TV Game & Time Slot Selection

Help me resolve this question: How are TV games and time slots selected?

What I believe to be true for the Big 12 is that ABC gets the first game selection (if they want it), and Fox is probably second. Let me know if that is accurate. The bigger question for me is, who selects the time slots?

So let’s say that ABC (ESPN) wanted the Oklahoma-Texas game. Obviously they get it, and they got it. But what about the time slot? Do they have a choice of setting when the game will be played? My buddy believes that the largest audience on Saturday — and the most coveted audience — is noon Eastern. If that is true, then the 11AM time slot is the most desirable. To me that is counterintuitive. I would think that 8:00 Eastern (or 7:30) would be the largest viewing audience.

The fact that we are on Fox Saturday against Oklahoma State tells me that Fox had the second choice (or ABC passed), and chose our game. But was it Fox’s desire that the game start at noon Eastern as opposed to, perhaps, later in the day?

I know that a few on HF posters possess the answer to this question.

 

Short version - 2:30 CST has the most viewers nationally followed by 7 pm CST, 11 am CST and lastly 9pm CST.
11 am is really early for Mountain and Pacific time zone viewers just at 9 pm CST is really late for Eastern viewers.

The Conferences have TV contracts with the major broadcasting networks ABC/ESPN, FOX and CBS and their cable/streaming units. It will all change when CBS exits CFB in 2024
. Then ABC/ESPN/Disney will flex their platforms and contracts.

For this week of Top 25 matchups:

2:30 pm CST
#11 KY @ #1 GA - CBS has first choice for SEC games
Purdue @ #2 IA - ABC

6:30 pm CST
#5 Bama @ Miss State ESPN
TCU @ #4 OU - ABC

11 am CST
#12 OkieSt @ #25 TX on FOX
UCF @ #3 Cincy on ABC
#20 FL @ LSU on ESPN
AU @ #17 Ark on CBS


Here are the actual ratings by game thru the first 6 weeks 2021.
College Football TV Ratings

It is all about putting the most attractive match up in front of the most viewers without splitting up the TV market revenue.

 

Thanks. Are you saying that because Fox has the Texas game and it’s at noon Eastern, it was a 5th choice by the networks, and Fox had to wait in line? If that is true and it is Fox’s “top game,” why that time slot? Baseball on Fox?