KEYE to Air Titans Season Opener, not Texans
By Mark Fagan, 4:52PM, Fri. Sep. 7, 2007
Local Houston Texans fans are going to have to head to the nearest sports bar to catch the season opener versus the Chiefs on TV because KEYE TV (Austin's CBS affiliate) has decided to air Vince Young and the Titans in that time slot. The Chronicle recently received a letter to the editor from a local Texans fan upset about this decision and hipping us to the website www.keye42sucks.com. While being one of the Texans faithful is hard enough, and this decision is a serious bummer for local fans, it is hardly surprising. Vince Young is the undisputed King of the South (sorry T.I.) and the previously poorly performing Texans have done little to earn casual fans' loyalty. The new-look Texans have their deepest roster to date but going head-to-head against VY, as they learned on the field last year, is usually a losing proposition.
KEYE's programming/research director Gary Vinson was kind enough to take the time to respond via e-mail about this hot-potato topic. To hear what he has to say …
The Chronicle sent an e-mail to Mr. Vinson asking for his reasoning on airing the Titans instead of the Texans and here are some excerpts from his response:
Gary Vinson: "More people in Austin want to watch VY play for the Titans than watch the Houston Texans play."
I have no doubt that this is true.
GV: "For the record, KEYE aired every Texans game we could for four and a half seasons starting in 2002. We aired every game we could, regardless of how bad their season was going. Then in the fifth season, we finally heeded the calls and emails from Austin football fans to show some of Vince Young's entry into the NFL. Since then we have received calls and emails with every imaginable argument and justification as to why we should show this or that on Sundays."
Also true, they were pretty patient with the Texans, but this just makes it even more difficult for Houston fans accustomed to tuning in every Sunday. But still, how exciting is it following a 2-14 team?
GV: "The short answer is the one many seem to skip over (sometimes repeatedly). The fans decide who we air on Sundays, and during the 2006-07 NFL season, the fans in Austin overwhelmingly chose the Titans over the Texans. The last game we aired of the Texans before adding the Titans to the schedule was on October 1st. In that game just over 15,000 households tuned in to watch the Texans. The very next weekend we aired our first Titans game (after Vince took over) and over 54,000 households tuned in. On average the Titans games were watched (chosen) by roughly 62% more fans than the Texans games. In a nutshell, that is why we added the Titans to the schedule, as well as the Texans."
Hear that Texans fans? Tune in when they air the Texans and then let your voices be heard.
GV: "But that was last year (as every Texans fan will point out). The Texans basically have a whole new roster, a new coach, and new energy to move them into a competitive season. KEYE would love the Texans to bounce back and regain some of the following they once had in Austin (and its completely possible that they will). We have said that we would do our best to balance the games out this year as we did last year. Last year we aired a nearly identical number of games from both franchises. We officially choose our game line-up 12 days out from gameday, and then publish that info in the various TV listings."
I checked TVGuide.com for week two and it appears KEYE will be airing the Colts/Titans game. To set the record straight, I'm a Texans fan. Have been since day one. I will be in attendance Sunday at Reliant when the Texans pick up their first W under Matt Schaub. I am disappointed and even, believe it or not, saddened that I can't watch their games from the comfort of my living-room sofa. That being said, I know I am in the minority here in Austin. Hell, 35% (that's a conservative figure) of the seats in Reliant were empty last year and every game was a sell-out.
And if the Texans had drafted VY instead of a defensive end last year with the first overall pick we wouldn't be having this problem. So hopefully the Texans can take care of business on the field and local fans will be rewarded with KEYE granting them more local air time. Plus, and you can take this to bank, the Texans will have a better record this year than Tennessee and have a good chance of beating Vince and the boys in both of their match-ups this season. Vince Young is currently 2-0 versus the Texans.
Plus, no more David Carr. At least we've got that going for us.
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