College football is around the corner. Two games are scheduled this week. And with the birth of a new season comes the birth of a new pay-per-view TV plan.
ABC Sports, in conjunction with Showtime Event Television, is offering a supplemental college football pay-per-view package from Sept. 5 to Nov. 14. The network still will offer at least one regional over-the-air game each Saturday. As many as three other regional contests, however, will be made available on a pay-per-view basis to cable operators.
”We feel this is a natural complement for our over-the-air college football package,” said Stephen Solomon, ABC Sports senior vice president.
”We`re looking forward to our introduction into this new business.”
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This plan, promotions for which ABC began showing during Sunday`s NFL telecast, has more modest goals, and even more modest prices, than the Olympics TripleCast. The suggested retail price is $8.95 for the first game ordered each Saturday, with all additional games available for $1. If the cable system is carrying only one PPV game, however, the price may be $9.95. In addition, a ”season-ticket” package of $59.95 will be available in some areas.
”This is a very, very different approach for pay-per-view than the TripleCast,” said Solomon. ”The TripleCast provided product that for the most part was available on the network for free that evening. In this case, the product that`s available for purchase can`t be seen on the air. That`s the principal difference.
”We also go into this project with realistic expectations as to what our audience base will be. And we view it as a supplement to our over-the-air package.”
Neither ABC nor SET have lofty subscriber goals. While NBC at one time was predicting as many as 2 million viewers for the TripleCast-and wound up with about 250,000-Solomon said he`d be happy with 25,000 subscribers, based on addressable converters being available in 16 million to 17 million homes for at least one game. As many as 6 million will clear all three games.
In Chicago, Prime Cable has committed to the full package, while Chicago Cable officials still are ”exploring our options.”
On the first weekend, for example, the network will air the Northwestern- Notre Dame game on WLS-Ch. 7 in Chicago and offer the Southern Cal-San Diego State and Texas A&M-LSU contests on pay-per-view. In Los Angeles, however, viewers will get the USC-San Diego State game over the air, with the other two contests available on pay-per-view.
”We feel that`s a good mix of universities to show us how the overall product will operate,” said Solomon. ”Notre Dame and USC, for instance, have large alumni bases throughout the country.”
There`s one catch to all this: There will be advertising. Since the productions will be the same seen in different parts of the country, all the national commercials will air.
”The advertisers are pleased to have the additional audience to see their message,” said Solomon. ”The consumer has become accustomed to regular breaks in a college football format, so the inclusion of commercials won`t be a disruption to the fan.”
A pay-per-view analyst said he sees ABC taking the right steps. ”Their expectations are reasonable,” said Barry Gould, who publishes a PPV newsletter. ”Unlike the TripleCast, no one expects this to be the greatest thing since sliced bread.”
Gould said ABC couldn`t have picked a better partner than SET, which he said ”really has got an understanding of the market and the confidence of the cable industry. If anyone can make this a profitable venture, it`s SET. They`re very good at what they do.”
One TV executive, talking about the TripleCast fiasco, recently said that for every failure, ”there`s 10 guys out there with a better idea.”
This idea may work. As Gould said, ”For cable operaters who have the channel capacity, this is a no-brainer.”
– Other sports will be studying the ABC plan, says SET`s Scott Kurnit. The National Football League, for instance, had a brief flirtation with a similar idea but backed out, supposedly because of current network contracts. ”Out-of-market, incremental games is something each of the (professional)
leagues is interested in,” he said. Kurnit added having ”informal conversations” with anonymous league officials.
– ESPN`s John Saunders replaces Roger Twibell as studio host on ABC`s college football scoreboard show. Julie Moran joins the program as a field reporter. And Bo Schembechler, who made a shaky debut as a studio analyst last season, will alternate between the studio and games, including the Bowling Green-Ohio State contest with Dan Dierdorf (What? Two Michigan guys doing an Ohio State game? What would Woody Hayes have said? Would it have been printable?). Another indication ABC is upgrading the postgame show is the addition of Emmy Award-winning producer Curt Gowdy Jr. (”Wide World of Sports”) and director Roger Goodman, who also works on ABC`s newsmagazine ”PrimeTime Live.”
– National Hockey League fans may have more choices when it comes to TV next season. A plan reportedly is in the works for five games on ABC and up to another 20 on ESPN as well as the Stanley Cup finals. Details, such as home blackouts, still are to be worked out. The time buy on ABC would mark the NHL`s first regular-season appearance on network TV since 1975.
– Random thoughts: Didn`t you get the feeling the only reason CBS televised the Oilers-Saints exhibition Saturday was that the MaddenCruiser was in the area? . . . ABC`s Brent Musburger couldn`t pass up the temptation to turn a mention of the Clint Eastwood movie ”Unforgiven” into a cliche about the Falcons. . . . A tough week for cameras, or at least the people who operate them. First, John McEnroe attacks an ESPN cameraman at the Volvo Invitational, then a Craig Stadler golf ball smacks into a CBS camera at the International.