ESPN Regional Television and BIG EAST Conference Announce BIG EAST Network College Basketball Game of the Week Syndication Package
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – ESPN Regional Television, Inc., and the BIG EAST Conference have announced that their 2009-10 BIG EAST Network Game of the Week regionally syndicated basketball package will air in nearly 50 television markets covering 24 states. Once again, the BIG EAST Network Game of the Week has the most substantial coverage of any regionally syndicated college basketball network, with the designated market areas of the network’s affiliates covering nearly 50 million households (41% of the U.S.).
Sixteen of the nation’s top 35 television markets will have clearance, including New York; Chicago; Philadelphia; Washington DC; Boston; Tampa, Fla.; Orlando, Fla.; St. Louis; Pittsburgh; Indianapolis; Baltimore; Hartford, Conn.; Kansas City, Kan.; Cincinnati; Milwaukee; and for the first time, Los Angeles.
The package will consist of 12 BIG EAST Conference matchups, beginning Saturday, Jan. 2, with a battle between perennial BIG EAST powers and long-time rivals: undefeated Syracuse, ranked No. 5 in the nation, and Pittsburgh, a No. 1 seed in last season’s NCAA Tournament. Each of the BIG EAST Conference’s 16 member institutions is represented on the 2010 Game of the Week schedule.
“We are again pleased to provide our viewers with a consistent window for BIG EAST Conference basketball,” said Pete Derzis, senior vice president & general manager, ESPN Regional Television. “ESPN’s multimedia platforms continue to help deliver BIG EAST content to a significant base of college basketball fans. This season’s schedule of games is a fantastic representation of the BIG EAST Conference and its member institutions and will showcase the exceptional quality and competitiveness of the league.”
The games will be distributed nationally via the ESPN GamePlan pay-per-view package, which is available to fans via cable, DIRECTV and Dish Network.
“Providing our 16 member institutions and student-athletes with maximum television exposure is always one of our highest priorities,” said BIG EAST Commissioner John Marinatto. “With a reach that includes more than one-third of the nation’s households – and still growing — no regional syndicated television package provides more exposure than ESPN Regional’s BIG EAST Network Game of the Week. Fans in markets that stretch across the country can continue to count on seeing the best of BIG EAST basketball at the same time each week during the season.”
Along with Pittsburgh at No. 5 Syracuse on Jan. 2, the BIG EAST Network will feature preseason No. 23 Louisville at Pittsburgh on Jan. 16, No. 13 Georgetown at No. 8 Villanova on Jan. 17 and a Feb. 13 showdown between Cincinnati and No. 10 Connecticut. The schedule concludes with a special 2 p.m. ET start on Feb. 27 with Cincinnati at No. 6 West Virginia. All other games will tip off at noon ET.
2010 BIG EAST Network ‘Game of the Week’ Schedule
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup |
| Sat, Jan 2 | Noon | Pittsburgh at Syracuse |
| Sat, Jan 9 | Noon | St. John’s at Louisville |
| Sat, Jan 16 | Noon | Louisville at Pittsburgh |
| Sun, Jan 17 | Noon | Georgetown at Villanova |
| Sat, Jan 23 | Noon | Rutgers at Georgetown |
| Sat, Jan 30 | Noon | Marquette at Connecticut |
| Sat, Feb 6 | Noon | Marquette at Providence |
| Sun, Feb 7 | Noon | USF at Notre Dame |
| Sat, Feb 13 | Noon | Cincinnati at Connecticut |
| Sun, Feb 14 | Noon | DePaul at Seton Hall |
| Sat, Feb 20 | Noon | St. John’s at USF |
| Sun, Feb 27 | 2 p.m. | Cincinnati at West Virginia |
BIG EAST Network Basketball Affiliates
State City (DMA Rank) Station Affiliation
California Los Angeles (2) KJLA LATV
Connecticut Hartford-New Haven (30) WTNH, WCTX ABC, MyNet
Florida Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne (19) BrightHouse RSN
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Sarasota (14) WFTS, BrightHouse ABC, RSN
Illinois Chicago (3) WCIU-DT 4 IND
Rockford (134) WTVO-DT 2 My Net
Indiana Evansville (102) WAZE, WAZE-DT CW
Indianapolis (25) WTTV CW
South Bend-Elkhart (91) WBND,WCWW,WMYS ABC,IND,IND
Kansas Wichita-Hutchinson (69) KSCW, KWCH CW, CBS
Kentucky Lexington (62) WTVQ, WTVQ-DT ABC, MyNet
Louisville (49) WHAS ABC
Louisiana New Orleans (51) Cox-New Orleans RSN
Maryland Baltimore (27) MASN RSN
Massachusetts Boston-Manchester (7) WCVB ABC
Missouri Kansas City (32) Metro Sports RSN
St. Louis (21) Charter RSN
New York New York (1) SportsNet NY RSN
Albany-Schenectady-Troy (57) Time Warner RSN
Binghamton (157) Time Warner RSN
Buffalo (52) Time Warner RSN
Elmira (176) Time Warner RSN
Rochester (80) Time Warner RSN
Syracuse (83) Time Warner RSN
Utica (170) Time Warner RSN
Watertown (177) Time Warner RSN
Ohio Cincinnati (33) WKRC, EKRC CBS
Columbus (34) WWHO CW
Dayton (65) WBDT CW
Youngstown (110) WYTV, WYTV-DT ABC
Pennsylvania Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York (39) WHP, WLYH CBS, CW
Johnstown-Altoona (101) WHVL MyNet
Philadelphia (4) WPHL MyNet
Pittsburgh (23) WTAE ABC
Wilkes Barre-Scranton (54) WSWB CW
Rhode Island Providence-New Bedford (53) Cox-New England RSN
West Virginia Bluefield-Beckley-Oak Hill (156) WOAY ABC
Charleston-Huntington (63) WCHS, WVAH ABC, FOX
Clarksburg-Weston (168) WVFX FOX
Parkersburg (194) WTAP-DT 2 MyNet
Wheeling-Steubenville (159) WTOV NBC
Wisconsin Green Bay-Appleton (70) WACY MyNet
La Crosse-Eau Claire (127) KQEG FamilyNet
Madison (85) WMSN FOX
Milwaukee (35) WMLW IND
ESPN Regional Television
The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 1,000 telecasts of sporting events. Programming includes football, basketball, NCAA events, golf and NHRA events, accounting for more than 2,200 live and/or original hours of programming. In addition to ownership of several sporting events, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network and the syndication rights holder and producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (e.g. – BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, SEC, WAC).
The BIG EAST Conference
The BIG EAST is the largest and most diverse Division I conference in the country. It was formed in 1979 and represents the athletic interests of 16 member institutions including the University of Cincinnati, University of Connecticut, DePaul University, Georgetown University, University of Louisville, Marquette University, University of Notre Dame, University of Pittsburgh, Providence College, Rutgers University, St. John’s University, Seton Hall University, University of South Florida, Syracuse University, Villanova University and West Virginia University. The BIG EAST Conference has captured 26 national championships in six different sports and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series. For more information on the Conference and its membership, please visit www.bigeast.org.
-30-
