SGV/Whittier Prep Sports Zone: Changes could be coming to the CIF-SS Football Game of the Week.
With Bally Sports going into Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, other media properties could be in the hunt for the popular package.
Steve Quis was the new voice of the “CIF Southern Section Game of the Week” for Bally Sports for the past couple of years. (Courtesy photo)
It's been a hugely successful run for Rob Wigod as the CIF Southern Section Commissioner. He has overseen the expansion of sports such as Lacrosse, Competitive Cheer, and Girls Wrestling (he talked about the growth of the sport in his monthly Commissioner's Message – Latest CIFSS Comissioner Message).
He has overseen a new method to determine playoff divisions for football and has championed the cause for "Competitive Equity" for other sports using a rating system based on a school's performance in the last two seasons.
He helped the section navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic and played an important part in getting education-based athletics back on the field. Through it all, most of the Principals and Athletic Directors within the section have given Wigod a high approval rating for the job that he has done.
It was one of the main reasons why he shocked many within the high school sports community when announced last fall that he was stepping down as the commissioner when the sports calendar ended in the 2022-23 season. Those inside the section say that getting the section through COVID-19 took a toll on him and was one of the made reasons why he is stepping down.
When a new commissioner is announced this spring, two of the main items that will be on the desk will be to appoint a new assistant commissioner (Rainer Wulf will also be retiring at the end of the season) and to negotiate a new media rights deal for the section. It is the second part that has been a huge talking point for those inside the section.
First a little bit of history. Back in the late 90s, the CIF-SS negotiated a deal with Fox Sports Net for them to produce and televise live "CIF Southern Section Game of the Week" during the football season. For the first time in cable television in Southern California, games were going to be broadcast live weekly with the section getting revenue fees from the network.
This was occurring in the pre-Internet days when there was no Twitter, no Instagram, no Facebook, and no Maxpreps.com. The broadcast turned out to be a huge success. Not only was it a platform for future collegiate and pro stars to get their start, but it was the launching pad of those behind the microphone. Jim Watson (now with Pac-12 Network) and Mike Lamb were the original pair in the booth. Other talents that worked the GOW included, John Jackson (USC Football radio analyst), Petros Papadakis (FSN and FSN2), Chris McGee (now the anchor of LA Lakers pregame on Spectrum), Lindsay Rhodes (NFL Network), Dain Blanton (USC women's beach volleyball coach), Sam Farber (new radio voice of the Charlotte Hornets), Rayshaun Haylock (KTLA Sports), Mark Rogondino, and many others.
Several years ago, Diamond Sports Group, an arm of the broadcast TV giant Sinclair Group, bought out the regional networks that were part of the Fox Sports Net group (Fox Sports West, Fox Sports West 2, etc). and, through a partnership with Bally's Corporation (whose portfolio includes sports betting, gaming, poker, etc.) changed the name of local Southern California Regional Sports Channels to Bally Sports West and Bally Sports So Cal. Diamond Sports Group was purchased by Sinclair after Disney was forced to sell following its takeover of Fox for antitrust reasons.
Even though the names changed, the media group honored the media rights that the previous regime negotiated to produce not only the Game of the Week, but its online-only streaming product "The Prep Zone," which would produce and live stream 2 to 3 other CIF-SS games a week using announcers such as Dave Caldwell, Tony Moskal, Chris Rix, and others. The games would be available through the Bally Sports App.
The GOW for the past two years has seen its fair share of changes in the broadcast booth. Steve Quis has taken over the play-by-play duties with 24/7 National Recruiting Analyst Greg Biggins the new analyst and Anna Connelly handling the on-field reporting. The network also does Open Division basketball championships and (this year) streamed the soccer finals live on the Prep Zone.
This is the last season of the contract that Bally's has with the Southern Section. You might be asking, "What is the big deal?" The big deal is that Diamond Sports Group, in a nutshell, has no money. The group also produced games for local MLB, NBA, and NHL Franchises (Bally Sports West – LA Kings, LA Angels) (Bally Sports So Cal, Clippers/Anaheim Ducks) and announced on February 15th that it is skipping its $140 million payout to Major League Baseball. They have 30 days to payoff off "the bill" or they will be forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (which is usually called reorganization bankruptcy).
This means that with little or no resources, Diamond Sports Group will probably not be involved with the GOW compared with previous years. This also means that negotiations will be wide open when the season is over.
This is huge because the media rights fees have been a boon for the Southern Section on its financial sheets with much of the revenue returned to its membership schools. According to financial reports that were made public by the section in January, in 2021-22, $174,000 in TV revenue was returned to schools. This past fall, $131,200 in TV revenue was distributed to membership schools.
Who might take over the package of the GOW and other internet streaming properties? Let's take a look at some of the contenders.
Spectrum TV – This would be the obvious favorite. The company has produced the state championships for the past decade for football and basketball. They have the resources to produce a "Game of the Week" product. Spectrum is also the leading cable and Internet provider in Southern California and not only produces Spectrum News 1 (a local 24/7 news channel), but they also have the media rights to the Los Angeles Lakers (Spectrum Sportsnet) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (Spectrum Sportsnet LA).
With the need to have as much content on those two channels as possible these days, it is very easy to see this network throw its hat into the ring. One thing to consider, Spectrum is in the final year of its contract with the CIF State Office to produce the live broadcasts of football and basketball championships. The question now becomes, does Spectrum want to continue to do state broadcasts, or do they want to go local and produce Southern Section games or do they want out and have nothing to do with high school sports?
If Spectrum decides to go down the Southern Section route, it could be fantastic news for football fans, because you might be able to watch two games a week live rather than one. Also, the Southern Section (much like they did with Fox and Bally's) might give Spectrum exclusivity to their games, thus not allowing any other entities to broadcast CIF-SS over live TV.
The downside for it would be the obvious elimination of the Prep Zone unless Spectrum decides to pour some of its resources into its app so that games could be streamed.
NFHS Network: This is a long shot for a variety of reasons. Most notable is that NFHS Network is a consortium for other high schools throughout the country to stream games onto its platform using an Artificial Intelligence remote camera from the company. This was popular among schools during the COVID-19 pandemic when fans were not allowed inside stadiums and gyms. It is still being used by a large number of area schools.
Several local broadcasting entities live stream games through NFHS throughout the country, most notably B and N Productions from a local point of view, but they are mostly one-camera productions with another person handling the graphics and other technical needs and a third person to announce the action. To handle something like the GOW, those production companies would have to significantly enhance their broadcasting equipment and sell serious sponsorship to help offset the fees that the Section would demand. Plus, to view the games on NFHS Network, you have to pay a $10 monthly fee. The section and state office does use B and N Productions for its live streaming of some of its championship events and there is no reason to think that will change in 2023.
ESPN: Ah yes, the 10,000-pound gorilla in the room. For years, ESPN has wanted to broadcast Southern Section football games but couldn't do it because of Fox Sports Net/Bally Sports' exclusivity to those CIF-SS games with a 7:00 p.m. Friday kickoff. The only way that ESPN could broadcast a game that involved a membership school (i.e., Mater Dei, Corona Centennial, St. John Bosco, etc.) as if that team played outside the state.
However, there could be a possible crack in the armor. The Southern Section allowed ESPN to broadcast the Sierra Canyon vs. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame boys basketball game a month ago on ESPNU. Could that mean that ESPN would come to the negotiating table and do Southern Section games in 2023?
Privately, ESPN would love to have a partnership in place. It would give them the coveted 7:00 p.m. west coast footprint that would be perfect to follow an east coast game or from the South for a natural "doubleheader." However, they most likely would be interested in games that involve Mater Dei, Bosco, Corona Centennial, or another school that is top-heavy in collegiate football talent. You have to keep in mind that ESPN also does games in Northern California, Nevada, and Arizona.
The possible route that the Southern Section could go is to allow ESPN to do its big games on ESPNU and stream other games on ESPN+. Local colleges are producing games on ESPN+ in sports such as basketball, baseball, and soccer. The great thing about this collaboration is that the majority of fans already have the ESPN app, so streaming games wouldn't be a big issue at all. Keep in mind that you need a membership to ESPN+.
Flo Sports: This is another long shot, but this one has a bit more to offer than NFHS Network. Flo Sports (www.flosports.tv) is a sports streaming company that produces live and documentary content for 25 sports such as wrestling, track, grappling, baseball, softball, basketball, and football. The company, which is based in Texas, started out producing wrestling content and is considered the worldwide leader in the sport. USA Wrestling uses Flo to determine its world teams through its popular "Final X" event series.
About a decade ago, the company branched out to do other sports and has been hugely successful. The Southern Section and the State Office use Flo Sports to produce its sectional and state championships in wrestling and track & field (ca.milesplit.com) and use NFHS Network as its vehicle to stream out those events; with Flo Sports keeping the content on its archives. (For transparency reasons, this author does some freelance work for Flo Sports through MileSplit.)
The production of the track and field state championships is one of the reasons why we feel it could handle a GOW telecast or a Prep Zone type of production. They have the production equipment to get the job done with high quality and would only have to get some significant sponsorship for it to be profitable. Also, you have to be a paid subscriber to Flo Sports and it's not cheap to have a membership. Keep in mind, though, that Flo Sports has an excellent relationship with the Southern Section and State Office, and we can easily see them acquiring the state contract if Spectrum decides not to go into the bidding.
These are heady days for the Southern Section, but if there is a person that can get the best deal out there, it is assistant commissioner Thom Simmons. He has handled all of the media rights contracts for the section and there's every reason to think he'll come up with the right deal in place when football season starts in 2023.
As they say in the sports business industry --- Stay tuned!