I'd actually prefer the 8:00 tipoff because I go to church at 6 on Wednesdays. At best I'll see the last ten minutes since I don't have a way to DVR this. Bummer. Bring back the Saturday iron bowl of basketball indeed
"TV is the likely culprit. ESPN knows that Auburn vs. Alabama can deliver a strong ratings number in a more competitive weeknight slot. The first matchup this season was on main ESPN, while Wednesday’s rematch will be on ESPN2."
Shocked! Shocked, I tell you, that ESPN is driving this trend.
Seriously, though. I am old and remember when only select games were on TV so having every game available to watch from California is something I am grateful for. I'm also grateful to not get the Big 12 treatment of being forced into subscribing to ESPN+ to see every game. If the tradeoff is that we get the IB on a weeknight, that's not a bad deal from where I sit. Those of you who have the opportunity to see games in person may well see it differently and I get that.
I know espn can decide game times like in football, but I thought it was the SEC which decides the schedules, not the networks? I could be wrong, but I can’t imagine the SEC allowing someone else to dictate the days specific games are played. But espn does pay the conference a lot of money to air games, so maybe they do get a say?
Justin do you think travel distance/time has anything to do with the decision for midweek or weekend? Like it’s more inconvenient to for the team to travel to Arkansas for a midweek game versus staying in state. Would be interested to see an average mileage breakdown of midweek conference games compared to weekend tips.
However, I agree with your assessment and there probably isn’t that much logical thought that goes into considering convenience for players. BIG MEDIA ™️ is always to blame.
I'd actually prefer the 8:00 tipoff because I go to church at 6 on Wednesdays. At best I'll see the last ten minutes since I don't have a way to DVR this. Bummer. Bring back the Saturday iron bowl of basketball indeed
💯Justin. Although I am grateful for a 7:00 EST tipoff since I have to drive back to Atlanta after.
"TV is the likely culprit. ESPN knows that Auburn vs. Alabama can deliver a strong ratings number in a more competitive weeknight slot. The first matchup this season was on main ESPN, while Wednesday’s rematch will be on ESPN2."
Shocked! Shocked, I tell you, that ESPN is driving this trend.
Seriously, though. I am old and remember when only select games were on TV so having every game available to watch from California is something I am grateful for. I'm also grateful to not get the Big 12 treatment of being forced into subscribing to ESPN+ to see every game. If the tradeoff is that we get the IB on a weeknight, that's not a bad deal from where I sit. Those of you who have the opportunity to see games in person may well see it differently and I get that.
Couldn't agree more with this article. It's a travesty there hasn't been a weekend game between the two since 2017!
I know espn can decide game times like in football, but I thought it was the SEC which decides the schedules, not the networks? I could be wrong, but I can’t imagine the SEC allowing someone else to dictate the days specific games are played. But espn does pay the conference a lot of money to air games, so maybe they do get a say?
Justin do you think travel distance/time has anything to do with the decision for midweek or weekend? Like it’s more inconvenient to for the team to travel to Arkansas for a midweek game versus staying in state. Would be interested to see an average mileage breakdown of midweek conference games compared to weekend tips.
However, I agree with your assessment and there probably isn’t that much logical thought that goes into considering convenience for players. BIG MEDIA ™️ is always to blame.