TV Schedule, Saturday October 22

Auto Racing:

Sprint Cup Series: Good Sam Club 500 Qualifying 11am on Speed Channel
Camping World Series: Coca-Cola 250 3pm on Speed Channel
Australian V8 Supercars 10pm on Speed Channel

CFL Football: Montreal @ Winnipeg 2pm on NFL Network

College Football:

Big 10:

Illinois @ Purdue 11am on ESPN2
Indiana @ Iowa 11am on BTN
Nebraksa @ Minnesota 2:30pm on ESPN2 (on ABC in North Central & SW Iowa
Penn St. @ Northwestern 6pm on BTN
Wisconsin @ Michigan St. 7pm on ESPN

Big 12:

Kansas St. @ Kansas 11am on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North
Oklahoma St. @ Missouri 11am on FX
Texas A&M @ Iowa St. 2:30pm on ABC (on ESPN2 in North Central & SW Iowa)
Texas Tech @ Oklahoma 7pm on ABC

Missouri Valley:

Cal Poly @ North Dakota 11am on Fox College Sports Pacific
Southern Illinois @ Northern Iowa 3pm on KWWL (Waterloo) & WOI 5.2 (Des Moines)
Missouri St. vs Western Illinois 6pm on Mediacom Channel 22

National Games:

Cincinnati @ South Florida 11am on SNY & MASN
Jacksonville St. @ Kentucky 11am on ESPNU
North Carolina @ Clemson 11am on ESPN
Yale @ Penn 11am on VERSUS
Arkansas @ Ole Miss 11:20am on SEC Network
New Mexico @ TCU 1pm on The MTN
Idaho St. @ BYU 2pm on BYUtv
Air Force @ Boise St. 2:30pm on VERSUS
Auburn @ LSU 2:30pm on CBS
East Carolina @ Navy 2:30pm on CBS Sports Network
Georgia Tech @ Miami 2:30pm on ESPN
Memphis @ Tulane 2:30pm on Fox College Sports Central
North Carolina St. @ Virgina 2:30pm on ESPNU
Oregon @ Colorado 2:30pm Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS Wisconsin
Army @ Vanderbilt 6pm on ESPNU
Tulsa @ Rice 6pm on FS North
Tennessee @ Alabama 6:15pm on ESPN2
USC @ Notre Dame 6:30pm on NBC
SMU @ Southern Miss 7pm on CBS Sports Network
Oregon St. @ Washington St. 9:30pm on FS Midwest & FS North

MLB Baseball, World Series Game 3: St. Louis @ Texas 7pm on FOX

NHL Hockey:

Minnesota @ Vancouver 3pm on FS North & NHL Network (subject to blackout across Iowa on NHL Network)
Detroit @ Washington 6pm on NHL Network
St. Louis @ Philadelphia 6pm on FS Midwest

Figure Skating: Skate America 2pm on NBC

Golf:

European PGA Tour: 6:30am on Golf Channel
PGA Tour: Children's Miracle Network Classic (Third Round) 1pm on Golf Channel
Nationwide Tour: Jacksonville Open (Third Round) 4pm on Golf Channel (same day tape)
LPGA Tour: Taiwan Champsionship (Third Round) 6:30pm on Golf Channel (same day tape)

Soccer:

English Premier League: Swansea City @ Wolverhampton 6:30am on ESPN2
English Premier League:  Newcastle United @ Wigan Athletic 9am on FOX Soccer
English Premier League:  Liverpool vs Norwich City 11:30am on FOX Soccer
Italian Serie A:  Juventus vs Genoa 1:30pm on FOX Soccer
MLS: Columbus @ Chicago 7:30pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago

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

News & Notes from the Fox Sports Group

It's another busy weekend for the Fox Sports Media Group with Games 3-4 of the World Series on the schedule for Saturday & Sunday night as well as a full slate of College & NFL football action across several Fox Sports platforms.

For a complete weekend schedule, as well as announcing teams for all of the College & NFL action, please visit this Web Site.

Game 2 viewership of the World Series is up from 2010

The ratings are in for Game 2 of the 2011 World Series and good news for Fox and it's advertisers, the TV ratings for Game 2 is up from Game 2 of the 2010 World Series.

According to a Press Release from Fox Sports, Game 2 of the 2011 World Series generated a 8.9/14 household rating/share, good enough to bring in 14.1 million viewers to tie for the most-watched program from last night.  Through the first two games of the World Series, viewership is up 1% from the 2010 Fall Classic.

After an off day for travel, the World Series resumes tomorrow night in Arlington, TX with first pitch of Game 3 scheduled for shortly after 7pm (CT).

Regional FSN's & FX may go dark on DirecTV

Another carriage dispute is on the horizon and this may effect DirecTV subscribers.  John Ourand of the Sports Business Daily has tweeted that the regional FSN's, FX, and Speed Channel along with other Fox owned & operated networks may go dark on DirecTV November 1 due to a carriage dispute.

This dispute would not impact the Fox owned & operated over-the-air stations and Fox News Channel, but the regional FSN's like FS Midwest, FS North, and FS Wisconsin and other Fox owned & operated cable networks are very much in danger of going dark on November 1.  However, other regional sports network's like Comcast SportsNet Chicago, YES Network, etc. are not impacted.

TV Schedule, Friday October 21

CFL Football: Edmonton @ Toronto 10pm on NFL Network (same day tape)

College Football:

Rutgers @ Louisville 7pm on ESPN2
West Virgina @ Syracuse 7pm on ESPN

College Hockey:

Vermont @ Minnesota 6pm on FS North
North Dakota @ Wisconsin 7pm on FS Wisconsin
Vermont @ North Dakota (women's) 7pm on Fox College Sports Central

Golf:

European PGA Tour: 8am on Golf Channel
PGA Tour: Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic (Second Round) 1pm on Golf Channel
Nationwide Tour: Winn Dixie Jacksonville Open (Second Round) 4pm on Golf Channel (same day tape)
LPGA Tour: Taiwan Championship (Second Round) 6:30pm on Golf Channel (same day tape)


High School Football:

Bradley (TN) @ Cleveland (TN) 7pm on ESPNU
Solon @ Grinnell 7pm on KCRG-DT 9.2/Mediacom channel 109/ImOn channel 709 (Cedar Rapids)

NASCAR:

Sprint Cup Series: Talladega 500 Practice 1:30pm on Speed Channel
Sprint Cup Series: Talladega 500 Final Practice 3pm on Speed Channel
Camping World Series: Talladega 250 Qualifying 4pm on Speed Channel

NHL Hockey:

San Jose @ New Jersey 6pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Carolina @ St. Louis 7pm on FS Midwest

Soccer:

College: Maryland @ North Carolina 4:30pm on ESPNU
College: Providence @ West Virginia 6pm on FOX Soccer
College: Santa Clara @ Portland (women's) 10pm on ESPNU

Sports Radio on TV:

Mike & Mike in the Morning: 5am on ESPN2
Dan Patrick: 8am on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North
The Herd: 9am on ESPNews
Tim Brando: 9am on CBS Sports Network
Scott Van Pelt Show: 12pm on ESPNews

WTA Tennis: Kremlin Cup 4am & 6am on Tennis Channel

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

No NBA games to start the season is no problem for CSN Chicago

While the NBA and the NBA players union are meeting to end the ongoing NBA lockout that has already wiped out the first two weeks of the 2011-12 NBA Season, Comcast SportsNet Chicago ("CSN Chicago") is filling the void of NB hoops by presenting Chicago Bulls Classics, 15 greatest games in the history of the franchise.

According to a Press Release from CSN Chicago, beginning Wednesday November 2, CSN Chicago will start a series that showcases the greatest Bulls games from the Michael Jordan era that will be hosted by the Bulls CSN Chicago broadcast team of Neil Funk & Stacy King.

For more information, including a complete schedule of Chicago Bulls Classics, check out the Web Site linked above.  CSN Chicago is available state wide across Iowa in the basic programming packages of both Dish Network & DirecTV as well as Mediacom in Eastern Iowa.

Game 1 of the World Series lifts Fox Sports to a ratings win

No big surprise to see that Fox Sports coverage of Game 1 of the World Series lifted the Fox Broadcast Network to a ratings win last night.

According to a Press Release from the Fox Sports Media Group, Game 1 of the 2011 Fall Classic generated a 8.7/14 household rating/share, good enough for 14.2 million viewers, which is down 2% from last year's Game 1 of the World Series.

For more information, including a demographic and region breakdown of the ratings, please visit the Web Site linked above.  The World Series continues tonight with Game 2, first pitch is slated for just after 7pm (CT).

Tom Dienhart joins the BTN

A little breaking news this late morning as the BTN has announced that Tom Dienhart, one of the nation's better college football writers, has joined the BTN.

According to a Press Release from BTN, Dienhart will be the senior college football & basketball writer for BTN.com and is expected to start this coming Monday and will contribute to the BTN's on-air studio programming and social media platforms.

TV Schedule, Thursday October 20

College Foosball:

Bethune-Cookman @ Norfolk St. 6:30pm on ESPNU
Ashland @ Saginaw Valley St. 7pm on CBS Sports Network
UCLA @ Arizona 8pm on ESPN

Golf;

European PGA Tour 8am on Golf Channel
PGA Tour: Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic (First Round) 1pm on Golf Channel
Nationwide Tour: Winn Dixie Jacksonville Open (First Round) 4pm on Golf Channel (same day tape)
LPGA Tour: Taiwan Championship (First Round) 6:30pm on Golf Channel (same day tape)

High School Football:

Louisville (MS) @ Noxubee County (MS) 7pm on FS Midwest
Waterloo West @ Cedar Rapids Washington on KCRG-DT 9.2/Mediacom channel 109/ImOn channel 709 (Cedar Rapids)

MLB Baseball, World Series Game 2: Texas @ St. Louis 7pm on FOX

NHL Hockey:

Washington @ Philadelphia 6pm on NHL Network
Chicago @ Colorado 8pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Minnesota @ Edmonton 8:30pm on FS North

Soccer:

College: Virginia Tech @ Virginia (women's) 6pm on FOX Soccer
MLS: Philadelphia @ New York 7pm on ESPN2
CONCACAF Champions League: Motagua vs LA Galaxy 9pm on FOX Soccer

Sports Radio on TV:

Mike & Mike in the Morning: 5am on ESPN2
Dan Patrick: 8am on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North
The Herd: 9am on ESPNews
Tim Brando: 9am on CBS Sports Network
Scott Van Pelt Show: 12pm on ESPNews

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

Unique radio coverage of the World Series on Des Moines radio

Des Moines has two sports radio stations, 1460 KXNO and 1700 The Champ.  KXNO is a Fox Sports Radio affiliate and an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardnails radio network.  1700 The Champ is an ESPN Radio affiliate.  Guess who will have coverage from ESPN of the World Series in Des Moines?  It's not 1700 The Champ.

I was listening to the local afternoon drive show on KXNO,  thanks to KXNO being an affiliate of the Cardnail Radio Network, ESPN Radio's coverage of the World Series in Des Moines will be heard on KXNO.  For the World Series, only the flagship stations in St. Louis & Dallas will get to provide the local broadcasts, affiliates of both teams will get the ESPN radio feed, regardless if the affiliate stations carry ESPN radio or not..

Viewership is growing for ABC's college football telecasts

With the college football season now into the second half of the season, ABC is seeing an uptick in viewership for it's signature Saturday night primetime telecasts.

According to a Press Release from ESPN, ABC is averaging just under 7 million viewers for it's Saturday night telecasts, that's a 28% increase from this time last last year.  In addition, the ratings for ABC's Saturday afternoon coverage of college football is up as well, averaging over 5.7 million viewers, which is up 12% from this time last year.

TV Schedule, Wednesday August 19

2011 World Series, Game 1: Texas @ St. Louis 7pm on FOX

College Basketball Media Days: Whip-around coverage 11am on ESPNU

College Volleyball:

North Carolina @ Duke 5pm on ESPNU
Florida @ South Carolina 7pm on ESPNU
Michigan @ Michigan St. 7pm on BTN

Pan American Games: 7pm on ESPN2

PGA Grand Slam Golf, Day Two: 3pm on TNT (same day tape)

Soccer:

UEFA Champions League: Barcelona vs Viktoria 1:30pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North
UEFA Champions League: Olympique de Marselle vs Aresnal 1:30pm on FOX Soccer
CONCACAF Champions League: Santos vs Colorado Rapids 7pm on FOX Soccer

Sports Radio on TV:

Mike & Mike in the Morning: 5am on ESPN2
Dan Patrick: 8am on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North
The Herd: 9am on ESPNews
Tim Brando: 9am on CBS Sports Network
Scott Van Pelt Show: 12pm on ESPNews

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

ESPN releases it's 2011-12 men's college basketball schedule

Yesterday, ESPN released it's schedule TV schedule for the 2011-12 women's college basketball season and today, ESPN has done the same for the men.

According to a Press Release from ESPN, multiple ESPN platforms will team up to televise over 1,450 men's college basketball games during the upcoming 2011-12 season.

I don't even know were to begin in breaking down the Press Release from ESPN because it's so long and lists every single game that will be televised across the ESPN family of networks as well as the schedule for College GameDay telecasts that orginiates from college arenas across the country..

I will point out that the new ACC agreement with ESPN kicks in this year, which includes full national telecast of ACC basketball games on the ESPN platforms.  In previous years, ESPN telecasts of ACC contests were blacked out across the ACC footprint.  In addition, the ACC package of Sunday night telecasts that were previously seen on your local FSN will move to an ESPN network this year and for the first time ever, both of the conference showdowns between Duke & North Carolina will be televised on an ESPN network.

To get more information on ESPN's coverage of the 2011-12 men's college basketball season including schedule highlights and what conferences will be showcased on any given night and if you desire to scroll through the entire 1.450 game schedule, check out the Web Site linked above.

TV Schedule, Tuesday October 18

College Football: Florida International @ Arkansas St. 7pm on ESPN2

NHL Hockey:

Philadelphia @ Ottawa 6:30pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Pittsburgh @ Minnesota 6:30pm on VERSUS (subject to blackout across Iowa)
St. Louis @ Los Angeles 9:30pm on FS Midwest

Soccer:

UEFA Champions League: Lille vs Inter Milan 1:30pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North
UEFA Champions League: FC Otelul Galati vs Manchester United FC 1:30pm on FOX Soccer
College: South Florida @ Louisville 6pm on ESPNU
College: Akron @ Michigan 6:30pm on BTN
CONCACAF Champions League: FC Dallas vs Toronto FC 7pm on FOX Soccer
CONCACAF Champions League: Seattle vs Monterrey 9pm on FOX Soccer

Sports Radio on TV:

Mike & Mike in the Morning: 5am on ESPN2
Dan Patrick: 8am on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North
The Herd: 9am on ESPNews
Tim Brando: 9am on CBS Sports Network
Scott Van Pelt Show: 12pm on ESPNews

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

ESPN announces it's 2011-12 women's college basketball schedule

ESPN today announced it's schedule of televised games for the 2011-12 women's college basketball season and  the schedule features more than 100 telecasts acrossed multiple ESPN platforms, including ESPN3.com.

According to a Press Release from ESPN, Iowa St. will be showcased two times and Iowa will have one game televised by an ESPN network.  The action gets underway Tuesday, November 15 with Texas A&M hosting Louisville at 3pm (CT) on ESPNU.

For more information, including a complete schedule as well as information on the various preseason tournaments and showcases, please visit the Web Site linked above.

Despite a blowout on Sunday Night Football, NBC easily wins the ratings for Sunday night

Even though the Sunday Night Football match up of Chicago vs Minnesota resulted in the Bears blowing out the Vikings, for the sixth consecutive week, NBC easily won the Sunday night ratings competition.

According to a Press Release from the NBC Sports Group, the overnight rating for last night's blowout generated an 11.2 and a 17 share and that's even with the ratings being down from last year at this time.

For more information, including a run down of the highest rated TV markets last night, please visit the Web Site linked above.

A sneak peek at college football across the ESPN platforms this weekend

With the second half of the college football season underway, he ESPN family of networks is preparing for another big weekend of college football telecasts and the action gets underway early this week with a matchup from the Sun Belt Conference Tuesday night at 7pm (CT) on ESPN2.

According to a Press Release from ESPN, the weekend schedule features two showdowns showcasing a combined 4 ranked teams, Wisconsin @ Michigan St. kicking off at 7pm (CT) on ESPN and Standford @ Washington @ 7pm on ABC.  In addition, three additional undefeated teams will be showcased on various ESPN platforms.

For a complete schedule across this weekend across the ESPN family of networks, please visit the Web Site linked above.

Jon Gruden agrees to a 5-year contract extension with ESPN

You can scratch Jon Gruden's name off any off-season coaching search list as Gruden & ESPN have agreed to a 5-year contract extension.

According to a Press Release from ESPN, the new contract begins in September, 2012.  In addition, since joining ESPN in 2009, Gruden has received two Sports Emmy Awards nominations for best analyst on TV.

For more information, including a history of Gruden's coaching career, please visit the Web Site linked above.

TV Schedule, Monday October 17

MLB Baseball NLDS, Game 7 (if necessary): St. Louis @ Milwaukee 7pm on TBS

NFL Football: Miami @ NY Jets 7:30pm on ESPN

NHL Hockey: Colorado @ Toronto 6pm on VERSUS

Pan American Games: 7pm on ESPN2

Sports Radio on TV:

Mike & Mike in the Morning: 5am on ESPN2
Dan Patrick: 8am on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North
The Herd: 9am on ESPNews
Tim Brando: 9am on CBS Sports Network
Scott Van Pelt Show: 12pm on ESPNews

Disclaimer: All times are Central.

TV Schedule, Sunday October 16

Auto Racing:

Formula One: Korean Grand Prix 12:30am on Speed Channel
ARCA RE/MAX Series: From Toledo, OH 1pm on Speed Channel
IRL: World Championships at Las Vegas 2:30pm on ABC
NHRA: Arizona Nationals 6pm on ESPN2 (same day tape)

Extreme Sports: Dew Tour Championship 3:30pm on NBC

Golf:

European PGA Tour 8am on Golf Channel
PGA Tour: McGladrey Classic (Final Round) 1pm on Golf Channel
Nationwide Tour: Miccosukee Championship (Final Round) 4pm on Golf Channel (same day tape)
Champions Tour: AT&T Championship (Final Round) 6:30pm on Golf Channel (same day tape)
LPGA Tour: Sime Darby Malaysia (Final Round) 8:30pm on Golf Channel (same day tape)

MLB Divisional Playoffs, NLCS Game 6: St. Louis @ Milwaukee 7pm on TBS


NFL Football:

Buffalo @ NY Giants 12pm on CBS
San Francisco @ Detroit 12pm on FOX (some Iowa markets may receive St. Louis @ Green Bay)
Dallas @ New England 3:15pm on FOX
Minnesota @ Chicago 7:15pm on NBC

NHL Hockey: St. Louis @ Anaheim 7pm on FS Midwest

Soccer:

Italian Serie A: Chievo vs Juventus 8am on FOX Soccer
English Premier League: Newcastle vs Tottenham 10am on FOX Soccer
College: Missouri @ Oklahoma (women's) 1pm on ESPNU
College: Northwestern @ Penn St. 1pm on BTN
Italian Serie A: Lazio vs AS Roma 1:30pm on FOX Soccer
College: Georgia @ Kentucky (women's) 3pm on ESPNU
College: Wisconsin @ Illinois (women's) 3pm on BTN
Club Deportivo Chivas USA @ Los Angeles 8pm on ESPN

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