Don't blame the networks here. Blame the NC$$.

Don't think for a second that NESN wouldn't prefer to show the regionals
over the lineup listed below... that is, if it were available at the right
cost.

In the vast majority of these situations, the distrbutor of the broadcast
rights to the event (in this case the NC$$) is simply charging more than
the event's perceived worth. Regional broadcasters like NESN do not have
overflowing coffers, and you can only push the idea of buying it at a loss
"for the good of the people" so far.

Perhaps one could argue that if you were to blame a broadcaster, blame FSNE
and not NESN -- the channel that carried HEA games for the last few months,
all the while pushin of PWR has basically abandoned the league and its
teams come tournament time. A definite shame, what with a minimum of three
games involving Hockey East teams.

Let's not leave Hockey East out of the blame here, either. While not
necessarily a financially strong organization, they do have enough clout
among local broadcasters that they should leverage the tournament as part
of the same package that brings league games to FSNE.

Finally, additional blame should be shouldered by the schools themselves.
Tournament appearances are a positive image for the school, and help
everything from recruiting to alumni relations. This doesn't mean that they
need to dig into their pockets and foot the bill, but rather exert some
additional pressure on local broadcasters to put the games on the air.

Do you think that if BU had made the tournament, that their game wouldn't
be on local TV in the Boston area? There's no reason why Boston College
can't do the same, especially not as one of the top programs in the country
over the last few years.

Then again, the heads of BC bigwigs are probably stuck in the clouds of
football and basketball.


greenie

ps: to an extent, there is also the issue that thanks to the variety of
satellite offerings there is less pressure to find a local broadcaster to
pick up the feed -- likewise, it's fairly easy for anyone who can't attend
to find themselves a sports bar to catch the game.


At 09:49 AM 03-21-01 -0500, you wrote:
> From uscho.com & the posts made here recently, it appears no local Boston
>station is going to pick up any games in Worcester.  I can't find a TV
>schedule for FSNE to confirm their programming for the weekend.  NESN's
>schedule for Fri includes a Prov. Bruins game, but look at this pathetic
>Sat line-up!
>
>5:00 PM: ESPNEWS
>6:00 PM: ESPNEWS
>7:00 PM: FRONT ROW SPECIAL (R)
>  RUSH
>8:00 PM: FINISH LINE (R)
>8:30 PM: SPORTSWOMAN (DB)
>9:00 PM: ESPNEWS
>10:00 PM: ESPNEWS
>11:00 PM: ESPNEWS
>
>Dave Hatfield
>UML'86
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