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Same teams always on national TV?


Bob5151

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20 hours ago, Discrimihater said:

I'd add the Eagles, Raiders and Niners to that NFL list, seems like all of them tend to be assured of at least one Sunday or Monday nighter a year.

MNF I'm fine seeing AFC v NFC matchups of virtually anyone.  I know since NBC took over SNF, we've been dealt some random Mondays like Saints v Jets or Raiders v Giants.  I like those.

SNF is chalk, TNF is boring.  At least MNF looks fresh on field - non conference foes tend to take greater chances yes?  In any league.  

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@2001mark

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I think the NBA is probably the best in not just being a few teams these days, though it wasn't always that way.

 

In the CBS era of the 1980s, it was basically (Insert Opponent Here) vs. the  Lakers or Celtics game of the week (With the Bulls and 76ers occasionally making appearances) .The other decent West teams- Dallas/Denver/Utah/Houston- were virtually ignored by CBS and if you wanted to see them and you weren't in that market, you had to hope they were on TBS (This was in the days before TNT)

 

NBC did show a lot of Bulls/Knicks (and Lakers towards the later years), but there was a LOT of small-market diversity. The Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, and Indiana Pacers were virtualy mainstays on NBC games for a decade despite being from smaller markets.

 

When other smaller-market teams by comparison got good (Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, Orlando Magic), they made appearances.

 

ABC in the early years was way too predictable- Lakers/Kings/Spurs, Miami and the occasional other Eastern Conference team here and there- but the rise of small-market teams like Cleveland with LeBron (not just now, but Cleveland got a TON of nat. televised games during his first stint), OKC, and Golden State.

 

The Warriors were NEVER on nat. televised games until Steph and Klay made their presence known, but Oakland will never be confused as a mega market. In the case of Golden State, ABC/ESPN are riding the Splash Brothers wave as long as they can ala another Northern California small market- remember when Sacramento was good? They were as frequent on national TV as these Dubs are now. There was a time when Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic were on our TV screens as much as Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are now)

 

The NHL is basically 'Market the hot teams of the moment.' There was a time when Chicago/Pittsburgh were anything but marquee teams- heck, they were among the dregs of the league before the 2004 lockout.

 

It was basically the following teams usually involved in most of the ESPN games back in the day- Detroit/Colorado, NY Rangers/Philadelphia. (Even the other quality teams- New Jersey/Dallas/St. Louis) didn't quite get the same TV attention. Before Crosby/Ovechkin came on the scene, the East only had a few big-market popular teams with cache.

 

NBC does seem to ride a team as long as they can. Until Chicago became good again, in the early years of NHL/NBC (2006-2008), they basically ignored the Western Conference save for Detroit.

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5 hours ago, SabresRule7361 said:

 

NBC did show a lot of Bulls/Knicks (and Lakers towards the later years), but there was a LOT of small-market diversity. The Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, and Indiana Pacers were virtualy mainstays on NBC games for a decade despite being from smaller markets.

I give that era a pass because it was, for me at least, just before cable took over & if we wanted to watch MJ playing against teams who could give him a good game, that's what NBC delivered.  

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@2001mark

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6 minutes ago, 2001mark said:

I give that era a pass because it was, for me at least, just before cable took over & if we wanted to watch MJ playing against teams who could give him a good game, that's what NBC delivered.  

Orlando had Shaq for his first four seasons and NBC had them on all the time.

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Bottom line is both cable and network TV run on advertising and eyes watching justifies advertising rates*.  Having eyes watching is most important and for national games, the NFL and NASCAR are best at it with all others trying to have set times to have consistent ratings due to those others being more than once a week.

 

 

Network TV is more so ratings dominant since there are no subscription fees.

*-Neilsen data has been under scrutiny for years regarding its reliability

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15 hours ago, dfwabel said:

Orlando had Shaq for his first four seasons and NBC had them on all the time.

 

That was right about the time that I remember thinking the NBA had decided stars were more important than teams, and shifted all their marketing accordingly. 

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6 hours ago, Gothamite said:

 

That was right about the time that I remember thinking the NBA had decided stars were more important than teams, and shifted all their marketing accordingly. 

 

Yup.

 

Regardless of market size.

 

Phoenix/Orlando was always billed as SHAQ! BARKLEY!

 

Even when Phoenix/Orlando were decent later down the line on ABC, they never got much love.

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On 1/20/2017 at 10:03 AM, Lights Out said:

I disagree that the NBA is the worst when it comes to national TV schedules. Just last night, the Wizards and Timberwolves were on TNT. The Bucks have been on TNT and ESPN. So have the Jazz and the Kings. Even the Sixers have had multiple national games. The networks do have a love affair with the Knicks, Lakers and Bulls no matter how badly they suck, but they're good about giving as many teams their time in the spotlight as possible.

 

The MLB is easily the worst. I feel like ESPN only ever shows games that feature at least one of the Red Sox, Yankees, Cardinals and/or Cubs.

Don't forget the dodgers and giants, I end up watching more of their games on tv than the local team and for a while they showed a lot of braves games

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12 hours ago, Dynamite_Nick said:

I swear, it seems like NBCSN show a Flyers game every damn week...

NBC is part of Comcast/Xfinity, and the Flyers are owned by Comcast... 

 

 

"And those who know Your Name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You." Psalms 9:10

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3 hours ago, Dynamite_Nick said:

 

Well, that explains that.

 

Can I still be annoyed, though?

I'm a Flyers fan and I'm annoyed when they are on NBC. I can't stand Doc and Pierre. So for a different reason, I agree with you.

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