Fewer 11:00am kickoffs for Big Ten football
June 5, 2011 11:55 AM
"Our member schools in the Central time zone have expressed their preference for later starts," said Mark Rudner, the Big Ten's senior associate commissioner, who handles TV contracts. "I think there will be some measure of relief for them."
That's because, with Nebraska added to the Big Ten, the conference renegotiated its network contracts earlier this year. The new agreement eliminates the exclusive window that ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 enjoyed from 2:30-5:30 p.m. each Saturday, a blackout that prevented BTN from broadcasting a mid-afternoon game.
BTN will continue to broadcast a game at 11 a.m. Central time each Saturday, and with the conference evenly split between members in the Eastern and Central time zones, it's unlikely that the early game will come from the Eastern zone, with a noon kickoff, every week. "We can't guarantee that (11 a.m. starts) will be eliminated," Rudner said. But allowing BTN to air games at 2:30 "should give us the flexibility to make those less frequent."
startribune.com
That's because, with Nebraska added to the Big Ten, the conference renegotiated its network contracts earlier this year. The new agreement eliminates the exclusive window that ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 enjoyed from 2:30-5:30 p.m. each Saturday, a blackout that prevented BTN from broadcasting a mid-afternoon game.
BTN will continue to broadcast a game at 11 a.m. Central time each Saturday, and with the conference evenly split between members in the Eastern and Central time zones, it's unlikely that the early game will come from the Eastern zone, with a noon kickoff, every week. "We can't guarantee that (11 a.m. starts) will be eliminated," Rudner said. But allowing BTN to air games at 2:30 "should give us the flexibility to make those less frequent."
startribune.com
Filed under: Illini Football
