Why 2 night games?

[FanatiCat]

A huge part of the appeal of the lakefront stadium is the scenery and atmosphere. You get a little of that pregame, but then it’s just dark and the visual appeal of the Duke game (no interesting cutaway shots) was stark compared to the Miami game - sweeping drone shots of blue water, sailboats, the gleaming campus buildings and skyline in the background.

Not to mention probably the most pertinent issue for the game - temporary lighting standards (even the ones at Ryan Field) often create subpar illumination and shadows that could confuse players.

Why in the world would we choose to play 2 night games in September?

 

[cattul]

On that note, if visibility with the temporary lights isn’t ideal, don’t wear the plain black jerseys in late games. In every ground level shot I see of the game, Duke’s blue uniforms stand out while the NU uniforms blend into the background.

No game has ever been won or lost because of jerseys — though the Fighting Irish have their superstitions — but increasing the amount of information reaching the QB when he’s trying to make quick reads seems like a no brainer. Heck, go ‘full Oregon’ and wear something which can be seen from space.

 

[techtim72]

Purely from a national exposure perspective, the Duke game was huge. I believe Friday night games are a fixture of the new Big Ten media package so paying all the players (eventually) and all the rest is part of the equation.

 

[Baz=Heisman]

It’s all about TV. We had a great opportunity to get a big win when everyone was watching… and didn't get it done.

 

[zeek55]

Yeah it's all about exposure. Now that we're in an 18 team conference; it's much more competitive to get those FOX, CBS, NBC slots; that's partially why FOX added Friday night slots as well.

Getting in front of more viewers is generally the name of the game instead of being on BTN.

 

[Just Gary]

Yeah it's all about exposure. Now that we're in an 18 team conference; it's much more competitive to get those FOX, CBS, NBC slots; that's partially why FOX added Friday night slots as well.

Getting in front of more viewers is generally the name of the game instead of being on BTN.

Actually the school has only a minor input in the schedule time. The Big Ten gave the rights to scheduling the time to the networks in the current media contract. So Duke was moved to Friday night and Eastern Illinois was moved to Saturday night. But for the loss in scheduling rights comes the $60 million that each school receives.

 

[zeek55]

Actually the school has only a minor input in the schedule time. The Big Ten gave the rights to scheduling the time to the networks in the current media contract. So Duke was moved to Friday night and Eastern Illinois was moved to Saturday night. But for the loss in scheduling rights comes the $60 million that each school receives.

Yeah the media companies are doing it, but the schools have some say in whether they want it or not (and realistically nobody but Michigan/Penn State/Ohio State are turning down extra exposure - they don't need it since they're always in the premiere Saturday slots).

 

[phatcat]

I sort of get the Friday night thing, but Sat night v EIU? That match up screams 11am Saturday.

 

[NUCat320]

I sort of get the Friday night thing, but Sat night v EIU? That match up screams 11am Saturday.

BTN has Prairie View-MSU and Minnesota-Nevada in the 3:30 slot.

Nebraska-UNI and NU-EIU are in the 7.

Michigan-Arkansas St. has noon on Saturday.

Obviously, Nebraska is the prime matchup at night, while NU and MSU are equally disinteresting.

Purdue-ND (CBS) and Washington-Washington St. (Peacock only!) are prime games at 330, while Iowa-Troy is the 4pm FS1 slot.

I would think NU could go to noon or 330 without affecting the other games. I wish we had pushed for it for the above reasons.

I wonder why the BTN doesn’t market Little Noon Kickoff, too.

GOSH ITS SO GREAT THAT WERE DONE WITH ESPN

 

[zeek55]

I sort of get the Friday night thing, but Sat night v EIU? That match up screams 11am Saturday.

Yeah but BTN wants to spread out games too now for the value.

Since they already lose 5-6 games to FOX (Fri night + Sat noon) + CBS (3:30 Sat) + NBC (7:30 Sat) + FS1 (Fri night and Saturday afternoon or night).

That means you only have another 3-5 games for BTN so BTN is trying to spread them out to get viewership across the whole day.

 

[CatManTrue]

It’s all about TV. We had a great opportunity to get a big win when everyone was watching… and didn't get it done.

Beating a middling Duke team is a big win?

We had a chance to win, and lost it. Shit happens. On to EIU

 

[Dadof2Cats]

Yeah but BTN wants to spread out games too now for the value.

Since they already lose 5-6 games to FOX (Fri night + Sat noon) + CBS (3:30 Sat) + NBC (7:30 Sat) + FS1 (Fri night and Saturday afternoon or night).

That means you only have another 3-5 games for BTN so BTN is trying to spread them out to get viewership across the whole day.

So what are the chances that Wisconsin also ends up as a night game? Friday or Saturday?

 

[Eurocat]

A huge part of the appeal of the lakefront stadium is the scenery and atmosphere. You get a little of that pregame, but then it’s just dark and the visual appeal of the Duke game (no interesting cutaway shots) was stark compared to the Miami game - sweeping drone shots of blue water, sailboats, the gleaming campus buildings and skyline in the background.

My understanding is that the TV network didn't send a drone or helicopter up last Friday because of the high winds and at times strong rain. I think they were afraid there might be an accident. If the weather is acceptable, presumably the network will get something up in the air and get some nice "Chicago Skyline At Night" shots. Chicago (like many big cities with a lot of skyscrapers) is really nice at night. I think it was simply a weather fluke that it was not able to take place last weekend.

 

[jne381]

I can't remember what I was listening to, but apparently Michigan has said they will not play a Friday night game at Michigan, and they will not play more than 2 night games at home either.

 

[zeek55]

So what are the chances that Wisconsin also ends up as a night game? Friday or Saturday?

Friday games are announced before the season, so that can't change at this point. Anything scheduled for Saturday won't change at this point.

It's pretty much going to be roughly 1/3 odds of noon/3:30/7:30 for BTN games. BTN is likely trying to have a game in every window from the 3-4 games that it gets so we're going to have to get used to filling the windows during the conference portion of the schedule.

The benefit is you get the whole audience to yourself (relative to what audience would be watching BTN at any given time on a Saturday).

I can't remember what I was listening to, but apparently Michigan has said they will not play a Friday night game at Michigan, and they will not play more than 2 night games at home either.

Michigan/Ohio State/Penn State all said that they would not play on Friday (either road or home because of the effect that it has on local schools in their states).

So as of now, we won't see them playing on Fridays.

Media companies (inc Fox which airs Friday games on FOX/FS1) are okay with that because they want Michigan/Ohio State/Penn State in the main Saturday windows anyhow.

Everybody else has to play on Friday. Nobody is going to complain though because it means you get a whole Friday window to yourself.

 

[phatcat]

Tonight's weather will be good for those scenic vistas everyone wants until around halftime, then the cool nighttime Chicago shots