Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 11, 1995 TAG: 9502140040
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
As an Atlantic 10 member in basketball, the Hokies expect more television exposure than they've had in the Metro Conference. Tech's other option, the Colonial Athletic Association, offered little more than regional exposure on cable's Home Team Sports.
Tech athletic director Dave Braine also likes the A-10's division of TV revenue. In the Metro, non-conference appearance checks were kept by the participating school. The Atlantic 10, which figures to renegotiate its telecast plans with the addition of five teams and several major markets to the league, divides all revenue.
For a non-conference date by an A-10 member, the appearing school keeps 60 percent of the rights fee. The remaining 40 percent goes to the conference pool. For an A-10 game, each appearing school retains 12.5 percent of the check, with 75 percent pooled. The more appearances, the more revenue.
It's the same way in most sports in the A-10, which takes its NCAA Tournament units check and divides it among members. For instance, this season the first-place A-10 finisher gets $50,000. Teams finishing between sixth and ninth get $10,000 apiece. An NCAA men's basketball bid pays a school $40,000; a second-round trip adds $30,000, plus another $20,000 for every round thereafter.
The Colonial has only one team appearance this season on national TV - James Madison in the President's Day special against George Washington of the A-10 on Feb.20. The Atlantic 10 has 16 ESPN team appearances, including the A-10 Tournament final, and 13 team dates on ESPN2. In addition, the league has seven ABC regional dates and one NBC appearance.
The Metro has only eight ESPN appearances this season, none since Jan.21, plus four ABC appearances and two Louisville dates on CBS. The Colonial has four ESPN2 appearances.
The conference packages of the A-10 and Metro are comparable.
The A-10 has a 12-game schedule, primarily at noon Saturdays, plus 15 games on cable's Prime Network. Both of those packages are picked up in this region by Home Team Sports. The Metro has a 19-game regional syndicated package via Raycom. WSLS (Channel 10) picks up only eight of those - involving Tech and the Metro tourney semifinals and final - in this market. Prime airs 12 games, most of those on Thursday nights (and on HTS).
Even while the Hokies were talking with the A-10 and CAA, school officials already had contacted ESPN about desired exposure next season with a team of returnees. Five of the current nine Atlantic 10 members appear on ESPN this season.
Tech hasn't played on ESPN since 1988-89, Bimbo Coles' junior year, a streak the Hokies figure should end next winter.
UVA TUBE TIME: Beginning with Wednesday's University Hall date with Duke (7 p.m., ESPN), the remainder of the Virginia men's basketball schedule will be televised. The Cavaliers play ABC regional games at home against North Carolina and Maryland. UVa's games at Georgia Tech and Wake Forest and against Virginia Tech in Richmond will be shown by the ACC's Raycom/JP network (WDBJ locally).
Then, WDBJ will have the remaining UVa games in the ACC Tournament from Raycom/JP and in the NCAA Tournament, from CBS.
STARRY NIGHT: The 45th annual NBA All-Star Game runs into prime time Sunday on NBC, following the half-hour ``NBA Showtime'' studio gathering (6 p.m., WSLS). Cable's TNT airs ``NBA All-Star Saturday'' tonight at 7, including the Rookie All-Star Game, the 3-Point Shootout and Slam Dunk contest.
AROUND THE DIAL: Howard Cosell, who brought more than incisiveness to sportscasting, will receive the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage on Monday's ESPY Awards (9 p.m., ESPN). Bill Cosby, a longtime friend of the former ABC broadcaster, will accept the award for Cosell, who is 74 and is battling cancer. ... ABC has 31/2 hours of ice time today from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships (4:30 and 8 p.m., WSET), with the ladies' singles free skate program in a two-hour prime-time show. ... ESPN and ESPN2 will air live coverage of the NFL expansion draft Wednesday. ESPN has a two-hour show to start the Carolina and Jacksonville picks at 11 a.m. ESPN2 then finishes the draft. ... If the Baltimore Orioles play this baseball season - club owner Peter Angelos says he won't field a team of replacement players - Home Team Sports plans to televise 79 regular-season and 11 spring training games. ... The visit to Virginia Tech by second-ranked Tennessee in women's basketball will be televised by HTS on Wednesday, Feb.22 at 7 p.m. ... After success with the first cablecast in franchise history last Saturday, the Roanoke Express is considering another road telecast during the East Coast Hockey League playoffs in late March. ... CBS Sports has announced that nine cars will carry in-car cameras during next Sunday's live telecast of the Daytona 500 (noon, WDBJ). The network's Daytona Speed Weeks coverage begins Sunday (noon, WDBJ) with the 20-lap, 50-mile Busch Clash sprint.
by CNB