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Posted by PaulCat (Member # 513) on 10-15-2014, 02:49 PM:

I heard that Madness won't be on TV due to contractual agreements with the SEC Network. I was kind of hoping it would be televised by the SEC Network.

Anyone hear anything about this?

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 10-15-2014, 03:12 PM:

Paul, here is our only options that I can find.

If you're one of the thousands in the Big Blue Nation eagerly awaiting Friday's "Big Blue Madness," you might find trying to watch it on television, maddening!

Fans unable to make it inside Rupp Arena will have to watch on ESPNU or ESPN3.

"It will be carried on ESPN3 and there will also be live look-ins on ESPNU on the ESPNU 'Midnight Madness' show which runs from 6 to 9," says John Hayden with UK Athletics, "there will be a link set up from ukathletics.com on the front page, and it'll push fans to ESPN3."

ESPN3 is the online ESPN channel. Fans can enter their cable provider information to log on and watch "Big Blue Madness" in its entirety. If they're watching on TV, though, they'll only see portions of the practice. It is one of six programs ESPN will cover during their "Midnight Madness" special.

"WKYT is still the television partner for JMI Sports, who owns the multimedia rights for UK Athletics, but the actual SEC Network bought the rights from IMG to carry all the games and 'Big Blue Madness,'" notes Hayden.

Link

Posted by SCWC (Member # 2464) on 10-15-2014, 03:21 PM:

I will bet that Kentucky fans will not care much for the new SEC network. My early impressions of the programming other than their football broadcasts is not that good. They have someone named Paul Finebaum, a radio man, doing a radio call in show every day Monday thru Friday 3 to 7pm and it is about as exciting as watching paint dry to me. I don't understand why they won't let WKYT buy midnight madness and program it for the fans in the state of Kentucky anyway. I think ESPN is calling all the shots for the SEC network, something the Big Ten and Pac 12 apparently would not concede to them and set up their own networks without ESPN. I never thought the SEC network would be an ESPN affiliated station. It will probably work out just fine but I fear it will cause some of out national fan base to miss quite a few live UK basketball games, time will tell. Matt Jones of KSR is going ballistic over the SEC network decision and they have had over 5,000 fans call the Charlotte office which is headquarters for the ESPN SEC network over madness airing. I never understood putting the SEC headquarters in Charlotte rather than a state which has an SEC team in it to start with. I assumed the SEC network would come out of Birmingham where the SEC offices are located.

KSR is reporting that the reason the SEC network will not televise madness is because they don't have rights to the music used, whatever that means. That is supposed to be one of the reasons.

[ 10-15-2014, 03:40 PM: Message edited by: SCWC ]

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 10-15-2014, 03:56 PM:

Bottom line is that the Big Blue fans get screwed and won't get to see BBM live.

Posted by eleem (Member # 884) on 10-15-2014, 04:16 PM:

One hour of madness will be televised at 11:00pm
Friday on the SEC network.

Posted by eleem (Member # 884) on 10-15-2014, 04:22 PM:

So far I'm loving the sec network, have watched all of the football games and will get to see most
of the basketball games. Saw all the Bahamas games

It make take them a while to get the bugs worked
out. But for no cost, it's hard to beat.

The last couple of yrs I had to buy espn3 for $125 and would only get about 3 games that I
couldn't normally get.

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 10-15-2014, 10:53 PM:

I believe WKYT in Lex is carrying it starting at 7PM. I have been hearing them say it will be on but don't know how much of it. In the past they have carried it thru the final scrimmage and I am expecting it to be the same.

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 10-15-2014, 11:50 PM:

Well................ looks like I may have been wrong. But at least last week WKYT was saying they were going to televise it. Just checked the lineup for Friday and they do not show it anywhere on Friday or rerun later. The only place I find it is on 611 SEC Network at 11:00 on Saturday morning. I guess I am boycotting ESPN from now on. It's getting pretty bad when ESPN can dictate what a local TV station can show.

Posted by SCWC (Member # 2464) on 10-16-2014, 01:25 PM:

Bama, the SEC network is basically run by ESPN. i thought it would be like the big ten, a totally independent network that determine its own programming etc. If you notice, ESPN and CBS are still getting the major football games between the Alabama's, Ole Miss, Miss State etc. ESPN are calling all the shots on the SEC network, not the SEC, that was obvious when they made Brent Musburger the main SEC football game caller. I read on KSR that WKYT did everything they could to buy rights to midnight madness but were turned down by ESPN/SEC and they had been able to carry it for the good people in Kentucky in the past.

[ 10-16-2014, 03:16 PM: Message edited by: SCWC ]

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 10-16-2014, 09:27 PM:

My son told me today that over 5,000 calls were made to ESPN complaining and the result is they will be televising all of BBM live starting at 6:00 PM on ESPNU. I haven't done any searching yet so I can't confirm this is true or not. But I hope he knows what he is talking about.

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 10-16-2014, 09:34 PM:

"""UKathletics.com and ESPN3 are the only places that will have live coverage of the full event."""

How can ESPN make an announcement like this? Poor choice of words as I see it. It says UKAthletics.com will be broadcasting it live. We all know that is a bunch of crap. Can't journalists get things right if they're gonna print something?