TV Coverage of the Jacks in South Dakota

[SDSUFAN]

Re: TV Coverage of the Jacks in South Dakota

Catch Em All

Good points about TV coverage. Fred mentioned to me once that the advantage of going D1, is that if you have a sellout you can maximize revenue further with TV broadcasts.  I dont think we are there yet by any means, and I think SDSU needs to be careful about what kind of contracts it enters.  

Likewise if the NDSU vs SDSU game is televised, NDSU fans may also chose to stay home and not travel to Brookings.  There is more lost revenue not only in Ticket revenue but in Brookings and all the gas stops along the way.  I be willing to bet the merchants in Watertown noticed more than one green and gold sweat shirt this past Saturday.

Televised events are nice, but they can't be done for free nor should SDSU give the impression to fans that they are free. There were costs for the closed circuit tv in the satillite centers around the USA this past weekend. Some one paid, but not sure who.

I think of WGN in the mid 1970's and their daily television of all Cub games. At the time I thought they were crazy, but Wrigley was full nearly every day. The fall and early spring games were often poorly attended, but now cable packages have caught on and its a whole new day.  The Cubs seem to have the best average attendence of any franchise so its hard to say what will work.
I think SDSU needs to work its way slowly into televison broadcasts, and do so to enhence revenue.

[bisonguy]

Re: TV Coverage of the Jacks in South Dakota

TV coverage only furthers the interest, IF it's already sufficient. Montana has all their FB games televised across the state, and a free webcast version as well. They still manage to sell out their stadium, week after week.

I know an example of a small college football team that tried to televise some of their games across the state of North Dakota on the cable networks. Their attendance dropped by about 2,000 for every televised game, sans the feature televised game against NDSU, which wasn't even sold out.

If there isn't sufficient interest in the program, televising the game only makes the casual fan want to stay at home and watch.

[Jacks-D1]

Re: TV Coverage of the Jacks in South Dakota

I would have to agree with BisonGuy. TV furthers the interest and excitement. If the interest is high enough, the attendance at the games will take care of itself regardless of whether or not it is on TV.

[JackJD]

Re: TV Coverage of the Jacks in South Dakota

True. It is also true that the Interstate hiway was supposed to run along Hiway 81 by Madison up to Watertown, bypassing Brookings. That would have certainly changed the landscape as well.

Mike: That's close but you're off a few miles on your I-29 comment. I-29 to the Toronto exit north of Brookings is the originally-planned course. As you know, the road drifts to the west from there and the result is it passes next to Watertown rather than Clear Lake. That was the result of some good 'politickin' and sure has worked out well for Watertown.

Sen. Chase has a lot to do with that in the 50s.

[jack100]

Re: TV Coverage of the Jacks in South Dakota

Mike: That's close but you're off a few miles on your I-29 comment. I-29 to the Toronto exit north of Brookings is the originally-planned course. As you know, the road drifts to the west from there and the result is it passes next to Watertown rather than Clear Lake. That was the result of some good 'politickin' and sure has worked out well for Watertown.

Sen. Chase has a lot to do with that in the 50s.

I thought that this was the original route too, but I did not want to argue with Mike H as he might turn the thread to a discussion about conservative talk show circuit and how it is bad for the United States.

[Mike_H]

Re: TV Coverage of the Jacks in South Dakota

Back to TV coverage.

For WDAY, since they own several media outlets, TV coverage is built into their contract. Before you start talking about what SDSU needs to do in the future, you should know a little about the past.

SDSU writes a check for radio coverage. They pay WNAX to broadcast their games, and cover several of WNAX's expenses as well. In turn, SDSU gets the ad time in the game. They can sell that in tandem (spend x amount and get ads on the radio and in the game program) or individually. They can also use that time to promote upcoming events, the Alumni club, etc. This is the way it is done for a few programs in the state of South Dakota. The radio station gets guaranteed money, and while it is not as much as it could maybe get on it's own, their cost (time spent selling, commision, etc.) is also low. It is also a way for the university to generate some revenue and reward some sponsers.

There has been some talk about changing that. Many D1 programs get rights fees from their broadcasters, and STILL control some of the commercial time. This is done in several ways. Up until the early 90's (or maybe late 80's, time gets away from me) the University of Nebraska actually had 3 radio stations broadcasting their games and each had put together their own network. They each wrote a check to UNL for broadcast rights each year, then stations would choose which one to line up with based on fee's, announcer, etc. Then along came Pinacle, who formed a partnership with the Athletic Department at UNL, figured out how they could both make HUGE money, and that is how it is today. They could do that because of what UNL football had become.

There are also several D1 programs that take a nominal fee for their rights, because they are not worth that much. I think some of the posters are right when they say you have to prove the value of the product, and grow that value over the years.

Here are a couple of points to ponder. I think for right now, SDSU would have to write a check to have their game(s) on television. I also wonder if the university needs to put together a radio network on it's own? With the right combination of ad space for a local station and a few big time sponsers supporting the network, would the profits be higher? Would the coverage be there that WNAX provides?

There is some history, maybe too much. Sorry. But it is a part of the future of the program and the move to D1 that I have not heard anyone talk about. Thoughts?

[Jacks-D1]

Re: TV Coverage of the Jacks in South Dakota

I don't know anthing about the business and finances of broadcasting sports. All I know is USD and Augie have games on TV, and SDSU doesn't. NDSU has games on statewide, and SDSU doesn't. Montana has games on statewide, and SDSU doesn't. The athletic dept at SDSU has to do whatever it takes to change that.

[DIAAaustie1212]

Re: TV Coverage of the Jacks in South Dakota

Mike brings up a good point, and one that I was appauled with - SDSU has to pay to broadcast its sports. When I originally found that out, I simply couldn't believe how out-of-the-norm it was.

The athletic department spends plenty of time catering to corporate sponsors, but really doesn't do much to sell the Jacks to the fans. They don't know enough about the fan base - i.e. where they come from, their income level - to be able to enter into negotiations.

I hope, as the the transition moves forward, they can explore more sophisticated marketing practices to deliver Jacks fans the types of things that larger Division I programs have long taken for granted.

[JackJD]

Re: TV Coverage of the Jacks in South Dakota

I thought that this was the original route too, but I did not want to argue with Mike H as he might turn the thread to a discussion about conservative talk show circuit and how it is bad for the United States.

LOL! Conservative talk shows are bad for the United States. I'll start that thread.

[JackJD]

Re: TV Coverage of the Jacks in South Dakota

Mike brings up a good point, and one that I was appauled with - SDSU has to pay to broadcast its sports. When I originally found that out, I simply couldn't believe how out-of-the-norm it was.

The athletic department spends plenty of time catering to corporate sponsors, but really doesn't do much to sell the Jacks to the fans. They don't know enough about the fan base - i.e. where they come from, their income level - to be able to enter into negotiations.

I hope, as the the transition moves forward, they can explore more sophisticated marketing practices to deliver Jacks fans the types of things that larger Division I programs have long taken for granted.

I, too, thought it was weird that State paid WNAX...but I remember when USD offered more and hired away WNAX for a year or so. Anyone else remember that? It was pretty sad because NOTHING duplicates the WNAX coverage in SD and the surrounding region. I concluded: you do what you have to do and the system with WNAX works out pretty well. Someday, I hope the product will be able to demand more but that means WNAX, for example, will have to be able to sell enough ad time for the right prices to make it worth its while.

[89rabbit]

Re: TV Coverage of the Jacks in South Dakota

Actually CD broadcasting won a battle with WNAX and was awarded the Jackrabbit games (I know because I worked there at the time).  CD was (is for all I know) a Minneapolis based company that owned radio stations all over the Midwest.  One of those stations was KJJQ which was the flagship of the Jackrabbit network.  I want to say the network had 5 stations across SD but I am not sure.  CD was pretty big into local sports back then.  At that time they had SDSU Football and Basketball, DSU Men's Basketball, and did high school game of the week broadcasts for Football and Basketball.  I was the color guy on the Dakota State Men's basketball and High School game of the week (football and basketball) broadcast teams.

CD did pull back from local sports after that but I had already moved on so I can't tell you much about it. They also sold KJJQ after I left and somewhere in there SDSU went back to WNAX.    

Again keep in mind that what SDSU does is buy the air time from the radio stations and SDSU keep the rev. from the ads.  So it is not exactly like SDSU is "paying" to have our game on the Radio.

Go State!  ;D  

[DIAAaustie1212]

Re: TV Coverage of the Jacks in South Dakota

I am willing to bet that they don't sell the space outright. It is probably included in corporate sponsorship packages or used for self-promotion, things of that nature.

While I believe that the Jacks aren't at the level where they can start demanding broadcast rights fees, I think the could open a dialouge about not having to pay for the time. As compensation for us allowing them to broadcast Jacks games, we would then get a specified number of commercial spots to use at our discretion.

As for TV...I don't know for sure, but I am going to assume USD shelled out a chunck of change to get the the USD Augie game televised. Did anyone watch that? It was like a 3-hour commerical for USD. They did regular checkins with Abbott (seems like USD only graduates failed political figures) and loads of spots talking about how sweet and wonderful the U was. Either the media bias toward USD is brazenly real, or, USD forked over some change.

[Alumguy]

Re: TV Coverage of the Jacks in South Dakota

I'm sure USD did not put up any money to broadcast the Augie game. Here's what happens:

A) KELO says to USD, "We would like to broadcast the game. We get all the money from corporate sponsors. In turn, you get six .30 second slots during the game and a five minute feature at halftime."
B) KELO says, "We would also like to give some air time to Augie (not as much)."
C) As this is a negotiable item, USD might reject it.

So, here's the dilemma facing any athletic department or university: 1) Do you allow a television station to make all the money from your product? 2) How many people will decide not to attend the game (lost ticket sales) because they can sit in the comfort of their own homes to watch the game? 3) Is the statewide exposure worth the loss of potential revenue to the athletic program?

#3 is what people wrestle with.

[OK_Jackrabbit]

Re: TV Coverage of the Jacks in South Dakota

Alumguy is right. My guess is that the administration is trying to set a precedent that will ultimately pay off (perhaps as soon as basketball season, since basketball has a more established "value" thanks to past successes).  That precedent is that athletic events have a market value and aren't giveaway items.

It's kind of the same situation as the scoreboard question: Sure, Daktronics will "give" you a scoreboard, but they'll take all the revenue from the advertising panels on that structure. Is that a good, long-term deal for the university?

I think that at this point setting a precedent that SDSU athletic events have market value is more important than getting on local TV.

This all relates to the ongoing discussions elsewhere on this board about branding and marketing.

[SDSUFAN]

Re: TV Coverage of the Jacks in South Dakota

This thread has been very interesting to read. I know so little about this subject so have enjoyed everyone's take.  I had wondered" What the???" when USD announced its new Daktronics Score Board, but what Ok Jackrabbit has said about the advertising revenue  has been confirmed in conversations with others and is SOP at Daktronics.

I guess this arrangement does not bring a new score board at Coughlin anytime soon, but its good for the market value of my 100 shares of Daktronics stock.

I too agree with Alum Guy in that SDSU has to be cautious in how they handle this affair involving tv and radio.  I discussed the WNAX arrangement more than one with  AD Oien, and have been told SDSU shows a profit on advertising despite the cash outlay.  Its better thinking than what it appears on the surface.

JDJack, yes I remember the short reign of USD on WNAX and its amazing the USD foundation failed to raise the money to keep it going.  There were SDSU alums who came forward with cash to get WNAX back and I think we have 4 or 5 year contracts with WNAX and should have them well into the future. I dont think we could find another Steve Emming anywhere.  Steve is the best.

I also recall that Norm Hilson hated to wear that goofy red jacket that USD and Joe Van  Gore made him wear during the USD broadcasts.  Unfortately, Norm never got to regain his beloved blue jacket before he left the living.