Clarify something for me...when you all talk about the media market in Houston being so big, are we not already in that market?
No. Left with A&M
Will be interesting to compare the ratings from the OU game with the Texas/ND game for the Houston market.
It's not apples to apples. It was the only game on today, in prime time, on a network.
On the same network as OU/UH. It isn't a perfect comparison but it's closer than you and fanning are willing to admit. No it wasn't stand alone but there was only one other Big 12 game in that time slot and none of the other major schools in Texas were playing then either. The freaking ESPN game was Michigan vs. Hawaii. The UT ND game will pull a better number but if you want a cleaner comparison I am quite sure that the Red River Rivalry will pull a number pretty competitive with OU/UH.
There were three separate Big Ten games on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU. WVU/MU was on FS1. On top of that, it was a noon game, and those don't draw as well compared to prime time games.
Also, consider how many people were traveling to a game on the first Saturday of the season, at all levels, and how many people were tailgating at that time. The fact that the game crushed streaming numbers indicates that people who had access to the game shows a fraction of people who would have watched had they been home.
Then look at the UT/ND game that was holding the time slot that Sunday Night Football will occupy every week going forward with zero competition on a night where most people don't have to work the next day.
Houston + a team with a pulse gets awesome ratings in Houston. Always. Considering the highest rated game in Houston the last few years has been some SEC game, this almost guarantees that won't happen. There are tons of Big 12 alums in the area that will enhance their attendance and greatly increase our print/TV exposure. Which is critical because it's the largest market in our footprint, and it's a market we have to own. Like the Big Ten owns Chicago, the SEC owns Atlanta, and the Pac 12 owns LA, we must own Houston. For a number of reasons. And the fact of the matter is that we don't. No one truly does. But evidence shows we have a good shot if we bring them in.
