The Bayou Classic and the Future of HBCU Football on NBCSN
The news of NBC televising the New York City HBCU Classic brings new hope for the Bayou Classic.
This Saturday, multitudes will gather in New Orleans for the most iconic of all HBCU classics, the Bayou Classic between Grambling and Southern. Since 1992, NBC has televised the game on one of its linear networks, shifting from the over-the-air network to the NBC Sports Network in 2014.
However, the television future of the game is in doubt ever since NBC announced the shuttering of the NBC Sports Network earlier this year.
Some news from earlier this week may provide light for the television future of the classic. NBC announced it will televise next season's inaugural New York City HBCU Classic between Howard and Morehouse on CNBC. This is a big win for the Bayou Classic and Truth and Service Classic featuring Howard.
The biggest fear for these classics was that of NBC sending these classics to Peacock behind a paywall. After all, NBC did broadcast Toledo-Notre Dame on the streaming service in a bit of an experiment. Additionally, the A-10, NBC’s only conference partner, will have three games broadcast on an NBC streaming platform this season.
By broadcasting the Truth and Service Classic between Howard and Hampton on NBC Sports Network in September, NBC sent mixed signals. This move and their decision regarding the Howard-Morehouse game next year reveal a commitment to broadcasting HBCU classics.
If NBC is willing to broadcast Howard-Morehouse on CNBC, a rivalry with way less history than the Bayou Classic, they will likely televise that game on CNBC as well.
The best-case scenario for the Bayou Classic is a return to NBC. This may be more likely than it seems as NBC no longer has the NHL to broadcast on a Saturday afternoon in November. Still, the Bayou Classic struggled to draw solid viewership of in its final years on NBC, averaging only 878,000 viewers and a rating of 0.6 in its final three years.
The future may be bright for HBCU classics on NBC networks as NBC transitions to a new era of stand-alone games and the Bayou Classic will likely be the headliner of this slate.