When I was in 4th Grade, our class had a lesson plan where we created our own newspaper.  As a joke, I named mine "The Greatest Newspaper Ever."  In my defense, it was a joke that 9 year old Matt found really funny and ironic many years before being "meta" was actually a thing.  Nobody actually names real things like that… or do they?

Well, in channeling the "Best Damn Sports Show Period" CBS Sports Network is launcing an NFL pregame show this fall, but the name isn't quite that inspiring.  In fact, I'm not sure the name is going to motivate people to watch at all because it doesn't scream "watch me."  According to SBJ's John Ourand, CBSSN will air 4 hours of "That Other Pregame Show." Seriously. That's the name…

"CBS Sports Network is getting into the NFL business, according to a well-placed source. The cable channel is planning to produce a four-hour pregame show on Sunday mornings this fall, starting at 9:00am ET. The show will be called "That Other Pregame Show," and its last hour will air against "The NFL Today" on CBS."

Maybe the name doesn't mean everything – after all BDSSP sure wasn't that, at least after Deacon Jones left.  But with a name like that aren't you just telling people from the outset you're at best a second option?  Maybe the idea is that it'll stand out amongst NFL Countdown and Gameday and those other generic names, I'm not so sure though.

Second of all – four hours in length!?!?!  That's a huge NFL pregame show that will fill up the 9-1 ET block right up till kickoff.  Apparently it'll be staffed by some of the talent from The NFL Today so they can try out some of their comedic material before going on the air at Noon ET on CBS, but there's going to have to be some other hires since CBSSN's last hour will be directly competing with their brethren.  Perhaps you'll see CBS Sports Radio personalities like Dana Jacobson and Tiki Barber or Jim Rome have a role.

On the bright side, it is nice to see CBS Sports Network do… something.  CBS really hasn't made much of an emphasis on growing the channel or bringing premier content to cable with their sports partners like the PGA Tour, college basketball, or the NFL.  Perhaps with the arms race developing between ESPN, Fox, and NBC they realize they have to get in the game now or risk being the forgotten altogether.  Their ratings aren't even really tracked with the other cable sports networks and the lack of live sports is noticebale.  A four hour block of original programming Sunday mornings to grab any crumbs in taking advantage of America's gluttony for pro football is a start, but I can't imagine that other pregame show gaining too much traction in such a crowded, established field.

[SBJ]

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