That means saturation coverage for major events such as the college football national championship.
It's the same thing NBC, NBC Sports Network and other NBC Universal properties will do for the Winter Olympics in February. Likewise, CBS and its broadcast partners (TNT/TruTV) announced their plan for the Final Four months ago. That includes team specific coverage of the Final Four among those outlets.
In this instance, the future also includes the launch of SEC Network and the on-air debut of former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.
Tebow's long-expected hiring was announced last week by ESPN, which plans to use him heavily on the SEC Network that becomes a reality next August. And, the timing of Tebow's debut Monday is more than curious.
Despite not having worked on TV before, he has a role on the most important and possibly most watched game of the season. Honestly, his debut comes in large part as an awareness and promotional effort for the fledgling SEC Network -- otherwise there's no logical reason for Tebow to work the game. Even if he's stellar (and nobody can reasonably expect that, ESPN just wants to put him in a position to succeed), that would be an extra benefit. He'll be part of the broadcast primarily to promote the SEC Network going forward.
Tebow's primary role next year will be as an analyst for "SEC Nation" the network's SEC-specific answer to "College GameDay." Oh, and he still plans to pursue his dream of being an NFL quarterback.
"I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds my future. I will continue to train to be the best quarterback I can be, and I'm also looking forward to being a part of 'SEC Nation.' I don't think it will impact my training," Tebow said during a conference call last week. "I don’t think [TV work] will impact my training. Right now, I’ll only
be doing one game. I don't think I’ll get too off by doing one game."
Finding focus -- despite Tebow's well chronicled work ethic -- remains the biggest potential problem for Tebow's broadcast career. From afar, his NFL dream seems unlikely. Pursuing a dream is an honorable and respectable approach, but being 100 percent invested might help his eventual career page. Numerous other busy, popular and respected on-air sports personalities have other interests but they are clearly that. Other interests.
For Tebow to be successful, TV must be his focus. Make no mistake, his looks, on-field experience, personality and Q rating can help him succeed. He relates well to people and he's generally likable. He's nice and respectful (using "Mr." and "Mrs." repeatedly in reference to ESPN higher-ups during that conference call), and that will play well in SEC country and beyond.
Nobody should expect Tebow to be an ultra-critical analyst, and not every former jock on TV needs to be a consistently loud or consistently negative voice. He dutifully offered the usual platitudes about being fair with his criticism and sharing his experiences with viewers.
Once he gets on TV, and even as soon as Monday, ESPN should wisely put Tebow in a position to succeed with features that allow him to share his experiences and what-players-are-thinking features. He can probably be good sooner rather than later with film-study segments and Xs and Os.
He'll probably be one of the initial faces of the ESPN-owned SEC Network, and that's a good thing. Potential viewers tune in to watch those they like, and those they do not. Across the conference, he certainly fits in both those categories. From that perspective, and with his experience, resume and work ethic, he's positioned to succeed on TV.
He'll be even better once it's clear to him that his future lies only on TV, though. After all, it seems some NFL team would've asked him for help at QB at some point this past season if they thought he could help them. ESPN officials seem more than kind with their patience, allowing Tebow to chase both careers, but they probably know just as well that TV is where he'll eventually build a longer career.
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