415hawaiiboy

I’ll come back if Jeff sets the direction

Why do schools need to win their home markets, one big factor is political power and money. Voters. Advocates. This was the biggest problem for Hawaii and PPV. I hope the MW heeds this warning that a little extra money for restrictive access is penny wise pound foolish.

Would be interesting if I’m right or wrong, but is UNLV better off with an unconventional offense (example: the Go Go in two years changed their outlook after decades of doing conventional)? Not saying the Go Go is the right choice since that coaching tree is one guy.

Get us on TV/streaming every game!

I think in-market, we need free tv - especially those schools in bigger cities (UNLV, New Mexico, Hawaii, SJSU, NIU, or state flagship like Wyoming). We need to grow our respective fanbases - that will drive ratings for future. ESPN DTC would be fine for the rest of the country to watch, if the game isn’t on CBS Sports, etc. But I think a buyout should allowed if say another niche streamer wants the game; ie BetMGM, FanDuel TV, who is going to actually spend money to market our teams/games. ESPN DTC has too many games to market especially for us.

Very good question

We’ll take the meaningful exit fee money though.

Xfinity/Comcast with the premium package for CBS Sports ($10 more). I don’t want to pay for the ESPN DTC ($35 more per month).

I call this the “house of cards” argument that gets the judge to show their cards which way they are leaning, because the story of one party just crumbles. Two civil trials, one my own (I won) and another I was told about - this house of cards led to the judge becoming agitated with one side (the other side just watched and stays quiet). In closing arguments or before even, the judge will ask Plaintiffs why they signed a similar contract with the PAC 12. That is the house of cards. $22MM x 5 = $110MM for exit fees alone. It is comical and predictable. I’m more interested in the poaching fees case.

Agreed

Interesting you think Friday nights, the MW would showcase the “game of the week.” It seems like Friday and Saturday nights get their share of the best game. Check out 10/17 (FRI) and 10/18 (SAT). 10/17 SJSU vs Utah St CBSSports 10/18 late game is UNLV vs Boise FoxSports whereas 10/21 FRI is Hawaii vs UNLV FoxSports 10/22 SAT late game is Utah State vs Fresno CBSSports Nov 1 is a really good day for match ups and ratings. Army vs AF on Big CBS. Fresno vs Boise on FS on Friday night. Saturday Late game is Hawaii vs SJSU which usually is a barn burner, and Spartans are supposed to be good this year. I guess I don’t see a noticeable pattern.

My hunch is Friday night games might be shared amongst the conference teams. In 2025, Hawaii at UNLV is a Friday night game. Off-night, meaning Thursday or another night, I’m not sure. In my recent memory, for Hawaii, the only Friday night games were for early season P5 match ups (two years ago vs Stanford at home on Week Zero). But very rare.

To answer my own questions. 1) streaming in 2026 is the right time. We saw the dismal ratings for TruTV in the MW in 2024. There is exposure value for the MW for TruTV, but can TruTV make money with sub-100K viewership? Probably not. There are limits to profitability to expansion of linear tv channels. That said, I could see these lower tier channels target the ACC leftover games (TruTV doing that) which means streaming for 50% of G6 games. Right time? Sure. 2) the schools and match ups in the MW that would get late afternoon and evening games (pacific time) will vary but largely be the top pre-season hyped teams. Most Wyoming, NM, AF, NIU games will be early. West Coast teams will get the late spot. I can see Hawaii getting a 50/50 linear tv/streaming split. National tv games are not great for the Hawaii Time Zone exclusivity since they seek a broad audience, vs steaming can definitely accommodate niche audiences. Unless, there is another unknown partner related to gambling (ESPN is also betting on gambling). problem is ESPN streaming bundle with Disney and Hulu (which will be absorbed by D) will be like $35 per month. Only the hardcore sports fans will pay for that 3) UTEP has some good potential imo with Northern Mexico, which really likes college football. GCU with basketball in PHX, especially in down years for ASU, UA, and the Suns. There are a lot of non college educated and unaffiliated people in PHX. NIU will experience some resurgence with Saturday football games during the day (becomes very windy in November). Hawaii will gain massively both locally and nationally with a full slate of tv games. 50/50 will feel somewhat as it is now with PPV, but a bit better. A Hawaii peel off with a specialty tv channel related to gambling would have been best, but I haven’t heard anything for that (at least not FanDuel, but another company I did hear some interest). The expansion schools plus Hawaii full membership is where growth will come from. Better W/L records will fuel growth from incumbent schools

It is likely CBS/CBS Sports, ESPN (DTC), and maybe Fox are going to be MW media partners. 1) do you believe streaming, even at 30%-50% is the right time for MW football in 2026? 2) what schools or match ups will get the most of the coveted late afternoon and late night Saturday exposure? 3) I am a believer that most G6 schools suffer from poor distribution and marketing (not being able to see all games means lower following), and that the MW in 2026 will provide a big upgrade: which schools have the biggest potential post 2026?

I’m ready to separate from the assholes on the WCS board.