Sidelines
KFVE, which bills itself as "The Home Team," had bought the rights to televise University of Hawaii sports, shelling out over a million dollars per year to do so. New TV deal a headache
for Home TeamThat's no small investment. That's Dr. Evil money.
For a million dollars, the games belong to them, right? Not so fast.
Obviously, as we have all seen before, if a football or basketball game is to be televised nationally, the rights go to ABC, ESPN or whoever else picks it up.
KFVE knew that when it made the bid. That's the reality of the business. Imagine the picture of the little fish being eaten by the bigger fish being eaten by the bigger fish and on and on.
Ownership is fleeting. It turns out KFVE doesn't "own" these games. They have the rights to broadcast them as long as somebody bigger doesn't come along.
That, in an oversimplified nutshell, is what you get by buying a local broadcasting contract.
Usually nobody seems to mind too much, because it doesn't come up too often. Most local rights holders will gladly step aside in order to see "their" team on national television. It's good for the school, which, in the long run, is good for the station.
And in Hawaii's case, the Warriors are lucky to have it happen once a year. KFVE can certainly live with that. They are still the "Home Team." Their money is well spent.
But here comes the middle man. Without warning, KFVE gets the rug pulled out from under it by another hungry fish.
Regional rights. These supersede local rights. This is another "somebody bigger" that can come along and snatch a game. These are sold by the conferences to the networks, who in turn sell the games to local markets.
And after the recent Western Athletic Conference deal with ESPN, the big boys have an eye on UH football games.
For many teams, this might have been wonderful news.
Usually, regional rights are a great thing. Usually, this is the only way local fans get to see a game. Usually, there is no KFVE.
You think every college in the country has its own network with every game on local TV? UH fans are among the luckiest in the United States. (Uh, when it comes to watching their teams on television.)
"Nobody anywhere in America has as extensive a package as we do," KFVE and KHNL general manager John Fink said.
But now if ESPN grabs a game and KFVE wants to keep it, KFVE has to pay. Again.
And the game would be under ESPN's terms. No Jim Leahey. No broadcast to potential recruits in L.A., Seattle or Detroit. Possibly, sellout or not, no gate-saving tape delay.
And if KFVE and ESPN don't come to terms on a deal, ESPN can offer the game for other stations to bid on.
Normally, most local stations aren't hurt by regional rights because they aren't carrying the games in the first place. Normally, regional rights are how local stations get games. Normally, it's a good deal for the conference, for the network, for local fans.
But not now. For KFVE, regional games offer all the pain of a national broadcast with none of the prestige. The "Home Team" finds itself on the outside looking in.
Kalani Simpson's column runs Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
He can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com