NEC Unveils Five-Game Football Television Schedule

[aceinthehole]

Somerset, NJ - Northeast Conference (NEC) football will be back on the airwaves this fall, and for the first time ever, it will be available in high-definition. NEC Commissioner Noreen Morris finalized a five-game television schedule that guarantees all nine league members at least one exposure during the coming 2011 season and incorporates the league's inaugural HD broadcasts.

The first three games will air regionally in high-definition on Madison Square Garden (MSG) Network along with a host of local networks. The final two games of the package are set to air nationally on Fox College Sports (FCS), which is available to digital cable subscribers in 56 million homes, and via broadband on ESPN3.
http://northeastconference.org/News/fball/2011/8/5/fb-releasetvsked-11.asp?path=fball

2011 Northeast Conference Football Television Schedule
Friday, Sept. 16 - Bryant at Sacred Heart - 7:00 pm (MSG HD)
Saturday, Sept. 24 - Duquesne at Saint Francis - 7:00 pm (MSG HD)
Saturday, Oct. 1 - Robert Morris at Monmouth - 12:00 pm (MSG HD)
Saturday, Oct. 29 - Albany at Wagner - 12:00 pm (Fox College Sports, ESPN3)
Saturday, Nov. 5 - Robert Morris at CCSU - 12:00 pm (Fox College Sports, ESPN3)

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Nice looking TV schedule. I just added them to the live scoreboard.

[DFW HOYA]

"NEC Commissioner Noreen Morris finalized a five-game television schedule that guarantees all nine league members at least one exposure during the coming 2011 season and incorporates the league's inaugural HD broadcasts."

The PL needs some exposure like this.

[Dane96]

Great and all...but they should have found a way to get the CCSU-Albany game on the tube; that game is going to be a balls to the wall game, and quite frankly is "THE NEC RIVALRY" right now. I used to think CCSU-Monmouth or Albany-Monmouth...but I really believe Albany-CCSU is either always at least one of A) tight affair; B) Bruising; C) has a significant "so-so" officiating call; D) last drive(s) dramatics.

[danefan]

Yeah the matchup selection isn't the greatest. And no offense, but I'm not exactly sure it's smart fir the NEC to show home games at St Francis or Sacred Heart. I'd much rather showcase Bryant or RMU.

[aceinthehole]

Love the HD and love that each team (even SFPA) gets 1 game!

I agree CCSU-Albany is a must view, but based on the composite schedule they were dealing with, these aren't awful matchups.

[Bogus Megapardus]

This is really good news. Now, NEC fans - get all crowd support you can get at the host schools for these contests. True NEC fans ought to be there, not watching on TV simply for the novelty of it. If your school is going to be on television, make sure other people see that that's the place to be on a Saturday afternoon!

Here's why I find curious, though. Why isn't the October 22 Albany-Central Connecticut game included in this package? That's the one I'd like to watch.

EDIT: I should have read the other posts more carefully. It seems as if others would like to see the Albany-Central Connecticut game as well. I imagine this game will be a sell-out (is this true in the past?) so it would be the most appropriate game to broadcast.

Then again, who knows - depending on the terms of the deal with MSG, maybe one of the ESPN channels or CBS College will pick up that game since the MSG package doesn't appear to include an October 22 game.

[Pard4Life]

"NEC Commissioner Noreen Morris finalized a five-game television schedule that guarantees all nine league members at least one exposure during the coming 2011 season and incorporates the league's inaugural HD broadcasts."

The PL needs some exposure like this.

What are you talking about? We have the preminent CBS College Sports Network, a 700-level TV channel broadcasting only one PL game in 2011.

[Pard4Life]

Wow... this is... awesome. Everyone knows what MSG is in the metro area. Great coup... Is it costing the NEC anything to broadcast?

[Collegefootballfan]

This is just the tip of the iceberg and possible the solution for the survival of
football in the the northeast. There is a huge demand for cheap inexpensive
programing in the comunication industry and college sports fills that need.
A built in market filled with a great demographic college age kids and alumni.
Huge advertizing opportunity. Just imagine the exposure of D1 football on a
smaller scale. A whole network built around the lower divisions and you have
the future. Impossible think about the two networks using the NEC and Pl.
Also why is extreme sports on tv. Why is there a espn 2 and smaller cable
networks promoting non main stream sports. As soon as someone works
out the logistics and the income . You will have it , how long will it take
nobody knows but it is the future.

[aceinthehole]

Wow... this is... awesome. Everyone knows what MSG is in the metro area. Great coup... Is it costing the NEC anything to broadcast?

Yes, this is a pay to play deal. The NEC picks up all production costs, and there may be a fee to MSG to televise. The NEC keeps any revenue from commercial sales to subsidize the cost. I doubt its a big fee, if any, to the networks because it is college football programing to fill the network's offering. Bottom line, whatever the out-of-pocket cost are for the league, it's well worth it in terms of exposure, marketing, etc.

The NEC basketball package (20+ games) is very similar setup. The league uses its NCAA basketball tourney revenue to pay for the TV deals. The NEC has been doing this for a decade or more in both sports.