Courtesy the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

(December 16, 2010) Some local college football television viewers apparently are holding out hope that the Rose Bowl game Jan. 1 between Wisconsin and TCU will be on some other-over-the-air channel in addition to cable television's ESPN.

Permit me to be blunt.

There is no chance, none, that the Rose Bowl will be carried on any other outlet other than ESPN on television.

ESPN3.com will have it on the Web. ESPN Radio will have it. Local listeners can hear the call by Matt Lepay and Mike Lucas on WTMJ Radio.

No over-the-air station will be carrying any of the BCS bowl games. Nada.

The National Football League has a policy that requires NFL games on cable TV be carried on over-the-air stations in the markets of the competing teams. There is no such NCAA or BCS policy for college football.

ESPN acquired the rights to the five BCS games from 2011 to 2014.

On Wednesday, SportsDay invited an ESPN spokesman to make clear ESPN alone will be televising the game.

"All BCS games will be available to almost 100 million homes on ESPN as well as through ESPN3.com and ESPN Radio," said Michael Humes of ESPN. " We are confident that fans will find and enjoy these games, the culmination of our year-round commitment to college football.”

Since 1989, the Rose Bowl has been televised by ABC. From 1952 to '88, it was on NBC.

This year marks the first time the Rose Bowl will be on cable television only.

While about 100 million households get ESPN, about 111 million can get ABC. Both ESPN and ABC are owned by the Disney Co.

But ESPN, at least for sports, is a more valuable brand than ABC. By putting BCS games on ESPN, it strengthens the brand and helps make it a more appealing cable channel, which allows Disney to justify the hefty fees it seeks from the companies that distribute ESPN.

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