OAK RIDGE 2017 FOOTBALL

[catswild]

What's the lure for playing on Thursday night on TV anyway? Does TV pay the school lots of money?

[BarneySox2007]

I don't know if this will be the case again in 2017, but most of the games on 10News2 last season were broadcast over the air (channel 10-2). Just need an antenna to watch.

Simple solution, go to grandmas to watch it.

[osunut2]

Simple solution, go to grandmas to watch it.

+1

 

I cut cable years ago, so I utilize a Roku and an antenna. Works pretty well.

[osunut2]

What's the lure for playing on Thursday night on TV anyway? Does TV pay the school lots of money?

HTV can certainly weigh in, but my understanding is that exposure is really the only positive. No financial incentive from what I understand.

[Space3]

I hate Thursday night games and Gaddis should NEVER agree to them. Why can't they televise Friday night games?

It needs to be the game of the week.

[HTV]

HTV can certainly weigh in, but my understanding is that exposure is really the only positive. No financial incentive from what I understand.

 

Correct.  Exposure is pretty much it.  

 

Which is why a lot of schools have opted out of hosting those games.  Exposure is great, but one has to weigh changing game week schedule, giving up gate (which no schools, not even a Maryville/Alcoa/Oak Ridge can afford to do in this day and time), having what should be a 2 1/2 hour game dragged in to 3 1/2 hours, and putting up with the circus that TV brings with it - vs. having a normal Friday game night.  

 

And all of that said, I respect Mark Packer and his crew for putting together the sponsors and doing a very good production.   It isn't cheap to do that, and the reality is that it the sponsors are necessary, meaning all of those TV times out have to be taken.  

 

But I also respect the schools who opt not to host TV because they want to keep the games on Friday night, as they should be, and not make game night a complete circus.  

[atrisk]

I think coach Mullin's thinking is "we play our games on Friday nights"

[Space3]

I hope they can work out the Oak Ridge and Anderson County game next year. All 3 Anderson County teams should play every year.

[Soxfan1]

Not sure why "exposure" is a thing? There are two middle schools in OR. The players from those schools go to the high school. It's not like you have to recruit those kids...

[boyfromsi]

Not sure why "exposure" is a thing? There are two middle schools in OR. The players from those schools go to the high school. It's not like you have to recruit those kids...

 

It's not to attract kids to your school, even though that might be a small side benefit.  It's another way to showcase your kids to a wider audience for the next level. 

[HTV]

  It's another way to showcase your kids to a wider audience for the next level. 

 

Disagree on this one. I don't know of many college coaches who are spending 3 1/2 hours on Thursday night watching a live high school game on TV or online.  They can watch Hudl video of a dozen prospects in that amount of time.

 

And to clarify, I am not anti what Mark does with his broadcasts.  He and his crew do a great job of production.  I know most of those guys and we swap game prep stuff when I am working a radio broadcast of one of the Thursday games.   It's a quality broadcast.  My concern is the length of the games and the way it completely changes the normal flow of a Friday night.  But I also understand why it has to be that way.  TV is very expensive to produce.  Those spots have to be include to generate the revenue to make it work.  

 

But I also completely understand why some schools are opting out of hosting those broadcasts.  Every AD I have talked to about it tells me that it does adversely affect attendance, and in this day and time, every paying patron is important to the home teams.  They have to have gate to help pay for the programs.   And the coaches by and large hate the way it drags the games out.  

 

And I have also had administrators tell me that the absentee rate on Friday after a Thursday night football game is much higher than a normal Friday because of the lateness of the game ending.  

Edited May 21, 2017 by HTV

[BarneySox2007]

I enjoy Thursday night games because it opens up everyone's opportunity to see teams they have never seen before and in most cases the games have always been good matches which keep the crowd watching to the end. My question is , do the schools get any money from the broadcast since some people are going to opt to stay home as to travel eighty miles away like I did last year when Maryville played at Bradley in a rain storm. From looking at the game on TV it looked like you could have brought everyone from Maryville on a bus due to all those factors.