For local TV, Fiesta Bowl is not a windfall

The University of Utah will earn in excess of $14 million for itself and the Mountain West Conference after breaking into the BCS' Fiesta Bowl, but local TV stations won't be making quite so much.

KUTV-Ch. 2, KTVX-Ch. 4, KSL-Ch. 5 and KSTU-Ch. 13 have all sent crews and satellite trucks and on-air personalities and producers to Tempe for the Big Game. They're doing lots of local newscasts and special programming, they're making a big deal out of it in their on-air promos, . . . but they're not expecting any big financial windfalls.

Even Ch. 4 — the local ABC affiliate that will carry the game at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday — will receive only 11 30-second spots during the network telecast, which is normal for local stations. And which isn't a whole lot.

"ABC certainly keeps the lion's share of that (advertising)," said KTVX general manager Dan D'Antuono.

Still, his station was able to charge a premium over the regular rates because a local team is involved, and he's certainly not complaining. "We're ecstatic. It's a huge game for us to have — I think probably an historic game."

"Historic" was a word that came up often when local TV executives described the Utah-Pittsburgh matchup.

"I think the Utes in a BCS bowl is a rare occurrence, and in a sport-conscious market like this, it is a big deal," said KUTV news director Steve Charlier, who sent a truck and nine staffers to the game.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing," said KSL news director Con Psarras, who has eight staffers in Tempe. "And it's an opportunity to extend our reach. As a station that covers BYU traditionally, we want to show we pay equal attention to that red school in the north."

That the Big Game is a Big Deal for local TV is not a matter of debate. How much the Big Game will mean in terms of Big Ratings for local broadcasters is debatable, however.

No one doubts the game itself will attract a huge audience.

"I would estimate that we would rival the Super Bowl here," said Ch. 4's D'Antuono, whose station has the biggest contingent — about 15 staffers — in Arizona.

In addition to its own postgame show on Saturday — which will lead right into the late local news — KTVX will air a special pregame edition of its "Hot Ticket" sports show on Friday at 10:35 p.m. The hope is that the additional exposure as the home station of the Fiesta Bowl will lead to higher ratings in the weeks and months to come — a theory not everyone is buying.