MTSU balances TV viewership with home attendance

[Harry]

MURFREESBORO MTSU athletics director Chris Massaro admits the expansive football television package this season is a double-edged sword.

Always a battle to put people in the seats at Floyd Stadium, the Blue Raiders have become somewhat of their own competition, considering fans can sit at home in front of high-definition TV sets with little effort and catch the games.

It's not just the constant battle of MTSU and Conference USA, which provides its members one, if not the, best television packages for mid-major conferences. From the NFL to the SEC, teams are fighting diminishing home attendance, vowing to battle the swoon with an upgrade of game-day and in-stadium experiences and opportunities.

With 11 of 12 games on national or regional or local television, MTSU football enters the season Saturday against visiting Savannah State with its best TV package yet. Five games will be on national sports networks, four are headed for regional telecasts via the C-USA package, the Memphis road game is on the American Conference network and the Western Kentucky home game is on local television.

But at what cost? There has to be a balance between home attendance against the exposure to hopefully grow new fans through television.

Read more: http://www.dnj.com/story/sports/2014/08/23/pogue-mtsu-balances-tv-viewership-home-attendance/14509887/