So every year there are a couple games (at least) where my alumni club has to go to a place different from our usual haunt. That's because my alma mater is part of the Pac-12 Conference. The conference has a network, the Pac-12 Network. It is like other major college conference networks like the Big Ten Network and the SEC Network. However, the P12N makes a pittance for its member schools compared to the Big Ten or the SEC.
The reason for that disparity comes from the amount of subscriber money these conference networks get. The B1G and the SEC (and, I think, the ACC Network as well, at least as soon as its first year [and the ACCN started back in late August] is done) have a lot more cable and satellite systems carrying the network. And that is because all those other networks are co-owned by a cable network, either ESPN or Fox Sports. Those sports networks use their clout through their other sports channels to leverage those conference networks onto as many packages as they can so they get a piece of every subscriber who buys that package. The Pac-12 Network has been way less successful in getting that amount of exposure because they are not co-owned by ESPN or Fox Sports. They are truly an independent, fully owned by the members of the Pac-12 Conference itself. And that lack of networking has cost them.
It costs the P12N in exposure. They don't have the muscle of a sports network telling providers to put this channel on, and in a tier that isn't so exclusive that many customers opt not to buy it. But that is where the Pac-12 Network is. As such, they are in a few carriers and not in a lot of others. And the P12N is not on the satellite system our go-to place purchases. So, for the games on the conference network, we go somewhere else. That had been a pain-in-the-ass to look for, but finally we settled on a place just up the street, around the corner and on the other side of the parking lot. This place is very convenient; and I don't understand why I just didn't go there sooner.
But the rub has always been coming in the week of a game on the Pac-12 Network and saying that we want to watch our game there. I've always felt awkward because these guys are my fallback, our chapter's chick on the side. They've been great and they've always been accommodating, but we both know that place is still our Plan B. So I'm always scared that I'll go in, ask if we can watch the game there, and then be rebuffed. We've had these guys as our auxiliary for a few years now, but the chance that it'll be yanked out from under me never goes away.
So it was last night, when I came in for a late dinner, just to grease the skids for my main request. I talked to a bartender who recognized my face from before; when I asked if we can come in, he said he needed to talk to a manager. He did, and then he said something I hadn't heard before when I tried to "reserve" a spot for the day of the game. He said I needed to call a manager Friday. That I've done before. But he said he (and I don't know if he was referring to himself or the manager) wanted to nail down a specific number of people who are coming to watch the game Saturday night. I never know how many people are going to come. I don't run a formal RSVP, and people have for years just shown up whenever without telling me.
I could understand, at least from a general standpoint, the need to get a precise head count. Like the bartender said, the bar does not want to overstaff or understaff. But then the bartender said that, and I think I'm paraphrasing here, "The main thing for you guys is to develop consistency from week to week." I didn't know what to say to that. The bartender knows that we only watch a few games here each season at the most. I'm pretty sure he knows we usually go to the bar around the corner. So, what consistency? Is there now a need for consistency that I am just learning about? How vital is this "consistency" to them, because I can tell them right now that we're going back to our usual spot the following week because that game is on ESPN ... or Fox. One of the two, you get my picture.
I hoped that our occasional soirees there would be enough for them to keep us coming on an irregular basis. Hell, I hope we tip well enough as a gesture of thanks. But now I'm scared about this call I have to make to the manager. What will he want to know? Can I give an answer to him? Will it be enough? Will he say no? Should I lie in case he says "x" number of people isn't enough for me to staff for and I should find another place? And most importantly of all, if he says we can't come in, what the hell do I do then?
This is just way too stressful. I just need one place to go to, and I can't have that. (I could use another person to do this, but that's another story.) I am now forced to beg that this second place doesn't pull a surprise on me. Sheesh.
The reason for that disparity comes from the amount of subscriber money these conference networks get. The B1G and the SEC (and, I think, the ACC Network as well, at least as soon as its first year [and the ACCN started back in late August] is done) have a lot more cable and satellite systems carrying the network. And that is because all those other networks are co-owned by a cable network, either ESPN or Fox Sports. Those sports networks use their clout through their other sports channels to leverage those conference networks onto as many packages as they can so they get a piece of every subscriber who buys that package. The Pac-12 Network has been way less successful in getting that amount of exposure because they are not co-owned by ESPN or Fox Sports. They are truly an independent, fully owned by the members of the Pac-12 Conference itself. And that lack of networking has cost them.
It costs the P12N in exposure. They don't have the muscle of a sports network telling providers to put this channel on, and in a tier that isn't so exclusive that many customers opt not to buy it. But that is where the Pac-12 Network is. As such, they are in a few carriers and not in a lot of others. And the P12N is not on the satellite system our go-to place purchases. So, for the games on the conference network, we go somewhere else. That had been a pain-in-the-ass to look for, but finally we settled on a place just up the street, around the corner and on the other side of the parking lot. This place is very convenient; and I don't understand why I just didn't go there sooner.
But the rub has always been coming in the week of a game on the Pac-12 Network and saying that we want to watch our game there. I've always felt awkward because these guys are my fallback, our chapter's chick on the side. They've been great and they've always been accommodating, but we both know that place is still our Plan B. So I'm always scared that I'll go in, ask if we can watch the game there, and then be rebuffed. We've had these guys as our auxiliary for a few years now, but the chance that it'll be yanked out from under me never goes away.
So it was last night, when I came in for a late dinner, just to grease the skids for my main request. I talked to a bartender who recognized my face from before; when I asked if we can come in, he said he needed to talk to a manager. He did, and then he said something I hadn't heard before when I tried to "reserve" a spot for the day of the game. He said I needed to call a manager Friday. That I've done before. But he said he (and I don't know if he was referring to himself or the manager) wanted to nail down a specific number of people who are coming to watch the game Saturday night. I never know how many people are going to come. I don't run a formal RSVP, and people have for years just shown up whenever without telling me.
I could understand, at least from a general standpoint, the need to get a precise head count. Like the bartender said, the bar does not want to overstaff or understaff. But then the bartender said that, and I think I'm paraphrasing here, "The main thing for you guys is to develop consistency from week to week." I didn't know what to say to that. The bartender knows that we only watch a few games here each season at the most. I'm pretty sure he knows we usually go to the bar around the corner. So, what consistency? Is there now a need for consistency that I am just learning about? How vital is this "consistency" to them, because I can tell them right now that we're going back to our usual spot the following week because that game is on ESPN ... or Fox. One of the two, you get my picture.
I hoped that our occasional soirees there would be enough for them to keep us coming on an irregular basis. Hell, I hope we tip well enough as a gesture of thanks. But now I'm scared about this call I have to make to the manager. What will he want to know? Can I give an answer to him? Will it be enough? Will he say no? Should I lie in case he says "x" number of people isn't enough for me to staff for and I should find another place? And most importantly of all, if he says we can't come in, what the hell do I do then?
This is just way too stressful. I just need one place to go to, and I can't have that. (I could use another person to do this, but that's another story.) I am now forced to beg that this second place doesn't pull a surprise on me. Sheesh.
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