GSN July ratings

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'CaseyAbell\' date=\'Aug 29 2005, 08:34 AM\']OLN also bought the NHL package and is rumored to be interested in the NFL and baseball. Comcast seems intent on making the network a real competitor to ESPN.
[/quote]
IMO, buying the NHL was a mistake--ratings were already horrible...and I don't expect much of an increase after these highly paid athletes were crying and whining for a year.

I doubt they'll be able to strip away the NFL package from FOX, CBS, or ESPN....and they have their own sports channel, "Comcast Sports Net", though I'm not sure how many systems thats on right now.

[dzinkin]

[quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Aug 29 2005, 04:14 PM\']I doubt they'll be able to strip away the NFL package from FOX, CBS, or ESPN....and they have their own sports channel, "Comcast Sports Net", though I'm not sure how many systems thats on right now.

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[/quote]
Comcast Sportsnet isn't one channel -- it's a group of regional sports networks, similar to Fox Sports Net albeit with fewer channels comprising the group.  (IIRC, there are CSNs in Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington DC/Baltimore, and Sacramento.)  Turning OLN into a sports network would give Comcast a national sports outlet, like Disney/ABC has with ESPN.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Aug 29 2005, 01:14 PM\']IMO, buying the NHL was a mistake--ratings were already horrible...and I don't expect much of an increase after these highly paid athletes were crying and whining for a year.
[/quote]
With apologies for the threadjack, I will, once again, point out that said athletes were completely willing to play under the terms of the current CBA while this was ironed out, and that it was the owners doing the majority of the crying and whining. And that the owners more or less acheived a Humiliating Total Victory in this whole thing.

Not to suggest that there isn't blame to be laid at the feet of both sides of the issue, or that this will turn out to be a genius investment that will launch the NHL past Driving In A Counterclockwise Circle, but if you are gonna have an opinion, at least try to make it an informed one.

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Aug 29 2005, 03:14 PM\']I doubt they'll be able to strip away the NFL package from FOX, CBS, or ESPN....and they have their own sports channel, "Comcast Sports Net", though I'm not sure how many systems thats on right now.

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[/quote]
Just for clarification--FOX (NFC games), CBS (AFC games), ESPN (Monday nights) and NBC (Sunday nights) are the NFL rightholders starting in 2006 (through at least 2011).  The NFL was also planning on putting together a separate Thursday/Saturday night package for Comcast, USA, TNT and its own NFL Network to bid on, although whether that comes to fruition or not remains to be seen.  But Comcast only fits in the bidding for the new package, not stripping away the current rights.

Doug

[CaseyAbell]

The fate of that Thursday/Saturday package probably depends on how much the NFL wants to boost its own network. They've got to put some live games on the network to get people to watch, because highlights and old games and football chitchat aren't going to generate spectacular numbers.

My guess is that Comcast or anybody else will really have to blow the windows out with an enormous bid to get those games. Comcast willingly overpaid for the NHL, so they may be the most likely candidate to blast away for the NFL.

I also expect Comcast to do some kind of deal for baseball. They're already involved (in a sometimes legally tangled way) with the Orioles and other teams. I've seen lots of Internet speculation that Comcast's interest in baseball is complicating the sport's current renewal talks with ESPN.

EDIT: To get back on-topic, GSN is also benefitting from ad-supported cable's usual summer boost. I won't repeat the cliche about a rising tide. But GSN isn't just relying on cable's summer magic. After all, the network's numbers hurtled off a very steep cliff two summers ago. Programming matters (duh).

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'CaseyAbell\' date=\'Aug 30 2005, 08:52 AM\'] and football chitchat aren't going to generate spectacular numbers. [/quote]
If chitchat doesn't generate spectacular numbers, why are shows such as "Cold Pizza" and "PTI" popular?

[CaseyAbell]

If the NFL network is content with the numbers that not-ready-for-prime-time shows like Cold Pizza and PTI get, then they can program football chitchat all day long.

But I think they're looking for bigger numbers than those. Which means live games in prime time. So, yes, I do think it will take a very large bid to knock that Thursday/Saturday package (if it comes about at all) loose from the NFL's own network.

[GS Warehouse]

[quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Aug 30 2005, 01:05 PM\']If chitchat doesn't generate spectacular numbers, why are shows such as "Cold Pizza" and "PTI" popular?

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[/quote]
It's all in the presentation.  You know something's working when you're drawing better ratings than your network's signature show (see PTI's entry on Wikipedia for the proof).

ObPTI: Louie Anderson is still hosting the Feud?!!  What year does Tony Kornheiser think this is?

[aaron sica]

[quote name=\'GS Warehouse\' date=\'Aug 30 2005, 04:33 PM\']ObPTI: Louie Anderson is still hosting the Feud?!!  What year does Tony Kornheiser think this is?

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Don't encourage Henke's "sigs".

[uncamark]

Real quick:  To complicate everything else, the Philadelphia and Washington/Baltimore (and perhaps the Sacramento) Comcast SportsNet channels are also FSN affiliates (Chicago isn't, because despite all logic FSN Chicago is still in operation)--the Philly and Washington editions of CSN's "SportsNite" air on FCS Atlantic.

And last I saw, "CP" wasn't doing all that well--but for some reason it stays on the air and gets a new logo, theme, titles and graphics package this week, along with a new voice-over giving Dana Jacobson top billing over Jay Crawford, the only original cast member still around.  And the theme was the best thing I liked about the show.  

Da da da DAH DAH DAAAAA....