Remember back when the annual Utah-BYU football game alternated between local stations -- with the Cougars' broadcast partner doing the game when it was played in Provo and the Utes' broadcast partner carrying it when it was played in Salt Lake City?
If so, you've got a pretty good memory. It's been a while since that happened.As a matter of fact, the last local station to produce a BYU-Utah game was KUTV-Ch. 2, which telecast the 1994 contest from Rice (no Eccles then) Stadium. And, of course, Ch. 2 is no longer even a part of the Ute equation, with the U. selling its broadcast rights to KJZZ-Ch. 14 in 1995.
Saturday's showdown between the Utes and the Cougars (which kicks off at 1 p.m.) will be the first ever televised by Ch. 14. But it's not a local production -- the game is part of the ESPN-plus/Mountain West Conference syndication package that Ch. 14 picked up.
Somewhat surprisingly, the BYU-Utah game hasn't been seen on KSL-Ch. 5 -- where it used to air pretty much every other year -- since 1993.
(And part of the reason KJZZ made that move was the hope that the BYU-Utah football game would end up as part of the package. That's something Ch. 14 officials have been lobbying for since before the season began.)
Actually, this marks the fifth year in a row that the contest has not been produced by a local TV outlet. In 1995, the game was carried regionally by ABC (Ch. 4 locally); in 1996, it was on ESPN; in 1997, it was back on ABC regional (Ch. 4); and in 1998, it was on ESPN2.
It's possible that the game could one day be back in the hands of local broadcasters . . . but it's not something you'll want to hold your breath on.
TV OMENS? Both BYU and Utah have had both success and failure in televised games this season. Of course, given that all of the Cougars' games and all but one of the Utes' games have been on TV, that means pretty much nothing.
BYU is 8-2 overall on TV; 1-0 on ESPN-plus (and on Ch. 14) ; 6-1 on broadcast television; and 4-1 in games produced by ESPN/ABC.
Utah is 6-3 overall on TV; 5-1 on broadcast television (and on Ch. 14); 2-0 on ESPN-plus; and 3-2 in ESPN-produced games.
By the way, over the past four years that the rivalry has been carried on Disney-owned outlets, the Cougars have won both cable games (ESPN in 1996 and ESPN2 in 1998) and the Utes have won both broadcast games (ABC in 1995 and 1997). Given that this year's contest is an ESPN-produced broadcast game . . . well, who knows?
LOOKING AHEAD: Should BYU and/or Utah end up in a bowl game and you don't subscribe to either cable or a satellite service, you're going to have to find a friend who does if you want to see the Utes and/or Cougars play.
The Las Vegas Bowl, which gets the second choice among Mountain West Conference teams, will be seen only on ESPN2. It's scheduled for 4 p.m. MST on Saturday, Dec. 18.
And the Liberty Bowl, which gets the MWC champion (or its choice among co-champions) will be seen only on ESPN. It's scheduled for 3 p.m. MST on Friday, Dec. 31.