ESPN Benefits

[mtgrizrule]

Love it, hate it, or neutral?
Got to admit, the benefits outweigh the negatives.
I have friends from many areas of the USA, and even a few in foreign countries.
Many of which never followed FCS football or the Montana GRIZ, prior to the BSC joining the ESPN networks.
Since, they tune into our games, know who the Montana GRIZ are.
Potential recruits, transfers, and students are watching us now.
Many fall in love with GRIZ football, Missoula, U of M, and want to be part of it.
I'm contacted in various forms.
They all comment how special we have it here and it's an environment they want to be part of.
I guarantee you, we use these things in recruiting. Our fans and environment are difference makers!

Job well done, GRIZ NATION!

 

[griznative24]

So much better than pluto. Also nice that mbb, wbb, and football are all on the app. ESPN has def gone downhill, but it still adds legitimacy to the Griz. I'm not sure why, but I really enjoyed Root Sports, what ever happened with that deal?

 

[alabamagrizzly]

So much better than pluto. Also nice that mbb, wbb, and football are all on the app. ESPN has def gone downhill, but it still adds legitimacy to the Griz. I'm not sure why, but I really enjoyed Root Sports, what ever happened with that deal?

I’d be willing to bet no streaming option may have something to do with no more root.

 

[Bearcountry92]

I have frustrations with ESPN plus being the option, because you don’t get any pregame or postgame coverage. But I don’t have to pay arm and leg to watch the griz. Also having to work some Saturdays it lets me stream games. I am happy with this in the long run

 

[grizfan07]

So much better than pluto. Also nice that mbb, wbb, and football are all on the app. ESPN has def gone downhill, but it still adds legitimacy to the Griz. I'm not sure why, but I really enjoyed Root Sports, what ever happened with that deal?

PlutoTV was an absolute joke for football coverage. No legit crews covering the games, streams freezing up, camera guys sucked, etc. ROOT was somewhat better but at the time they had no streaming option on other streaming TV services like Sling or Fubo. They were only available on cable or satellite and you could only stream the game on the ROOT app with a cable subscription. Now the ESPN+ deal was signed while ROOT was still a thing with the BSC. But they wouldn’t simulcast the games on ESPN+. And there were blackout restrictions for the regions if you wanted to watch the game. ROOT had great coverage but it was too limited for TV audiences. Now ironically since, FuboTV did pick up ROOT. Then the BSC dropped ROOT which I think was a good decision honestly. ESPN+ is way better and can be watched with a simple (and pretty cheap) subscription. You couldn’t even subscribe to ROOT on their App.

 

[Stop_HammerTime69]

As unfortunate as it is, the Big Sky isn't the Big Ten. So the conference has to play ball with the company that has a monopoly on the sport, especially if we don't want to suffer the same fate the CAA has. GrizNative's point about "legitimacy" is really important, because it helps UM's profile if the football games look, sound, and feel like what an SEC game looks, sounds, and feels like. If we don't have that, we *look* like a second rate program, even as much of an upgrade that Scripps Sports has been this season over the typical Root or SWX broadcasts.

That's what really pisses me off about the Gameday fiasco last year. How the cats get a 3 hour infomercial on national TV, act like it's a good thing for both schools, and then fuck it up so badly is beyond me.

 

[Havre66]

I like what ESPN has done for Griz football considering the options. It may be a small thing, but I absolutely hate the commercial saturation during breaks. I will never buy Liberty Mutual insurance. Their ads are dumb and dumber. And they have made ESPN their bitch. I just switch to another channel when the commercials come on.

 

[StumptownGriz]

Suga Sean was tweeting videos of him watching the game with major celebrities and internet influencers at the UFC event this weekend. Pat McAfee hyping up Junior's returns from the Furman game. The Dan Patrick Show has been talking some Griz. Outlets like Barstool, and Overtime have been putting out content that WA-Griz is a bucket list venue. The publicity and attention is HUGE for a program like ours and will pay major dividends with recruiting and enrollment at UM in general. To the OP's point, much of this attention is easily accessible via ESPN. If these games were on Root or Pluto UM and Griz football get less than a tiny fraction of the eyeballs and clicks. This seasons run will do more for this school and program than any previous and we have ESPN to thank for being the center of that ripple effect.

 

[Brother Bear]

Yeah, the coverage this year is HUGE... almost all the Griz games on National TV have been great finishes as well this year, including Idaho game in the middle of the season!
Great time to be a Griz!

 

[putter]

Only ask I have from ESPN is to actually promote the games. They are televising it and people post they “stumbled” onto the game. Put it out there that it will be televised.

 

[GrizRick]

I subscribe to ESPN+. Benefits I enjoy:
* Ability to watch BSC games, FCS playoff games, and other FCS games, that would not otherwise be available;
* Ability to watch replays of Griz (and other) games;
* Ability to stream games on my phone or other device, so I can watch while away from home;
* At $10.99, the cost is reasonable;
* No contract; month to month, cancel anytime -- which means I usually subscribe only during the playoffs.

 

[Da Boyz Mom]

As an out of state fan for going on 19 years, I have experienced all the highs and lows of trying to watch GRIZ football, with many more lows than highs. ESPN+ is the best thing going for a ton of reasons which have already been elaborated by others.

I don't even want to talk about trying to watch games on Pluto TV, or before that BigSkyTV.net or whatever website the conference was trying to run before they finally figured out that they didn't have the infrastructure to stream that many games at a time. Maybe something better than ESPN+ will eventually come along but for now it's as good as it gets, which for me is fantastic.

 

[EverettGriz]

So much better than pluto. Also nice that mbb, wbb, and football are all on the app. ESPN has def gone downhill, but it still adds legitimacy to the Griz. I'm not sure why, but I really enjoyed Root Sports, what ever happened with that deal?

Once Root signed to carry the Kraken, they had zero interest in bsc football. I sat next to a Root exec on a flight while they still carried bsc football, and he said it was a major money loser for them. But because they wanted to sell the number of households they were in to advertisers on Mariner games, they wanted to ensure the small cable companies in Montana, Idaho and Utah continued to carry thr channel. And bsc football was one way they hoped to do that.

Story out last week that they might get out of college football altogether now.

 

[kemajic]

So much better than pluto. Also nice that mbb, wbb, and football are all on the app. ESPN has def gone downhill, but it still adds legitimacy to the Griz. I'm not sure why, but I really enjoyed Root Sports, what ever happened with that deal?

Once Root signed to carry the Kraken, they had zero interest in bsc football. I sat next to a Root exec on a flight while they still carried bsc football, and he said it was a major money loser for them. But because they wanted to sell the number of households they were in to advertisers on Mariner games, they wanted to ensure the small cable companies in Montana, Idaho and Utah continued to carry thr channel. And bsc football was one way they hoped to do that.

Story out last week that they might get out of college football altogether now.

They already have.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/ ... twork.html

 

[kemajic]

I'm not an ESPN fan, but have to take what is available. Missing the whole 1st quarter Saturday sucked. Typical ESPN.

 

[EverettGriz]

I'm not an ESPN fan, but have to take what is available. Missing the whole 1st quarter Saturday sucked. Typical ESPN.

Well it was available on espnews or online on espn+

I truly don’t understand how anyone who enjoys sports could not be a fan of espn. I love espn and what it offers fans at our level. Additionally if you’re a fan of any other sport, the absolute best writing and reporting is being done by espn+. I’m constantly amazed at the depth of the articles on that site

 

[kemajic]

I'm not an ESPN fan, but have to take what is available. Missing the whole 1st quarter Saturday sucked. Typical ESPN.

Well it was available on espnews or online on espn+

I truly don’t understand how anyone who enjoys sports could not be a fan of espn. I love espn and what it offers fans at our level. Additionally if you’re a fan of any other sport, the absolute best writing and reporting is being done by espn+. I’m constantly amazed at the depth of the articles on that site

I watched the 1st quarter on ESPN+; hate streaming, can't use the recorder and fast forward through the dead time. Watching the same commercials over and over is a real treat. Real time sucks.

I'm a baseball fan and ESPN coverage of MLB is nearly nonexistent. It's all about NBA and NFL in which I have lost interest. I just canceled ESPN+ as I won't need it again until next fall.