After big news of Patrick Ewing joining the Twitterverse, as well as a phenomenal last couple weeks of Big East Media Day news, re-capturing #HoyaMadness, and the incredible recruiting (ncluding huge commitments from Josh LeBlanc and Mac McClung) we are here to break some very important Georgetown Basketball news—some news that, frankly, scares me.
Almost two weeks away from game number one, I really can’t sugar-coat how bad this could be. This could be devastating to many, many Hoya fans. I’m just going to come out and say it: for those of us outside of the DC and NYC areas, I’m incredibly worried about whether or not we will be able to watch three of the Georgetown Hoyas’ first few basketball games live.
First things first: the Jacksonville game (Sunday, 11/12/2017 @ 12pm EST) will be televised on MASN2 and YES. Congratulations to you.
For many other regions, I’m scared. The primary piece of evidence that lead me to this worrisome conclusion is a schedule for the channel "FOX College Sports Atlantic." The game is scheduled as:
4:00 P (CBK) Big East Men's Basketball '17-'18 #5 Jacksonville at Georgetown (D) 11/12/17
I believe the #5 represents the 5th game featuring a Big East team this season and the "D" indicating that the airing is "delayed" until 4PM on this channel. Looking at my cable provider’s channel list, I worry that FCSA may be my only bet to watch the game.
Let me explain my rationale: Many GU games are not going to automatically be on Fox Sports 1. On September 12th, Fox Sports issued a press release including a full Big East schedule, listing:
Sunday, November 12
1:30 PM Monmouth at Seton Hall BIG EAST FS1
7:00 PM Alcorn St. at Creighton BIG EAST FS1
12:00 PM Jacksonville at Georgetown BIG EAST FSN
Clearly, FS1 will have the Seton Hall game at 1:30, so a noon Georgetown game will not be appearing on the flagship channel of the Fox Sports fiefdom. So now the question is: what’s FSN? The press release identifies that:
Overall this season, the FOX broadcast network airs at least 17 BIG EAST games, giving the conference more national over-the-air television exposure than any other. FS1 carries more than 100 BIG EAST contests.
College basketball games on the FOX broadcast network, FS1, FS2, FOX Sports Regional Networks and FOX College Sports are also available via the FOX Sports GO app and online at FOXSportsGO.com.
So it appears that, along with FS1 and FS2, Big East games will be on Fox Sports Regional Network channels and FOX College Sports channels. We'll look at streaming on FOX Sports GO, but let's assume the app is only an option if your cable package carries the game, for now.
Let’s look at the FCS channel set first, because there are only three: Atlantic (3 delayed games), Pacific (1 delayed game), and Central (0 games). As a subscriber to C-mcast in Philadelphia, I don’t even have these channels on TV—i.e., they are streaming only. Moreover, I’m not convinced any live Big East games will be on FCSs. And the Big East says:
FS2 and the FOX Sports Regional Networks will air games not carried by FOX, FS1, CBS or CBS Sports Network, including conference and non-conference contests.
OK. Looking at the Fox Sports Regional Channels may give you hope for your local channel set, but not me. According to Wikipedia, the regional channels and their areas are:
Channel
|
Region Served
|
Fox Sports Arizona
|
Arizona; New Mexico; Utah; southern Nevada
|
Fox Sports Carolinas
|
North Carolina; South Carolina
|
Fox Sports Detroit
|
Michigan; northwestern Ohio; northeastern Indiana; northeast Wisconsin
|
Fox Sports Florida
|
Florida; southern Alabama; southern Georgia (U.S. state)
|
Fox Sports Indiana
|
Indiana
|
Fox Sports Kansas City
|
Kansas City metropolitan area
|
Fox Sports Midwest
|
Missouri; southern Illinois; southern Indiana; eastern Nebraska; eastern Kansas; western Kentucky; northern Arkansas
|
Fox Sports New Orleans
|
Louisiana
|
Fox Sports North
|
Minnesota; Wisconsin; Iowa; North Dakota; South Dakota
|
Fox Sports Ohio
|
Ohio; eastern Indiana; Kentucky; northwestern Pennsylvania, southwestern New York
|
Fox Sports Oklahoma
|
Oklahoma
|
Fox Sports San Diego
|
San Diego
|
Fox Sports South
|
Georgia; Mississippi; Alabama; Kentucky
|
Fox Sports Southeast
|
Georgia (U.S. state)
|
Fox Sports Southwest
|
Northern and Eastern Texas; northern Louisiana; New Mexico; Arkansas; Oklahoma
|
Fox Sports Sun
|
Florida
|
Fox Sports Tennessee
|
Tennessee; northern Alabama
|
Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket
|
Southern California; Southern Nevada; Hawaii
|
Fox Sports Wisconsin
|
Wisconsin; western Upper Peninsula of Michigan; eastern Minnesota; northwestern Illinois; Iowa
|
SportsTime Ohio
|
Ohio; eastern Indiana; Kentucky; northwestern Pennsylvania; southwestern New York
|
YES Network
|
New York; northern New Jersey; northeast Pennsylvania; southern Connecticut
|
So we have confirmed that YES will feature the game, but even if you have a local FOX Sports channel, I’m not sure there is any guarantee that the Georgetown game(s) will be broadcast. The good news is that there aren’t any other Big East games (besides Seton Hall) that are competing with the Georgetown-Jax game. Perhaps other regional TV stations could pick it up, too, as "affiliated" stations appear to have an option to pick up certain "FSN" programming:
Channel
|
Region Served
|
AT&T SportsNet
|
Pittsburgh; Rocky Mountains; Utah; Root Sports Northwest
|
Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
|
Delaware, Maryland, south-central Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia (now NBC Sports Washington)
|
MASN2
|
Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Delaware
|
MSG Plus
|
New York; northern New Jersey; northeast Pennsylvania; southern Connecticut
|
New England Sports Network
|
Massachusetts, eastern and central Connecticut, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island
|
Again, as confirmed above, the Jacksonville game (Sunday, 11/12/2017 @ 12pm EST) will be televised on MASN2 and YES.
Perhaps, the games might be streamed on FOX Sports GO App, as the Big East says:
BIG EAST basketball during the 2017-18 season will also be seen on the BIG EAST Digital Network. BEDN has its own branded channel within FOX Sports GO, the app that provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content at home or on-the-go. FOX Sports GO app users who are also subscribers of participating video providers can live stream men’s basketball telecasts carried on the FOX broadcast network, FS1, FS2, and the FOX Sports Regional Networks.
However, on that point, FOX Sports says:
4. A BIG EAST game that is on FOX Broadcast, FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2 or FOX Regional Networks will require cable authentication to watch.
So, we’re back to worrying for every game that is listed as "FSN." Just to be clear, I count at least 3 games and one that appears "flexible":
SUN 11/12/2017 vs. Jacksonville 12:00 p.m. ET Capital One Arena FSN
SAT 11/18/2017 vs. UMES 12:00 p.m. ET Capital One Arena FSN
SAT 1/6/2018 vs. Creighton # 12:00 p.m. ET Capital One Arena FSN
WED 2/21/2018 vs. Xavier # 6:30 p.m. ET Capital One Arena Fox Sports 1 | FSN
There are three (or four) games that I might have to watch "delayed." So much for a game watch party, right? Then again, this worrying could truly be for nothing if, as more and more TV schedules get released, I may be able to find some local watering hole that might be able to carry the game.
So I’m asking for fellow fans to check your program guides and apps regularly. I’m asking for everyone to look into this ahead of time—please do not wait until hours before and ask for streaming links! Perhaps we can nail down some regional channels (besides MASN2 and YES?) as the calendar advances.
If you have a Regional Fox Sports, check to see if the game will be televised live for you and share your findings!
In the meantime, I will continue to follow Rich Chvotkin’s twitter to ensure I can find the Georgetown radio network!