Could the jewel of the college football season be headed exclusively to cable?
The Sports Business Daily‘s John Ourand reported on Tuesday that the BCS is “considering a proposal” that would move every Bowl Championship Series game to ESPN, including the National Championship Game, after the current deal expires in 2010. Currently, the National Championship Game and three other bowls air on FOX, while the Rose Bowl airs on ABC.
ESPN is reportedly offering $125 million per year to air the BCS, an increase of approximately 50% from the current FOX deal. Incumbent FOX is offering $100 million for four of the five games — up approximately 25% from the $82.5 million the network pays currently. The Rose Bowl, set to remain on ABC through 2014, would move to ESPN if the network gains rights to the entire BCS, but would stay on ABC otherwise.
While many marquee sporting events have been shifted to cable in recent years, including the NBA’s Conference Finals, the entire MLB Division Series, and Monday Night Football, the championship events of most sports remain on broadcast. A move to cable for the BCS National Championship Game, usually the highest rated non-NFL sports program of the year, would be a very significant move that could pave to way for other championship events to leave broadcast.
If this deal were to occur, there is little doubt the BCS National Championship Game would be one of the most watched cable programs each year. However, ratings would likely decline to record low levels. Currently, the highest U.S. area rating for a sporting event on cable is an 11.3 for Cowboys/Eagles in September. The lowest rating for a BCS title game was a 13.7 for the 2005 Orange Bowl blowout between USC and Oklahoma.
