ManU vs. ManCity...The Showdown on ESPN and the Ratings game

Discussion in 'TV, Satellite & Radio' started by stingbee30, Mar 8, 2012.

  1. stingbee30

    stingbee30 Member

    Mar 16, 2006
    On Monday April 30th, the biggest and most important showdown on EPL this season will be on ESPN2 (@3:00 PM EST). Personally, I think this is probably the most important EPL showdown as far as I can see in the last few seasons. ManCity is the new kid on the block, and the team is primed to challenge the status-quo for years to come (with a lot of money in the pocket).

    Although the game is scheduled to air on ESPN2 (due to the agreement), I'm wondering will ESPN try to go for an exception by airing the game on the flagship network? Regardless, the game is going to be a rating's bonanza for the ESPN family of networks.

    This game is primed to become the highest rated EPL game on ESPN2 or ESPN to date. ESPN will hype this game and and a platform for hyping up the EURO 2012. What type of ratings are we going to see?

    ESPN2 rating will fall somewhere around 0.6-0.8, and around 900K-1.1 million viewers. If shown on ESPN, I would say we could see something like a 0.7-1.0 rating (1 million-1.4 million viewers).

    ESPNDeportes rating will be around 100k-150k Spanish viewers.

    ESPN3 will see heavy traffic because the game is on a weekday. We could see 200K-300K unique streaming on that platform.

    In summary, this game is destined to become the defining match for EPL this season, and the highest rated EPL match ever on ESPN family of networks.
     
  2. blackhornet

    blackhornet Member

    Jun 26, 2008
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You do realize that it's on a Monday that's not a holiday, right?
     
  3. cigar_city

    cigar_city Member+

    Jun 20, 2005
    Likely where I should NOT be...
    Club:
    Newell s Old Boys
    In light of the two posts above, BlackHornet, I quote the following:

    Bluto: "Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor!? HELL NO!!"
    Otter: (to Boon) "Germans?"
    Boon: (sipping his beer) "Forget it ... he's rolling."
     
  4. richardfromnyc

    Apr 6, 2009
    New York
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Korea Republic
    From past experiences on of soccer on ESPN, they'll probably pre-empt this game with a Peyton Manning Press Conference or a Cheerleading competition...
     
  5. bigtw64

    bigtw64 Member+

    Aug 16, 2003
    florida
    Club:
    Birmingham City FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    You're right, richard - especially as it's the Monday after the NFL Draft weekend, they'll be droning on about that for a few weeks
     
  6. stingbee30

    stingbee30 Member

    Mar 16, 2006
    BlackH...

    It might be Monday, but the game will attract viewers across the board...This is going to be the game of the season. It is a real showdown...
     
  7. Non-dairy Creamer

    Feb 28, 2007

    what makes you say that, they do hardly nothing now to hype their regular monday games, seriously, the casual fan wouldn't even know to set their DVR if you watch the channel or sportscenter the day leading up to the game.
     
  8. stingbee30

    stingbee30 Member

    Mar 16, 2006
    The reason is that ESPN will be upping their marketing for the EURO 2012 in the coming weeks. They need games like this to promote their EURO 2012 coverage. Beside the EURO 2012, this game will have all the necessary ingredients to become the highest rated EPL game on ESPN. You will hear more about this game on ESPN platforms a few days before the game.

    ManU vs. ManCity is the ultimate showdown for EPL this season. Don't worry, you will see the advertisement for that game to be very aggressive on ESPN. This game could very well decide who wins the EPL this season.

    It will be the highest rated EPL game to date on ESPN.
     
  9. blackhornet

    blackhornet Member

    Jun 26, 2008
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think it will get great numbers on ESPN3, but I can't see it getting as much as a weekend game or a game on a holiday. But we'll see.
     
  10. Twix1138

    Twix1138 Member

    Jul 9, 2010
    It'll probably get around 500-600K.
     
  11. stingbee30

    stingbee30 Member

    Mar 16, 2006
    Updates:

    As long as the race stays tight, this game will have far more implications. It is primed to become one of the biggest clashes in EPL history. The winner of this game will more than likely win the table this season. So, for ESPN, it makes a lot of sense to promote the game. It is a sort of a game that will bring the casual viewers as well (So DVR viewing will be high as well)

    ESPN3.com will probably register heavy traffic during the match (probably the highest ever for an EPL match).
     
  12. BocaFan

    BocaFan Member+

    Aug 18, 2003
    Queens, NY
    I think somebody will have to pull a big surprise or two on Man United between now and the time of this derby for it to be a title decider. Man United fans will still tune-in even if they have a 5-7 point lead in the table (which I think is possible), but I doubt many neutrals will.
     
  13. huhe888

    huhe888 Red Card

    Oct 3, 2007
    By the time of the Man City vs Man United clash, the rights to the Premier League in the U.K. for next cycle (2013-2016) could have already been sold.

    (If Al Jazeera were to bid for the U.K. rights, many observers including myself believe that ESPN U.K. will give up the Premier League rights after the next season.)

    Whether that will have any effect on ESPN's view on the U.S. rights to the Premier League remains to be seen.

    (I am expecting the U.S. rights to the Premier League to be sold in August, after everyone at the Premier League returns to work from summer holiday.)

    ==

    As for ESPN2 U.S. viewership for Man City vs Man United: I would expect at least 400,000 households (480,000 viewers ages 2+) due to promotion on SportsCenter's W2W4 segment among other factors. Add to that another 50,000 or so households on ESPN Deportes, and another 50,000 or so streams on ESPN3.com and the match will have a nice audience that rivals a high-major regular season college basketball game on ESPN2 during prime time.

    All bets are off if the title were already decided by then. Neither City nor United are unbeatable this season so one or both might slip up in the next 5 weeks.
     
  14. blackhornet

    blackhornet Member

    Jun 26, 2008
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I wonder what the future is for ESPN UK if they lose the Premier League. They would have gone from 2 games per matchday to one to none. Would they stick around with just the Cup games and Serie A and whatever US games they show? I must assume that if Al Jazeera win the rights, they won't suffer the fatal blow that Setanta did. So they'll be around a while, possibly buying more rights..

    And what will happen to ESPN's talent? Surely not all of them will stick around. It's bad enough that they're trying to put Rebecca Lowe and Robbie Savage a few feet from rabid fans making audible lewd requests on air lol. Do Darke and McManaman do work for ESPN UK as well? Or are they exclusive to the US channel? I saw Darke doing a boxing report for Sky Sports News the other day.

    It will be interesting to see what ESPN's commitment to soccer is and their "signature" broadcast on ESPN2 if they're without the rights to the World Cup AND the Premier League in the UK. Hell they may lose the rights the Premier League here and all this will be moot! Makes you wonder what Euro 2016 will look like.
     
  15. huhe888

    huhe888 Red Card

    Oct 3, 2007
    Lowe is the UK equivalent of ESPN U.S.' microphone-holding "barbie dolls". ESPN UK/IMG know exactly what they are doing by putting her on the pitch within shouting distance of paying customers.

    (The most famous/infamous of ESPN U.S.' "barbie dolls", E--- A------, is currently out of contract.)

    Darke's Premier League play-by-play is exclusive to ESPN networks in the Americas (ESPN2 US, TSN2 Canada, ESPN Caribbean, ESPN Latin America via SAP where available.) The telecasts are produced by Premier League Production/IMG Sports Media.

    Darke also works for Premier League Productions as the voice of the magazine show Premier League World, which is available worldwide including the UK (on BSkyB) and the US (on FOX Soccer.) Darke occasionally calls Premier League matches for the world feed (which is used by FOX Soccer.)

    Macca also works for ESPN UK as a pundit (on camera) for selected events.
     
  16. Lithium858

    Lithium858 Member

    Aug 11, 2002
    Baton Rouge
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Will NBC Sports Group try to get EPL rights after the current contract ends? It would be nice if NBCSN had EPL, La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A, Bundesliga, or even Europa League since they don't have anything else going on during the day. Actually, I'd love if they got the Gold Cup or even Copa America.
     
  17. huhe888

    huhe888 Red Card

    Oct 3, 2007
    Highly unlikely because NBC Sports Group and Telemundo have higher priorities.

    NBC Sports Group will need to hold onto its resources to bid for the media rights to 2 major U.S. domestic sports in the next 24 months: BIG EAST Conference college sports and Major League Baseball.

    Telemundo will need to hold onto its resources in order to renew the U.S. media rights to home matches for Mexican First Division club Chivas Guadalajara, which is up for renewal in 2013. One would expect Telemundo to have to pay over $100 million/season to keep those rights.

    ==

    CBS Sports Network does not have the interest or the resources to bid.

    ==

    Turner Sports has not shown any interest in international sports after walking away from the Pan American Games in 1995 and discontinuing the Goodwill Games after 2001.

    Furthermore, Turner Sports will need to hold onto its resources to bid (as the incumbent) to U.S. media rights to Major League Baseball for its TBS and CNN en Espanol networks.

    Additionally, Turner Sports' newest priority is to secure another U.S. domestic sports TV product during prime time for its truTV network to complement the 1 week of NCAA Division I Men's College Basketball tournament games each year.
     
  18. Lithium858

    Lithium858 Member

    Aug 11, 2002
    Baton Rouge
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    MLB would be perfect for NBCSN. Bob Costas would love to go back to announcing baseball I bet. I can see NBC and FOX have a similar deal to the whole TBS/FOX split post-season. It'd be awesome if the Fall Classic switched between FOX and NBC. When does the NBA's current deal end? NBC would probably try to get that too.
     
  19. blackhornet

    blackhornet Member

    Jun 26, 2008
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm sure these newly beefed up sports channels/part-time-sports channels would also like some NFL football if it were to be made available.
     
  20. huhe888

    huhe888 Red Card

    Oct 3, 2007
    NFL is off the market for another 8 years, as all the deals for U.S. media rights have been renewed with the incumbents. In addition, the NFL is keeping a new package of Thursday night games in house for the NFL Network (excluding opening week and Thanksgiving, which will air on NBC.)

    That means no NFL for the NBC Sports Network, CBS Sports Network, or any of the Turner networks.
     
  21. unclesox

    unclesox BigSoccer Supporter

    Mar 8, 2003
    209, California
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    One month after this thread began, Man Utd sit on top with an 8 point lead and 6 rounds remaining. :eek:
     
  22. huhe888

    huhe888 Red Card

    Oct 3, 2007
    This match will mean absolutely NOTHING to Manchester United if the lead were 10 points or more as of April 23.

    As they say in this business: the ball is round

    TV executives have no control over Manchester City's choke jobs since the start of 2012:

    1. Losing to Manchester United in the FA Cup 3rd round
    2. Losing to Liverpool in the League Cup semifinals
    3. Not able to win in the Premier League for the past 3 weeks
     
  23. blackhornet

    blackhornet Member

    Jun 26, 2008
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And the beat goes on. Well, at least they'll be well paid lol. Arab money has never been more misspent :)

    well, unless you count beIN Sports USA if they don't manage to swing any distribution deals.
     
  24. Sportsfan1

    Sportsfan1 Member

    Jul 22, 2007
    St. Louis, MO
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    There is only one way for any new sports channel to break in. Overpay for EPL, overpay for Big East sports, overpay for MLB package.



    College Sports and EPL give great weekend day time sports filler. That will get them 300-900K viewers pending the match up maybe more in some cases.

    MLB will give them a consistent 0.4 750K viewers or so and playoffs or big games giving a million or up to 3-5 million.

    Unless its a giving away hundreds of millions with no chance to re-comp, then no, but if it's a shot that's it.


    More team usa soccer would help too.
     
  25. huhe888

    huhe888 Red Card

    Oct 3, 2007
    That sounds like the Comcast (NBC Sports Group/Telemundo) - Qatar Media (beIN Sports USA) partnership that is cooking as we speak.

    EPL - Super Bowl Sunday on NBC and Telemundo, 8-10 additional "big matches" on NBC Sports Network and Telemundo (or mun2), the rest on beIN Sports USA (English and Spanish-language services).

    La Liga - El Clasico on Telemundo and NBC Sports Network (if available), the rest on beIN Sports USA (English and Spanish-language services).

    BIG EAST football and basketball - weekend afternoons on NBC when time slots are available, "1st pick" games on weeknights on NBC Sports Network, 2nd and 3rd tier games (plus minor sports such as college soccer, lacrosse and baseball) on beIN Sports USA as filler.

    MLB - Saturday or Sunday afternoons on NBC and Telemundo, playoffs on NBC and Telemundo (or mun2), night games on NBC Sports Network and Telemundo (or mun2). [beIN Sports USA would be used for overflow.]
     

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