CBS/WBTV NCAA Tournament Cut-Away

[karaokelegend]

After the end of the first overtime of Boston College/Pacific, WBTV in Charlotte switched to the start of the Winthrop/Tennessee game! Granted, Winthrop is a local team, but this is a joke. We missed the second overtime of BC/Pacific, by the time we got a score BC was up 7 and pulled away. The only access we got to the game was through a CBS look-in. What were they thinking? All due respect to Winthrop cause I was rooting like crazy for them, but how do you switch from a DOUBLE-OVERTIME game to show the start of another. News flash, morons, people would rather see the END OF CLOSE GAMES than the beginning of the next. Needless to say this decision by CBS/WBTV has left local sports-talk radio howling. On "Primetime With the Packman" they blamed CBS for "pushing the wrong button." However today on "Penner and Mac" they blamed WBTV for designating the Wintrop game as one of local interest (Winthrop is located in nearby Rock Hill, SC). This means that they have to show these games from start to finish. But I think it's CBS' fault for making stations designate these games. They should at least try a split screen or something if the previous game is too interesting to cut away from. Earth to CBS, we want to see the end of a thrilling finish! Did any of this happen anywhere else in the country? I was steamed.

 

[schmave]

You've answered your own complaint within your message. If Winthrop is a local team, it's an absolute no brainer to show their entire game. It's that simple. There are so many other ways nowadays to see every game that you should have had a reasonable chance for access to the BC-Pacific game.
I'm in Columbus, Ohio, and if they'd have not shown the start of Ohio State so we could see the second overtime of a game, everyone would be incensed, and rightfully so.

> After the end of the first overtime of Boston
> College/Pacific, WBTV in Charlotte switched to the start of
> the Winthrop/Tennessee game! Granted, Winthrop is a local
> team, but this is a joke. We missed the second overtime of
> BC/Pacific, by the time we got a score BC was up 7 and
> pulled away. The only access we got to the game was through
> a CBS look-in. What were they thinking? All due respect to
> Winthrop cause I was rooting like crazy for them, but how do
> you switch from a DOUBLE-OVERTIME game to show the start of
> another. News flash, morons, people would rather see the END
> OF CLOSE GAMES than the beginning of the next. Needless to
> say this decision by CBS/WBTV has left local sports-talk
> radio howling. On "Primetime With the Packman" they blamed
> CBS for "pushing the wrong button." However today on "Penner
> and Mac" they blamed WBTV for designating the Wintrop game
> as one of local interest (Winthrop is located in nearby Rock
> Hill, SC). This means that they have to show these games
> from start to finish. But I think it's CBS' fault for making
> stations designate these games. They should at least try a
> split screen or something if the previous game is too
> interesting to cut away from. Earth to CBS, we want to see
> the end of a thrilling finish! Did any of this happen
> anywhere else in the country? I was steamed.
>

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

The same thing sometimes occurs on Sunday afternoons during the Fall when CBS or Fox has an NFL doubleheader.

If the local team plays at 4:15 P.M. EST/EDT, the local CBS or Fox station can pick-up a 1:05 P.M. EST/EDT game. However, if that 1:05 game is still underway at 4:14 P.M., the local affiliate must cut away and show the local team's game from the beginning.

As an example, let's look at how a Sunday NFL doubleheader might be televised on Fox affiliate KSAZ-10 in Phoenix: Fox's "lead" 11:05 A.M. Mountain time game is Dallas at Pittsburgh, and let's assume that they are the two best teams in the entire NFL when they take the field that day. The "late" game (2:15 P.M. Mountain time) is Arizona at New York Jets, which we'll assume features the two teams with the worst records in the entire NFL. We'll also assume that Arizona is the visiting team, since the Cardinals seldom sell-out a home game, to insure that KSAZ will be broadcasting this game. If the Dallas/Pittsburgh game goes past 2:14 Mountain time, KSAZ must cut away to show the start of the game between Arizona and the Jets, even if the Dallas/Pittsburgh game has (let's say) gone into overtime and has become a dramatic "nail-biter".

 

[bpatrick]

> The same thing sometimes occurs on Sunday afternoons during
> the Fall when CBS or Fox has an NFL doubleheader.
>
> If the local team plays at 4:15 P.M. EST/EDT, the local CBS
> or Fox station can pick-up a 1:05 P.M. EST/EDT game.
> However, if that 1:05 game is still underway at 4:14 P.M.,
> the local affiliate must cut away and show the local team's
> game from the beginning.
>
> As an example, let's look at how a Sunday NFL doubleheader
> might be televised on Fox affiliate KSAZ-10 in Phoenix:
> Fox's "lead" 11:05 A.M. Mountain time game is Dallas at
> Pittsburgh, and let's assume that they are the two best
> teams in the entire NFL when they take the field that day.
> The "late" game (2:15 P.M. Mountain time) is Arizona at New
> York Jets, which we'll assume features the two teams with
> the worst records in the entire NFL. We'll also assume that
> Arizona is the visiting team, since the Cardinals seldom
> sell-out a home game, to insure that KSAZ will be
> broadcasting this game. If the Dallas/Pittsburgh game goes
> past 2:14 Mountain time, KSAZ must cut away to show the
> start of the game between Arizona and the Jets, even if the
> Dallas/Pittsburgh game has (let's say) gone into overtime
> and has become a dramatic "nail-biter".
>
For several years now during the NCAA tournament, the CBS
affiliate in a team's home market has to carry the game in
its entirety, which is why WBTV cut away to the Winthrop game.
We had a conflict last year when N.C. State and UNC (somebody
correct me on this) were playing at the same time, and WRAL
could carry only one game; IIRC, RAL took the State game and
WRAZ took the Carolina game.

Like it or not, WRAL (and probably WBTV and WFMY as well)
will carry UNC-Murray State in its entirety tonight. Likewise,
WKYT and WIAT will have Kentucky-UAB all the way.

 

[newsmark]

I belive CBS and the NCAA ask stations to choose "local interest" games primarily so they can, for instance, keep WBTV on the Winthrop/Tennssee game, even if they switch the rest of the network to a more exciting game.

In past years, they've received a lot of complaints for switching away from "local interest" games.

I can imagine it's a nightmare trying to quickly decide who switches and who doesn't, when you're dealing with 200+ stations. The local station really has to make their priorities known ahead of time, then pray that the net pulls it off.


> You've answered your own complaint within your message. If
> Winthrop is a local team, it's an absolute no brainer to
> show their entire game. It's that simple. There are so many
> other ways nowadays to see every game that you should have
> had a reasonable chance for access to the BC-Pacific game.
> I'm in Columbus, Ohio, and if they'd have not shown the
> start of Ohio State so we could see the second overtime of a
> game, everyone would be incensed, and rightfully so.
>
> > After the end of the first overtime of Boston
> > College/Pacific, WBTV in Charlotte switched to the start
> of
> > the Winthrop/Tennessee game! Granted, Winthrop is a local
> > team, but this is a joke. We missed the second overtime of
>
> > BC/Pacific, by the time we got a score BC was up 7 and
> > pulled away. The only access we got to the game was
> through
> > a CBS look-in. What were they thinking? All due respect to
>
> > Winthrop cause I was rooting like crazy for them, but how
> do
> > you switch from a DOUBLE-OVERTIME game to show the start
> of
> > another. News flash, morons, people would rather see the
> END
> > OF CLOSE GAMES than the beginning of the next. Needless to
>
> > say this decision by CBS/WBTV has left local sports-talk
> > radio howling. On "Primetime With the Packman" they blamed
>
> > CBS for "pushing the wrong button." However today on
> "Penner
> > and Mac" they blamed WBTV for designating the Wintrop game
>
> > as one of local interest (Winthrop is located in nearby
> Rock
> > Hill, SC). This means that they have to show these games
> > from start to finish. But I think it's CBS' fault for
> making
> > stations designate these games. They should at least try a
>
> > split screen or something if the previous game is too
> > interesting to cut away from. Earth to CBS, we want to see
>
> > the end of a thrilling finish! Did any of this happen
> > anywhere else in the country? I was steamed.
> >
>

 

[bhayes1016]

KHOU in Houston (and I assume every CBS affiliate in Texas) had designated the Texas and Texas A&M games as "local interest". Although neither team is in the Houston market, they have by far the largest following of any college programs here. Fortunately, both games were close (Texas leads 41-40 as I type this).

 

[KML0224]

Does "local interest" for Connecticut only involve Hartford/New Haven? I was in Providence, RI this evening and it looked like WPRI-TV (CBS) channel 12 of Providence stayed with the U-Conn win over Albany (Thank you!).<P ID="signature">______________
The 2006 New York Yankees...on to title #27!</P>

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Re: CBS/WPRI NCAA Tournament Cut-Away

KML0224 asks:

> Does "local interest" for Connecticut only involve
> Hartford/New Haven? I was in Providence, RI this evening and
> it looked like WPRI-TV (CBS) channel 12 of Providence stayed
> with the U-Conn win over Albany.....

I wasn't watching that game, so I don't know if Boston's WBZ-4 also stuck with tha Connecticut/Albany game, but maybe CBS declared the game to be of "Local Interest" for large parts of New England if not the entire six-state region.