definitely solve all the problems we face today: no more awful games, networks not willing (or able) to gain access to show them, and real, professional coverage for all who want them.
1. 4 Super-power (SP) conferences of the top 64 programs, max, organized regionally, broken into divisions
2. None of these can play any teams outside the 4 SP conferences
3. Networks bid on covering the games of these conferences, similar to AFC/NFC in the NFL
4. Intra-division/conference games are shown on "its" network main channel, broken out in regions. There would be other games on the obscure sub-channels for each network, or PPV package of some kind to get all of them, like the NFL Ticket. Inter-conference, handle much like today: Game is broadcast on the road team's conference network.
5. Did I mention that these teams can ONLY play other Super Power conference teams? No more YSU or Akron ... or maybe Pitt, if Pitt isn't good enough to be included(right now, it would be dubious, frankly).
6. What about those that can't make it into a SP conference originally? Doomed to drop the sport? Perhaps many should drop it, frankly. Others can continue playing at 1-AA level, or perhaps a new tier of D1. Networks can even strike deals to show games from those levels, like NIT games on ESPN2, etc.
7. Want to give an avenue for 1-AA/lower tier to rise to the SP level (at the expense of bottom level performers that would drop down)? Kind of like European soccer leagues? I'm fine with that too. Conduct a re-eval of the SP conference make-up every 3 or 5 years. That would force a perennial knuckledragger like, well, Pitt to invest adequately and compete hard. And give a quality lower-tier like Toledo or ECU hope that their high quality could pay off.
8. If you want to have a preseason game or two as well, to ward off one of the other oft-mentioned reasons there are 1-AA games, I'm not averse to that either. I wouldn't see schools wanting to give up regular season or playoff games for that, though. Probably would have to be informal scrimmages during August.
9. I'll leave the length of season, regular season scheduling, and length/set up of the playoff for others to debate.
10. But this would definitely solve all the problems we face today: no more awful games, networks not willing (or able) to gain access to show them, and real, professional coverage for all who want them.
My question is why are so many peole crying because the game wasn't in HD ? I PERSONALLY DIDN'T CARE ABOUT RECEPTION. it was good to watch them and they won. nd I had tickets and gave them to my daughter and her BF. I still enjoyed them game. As some one state d earlier as long as Pitt wins. Crying about game not being on (Normal) TV. Justified. Not in HD ? Really. Some people have nothing to do but complain, and are never happy.
Some folks have spent a lot of money on HD devices, and the "Smart" devices that tend to be able to get ESPN3 or BTN sub-channels seamlessly often also are HD. And non-HD actually can look crappy on HD devices. You can question their priorities to invest so much in such devices, but for those that did, it's valid then for them to lament that a key reason they went out and got such devices (to watch Pitt) is not being presented, yet what they perceive to be equally or lower quality games inexplicably are.
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