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Early figures show Husker pay-per-view telecasts a hit
By BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
Thursday, Sep 18, 2008 - 12:28:26 am CDT
If the excitement surrounding a football program can be judged by pay-per-view sales, then it would seem all the Bo-mania in the offseason was more than just window dressing.
Figures are still rolling in from the pay-per-view purchases of Nebraska’s first three games, but the early numbers show that Bo Pelini’s opener as head coach likely doubled the viewership NU had for each of its two pay-per-view games last year.
Marc Boehm, Nebraska’s executive associate athletic director, said about one-third of the pay-per-view sales from the opener against Western Michigan are accounted for at this point. And from that data, it’s estimated that there were about 50,000 pay-per-view buys for that game.
That’s the type of haul very few programs, if any, could match for a contest against a MAC school coming off a losing season. The NU athletic department will likely make more money off that game than it would have if it had been broadcast on network television.
Boehm said most network games net the athletic department about $275,000. A pay-per-view game that reaches 40,000 buys — which the opener even surpassed — makes the department about $300,000.
Since the networks passed on any of Nebraska’s first three games for the first time since 1989, Husker officials made the move to show the games on a pay-per-view basis through Fox Sports Net. Each game was available to viewers for $29.95.
Boehm said the exact number of buyers for the first three games might not be known until December. But FSN representatives have told NU officials there’s no doubt Husker games have more pay-per-view sales than about any other team in the country.
“FSN has also done games with Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, and the Nebraska games we have done have performed well in comparison with those schools,” said Geoff Goldman, FSN Midwest’s media relations manager.
Goldman said pay-per-view games between conference schools tend to bring in even more buyers. In 2006, when Nebraska won at Kansas State, about 60,000 purchases of the game were made, a record for a pay-per-view showing involving the Huskers.
Boehm said NU games on pay-per-view have averaged between 35,000 and 40,000 buys the last five years, though numbers were down considerably last fall as the Huskers limped through a 5-7 season under Bill Callahan.
Nebraska’s 41-40 win against Ball State and 45-14 loss to Oklahoma State were available on pay-per-view last year, but just 24,000 and 22,000 viewers, respectively, paid to see those games on TV, Boehm said.
The hope at NU is that most of the Huskers’ remaining games on the schedule will be broadcast on network television.
The Virginia Tech game on Sept. 27 is already slated to be shown on a split-national basis by ABC at 7 p.m. And the Colorado game on Nov. 28 will be a national telecast on ABC, with kickoff at 2:30 p.m.
Given the rankings of Missouri, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Kansas, those games would also seem likely to get picked up by a network.
Beyond that, there are games against Iowa State, Baylor and Kansas State that also might be televised, especially if the Huskers can put together a strong season.
Any additional games to be televised will be announced six to 12 days in advance of the game.
If there are any games that aren’t selected by a network, Boehm said more pay-per-view telecasts could be an option.
“We’re constantly getting calls from people saying that if the game is not on television, please do put it on pay-per-view,” Boehm said.
But Boehm said the athletic department also weighs into the decision that pay-per-view games must start at 11:30 a.m. or 6 p.m. He understands those are not necessarily ideal kickoff times for some fans attending the games, especially those making long road trips from the western part of the state.
“We’re very mindful of having games at a time that’s convenient for the fans,” Boehm said.
“There’s definitely a balancing act.”
Reach Brian Christopherson at bchristopherson@journalstar.com or 473-7439.
Early figures show Husker pay-per-view telecasts a hit
By BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
Thursday, Sep 18, 2008 - 12:28:26 am CDT
If the excitement surrounding a football program can be judged by pay-per-view sales, then it would seem all the Bo-mania in the offseason was more than just window dressing.
Figures are still rolling in from the pay-per-view purchases of Nebraska’s first three games, but the early numbers show that Bo Pelini’s opener as head coach likely doubled the viewership NU had for each of its two pay-per-view games last year.
Marc Boehm, Nebraska’s executive associate athletic director, said about one-third of the pay-per-view sales from the opener against Western Michigan are accounted for at this point. And from that data, it’s estimated that there were about 50,000 pay-per-view buys for that game.
That’s the type of haul very few programs, if any, could match for a contest against a MAC school coming off a losing season. The NU athletic department will likely make more money off that game than it would have if it had been broadcast on network television.
Boehm said most network games net the athletic department about $275,000. A pay-per-view game that reaches 40,000 buys — which the opener even surpassed — makes the department about $300,000.
Since the networks passed on any of Nebraska’s first three games for the first time since 1989, Husker officials made the move to show the games on a pay-per-view basis through Fox Sports Net. Each game was available to viewers for $29.95.
Boehm said the exact number of buyers for the first three games might not be known until December. But FSN representatives have told NU officials there’s no doubt Husker games have more pay-per-view sales than about any other team in the country.
“FSN has also done games with Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, and the Nebraska games we have done have performed well in comparison with those schools,” said Geoff Goldman, FSN Midwest’s media relations manager.
Goldman said pay-per-view games between conference schools tend to bring in even more buyers. In 2006, when Nebraska won at Kansas State, about 60,000 purchases of the game were made, a record for a pay-per-view showing involving the Huskers.
Boehm said NU games on pay-per-view have averaged between 35,000 and 40,000 buys the last five years, though numbers were down considerably last fall as the Huskers limped through a 5-7 season under Bill Callahan.
Nebraska’s 41-40 win against Ball State and 45-14 loss to Oklahoma State were available on pay-per-view last year, but just 24,000 and 22,000 viewers, respectively, paid to see those games on TV, Boehm said.
The hope at NU is that most of the Huskers’ remaining games on the schedule will be broadcast on network television.
The Virginia Tech game on Sept. 27 is already slated to be shown on a split-national basis by ABC at 7 p.m. And the Colorado game on Nov. 28 will be a national telecast on ABC, with kickoff at 2:30 p.m.
Given the rankings of Missouri, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Kansas, those games would also seem likely to get picked up by a network.
Beyond that, there are games against Iowa State, Baylor and Kansas State that also might be televised, especially if the Huskers can put together a strong season.
Any additional games to be televised will be announced six to 12 days in advance of the game.
If there are any games that aren’t selected by a network, Boehm said more pay-per-view telecasts could be an option.
“We’re constantly getting calls from people saying that if the game is not on television, please do put it on pay-per-view,” Boehm said.
But Boehm said the athletic department also weighs into the decision that pay-per-view games must start at 11:30 a.m. or 6 p.m. He understands those are not necessarily ideal kickoff times for some fans attending the games, especially those making long road trips from the western part of the state.
“We’re very mindful of having games at a time that’s convenient for the fans,” Boehm said.
“There’s definitely a balancing act.”
Reach Brian Christopherson at bchristopherson@journalstar.com or 473-7439.