TV Schedule, Sunday June 5

Auto Racing:

MotoGP Racing: Catalunyan Grand Prix 7am on Speed Channel
Sprint Cup Series: STP 400 11:30am on Fox
NHRA Drag Racing: Supernationals 3:30pm on ESPN2 (same day tape)
AMA Pro Racing 11pm on Speed Channel (same day tape)

College Baseball:

Teams TBA 11am on ESPNU
Teams TBA 3pm on ESPNU
Teams TBA 6pm on ESPNU
Teams TBA 10pm on ESPNU

College Rugby:

USA 7's Championship 1pm on VERSUS
USA 7's Championship 3pm on NBC

Cycling:

Criterium du Dauphine Libere, prologue, 6pm on VERSUS (same-day tape)
Philadelphia International Championship, 7pm on VERSUS (same-day tape)

French Open Tennis: Men's Final 8am on NBC

Golf:

European PGA Tour 8am on Golf Channel
Memorial Tournament (Final Round) 11am on Golf Channel & 1:30pm on CBS
Nationwide Tour: Melwood Prince George's Country Open (Final Round) 1pm on Golf Channel
LPGA Tour: ShopeRite Classic (Final Round) 3:30pm on Golf Channel
Champions Tour: Principal Charity Classic (Final Round) 6:30pm on Golf Channel (same day tape)

MLB Baseball:

Milwaukee @ Florida 12pm on FS Wisconsin
Chicago Cubs @ St. Louis 1pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest & TBS (subject to blackout across Iowa on TBS)
Detroit @ Chicago White Sox 1pm on WGN
Minnesota @ Kansas City 1pm on FS Kansas City, FS North, & Mediacom Channel 22 across Central Iowa
Atlanta @ NY Mets 7pm on ESPN

NBA Finals, Game 3: Miami @ Boston 7pm on ABC

Soccer:

England vs Norway 9am on Fox Soccer Channel
Poland vs Argentina 9:55am on ESPN2
Real Madrid vs Munich 12:30pm on Fox Soccer Channel
United States vs Mexico 1:30pm on ESPN2
WPS League: Washington @ Boston 5pm on Fox Soccer Channel

Women's College World Series:

Teams TBA 12pm on ESPN (if necessary)
Teams TBA 2:30pm on ESPN (if necessary)
Teams TBA 6pm on ESPN2 (if necessary)
Teams TBA 8:30pm on ESPN2 (if necessary)

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecasts outside of Iowa.

The 15th season of the WNBA tips off on ESPN

Wow, who knew that the WNBA has survived for 15 years?  The league has indeed been around for 15 year and the 2011 slate of WNBA games across the ESPN family of networks tipped off this afternoon.

According to a press release from ESPN, 13 regular season games will air across multiple ESPN platforms, including telecasts from all 12 league teams.  In addition, ESPN2 will provide extensive coverage of the WNBA playoffs.

Between ESPN's coverage and the 70 plus WNBA games airing on NBA TV, the WNBA will be well represented this Summer.

Last Saturday's UEFA Champions League Championship draws big ratings

I wondered what kind of ratings last Saturday's UEFA Champions League Championship would get and just happened to stumble upon the press release from Fox Sports and the numbers surprised me.

Fox Sports in a press release is reporting that last Saturday's soccer match drew a 2.1 household rating and 6 share, drawing an audience of 4.2 million viewers nationally which was significantly higher than last year's match as in nearly double.

The ratings were very surprising to me considering that 1 it's soccer and 2 with it being Memorial Day weekend, I really didn't think the ratings would be all that decent.

Big 10 looks to reduce the number of games kicking off at 11am

Interesting TV news this morning out of the Big 10 Conference.  The Minneapolis Star Tribune is reporting that the Big 10 Conference is looking to reduce the number of games that start at 11am.

With Nebraska officially becoming a member of the Big 10 on July 1, the Big 10 renegotiated it's TV contract with ABC/ESPN.  Part of the re-worked TV contact was the elimination of ABC exclusivity for the 2:30pm (CT) window.  This means that BTN will now be able to air games at 2:30pm, going head to head with ABC.

As long as ESPN & ESPN2 continues to air Big 10 games in the 11am window and the no night game policy after November 1 remaining in place,  it will be next to impossible to completely eliminate the 11am start. However, though, with the BTN being able to "co-exist" with ABC at 2:30pm, you could see Big 10 teams in the Eastern time zone kickoff at 12pm local time on BTN and for those schools that are in the Central time zone, BTN airing games starting at 2:30pm.

Through 2 games, the NBA Finals has an increase in viewership

Not a big surprise here, but through 2 games, the NBA Finals on ABC has an increase in viewership over last year.

According to a press release from ESPN, ABC is averaging over 15 million fans per game, up three percent from last year's Finals and up a whopping 28% from when Dallas & Miami last met in the NBA Finals back in 2006.

The 2011 NBA Finals continue with Game 3 tomorrow night at 7pm (CT).

TV Schedule, Saturday June 4

AFL Premiership Football:

Collingwood vs. St. Kilda 4am on ESPN2
Adelaide at North Melbourne 11pm on ESPN2

Arena Football League: Orlando @ Iowa 7pm on Mediacom Channel 22

Auto Racing:

Camping World Series: O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 Qualifying 10am on Speed Channel
Sprint Cup Series: STP 400 Qualifying 11am on Speed Channel
Camping World Series: O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 1pm on Speed Channel
Nationwide Series: STP 300 Qualifying 3:30pm on ESPN2
Rolex Sports Car Series: Six Hours of the Glenn 3:30pm on Speed Channel (same day tape)
NHRA Drag Racing: Qualifying 4:30pm on ESPN2
Nationwide Series: STP 300 7pm on ESPN
AMA Pro Series: 8pm on Speed Channel (same day tape)
ARCA Series: The Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 150 10pm on Speed Channel (same day tape)

Bull Riding: PBR Tour 11pm on VERSUS (same day tape)

College Baseball:

NCAA Division II Championship, Teams TBA: 11am on CBS Sports Network
Teams TBA 11am on ESPNU
Teams TBA 3pm on ESPNU
Teams TBA 6pm on ESPNU
Teams TBA 10pm on ESPNU

College Rugby: USA Sevens Championship 1pm & 5pm on VERSUS

French Open Tennis, Women's Final: 8am on NBC

Golf:

European Tour 8am on Golf Channel
PGA Tour: Memorial Tournament (Third Round) 11:30am on Golf Channel & 2pm on CBS
Nationwide Tour: Melwood Prince George's Country Open (Third Round) 1:30pm on Golf Channel
LPGA Tour: ShopRite LPGA Classic (Second Round) 4pm on Golf Channel
Champions Tour: Principal Charity Classic (Second Round) 6:30pm on Golf Channel (same day tape)

High School Football: Nebraska Shrine Game 6:30pm on NET (Nebraska Public TV, available across most of Western Iowa.)

MLB Baseball:

Chicago Cubs @ St. Louis 3pm on Fox
Detroit @ Chicago White Sox 6pm on WGN
Milwaukee @ Florida 6pm on FS Wisconsin
Minnesota @ Kansas City 6pm on FS Kansas City, FS Midwest across Central Iowa, & FS North
NY Yankees @ LA Angels 8pm on MLB Network

NHL Stanley Cup Finals, Game 2: Boston @ Vancouver 7pm on NBC

Soccer:

England vs Switzerland 10:30am on Fox Soccer Channel
United States vs France 3:30pm on ESPN
MLS League: Seattle @ Chicago 7:30pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago

WNBA: Phoenix @ Seattle 2pm on ABC

Women's College World Series:

Cal vs Oklahoma St. 11am on ESPN
Oklahoma vs Missouri 1:30pm on ESPN
Teams TBA 6pm on ESPN2
Teams TBA 8:30pm on ESPN2

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB & MLS telecasts outside of Iowa.

Big 12 releases a partial schedule of televised football games

As I wrote this morning, "tis the season" for the BCS conferences to release their early September schedule of televised games and the Big 12 is in the process of doing the same.  From what I can pick up, this is how the TV situation looks for Iowa St. for September and beyond with all times listed as Central Time:

September 3:  Northern Iowa, will probably end up on the Mediacom Connections Channel or Fox College Sports
September 10:  Cy-Hawk will kick at 11am on FSN
September 16:  @UCONN  7pm on ESPN or ESPN2 (previously announced)
November 26 @Oklahoma 7pm on FX
December 3rd @Kansas St. 11:30am on FSN

Additional games to be televised will be announced on a 6 or 12 day window throughout the season.  For more information on televised Big 12 games, please visit this Web Site.

Game 2 of the NBA Finals puts up big ratings

Game 2 of the best-of-seven NBA Finals last night on ABC was a ratings winner.  According to a press release from ESPN, Game 2 was the highest rated show in prime time last night delivering a 10.5 rating and as expected, the ratings were even higher in the Dallas & Miami DMA's.

For more information, please visit this Web Site.

Pac 12 Conference announces additional TV windows for the football season

The Pac 12 Conference earlier this week announced additional TV windows for the 2011 college football season.  According to a statement issued by the conference, 24 games will be shown on FSN/FX and VERSUS.   This is in addition to ABC/ESPN announcing their early Pac 12 TV selections for the 2011 season. All total, 44 games involving Pac 12 schools will be televised in 2011.

For a complete schedule of the Pac 12 TV windows for the 2011 season, please visit this Web Site.

SEC announces additional televised games for 2011

Early June is when the BCS conference's and their respective TV partners begin to put together the final pieces of the early September college football telecasts and this year is no exception.

Yesterday, the SEC filled out their early September schedule of televised games across the ESPN family of network's as well as CBS Sports revealing a partial schedule of  SEC  televised games.

Hang in there guys, the most wonderful time of year that is college football will be here before we know it.

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals was the most watched game 1 in 12 years

The Stanley Cup Finals may not move the meter here in Iowa, but it sure is across North America as Wednesday Night's Game 1 was the most watched Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals in 12 years.

According to a press release from NBC Sports, 4.6 million fans tuned in for Game 1, up three percent from 2010 and a little nugget here, this is the first time since 2007 that a team from Canada has played in the Stanley Cup Finals and the ratings for Game 1 Wednesday night were 189% higher than the first network broadcast of that series back in 2007.

TV Schedule, Friday June 3

Arena League Football: Jacksonville @ New Orleans 7pm on NFL Network

Boxing: Friday Night Fights 8pm on ESPN2

College Baseball:

Jacksonville vs Miami, FL 11am on ESPNU
Florida vs Manhattan 3pm on ESPNU
Kansas St. vs Stanford 6pm on ESPNU
Cal St. Fullerton vs Illinois 10pm on ESPNU

French Open Tennis: 11am on NBC (same day tape)

Golf:

European PGA Tour 8:30am on Golf Channel
Nationwide Tour: Melwood Prince George's Country Open (Second Round) 11:30am on Golf Channel
PGA Tour: Memorial Tournament (Second Round) 2pm on Golf Channel
Champions Tour: Principal Charity Classic (First Round) 5:30pm on Golf Channel (same day tape)
LPGA Tour: ShopRite Classic (First Round) 11pm on Golf Channel (same day tape)

MLB Baseball:

Milwaukee @ Floria 6pm on FS Wisconsin
Chicago Cubs @ St. Louis 7pm on WGN & FS Midwest
Detroit @ Chicago White Sox 7pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Minnesota @ Kansas City 7pm on FS Kansas City, FS Midwest, & Mediacom Channel 22 across Central Iowa

NASCAR:

Camping World Series: O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 Practice 11:30am on Speed Channel
Sprint Cup Series: STP 400 Practice 12:30pm on Speed Channel
Camping World Series: O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 Practice 2pm on Speed Channel
Sprint Cup Series: StP 400 Final Practice 3:30pm on Speed Channel

Soccer:

Austria vs Germany 1:30pm on ESPN2
MLS: DC United @ Los Angeles 10pm on Fox Soccer Channel

WNBA: Minnesota @ Los Angeles 10pm on NBATV

Women's College World Series:

Alabama vs Baylor 6pm on ESPN
Arizona St. vs Florida 8:30pm on ESPN

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecast outside of Iowa

Big 10 Championship Game to get Super Bowl like coverage

Summer is just getting started, but Fox & The Big 10 Network are hard at work with developing broadcast plans for the inaugural Big 10 Championship Game in early December.

According to a report in today's Cedar Rapids Gazette, the Big 10 & Fox are planning on going all out with coverage, bordering on Super Bowl like coverage with "several hours" of pre & post game coverage on Fox and BTN (the channel is formerly known as Big 10 Network).

I just hope that Dr. Pepper isn't the official sponsor and that we don't have to put up with cheesy a "toss the football in a giant pop can for money"  game.

NBA TV announces it's WNBA TV Schedule

For those who care, NBA TV has announced their 2011 schedule of televised WNBA games.  According to a press release from Turner Sports, NBA TV will televise 72 WNBA games this summer, including games invovling all 12 league teams.

For more information, please visit this Web Site.

ESPN to provide record coverage of NCAA Baseball

"The Road to Omaha" begins tomorrow across the country and the ESPN family of networks is teaming up to provide record coverage of the NCAA Baseball Tournament.

According to a press release from ESPN, up to 69 games will be televised or streamed across multiple ESPN platforms. The coverage begins tomorrow on ESPNU and ESPN3.com with eight regional games.  Last  year, 55 games were shown across multiple ESPN platforms.

For more information, including a complete schedule of televised games, including The College World Series, please visit this Web Site.

TV Schedule, Thursday June 2

French Open Tennis: 4am on Tennis Channel & 7am on ESPN2

Golf:

European PGA Tour 8:30am on Golf Channel
Nationwide Tour: Melwood Prince George's Country Open (First Round) 11:30am on Golf Channel
PGA Tour: Memorial Tournament (First Round) 2pm on Golf Channel

MLB Baseball:

Pittsburgh @ NY Mets 12pm on MLB Network
Minnesota @ Kansas City 7pm on FS Kansas City, FS North, & Mediacom Channel 22 across Central Iowa
San Francisco @ St. Louis 7pm on FS Midwest

NBA Finals, Game 2: Dallas @ Miami 8pm on ABC

Women's College World Series:

Alabama vs Cal 12pm on ESPN2
Baylor vs Oklahoma St. 2:30pm on ESPN2
Arizona St. vs Oklahoma 6pm on ESPN2
Florida vs Missouri 8:30pm on ESPN2

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecasts outside of Iowa.

Ratings for Game 1 of the NBA Finals the highest since 2004

With the NBA Playoffs now down to the best-of-7 championship series, ratings continues to be strong. 

According to a press release from ESPN, last night's Game 1 of the NBA Finals between Dallas and Miami, was the highest rated game 1 since 2004 generated an overnight rating of 10.7 when Dallas and the LA Lakers squared off in The Finals.  The 10.7 rating for Game 1 is up three percent from last year.

For more information, please visit this Web Site.

NBC Sports Group & NHL Network plan extensive coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals

The Stanley Cup Finals begin tonight in Vancouver with game 1 being televised by NBC and the NBC Sports Group is planning extensive coverage of the best-of-7 series.

According to a press release from NBC, pregame and postgame shows will air on VERSUS as well as extended coverage on Comcast SportsNet New England.

While the NHL Network may not be televising any of the games, the 24 hour a day cable home of all things hockey is planning on extensive coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals as well with press conferences, pregame & post game shows, highlights, and game analysis.  You can get a full schedule of coverage on the NHL Network's coverage here.

ESPN announces coverage plans of the Women's College World Series

College sports for the 2010-11 academic year is winding down with only two championship events remaining and one of those two events, the Women's College World Series gets underway this week.

According to a press release from ESPN, multiple ESPN platforms will join forces to telecast all 17 potential games from the Women's College World Series that get's underway tomorrow in Oklahoma City.

For a complete schedule of televised matches, please visit this Web Site.

TV Schedule, Wednesday June 1

French Open Tennis: 7am on Tennis Channel & 11am on ESPN2

MLB Baseball:

Chicago White Sox @ Boston 12:30pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Houston @ Chicago Cobs 1pm on WGN
LA Angels @ Kansas City 3pm on FS Kansas City (Mediacom customers should check their on screen guide for channel availability.)
Milwaukee @ Cincinnati 6pm on FS Wisconsin
Minnesota @ Detroit 6pm on FS North
San Francisco @ St. Louis 7pm on FS Midwest & ESPN (subject to blackout across Iowa on ESPN)

NHL Stanley Cup Finals, Game 1: Boston @ Vancouver 7pm on NBC

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecasts outside of Iowa.

Select Chicago Cubs & White Sox games to air on WHO-DT (Digital 13.3)

In what is a surprise move, the Des Moines Register is reporting that select Chicago Cubs & White Sox games will be shown on WHO-DT (digital subchannel 13.3 and Mediacom Channel 114). 

From looking at the schedule of upcoming games on CSN Chicago.com, it would appear that WHO-DT somehow or another has secured the rights for Cubs & White Sox games that are carried only in the Chicago DMA on WCIU-TV.

A complete schedule of televised games can be found in the link to the Register article above.

Programming Alert: Special edition of the Big 10 Football Report tonight

The BTN will have a special edition of the Big 10 Football Report tonight at 6pm (CT) with the primary focus being on the mess at Ohio St.

Big 10 Network get's a new name and logo

In what came as a suprise, the Big 10 Conference today announced a new name for the Big 10 Network and revealed a new logo as well.

According to a press release from the Big 10, the Big 10 Network will now be known simply as "BTN".  In addition to the new name, new graphics, music and anamation will make it's debut this July at the Big 10 Football Media Days.

I personally thought we would see some changes to graphics this fall that would incorporate the new "B1G" logo, but didn't think that the Big 10  would go so far as to rebrand their TV network and give it a whole new name.  That said, I think it's a smart move for the Big 10 to do the rebrand now and let fans have all Summer to adjust to the changes.

For more information, as well as a screen shot of the new logo, please visit this Web Site.

NHL Playoffs score a ratings win

Game 7's in playoffs are always a big deal and Game 7 of the Tampa/Boston NHL Eastern Conference Finals was no exception.

According to a press release from NBC Sports, Friday's Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals was the most watched Conference Final game on cable in 9 years with 2.55 million fans across the country tuning in for the game.

While far short of what the NBA has been getting for ratings, 2.55 million hockey fans tuning in for a Game 7 on Memorial Day Weekend is pretty impressive and with Boston in the Stanley Cup Finals, look for similar ratings.

For more information, please visit this Web Site

TV Schedule, Tuesday May 31

French Open Tennis: 4am on Tennis Channel & 11am on ESPN2

MLB Baseball:

Chicago White Sox @ Boston 6pm on WHO-TV (Digital 13.3 & Mediacom channel 114)
Milwaukee @ Cincinnati 6pm on FS Wisconsin
Minnesota @ Detroit 6pm on FS North
San Francisoc @ St. Louis 6pm on ESPN & FS Midwest (subject to blackout across Iowa on ESPN)
Houston @ Chicago Cubs 7pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
LA Angels @ Kansas City 7pm on FS Kansas City & Mediacom Channel 22 across Central Iowa
Colorado @ LA Dodgers 9pm on MLB Network

NBA Finals, Game 1: Dallas @ Miami 8pm on ABC

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecasts outside of Iowa.

TV Schedule, Monday May 30

Happy Memorial Day and thank you to those who paid the ultimate price as well as to those currently serving over seas!!

Auto Racing:

Rolex Sports Car Series from Lime Rock Park 1pm on Speed Channel
World Super Bike 4pm on Speed Channel (same day tape)
AMA Pro Racing 10pm on Speed Channel (same day tape)

College Baseball: NCAA Selection Show 11:30am on ESPN

College Softball, Division II Championship: Teams TBA 11am on CBS Sports Network

College Lacrosse: Men's National Championship 2:30pm on ESPN

French Open Tennis: 4am on Tennis Channel & 11am on ESPN2

MLB Baseball:

Minnesota @ Detroit 12pm on FS North
San Diego @ Atlanta 12pm on MLB Network (DirecTV channel 214)
Houston @ Chicago Cubs 1pm on WGN
LA Angels @ Kansas City 3pm on FS Kansas City @ Mediacom Channel 22 across Central Iowa
San Francisco @ St. Louis 3pm on FS Midwest
Chicago White Sox @ Boston 6pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Milwaukee @ Cincinnati 6pm on FS Wisconsin

Soccer: Reading vs Swansea 9am on Fox Soccer Channel

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecasts outside of Iowa.

ESPN caves and will allow tonight's Boston/Detroit game to air locally on NESN & FS Detroit

As much as it pains me to write this, ESPN has waived their exclusivity for Sunday Night Baseball and game 2 of the Red Sox vs Tigers day-night doubleheader will be shown on NESN and FS Detroit.

In response, my full blown boycott of ESPN goes into full swing. I normally get my sports news from places like MLB Network & NFL Network, but I just un-followed anyone and everyone associated with ESPN on Twitter and will refuse to watch live sporting events on ESPN probably until college football and only then it will be for Big 10 games.

Would ESPN do this if it was say Royals vs Twins? Nope, but because it's Boston and the mighty Red Sox, ESPN caves in.

For once, one of the big boys get's hosed by the MLB blackouts

Yesterday in Detroit, rain forced the postponement of the Detroit vs Boston game and will be made up today as part of a day-night doubleheader. No big deal you say, right? Try telling that to Red Sox fans.

According to Fangsbites.com, ESPN has exclusivity for their coverage of Sunday Night Baseball and this will result in Game 2 of the Boston-Detroit doubleheader to be played with no local TV in Boston & Detroit.

Fans of the "little guys" have been putting up with these issues for what seems like forever, it's only right that once in a while, the big boys get's hosed by the exclusivity issues of MLB telecasts.  Case in point, due to Fox's exclusivity of Saturday baseball with the local Fox affiliate showing the St. Louis game last night, I was in effect blacked out from watching the Royals game here in Des Moines, even though I live in the Royals TV footprint.  In fact, only 142 Royals games will be televised on FS Kansas City with no guarantee's of national coverage.

It's only one game Red Sox fans, "man up", carry on with your Memorial Day weekend plans as scheduled and listen to the game on WEEI.