[SamuelMcF]

On ESPN radio yesterday there was some discussion about how even the meaningless bowl games got better ratings than NBA on Christmas.

This isn't a proof point that exhibition bowl games are in high demand. It's proof that ANY FBS level football is a product the market loves.  If this is the case, and the Pac-12 wants to increase its exposure, it should start playing games on Wednesday evenings at like 5:30pm PT local kickoff time so the East Coast can watch in prime time.

There are 12 weeks of regular season, so make each team play at least two conference games on Wednesdays, one home, and one away.  This would give the Pac-12 an exclusive TV window for Power 5 conference football every week for 3 months. Nothing the conference can do would be more beneficial than this.

Teams don't play Saturday before they play on Wednesday, and the added bonus is they get 10 days before next game after a Wednesday game. This should help player health and safety at the margins, which is always a good thing.

That would require 2 bye weeks foe each team which would not be possible every year.

I would have thought any response would be centered around the idea of playing football games on Wednesdays, not the very specific execution of how it would be done.  But then, this is the Cardboard, where every nit is picked, and larger ideas get lost in the tonnage of minutiae that permeates the board.

Maybe it's my fault. I should have just said: What do y'all think about the idea of the Pac-12 having the entire football-craving TV audience to itself by playing games on Wednesdays at 5:30pm local for 3 months in the Fall?

He told you what he thinks. He thinks it's not possible.

Were it possible, here's what I think: The MAC already plays Tuesday and Wednesday night games in November and has been doing so for years ("Wednesday Night MACtion" is a popular meme), and given the national perception of our conference, I'd be willing to bet many east of the Mississippi would rather continue to watch that, should those games be on at the same time. However, given those games start in November, "Wednesday Night PACtion" in September and October would be fun, and the only football on national TV. There would be issues with game attendance, though, as there already is with Thursday and Friday games, and we know later start times than 5:30/6pm PST are detrimental to national eyeballs (and even at that point we're talking games that end at 11pm/midnight eastern already).

[SamuelMcF]

On ESPN radio yesterday there was some discussion about how even the meaningless bowl games got better ratings than NBA on Christmas.

This isn't a proof point that exhibition bowl games are in high demand. It's proof that ANY FBS level football is a product the market loves.  If this is the case, and the Pac-12 wants to increase its exposure, it should start playing games on Wednesday evenings at like 5:30pm PT local kickoff time so the East Coast can watch in prime time.

There are 12 weeks of regular season, so make each team play at least two conference games on Wednesdays, one home, and one away.  This would give the Pac-12 an exclusive TV window for Power 5 conference football every week for 3 months. Nothing the conference can do would be more beneficial than this.

Teams don't play Saturday before they play on Wednesday, and the added bonus is they get 10 days before next game after a Wednesday game. This should help player health and safety at the margins, which is always a good thing.

That would require 2 bye weeks foe each team which would not be possible every year.

I would have thought any response would be centered around the idea of playing football games on Wednesdays, not the very specific execution of how it would be done.  But then, this is the Cardboard, where every nit is picked, and larger ideas get lost in the tonnage of minutiae that permeates the board.

Maybe it's my fault. I should have just said: What do y'all think about the idea of the Pac-12 having the entire football-craving TV audience to itself by playing games on Wednesdays at 5:30pm local for 3 months in the Fall?

He told you what he thinks. He thinks it's not possible.

Were it possible, here's what I think: The MAC already plays Tuesday and Wednesday night games in November and has been doing so for years ("Wednesday Night MACtion" is a popular meme), and given the national perception of our conference, I'd be willing to bet many east of the Mississippi would rather continue to watch that, should those games be on at the same time. However, given those games start in November, "Wednesday Night PACtion" in September and October would be fun, and the only football on national TV. There would be issues with game attendance, though, as there already is with Thursday and Friday games, and we know later start times than 5:30/6pm PST are detrimental to national eyeballs (and even at that point we're talking games that end at 11pm/midnight eastern already).