Ohio Football Topic
Topic: MAC inks deal with American Sports Network - Will televise Ohio/Marshall
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Ted Thompson
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Posted: 9/3/2015 1:41 PM

09.03.2015

MAC ANNOUNCES MULTI-YEAR TV DEAL WITH AMERICAN SPORTS NETWORK

Cleveland, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference (MAC) announced today a multi-year agreement with the American Sports Network (ASN) to televise MAC football and men's and women's basketball beginning this academic year through the 2016-17 season, through a sublicense agreement with ESPN.

ASN will televise 10 MAC football games starting with the Saturday, Sept. 5 Old Dominion at Eastern Michigan game at 3:30 pm and will continue with a 15-game basketball package that will include 10 men's basketball and five women's basketball games this 2015-16 season.

The American Sports Network (ASN) September schedule:
- Saturday, Sept. 5:  Old Dominion at Eastern Michigan, 3:30 pm ET
- Saturday, Sept. 12:  Marshall at Ohio, 7:00 pm ET
- Saturday, Sept. 19:  Memphis at Bowling Green, 3:00 pm ET
- Saturday, Sept. 26:  Marshall at Kent State, 3:30 pm ET

All games televised by ASN will air on 'over the air' affiliates in the MAC geographic footprint across the Midwest with a strong presence in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.  A complete list of affiliates is listed below.  In addition, all games will also be carried nationally via ESPN3 and on WatchESPN platforms.

"Our announcement with American Sports Network is another example of our continued growth of Mid-American Conference television coverage," said Mid-American Conference Commissioner, Dr. Jon Steinbrecher.  "This strategic partnership provides key distribution to 'over the air' affiliates across our footprint and continues our growth of expanded coverage to our fan base.  This agreement provides another platform to showcase the outstanding students attending Mid-American Conference member institutions."

"We're excited to kick off our new partnership with the Mid-American Conference this season," said Doron Gorshein, COO of Sinclair Networks Group. "With high-quality competition, as well as loyal and enthusiastic fans, the Conference is a great addition to our robust schedule of live programming."

About American Sports Network (ASN)
ASN is a division of Sinclair Networks Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., the largest and one of the most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country with 163 television stations it owns, operates and/or provides services to in 79 markets, broadcasting 379 channels.  Sinclair's portfolio reaches approximately 43 million television households and is affiliated with all the major networks.  In addition, ASN's content is syndicated to other broadcasters and regional sports networks. ASN, which launched in August 2014, produced 250 college events in nine sports in its first year and plans to air more than 375 events in the 2015-2016 academic year. 

Sinclair owned and operated television stations in the MAC footprint include: WKRC (CBS) and WSTR (MyTV) in Cincinnati, OH; WWHO (CW), WTTE (Fox) and WSYX (ABC) in Columbus, OH; WKEF (ABC) and WRGT (Fox) in Dayton, OH; WEYI (NBC), WSMH (Fox) and WBSF (CW) in Flint/Saginaw/Bay City, MI; WWMT (CBS) in Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo/Battle Creek, MI; WNWO (NBC) in Toledo, OH; WUTV (Fox) and WNYO (MyTV) in Buffalo, NY; and WTOV (NBC) in Wheeling WV/Steubenville OH.
 
American Sports Network/Sinclair-owned stations are widely available throughout the MAC footprint on the following affiliates:

Ohio
- Cincinnati: WKRC-2 (CW), WSTR (MyTV)
- Cleveland:  WEWS-2 (Cozi TV)
- Columbus:  WWHO (CW), WSYX-2 (MyTV)
- Dayton:  WRGT-2 (MyTV)
- Steubenville:  WTOV-3 (MeTV)
- Toledo:  WNWO-2 (Retro TV)
- Charleston/Huntington:  WCHS-2 (Get TV)
 
Michigan
- Detroit:  WMYD (MyTV20), WXYZ-2 (Bounce TV)
- Flint:   WBSF (CW)
- Grand Rapids – Kalamazoo – Battle Creek:  WWMT-2 (CW)
 
New York
- Albany:  WCWN (CW), WRGB-2 (This TV)
- Buffalo:  WNYO (My TV)
- Rochester:  WHAM-2 (CW)
- Syracuse: WSTQ (CW)

Check your local listings as stations will be added on a weekly basis, specifically in the states of Illinois and Indiana.  Games will air on local ASN affiliates in the MAC footprint.  Check ASN's website www.americansportsnet.com and the MAC's website www.mac-sports.com for complete weekly affiliate listings.
Ryan Carey
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Posted: 9/3/2015 2:35 PM
This might be the first time I've seen the digital "sub-channels" actually put to use instead of showing the weather radar 24/7.
Brian Smith (No, not that one)
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Posted: 9/3/2015 3:10 PM
It's what I thought they were going to be used for when digital signals started. But there must be more money in re-runs of Knight Rider or Stan Stachek telling me if it will rain 60 times an hour than original content.
Pete Chouteau
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Posted: 9/3/2015 3:13 PM
Why are they only calling it "University at Buffalo" in this release?
Monroe Slavin
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Posted: 9/3/2015 5:28 PM
Do people want ODU vs. EMU televised?
tevis48
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Posted: 9/3/2015 5:34 PM
Monroe Slavin wrote:expand_more
Do people want ODU vs. EMU televised?
those controlling the remotes in the torture chambers of Gitmo do...
cbus cat fan
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Posted: 9/4/2015 12:11 AM
If that were true, we might have enough info to capture the entire Al Qaeda and ISIS leadership by the 4th quarter! We certainly have seen our woes, but St. Peter probably has a hard time shutting the gates on any the long suffering "Huron" fan. Oh the troubles they have seen!
Jeff McKinney
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Posted: 9/4/2015 1:16 AM
How is this really going to help the MAC that much?
Pataskala
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Posted: 9/4/2015 9:56 AM
Jeff McKinney wrote:expand_more
How is this really going to help the MAC that much?
It actually puts the MAC on stations that don't require cable/satellite subscription and on channels that are part of basic cable/satellite. This will make it easier for people to see it. We get both Columbus channels (WSIX-2; WWHO) that may carry it through DirecTV. Plus it may be more accessible in sports bars. I had a helluva time hooking in to ESPN3 last night, primarily because of issues with the computers I tried.

While I think in the long run the deal with ESPN will be beneficial, until streaming video becomes the norm any exposure through broadcast channels that can be accessed free or through basic cable/satellite is very good. It's certainly better than that lousy deal the MAC had with TWC.
Speaker of Truth
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Posted: 9/4/2015 1:08 PM
This is a big help to the MAC. These TV deals give ESPN all the power, so by having ESPN sub contract these games out, they get on TV when they wouldn't have in the past....
GoCats105
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Posted: 9/4/2015 1:22 PM
Oh so I get to watch MAC games on local Cincinnati stations now instead of C-USA or Sun Belt which are totally irrelevant? SWEET.
Jeff McKinney
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Posted: 9/4/2015 6:23 PM
Ok, I understand what you're saying.
Pataskala
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Posted: 9/4/2015 10:37 PM
The ODU-EMU game is on WWHO (Channel 53) tomorrow. That's a regular, full-powered channel that's available over-the-air through most of central and southern Ohio for free and is on basic cable and satellite in the Columbus area at least. As I recall, last year the CUSA games were on Ch 6's subchannel, which might not be available on all cable networks. (I think carrying subchannels has been one of the issues in Sinclair's retransmission negotiations with cable companies and Dish that's caused talks to reach an impasse.) If they're putting the MAC on main channels where available and subchannels elsewhere, that's a plus.
MariettaCatFanatic
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Posted: 9/5/2015 8:25 AM
This is huge for me living just outside of Detroit. I'll be watching the Marshall game on the big screen next week instead of on the laptop. More TV coverage is only a good thing.
Deciduous Forest Cat
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Posted: 9/5/2015 3:29 PM
So much for televising games.All I see is an infomercial.The emu game is not on.

Edit:apparently just a late start.Game is on now.There are actually a few People in the stands.Gray turf combined with odu uniforms makes the game look so weird on tv,almost like it's in black and white but they used special effects to color only emus uniforms.
Last Edited: 9/5/2015 3:45:55 PM by Deciduous Forest Cat
Pataskala
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Posted: 9/5/2015 6:17 PM
Monroe Slavin wrote:expand_more
Do people want ODU vs. EMU televised?
This is actually one of the more entertaining games so far this week. It was 17-14 EMU at the half and is 31-31 after 3. Neither defense is doing, but there hasn't been much defense out of MAC teams yet this year vs. 1A schools

I agree with DCF about EMU's field. It's a waste of color TV. Also, they have the phrase "Champions Built Here" on the back wall of the stadium (they refer to it as "The Factory"), but I guess that assembly line has been idle lately.
LuckySparrow
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Posted: 9/5/2015 9:04 PM
The gray turf is so awful. I don't even know where to start.
Bleed Green & White
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Posted: 9/6/2015 10:38 AM
With just a cursory look (presser & wiki articles) here's some pros & cons:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Sports_Network

Pros:
Any TV is better than just ESPN3 right now
Broadcast TV is available to a broad audience (antenna & most cable and satellite providers)
Cable cutters rejoice/we're going old school (back to the late 90s when this is where you'd watch regional sports)
It's not TimeWarnerSportsChannel and its TWC only restrictiveness (See Ya Time Warner!)
It carries CUSA & Horizion (comparable conferences)
Shouldn't be difficult for Sports Bar staff to find & shouldn't need any special packages

Cons:
Not a Regional Sports Channel (which I'm thinking most would see as the best situation, like the STO deal)
Low opportunity for channel flippers to find it (if you're in the sports area of channels you're not gonna find the MAC)
All announced broadcasts are also CUSA games (don't know how things are structured, but it seems like a double dip for ASN)
What is ASN?
What's a sub channel? (The TCOM root of this board knows, but the average person doesn't.)
Ugg Sinclair! The Clear Channel of TV.
At this point, doesn't seem to be a big increase to the number of games. Does this give ESPN more leverage to not broadcast MAC games on their non-streaming channels?
A "win" for the MAC brass that's not really a big step forward, but we'll be sure to hear it touted as such.


Overall I think this is a good thing and a step forward from the vague uncertainty of this "sell all the rights to ESPN" deal.
Last Edited: 9/6/2015 10:40:01 AM by Bleed Green & White
Senior Fan
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Posted: 9/6/2015 4:45 PM
The games will be broadcast on TWC channel 995 in Dayton.
Beat Michigan
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Posted: 9/6/2015 5:08 PM
Doesn't help me, I don't get any of those channels. I live in WV along the Ohio River. Wish they would put them back on Sports Time Ohio.

Considering purchasing a family pack. Was going to get some tickets off stub hub but they are charging outrageous fees.
MedinaCat
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Posted: 9/10/2015 9:26 PM
This is a window dressing deal. The Cleveland affiliate is opting to air Starsky & Hutch, Fantasy Island and Quantum Leap this Saturday. Nice try.
RPO R6V
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Posted: 9/11/2015 9:16 AM
The Toledo affiliate is showing "Judge Judy" followed by an infomercial this Saturday. So much for any incremental exposure in NW Ohio/SE Michigan.
Last Edited: 9/11/2015 9:17:13 AM by RPO R6V
MariettaCatFanatic
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Posted: 9/11/2015 10:03 AM
RPO R6V wrote:expand_more
The Toledo affiliate is showing "Judge Judy" followed by an infomercial this Saturday. So much for any incremental exposure in NW Ohio/SE Michigan.
Yep, and the Detroit affiliate is showing something else as well. Looks like I will be relegated to ESPN3.
Brian Smith (No, not that one)
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Posted: 9/11/2015 10:06 AM
Would YOU rather watch Eastern Michigan football over Ricardo Montalbán and Hervé Villechaize? Be honest.
OhioStunter
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Posted: 9/11/2015 10:12 AM
Ted Thompson wrote:expand_more
09.03.2015 MAC ANNOUNCES MULTI-YEAR TV DEAL WITH AMERICAN SPORTS NETWORK Cleveland, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference (MAC) announced today a multi-year agreement with the American Sports Network (ASN) to televise MAC football and men's and women's basketball beginning this academic year through the 2016-17 season, through a sublicense agreement with ESPN.

ASN will televise 10 MAC football games starting with the Saturday, Sept. 5 Old Dominion at Eastern Michigan game at 3:30 pm and will continue with a 15-game basketball package that will include 10 men's basketball and five women's basketball games this 2015-16 season.

The American Sports Network (ASN) September schedule:
- Saturday, Sept. 5: Old Dominion at Eastern Michigan, 3:30 pm ET
- Saturday, Sept. 12: Marshall at Ohio, 7:00 pm ET
- Saturday, Sept. 19: Memphis at Bowling Green, 3:00 pm ET
- Saturday, Sept. 26: Marshall at Kent State, 3:30 pm ET
The ASN website does not list the MAC as a conference http://americansportsnet.com/conferences /

The ASN schedule only shows the Buffalo/Florida Atlantic game. A search of every other MAC school lists no games

The ASN website has no mention of this release/news on their news tab

I'm challenging the MAC office on this. Who's with me?
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