Working on this story. Coming from the Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand, ESPN has announced that the Rose Bowl will be cable-only in 2011. Working on the story. More to follow.
UPDATE, 12:11 p.m.: This would put the entire Bowl Championship Series on cable. ESPN made a deal with the other BCS games back in November putting them on its network beginning in 2011. So all of the games will be seen on ESPN starting in about a year and a half from now.
UPDATE, 12:15 p.m.: Here’s the official announcement from ESPN.
Rose Bowl Game on ESPN Beginning in 2011
ESPN will televise the Rose Bowl Game starting in January 2011, it was announced today by John Wildhack, ESPN executive vice president, programming and acquisitions. The network had previously announced it would televise 15 other Bowl Championship Series (BCS) games – including the Fiesta, Orange, Sugar and BCS National Championship — as part of a new, multi-year agreement also beginning in January 2011.
The 2010 Rose Bowl Game and the 2010 BCS National Championship Game from Pasadena, Calif., will remain on ABC. The Rose Bowl Game has a separate media rights agreement from other BCS bowls.
“Having all BCS matchups on one home, especially within ESPN’s year-round college football environment, is the very best scenario,” Wildhack said. “Fans will welcome ESPN’s all-encompassing approach, and the additional opportunities and value resulting from our multi-platform presentation will benefit the college football community and our business partners.”
As part of its regular-season schedule, ESPN on ABC will continue to offer Saturday Night Football, broadcast television’s first-ever weekly college football primetime series. Additionally, ESPN Radio, which has broadcast all BCS games since 2000, is the national radio home of the BCS through 2014.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL ON ESPN
ESPN’s college football coverage features more than 400 regular- and post-season games, beginning this season on Thursday, Sept. 3, with South Carolina at N.C. State on ESPN and concluding Thursday, Jan. 7, with the 2010 BCS National Championship Game on ABC. The company offers the most extensive coverage of college football across numerous platforms including ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, ESPN360.com, ESPN.com, ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS, ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN Regional Television, ESPN GamePlan pay-per-view service, ESPN The Magazine and ESPN International. Regular-season action includes numerous conferences, in addition to nearly 30 bowl games, and the NCAA Football Championship Sub-Division, Division II and Division III playoffs culminating with the championship of each. Also on the schedule: the Heisman Trophy Presentation and The College Football Awards; the popular road show College GameDay; the year-round daily College Football Live; the weekly College Football Final and College Football Countdown; and news and features throughout the year on SportsCenter, First Take, PTI and Outside the Lines.
MAJOR SPORTS ON CABLE
The 2011 BCS schedule will mark the first time BCS bowls will be featured on cable television, joining other major events with a cable home such as the NBA Conference Finals, British Open (all four rounds), Monday Night Football, MLB League Championship Series, Stanley Cup Finals and many more.
So ESPN’s philosophy is to bring as many events to its network as possible. We’ll see what else follows in the next decade.
