MeTV, the home of such classic television series like Bonanza, Matlock, and Hogan’s Heroes will soon be airing the Pinstripe Bowl between Boston College and Nebraska.
What in the name of Sgt. Schultz is happening here?
In what is the exact opposite of the streaming revolution, Boston College fans in New England will face one of the most unique viewing experiences in all of sports this coming Saturday. The bowl game that was supposed to air on ABC will now be televised on digital alternate channel MeTV, which in case you were wondering is short for Memorable Entertainment Television according to the Eagles website. If you live in New England and are under 65 years of age, the game will also be streamed by ESPN.
Boston College’s Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl against Nebraska will be broadcast nationally on ABC. The game is scheduled for a Noon ET kickoff on Saturday, Dec. 28. Locally in Boston and throughout New England, BC vs. Nebraska will air on MeTV due to the NFL flexing the Chargers at Patriots game to 1 p.m. this Saturday.
The Pinstripe Bowl will also be streamed by ESPN via the ESPN App, WatchESPN.com and ESPN3. The game will not be available on YouTubeTV.
How did this come about for local Boston College fans? Well like everything else in television, they have the NFL to thank.
The NFL has greatly expanded their flex scheduling capacity in recent years and that includes in Week 17 where the league has moved three games to Saturday for a tripleheader on NFL Network and NFL+. Those three games are Patriots-Chargers, Broncos-Bengals, and Cardinals-Rams. With Christmas Day, Thursday, and Monday football, it means that seven games have been played outside of Sunday.
The NFL Network games are being aired by affiliates in local markets, which includes WCVB in Boston that happens to be the ABC affiliate. With the Pinstripe Bowl also airing on ABC between Boston College and Nebraska, one of those games had to be bumped. And it ain’t ever going to be the NFL that airs on MeTV. Hopefully regular viewers of Green Acres and The Andy Griffith Show in Boston won’t be too shocked to see a college football game in their place this weekend.
