Take a look at the outlets who will carry tonight’s UNC-FSU hoops tilt. Notice anything?
Only six of the 28 stations carrying the game are major network — NBC, CBS, or ABC — affiliates. In Charlotte the game is being pawned off on WJZY, the CW outlet. Raycom’s own local flagship, WBTV, is sticking with CBS programming, unlike the Raycom Richmond outlet, which is showing the game. Is the value of ACC basketball, not to mention the bigfoot of UNC, on the decline?
When you look and see that the game is not even being carried in all of the Tallahassee market it will be played in, you have to wonder. The station there is a cable-only rump of the local CBS affiliate. Overall, Florida coverage is shockingly spotty. Then there is the fact that the ACC network goes dark north of Delaware tonight, until you hit — Portland, Maine! Boston College really pulling in the hoops eyeballs, there.
A related question given these realities — Are we fast coming to the point where ESPN will carry virtually all sports not covered by cable-ready conference networks, with outfits like Raycom just a thing of the past?
