Football overtime interrupts Breeders' Cup coverage

Television viewers were unable to watch the Breeders' Cup broadcast on ESPN from 3:30 p.m. Eastern until 3:52 because a college football game went into overtime.

During the 22-minute blackout, the broadcast was available on ESPN360.com, a website run by the network. The blackout affected the entire prerace coverage of the Juvenile, the fourth of eight Breeders' Cup races on the day and the second leg of the pick six.

The first two hours of Breeders' Cup coverage was shown on ABC, ESPN's sister network. It was scheduled to switch to ESPN at 3:30, because ABC was scheduled to broadcast college football at 3:30.
The football game on ESPN, Michigan v. Illinois, went beyond its 3:30 time allotment because of three overtimes.

In college football, overtime can run indefinitely, provided both teams match the score of the other, although teams are required to attempt two-point conversions after touchdowns as of the third overtime.

Michigan won 67-65. College football ratings are typically well above those of a Breeders' Cup broadcast.