IdaGriz01
Well-known member
Okay. I thought about tacking this onto an existing thread, but decided it might just muddy the waters. So, for this topic, let's put aside the anguish we feel for the people who are actually afflicted with COVID-19. Let's also express our sadness on other threads for the athletes who worked so hard ... but will not have a shot at a final goal.
Now this could get a little messy, so feel free to split right now. But that being established, let's consider the economic situation. "March Madness" is the acknowledged "cash cow" for the NCAA -- they don't make diddly, in comparison, from other sources. Much as we all bitch about the NCAA, they're currently "the only game in town," and a major financial crash for them could negatively impact them (and college athletes) for years to come. And the issue of TV money (cuts) has already come up. About the only good news (if you can call it that) is that the TV sports networks also depend upon college athletics for a huge amount of content.
I'm thinking the NCAA and the TV providers are likely to work out some deal where TV (and streaming) essentially provides a lot of replays of last year's March Madness, and perhaps highlights from earlier years. Of course, some networks already do a lot of old replays, but this would be a concerted strategy to keep sponsor dollars flowing, for both the networks and the NCAA.
So here's the question: Would you watch? Maybe not everything like you might the live event, but enough to keep sponsors satisfied? Keeping in mind that the sponsors could slant their messages to highlight their sponsorship "in view of the current emergency."
Now this could get a little messy, so feel free to split right now. But that being established, let's consider the economic situation. "March Madness" is the acknowledged "cash cow" for the NCAA -- they don't make diddly, in comparison, from other sources. Much as we all bitch about the NCAA, they're currently "the only game in town," and a major financial crash for them could negatively impact them (and college athletes) for years to come. And the issue of TV money (cuts) has already come up. About the only good news (if you can call it that) is that the TV sports networks also depend upon college athletics for a huge amount of content.
I'm thinking the NCAA and the TV providers are likely to work out some deal where TV (and streaming) essentially provides a lot of replays of last year's March Madness, and perhaps highlights from earlier years. Of course, some networks already do a lot of old replays, but this would be a concerted strategy to keep sponsor dollars flowing, for both the networks and the NCAA.
So here's the question: Would you watch? Maybe not everything like you might the live event, but enough to keep sponsors satisfied? Keeping in mind that the sponsors could slant their messages to highlight their sponsorship "in view of the current emergency."