SF Chronicle: Big Game on Versus beats no TV at all

Scott Ostler

The news that this year's Big Game will be televised on a channel named Versus has some Cal fans feeling uneasy and underappreciated, but it might not be as bad as it seems.   It's a real channel. You won't need any fancy additional equipment to pull in the Versus signal, although if you can convince your mother-in-law to stand on the roof holding a coat hanger for three hours, more power to you, Old Blue. Spin to your left a tad, Eunice!  Cal announced additions to its TV football schedule in a news release that brags, "The Stanford game will be Cal's debut on Versus."  To which many Cal fans are saying, "Pinch me."  And many Stanford fans are saying, "Geez, we scheduled Cal again?"

The good news for Bear backers is that the Big Game will be televised. As reported in Tuesday's Chronicle, about 30,000 Cal fans will be SOL (sorrily out of luck) when it comes to Big Game tickets this year because the game is at Stanford's greatly downsized House of Pain.  The only way for some Cal fans to buy a ticket to that game is to buy a Stanford season ticket. Awkward!  Of those 30,000 ticketless Cal fans, it is estimated that less than half can afford to charter a blimp. That leaves TV as the remaining option.  But is Versus really TV? Yes and no.  Cal fans who have grown quickly into their Tedford-era sense of entitlement might feel disrespected by their team's relegation to Versus, which ain't ABC or ESPN, although it is sound and light emerging from the same plastic box.  Cal backers might be comforted to know that World Extreme Cagefighting recently made its national television debut on Versus. (Personally, I prefer World Moderate Cagefighting, where you can bite off an opponent's ears or fingers but must give them back.)

Versus was known as the Outdoor Life Network. It televises the Tour de France, the world's most prestigious urine-testing competition. It televises the Louis Vuitton Cup, which is either a yacht race or a competition among airport baggage handlers. Versus has the American rights to America's Cup coverage.  Versus also televises NHL hockey, bullriding, lacrosse, fishing and hunting. The Versus series "Holy @#%*!" is not a religious program but rather a roundup of "snowmobile crashes, rodeo wrecks, bungee-jumping disasters and skydiving mishaps." Stanford football highlights could be added to that mix, depending.  Versus is also the TV home of the Premier Darts League.  It is, then, a manly man's channel, expanding and evolving, although still working out the kinks. Versus went all Heidi on us in Game 1 of this year's NHL Western Conference playoffs, when the network cut away just before the fourth overtime to go to an infomercial.  In short, Versus should be an exciting place for Cal fans to visit come Dec. 1. You won't have to venture into the triple-digit channels to find Versus. On my TV, it's channel 75. Reportedly, it is available to all subscribers who receive Fox Sports Net.  The semi-trusty Wikipedia notes that "Versus is available to significantly fewer households than ESPN." Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen says Versus is received in 72 million of America's 111 million television-equipped homes.  Don't blame or credit Cal for the Big Game TV decision. It will be on Versus because the Pac-10 allows Fox Sports Net to sub-license five or six games per season to another network. In recent seasons, those fringe games went to TBS, which has since pulled out of college football.

Fox Sports Net handed those games to Versus, which is owned by Comcast, whose president of programming is Jeff Shell, who is a Cal alum. So the Bears are likely to be handled with the reverence and respect they deserve on this year's Big Game telecast.  Cal has become a TV team under Jeff Tedford, averaging nine televised games per season, up from six per season in the five years Before Tedford. The Bears will go into the season ranked just out of the top 10 in most national polls.  Cal supporters should remember that the Big Game isn't exactly a dream matchup for much of America, although some viewers might be drawn in by the Stanford Band's halftime "Salute to Bungee Jumping Disasters."  If you still want to complain about your team being relegated to a lesser network, Cal fans, go beat Tennessee, then start making some noise.

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Finding Versus

Cal football announced three new TV games Wednesday. The most notable was the Big Game at 4 p.m. on Dec. 1. It will be on Versus.   In the Bay Area, Versus is usually on Comcast channel 75 or 81, on DirecTV 608 and on Dish Network 151. The channel will carry a number of Pac-10 games this season (including Stanford at USC on Oct. 6).

These other Pac-10 rivalry games are on more traditional football channels: UCLA-USC (ABC), Oregon State-Oregon (ESPN2), Arizona State-Arizona (ESPN/ESPN2). Washington-Washington State has no TV scheduled at this time.  The other TV games announced by Cal on Wednesday will be on FSNBA: at Arizona State, Oct. 27, 7 p.m.; vs. Washington State, Nov. 3, 7 p.m.