COVER STORY
MORE TELEVISION FOR
BLACK COLLEGE SPORTS?
BET is the incumbent,
- but ESPN is expanding
Past history notes that when jt comes to
?. national television exposure, black college
athletics have been largely omitted. On occa
sion, there were a few games aired on a
regional basis, but on the whole, national
media coverage was null and void.
But now it appears that black co^kege
sports may begin to receive the kind of
media exposure that has long been missing.
On the one hand, there's the Black Entertain
ment Television network, whose sports pro
gramming focuses primarily on black col
leges. On the other hand, ESPN, the all
sports network, has entered the picture on a
small scale.
Having two national networks get
involved in media coverage is good for black
college sports. Because of increased cover
age, black college sports can only benefit.
The publicity that athletic programs get
via national television is something that can't
be measured by money. And very few, if any
black college sports administrators will argue
?Ihat they don't need all the media coverage
they can get for their respective programs.
In '80, BET was the first network to
- make a concerted effort to cover black col
lege Athletics on a regular basis. They aired
football and basketball games and showed
them on a delayed basis during prime time
hours on Saturdays.
The Budweiser Sports Report, a weekly
talk show, featured guests from the four
black college conferences which gave view
ers an inside look at teams, players, coaches,
and issues.
Last fall, BET started providing live
coverage of football and basketball games
every week during prime time hours on Sat
urday.
Enter ESPN.
Before this year, the all-sports network
had done very little programming focusing
specifically on black college sports. The one
event they did cover was the football game
between Grambling and South Carolina
State, which was broadcast live and in prime
time.
But now, that network has expanded its
coverage to include Division I black college
basketball. The carried both the MEAC and
SWAC Basketball Tournament championship
games live and during prime time.
In past years, BET provided coverage of
the MEAC and SWAC hoops finals. The
only post-season tournament they covered
this past season was the C1AA Basketball
Tournament.
And in September, they will air Black
College Sports Today, a weekly 30-minute
program showcasing sports action in the four
~~ j predominantly black athletic conferences
(see page 9). :
So what gives?
- Is this an indication that ESPN is mov
ing in on BET s turf? Is there a network war
about to start?
"We don't see ESPN as a challenge to
what we're doing," answered Marion Whigh
am, manager of BET Sports. "There's enough
out there (market-wise) for everyone."
"It made sense for them to get the
' MEAC and SW^C finals. They were already
involved in Division I basketball, so since
those conference winners go to the playoffs,
they already had the footage and information
about those teams because they would play
in at least a first round game."
ESPN's move into covering the Division
I black college tournaments shouldn't be con
strued as an attempt to knock BET out of its
market, according to a network executive.
"We don't look at it from a standpoint of
black or white," said Loren Matthews, vice
president of programming for ESPN. " We
look at it in terms of broad and narrow
appeal. We're on the air 24 hours a day, seven
days a week, so we try to stay as broad based
as possible. When it comes to sports on TV,
we want to be all things to all people. Our
bottom line is that we want to create the
strongest appeal that crosses all demographic
lines.
"If you're talking about us competing
against BET, that doesn't come into play. Our
competition comes from the major networks,
and Turner Broadcasting."
Even though BET can't match ESPN's
i Photo by J.D. Schwalm
On BET, basketball has produced higher ratings than football. And among
the basketball games, the CIAA basketball finals have consistently drawn
the largest viewing audience.
Network Profiles
Households reached: 20 million
Type of network: General interest for black Americans
Sports coverage: Primarily black college athletics.
Football and basketball games aired live on Game of the
Week starting in September and ending with conference
basketball championships. Games broadcasted during
prime time hours on Saturdays and on a regular basis.
Covers both Division I and Division II black colleges.
Programs geared specifically for the black audience.
Top rated sports program: CIAA Basketball Tourna
ment - Saturday, 8 p.m., February 25, 1989
Households reached: 52 million
Type of network: All sports
Sports coverage: A wide variety, running the gamut
from spectator sports to recreational sports, plus
sports news and information. Emphasis is on provid
ing sports programming that will appeal to as many
different types of viewers as possible. Starting to do
a little more black college sports programming.
Top rated black college sports program: SWAC
Basketball Championship - Sunday, 7 p.m. EDT,
March 12, 1989