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Game Day v. Big Noon, and early game strategy
Posted on 9/24/26 at 10:39 am
Posted on 9/24/26 at 10:39 am
The talking heads suggested that ESPN has made it a point to compete head to head with the BIG for the 12:00 ET time slot.
FOX Big Noon Kickoff serves as a comprehensive pregame show for the entire sport of college football, and as a direct promotional vehicle and lead-in to FOX's biggest game of the week, right after the pre-game show.
ESPN College GameDay also serves as a comprehensive pregame show for all of college football, and sends viewers off to various channels (ABC/ESPN family, etc.) following the pre-game show. ESPN backloads top matchups into 3:30 pm and prime-time evening slots with the multiple channels to choose from, which they already dominate.
The SEC going to a 9 game conference schedule gives ESPN more quality games, and the SEC requirement for 1 P4 out of conference game, that the BIG doesn't have, means ESPN has more and better games to choose from, especially early in the season.
ESPN scheduled a marquee early game to compete directly w/ the BIG's premier game at noon, knowing ESPN had better games in the afternoon and evening slots. ESPN scheduling top ranked games early gives ESPN a better chance of keeping eyeballs on their channels through out the day, without conceding the early time slot to FOX.
That is one reason why ESPN slotted Texas-Tennessee as an early game, before the season started, and not as a "flex" game.
5 years ago, ESPN also knew that Texas had already schedule home-and-home out of conference games with Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State & Notre Dame. For ESPN, it made a lot more sense to showcase those games under the SEC umbrella rather than the B12. 4-D chess.
FOX Big Noon Kickoff serves as a comprehensive pregame show for the entire sport of college football, and as a direct promotional vehicle and lead-in to FOX's biggest game of the week, right after the pre-game show.
ESPN College GameDay also serves as a comprehensive pregame show for all of college football, and sends viewers off to various channels (ABC/ESPN family, etc.) following the pre-game show. ESPN backloads top matchups into 3:30 pm and prime-time evening slots with the multiple channels to choose from, which they already dominate.
The SEC going to a 9 game conference schedule gives ESPN more quality games, and the SEC requirement for 1 P4 out of conference game, that the BIG doesn't have, means ESPN has more and better games to choose from, especially early in the season.
ESPN scheduled a marquee early game to compete directly w/ the BIG's premier game at noon, knowing ESPN had better games in the afternoon and evening slots. ESPN scheduling top ranked games early gives ESPN a better chance of keeping eyeballs on their channels through out the day, without conceding the early time slot to FOX.
That is one reason why ESPN slotted Texas-Tennessee as an early game, before the season started, and not as a "flex" game.
5 years ago, ESPN also knew that Texas had already schedule home-and-home out of conference games with Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State & Notre Dame. For ESPN, it made a lot more sense to showcase those games under the SEC umbrella rather than the B12. 4-D chess.
This post was edited on 9/24/26 at 12:35 pm
Posted on 9/24/26 at 10:47 am to Ptins944
Gameday has strategy?
Posted on 9/24/26 at 11:15 am to Ptins944
It's always been a chore to explain to folks that, for the television networks, an 11 am kick is not a punishment, it's just them trying to set things up for the best ratings over the course of the day. And, to the extent that having a big game at 11 hurts the competition, so much the better from their point of view.
With the new ESPN deal, at least some of these early kicks don't come as a late surprise.
With the new ESPN deal, at least some of these early kicks don't come as a late surprise.
Posted on 9/24/26 at 11:23 am to Ptins944
I like the Fox pre-game show. Can’t stand gameday any more.
Posted on 9/24/26 at 11:43 am to DingLeeBerry
Agree Herbie has turned metro, Reese is just a pot stirrer, pat is annoyingly blue collar Everyman wannabe to the point of looking fake, Desmond is comedy relief that sucks big ten dick. Saban is the only reason to watch.
Posted on 9/24/26 at 11:50 am to Ptins944
Big Noon is a gayer name than Aggy.
Posted on 9/24/26 at 12:20 pm to Ptins944
And they will win the noon slot this weekend.
Posted on 9/24/26 at 12:26 pm to Ptins944
Watching Mark Ingram's courageous battle with CTE is inspiring. But I never watch it anyway.
Posted on 9/24/26 at 12:35 pm to Ptins944
People may hate Game Day but they double Big Noon Kickoff up every week.
Of course, you can only watch so many shows from Columbus, Ohio about whatever patsy Ohio State is playing that week.
Of course, you can only watch so many shows from Columbus, Ohio about whatever patsy Ohio State is playing that week.
Posted on 9/24/26 at 12:37 pm to twk
quote:
It's always been a chore to explain to folks that, for the television networks, an 11 am kick is not a punishment, it's just them trying to set things up for the best ratings over the course of the day. And, to the extent that having a big game at 11 hurts the competition, so much the better from their point of view. With the new ESPN deal, at least some of these early kicks don't come as a late surprise.
In Week 2, OKST hosted Oregon with an 11AM kick. It was glorious. I slept late on Saturday morning, got up and fixed a nice breakfast, and then it was time for football.
Posted on 9/24/26 at 12:42 pm to DingLeeBerry
quote:
I like the Fox pre-game show. Can’t stand gameday any more.
They're both unwatchable. SEC Nation is the answer!
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