Giants-Jets game not on in Hartford

[BRNout]

Ken, I am a Pats fan and hate the Giants.  But, I also know (from family and time spent there) that choosing the Patriots game over the Giants was probably not the best move for WFSB.  They, of all stations, had a long tradition of showing the Giants that spanned at least 40 years and that team has a large following in the market.  The move to show the Pats over the Giants made no sense. 

Do you mean to tell me that New Haven County is more oriented toward Boston than New York?  How about Litchfield or Middlesex Counties?  I don't think so.  And, only certain cable systems carry New York channels in those places (if you have cable).  As for WCBS, Waterbury and New Haven, yes - but Meriden - no;  Torrington - no; Middletown - no.   If you think that sports followings in CT follow the market DMA boundaries, you have another thing coming.  Connecticut is 50-50 for baseball and even more New York oriented for football.  The only parts of the state that orient heavily toward Boston area teams are Windham, New London and parts of Tolland Counties.  Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven counties are NY sports territory and Middlesex County leans that way too.  Hartford County is a toss up (more Boston for baseball, more NY for football).

I'd bet the ranch that more people follow the Giants than the Patriots in Hartford County.  And none of them could get the Giants on cable or over the air.

[jg]

It's been 13 years since WFSB carried Giants games on a regular basis, and 16 years since the Giants last won a Super Bowl.  I think any Connecticut Giant tradition has faded.  It tends to be among older people who became fans before the Patriots were created in the 1960s and who recall the times the Giants played at Yale Bowl.

In that time, the Patriots have been the station of choice on WFSB and have won three Super Bowls, which likely increased their fan base in Connecticut.   

The bulk of WFSB's viewers is in Hartford County, which according to a QU poll is overwhelmingly Red Sox Country.  It would stand to reason Patriot fans outnumber Giant fans there.   The Patriots mistreatment of Hartford in the late 90s, and Connecticut taxpayers overall should have reduced that number, but fans generally go with a winner, and the Pats may have blunted any angry fan reaction with Super Bowl wins.  Had the Giants and Jets done well after the Patriots dumped Connecticut, it might have been a different story.

I've heard from advertisers that Patriot games do better in the ratings than Giant games, with Jet games trailing.

Does anyone have access to those ratings?

[chuckydoll]

Let WSHM carry the Pats for Springfield/Holyoke/Northampton and WFSB should carry the Giants for Hartford/New Haven/Waterbury.

CBS 3 Springfield is centralcast from the WFSB master control. Therefore CBS 3 Springfield airs the same NFL games as WFSB.

[Ken]

Ken, I am a Pats fan and hate the Giants.  But, I also know (from family and time spent there) that choosing the Patriots game over the Giants was probably not the best move for WFSB.  They, of all stations, had a long tradition of showing the Giants that spanned at least 40 years and that team has a large following in the market.  The move to show the Pats over the Giants made no sense. 

Do you mean to tell me that New Haven County is more oriented toward Boston than New York?  How about Litchfield or Middlesex Counties?  I don't think so.  And, only certain cable systems carry New York channels in those places (if you have cable).  As for WCBS, Waterbury and New Haven, yes - but Meriden - no;  Torrington - no; Middletown - no.   If you think that sports followings in CT follow the market DMA boundaries, you have another thing coming.  Connecticut is 50-50 for baseball and even more New York oriented for football.  The only parts of the state that orient heavily toward Boston area teams are Windham, New London and parts of Tolland Counties.  Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven counties are NY sports territory and Middlesex County leans that way too.  Hartford County is a toss up (more Boston for baseball, more NY for football).

I'd bet the ranch that more people follow the Giants than the Patriots in Hartford County.  And none of them could get the Giants on cable or over the air.

Channel 3 for a short time (6 years I think it was) lost the NFL to FOX. Then the NFL deals were free in 1998 and CBS picked up the AFC contract as NBC didn't want that contract for some reason. For WFSB to show the Patroits isn't going to hurt them at all. I think cable companies that don't have WCBS-TV on their line-up should of placed it on a special channel for Sunday so people in Connecticut could see both games. As I see that Connecticut is right in the middle of Boston and New York and people in CT should of got to see both games.

New Haven didn't they have the Red Sox their when they won the World Series in 2004 and during the year WQUN added the Red Sox broadcasts to their station. So I am thinking New Haven has some Boston fans so maybe even some Patroit fans.

I want to ask this. What if Channel 3 showed the Giants game? Patroit fans would of been pissed as they couldn't see their game on tv.

[oldschooltv]

Alot of this is irrelevant bickering.  Like someone else said, the core of Giants country got to see the game.  From New Haven to Waterbury, to southern Litchfield County and all of Fairfield County, Giants fans get WCBS on cable.  Even if Torrington, Meriden and Middletown lost out, WFSB had more to gain by showing the Pats.  Keep in mind, they had to think about Middlesex, New London, Hartford, Tolland, and Windham Counties.  I'm not saying there aren't Giants or Jets fans out there, but I'm certain Pats fans out number them, just like Red Sox fans outnumber the Yankees/Mets in that part of the state.  Not to mention, WFSB's core area stretches out east, why would they tick those viewers off?  WFSB made the best business decision they could.  The only people complaining about this are the ones who don't get NYC TV, and there's a reason for that.  You're closer to New York City than Boston, but you're not as much in NYC territory like Waterbury or New Haven either.  I'm not saying sportsfans have to follow this line of demarcation, but overall, the line is pretty similar.   

[KML-224]

Let WSHM carry the Pats for Springfield/Holyoke/Northampton and WFSB should carry the Giants for Hartford/New Haven/Waterbury.

CBS 3 Springfield is centralcast from the WFSB master control. Therefore CBS 3 Springfield airs the same NFL games as WFSB.

WSHM-LP can, and has, run a different game. It happened once during the 2005 season. Analog channel 3 was carrying one game, while "CBS 3" (also WFSB-DT "3-2") carried a Dolphins game.

[necrat123]

While WFSB and WSHM-LP both are run out of the same facility, they both have independant CBS feeds. WFSB maintains seperate CBS racks for both stations. They do this for both sports feeds and sectional commercial feeds.

[chuckydoll]

If I wasn't working this Sunday I would be demanding that COX Cable temporarily pick up WCBS/2 so the Giants-Jets game would be seen.

It will never happen for one very good reason: Network Non-Duplication. WFSB would complain to the FCC, which in turn would order Cox Cable to remove WCBS-TV.

Besides, hasn't anyone ever heard of NFL Sunday Ticket?