My Opinions on the NLL TV Deal

I know I'm a little late, but today I'll offer you my opinions on the new TV deal the NLL has with CBS Sports. Lacrosse on TV is always an interesting adventure. Somehow, despite all their success, the Bandits were not on TV until last season. Usually if the NLL is on at all, its on tape delay at 3 AM. So when rumblings began of a possible new TV deal, I was immediately intrigued. After the jump, I'll talk more about this new deal and what it can to for the NLL.

Word started to leak out that the NLL was close to signing a TV deal that was "bigger than Vs.". IL Indoor was the first to break the news, that the NLL had signed a TV deal with CBS Sports. At first I was very excited for the league, but the more I think about it, the more skeptical I am. Is this TV deal really better than the previous one?

First of all, I can tell you I have never watched CBS Sports for more than five minutes. I'll be completely honest. I was never too interested in mediocre at best teams playing college football. The channel is trying to reshape its image and programming, likely pushed by Vs. being bought by NBC. From the channel's prospective, adding pro lacrosse (both outdoor and indoor) makes a lot of sense. But does it make sense from the NLL's prospective?

Vs. Did not give the NLL the best time slots. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. But Vs. was a much better fit for the NLL. I have Time Warner Cable, and for me Vs. is channel 35. CBS sports is in the 140's. How is that a better move for the league? Vs. at least has hockey, who's fans may easily be attracted to the very similar game of box lacrosse. What does CBS sports have, Old Miss football games?

Games don't even start until very late in the season. Basically, we are getting the playoffs on television, and that's about it. How much of that is really the NLL's fault? I don't think it is, at this point they can't really do much better. The value of this TV deal rests on one option: Moving the Championship game to the main CBS Network. If they can work this out, I chalk this up as a major victory for the NLL. Getting box lacrosse out on basic cable would be the best thing they've done in years. If this falls into place, lacrosse will finally be exposed to massive amounts of people.