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NCAA Regular Season College Basketball on Over-The-Air TV Question

O

oldvnewschool

I know the traditional big three NBC, CBS, and ABC

had regular season college basketball at one point or the other

during which periods have they have had it past or present?
 
ABC was actually first with regular-season college basketball on network TV around 1960/61. I think it was only for one season.

Regular-season games weren't on a network again until 1975/76, when NBC broadcast games on weekends, actually co-produced with Eddie Einhorn's TVS, who held the rights. TVS partned with NBC because AT&T had recently doubled the rates for TV network lines for "occassional" users (like TVS). This way, TVS could use NBC's network lines.

During 1975/76, NBC had a Saturday doubleheader, one game of which was regionalized, the other was broadcast across the full network. For several years starting in 1976/77, NBC's regional college basketball games were seen on Saturdays while the Sunday games were seen over the entire network.

Although losing the NCAA Division 1 men's tournament to CBS after the 1981 Final Four, NBC continued to carry some regular-season games through the rest of the decade.

CBS didn't begin regular-season college basketball until 1981/82, after having acquired broadcast-TV rights for the NCAA Division 1 men's basektball tournament starting in 1982. I believe that at first, CBS also partnered with TVS. CBS today has by far the most extensive broadcast-network schedule of college basketball.

ABC came back to do some regular-season college basketball games starting around 1987/88, and has broadcast some games here and there ever since.

Unlike the situation with college football, the NCAA never controlled regular-season rights for college basketball, but there was a time when TVS controlled exclusive weekend-afternoon TV rights to nearly all Division 1 schools (the main exception: The Atlantic Coast Conference, who had a TV deal with first C.D. Chesley, and later with Raycom/Jefferson-Pilot).

Many schools were able to make deals with television stations in their markets for local broadcasts of their games. If the school also had a good football program, the TV deal might have included a weekly football coach's show (with highlights) and in some cases, taped coverage of football games (since the NCAA controlled exclusive rights to live televised college football telecasts until 1984) and live coverage of basketball games.
 
> ABC was actually first with regular-season college
> basketball on network TV around 1960/61. I think it was only
> for one season.
>
> Regular-season games weren't on a network again until
> 1975/76, when NBC broadcast games on weekends, actually
> co-produced with Eddie Einhorn's TVS, who held the rights.
> TVS partned with NBC because AT&T had recently doubled the
> rates for TV network lines for "occassional" users (like
> TVS). This way, TVS could use NBC's network lines.
>
> During 1975/76, NBC had a Saturday doubleheader, one game of
> which was regionalized, the other was broadcast across the
> full network. For several years starting in 1976/77, NBC's
> regional college basketball games were seen on Saturdays
> while the Sunday games were seen over the entire network.
>
> Although losing the NCAA Division 1 men's tournament to CBS
> after the 1981 Final Four, NBC continued to carry some
> regular-season games through the rest of the decade.
>
> CBS didn't begin regular-season college basketball until
> 1981/82, after having acquired broadcast-TV rights for the
> NCAA Division 1 men's basektball tournament starting in
> 1982. I believe that at first, CBS also partnered with TVS.
> CBS today has by far the most extensive broadcast-network
> schedule of college basketball.
>
> ABC came back to do some regular-season college basketball
> games starting around 1987/88, and has broadcast some games
> here and there ever since.
>
> Unlike the situation with college football, the NCAA never
> controlled regular-season rights for college basketball, but
> there was a time when TVS controlled exclusive
> weekend-afternoon TV rights to nearly all Division 1 schools
> (the main exception: The Atlantic Coast Conference, who had
> a TV deal with first C.D. Chesley, and later with
> Raycom/Jefferson-Pilot).
>
> Many schools were able to make deals with television
> stations in their markets for local broadcasts of their
> games. If the school also had a good football program, the
> TV deal might have included a weekly football coach's show
> (with highlights) and in some cases, taped coverage of
> football games (since the NCAA controlled exclusive rights
> to live televised college football telecasts until 1984) and
> live coverage of basketball games.
>
Thank You
 
> ABC was actually first with regular-season college
> basketball on network TV around 1960/61. I think it was only
> for one season.
>
> Regular-season games weren't on a network again until
> 1975/76, when NBC broadcast games on weekends, actually
> co-produced with Eddie Einhorn's TVS, who held the rights.
> TVS partned with NBC because AT&T had recently doubled the
> rates for TV network lines for "occassional" users (like
> TVS). This way, TVS could use NBC's network lines.
>
> During 1975/76, NBC had a Saturday doubleheader, one game of
> which was regionalized, the other was broadcast across the
> full network. For several years starting in 1976/77, NBC's
> regional college basketball games were seen on Saturdays
> while the Sunday games were seen over the entire network.
>
> Although losing the NCAA Division 1 men's tournament to CBS
> after the 1981 Final Four, NBC continued to carry some
> regular-season games through the rest of the decade.


>
> CBS didn't begin regular-season college basketball until
> 1981/82, after having acquired broadcast-TV rights for the
> NCAA Division 1 men's basektball tournament starting in
> 1982. I believe that at first, CBS also partnered with TVS.
> CBS today has by far the most extensive broadcast-network
> schedule of college basketball.
>
> ABC came back to do some regular-season college basketball
> games starting around 1987/88, and has broadcast some games
> here and there ever since.
>
> Unlike the situation with college football, the NCAA never
> controlled regular-season rights for college basketball, but
> there was a time when TVS controlled exclusive
> weekend-afternoon TV rights to nearly all Division 1 schools
> (the main exception: The Atlantic Coast Conference, who had
> a TV deal with first C.D. Chesley, and later with
> Raycom/Jefferson-Pilot).
>
> Many schools were able to make deals with television
> stations in their markets for local broadcasts of their
> games. If the school also had a good football program, the
> TV deal might have included a weekly football coach's show
> (with highlights) and in some cases, taped coverage of
> football games (since the NCAA controlled exclusive rights
> to live televised college football telecasts until 1984) and
> live coverage of basketball games.
>

Did TVS carry the Final Four before NBC had it from 75-81? I remember they had some other big regular season nonconference games, like UCLA-Notre Dame and Indiana-Kentucky (and, I think, the famous 1968 UCLA-Houston game in the Astrodome.)

Bit of trivia about CBS's early college hoop years...For the 81-82 season, they had all but signed Bobby Knight to be either their lead color man or studio analyst, but he decided to stay at IU after one of his players, Landon Turner, was seriously hurt in a car accident in the summer of 1981.
 
> > ABC was actually first with regular-season college
> > basketball on network TV around 1960/61. I think it was
> only
> > for one season.
> >
> > Regular-season games weren't on a network again until
> > 1975/76, when NBC broadcast games on weekends, actually
> > co-produced with Eddie Einhorn's TVS, who held the rights.
>
> > TVS partned with NBC because AT&T had recently doubled the
>
> > rates for TV network lines for "occassional" users (like
> > TVS). This way, TVS could use NBC's network lines.
> >
> > During 1975/76, NBC had a Saturday doubleheader, one game
> of
> > which was regionalized, the other was broadcast across the
>
> > full network. For several years starting in 1976/77, NBC's
>
> > regional college basketball games were seen on Saturdays
> > while the Sunday games were seen over the entire network.
> >
> > Although losing the NCAA Division 1 men's tournament to
> CBS
> > after the 1981 Final Four, NBC continued to carry some
> > regular-season games through the rest of the decade.
>
>
> >
> > CBS didn't begin regular-season college basketball until
> > 1981/82, after having acquired broadcast-TV rights for the
>
> > NCAA Division 1 men's basektball tournament starting in
> > 1982. I believe that at first, CBS also partnered with
> TVS.
> > CBS today has by far the most extensive broadcast-network
> > schedule of college basketball.
> >
> > ABC came back to do some regular-season college basketball
>
> > games starting around 1987/88, and has broadcast some
> games
> > here and there ever since.
> >
> > Unlike the situation with college football, the NCAA never
>
> > controlled regular-season rights for college basketball,
> but
> > there was a time when TVS controlled exclusive
> > weekend-afternoon TV rights to nearly all Division 1
> schools
> > (the main exception: The Atlantic Coast Conference, who
> had
> > a TV deal with first C.D. Chesley, and later with
> > Raycom/Jefferson-Pilot).
> >
> > Many schools were able to make deals with television
> > stations in their markets for local broadcasts of their
> > games. If the school also had a good football program, the
>
> > TV deal might have included a weekly football coach's show
>
> > (with highlights) and in some cases, taped coverage of
> > football games (since the NCAA controlled exclusive rights
>
> > to live televised college football telecasts until 1984)
> and
> > live coverage of basketball games.
> >
>
> Did TVS carry the Final Four before NBC had it from 75-81? I
> remember they had some other big regular season
> nonconference games, like UCLA-Notre Dame and
> Indiana-Kentucky (and, I think, the famous 1968 UCLA-Houston
> game in the Astrodome.)
>
> Bit of trivia about CBS's early college hoop years...For the
> 81-82 season, they had all but signed Bobby Knight to be
> either their lead color man or studio analyst, but he
> decided to stay at IU after one of his players, Landon
> Turner, was seriously hurt in a car accident in the summer
> of 1981.
>
I belive NBC & TVS may have split the rights but I'm sure

NBC carried the final four between 1969 to 1981
 
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