East Coast bias is an expression referring to the alleged tendency for sportswriters in the United States and Canada to give greater weight and credibility to teams on the East Coast.
New York City and Toronto serve as major media hubs.[1] John Buccigross of ESPN wrote that an imbalance is understandable from the East writers considering they are influenced by their close proximity and easier access to the happenings in the East.[1] There is also a three hour time difference between the Eastern Time Zone and Pacific Time Zone; Gennaro Filice of SI.com wrote that Major League Baseball's West Coast night games are ending as "the country's most influential scribes are catching Z after Z."[2] Buccigross notes that a lot of people in the East are asleep when National Hockey League's West night games are going on, resulting in lower television ratings for those West Coast games, which contributes to the lack of national broadcasts of West games.[1] The East is home to nearly half of the country's population.[3] Fox Sports sportscaster Joe Buck attributes the shift to the economics of running a business. "If you think there is a perceived East Coast bias, guess what? You're right. That's where people are watching, that's were(sic) the numbers are."[4]
ESPN ombudsman Le Anne Schreiber wrote that fans should forget about expecting equity in teams the network selects to broadcast. "It is long proven in NBA and NFL and MLB that spreading the wealth to 30 or 32 teams is a prescription for deflating ratings," said Len DeLuca, ESPN senior vice president for programming.[5]
Examples of this bias are seen in broadcasting decisions (choosing to air East Coast teams over West or Midwest) and in the construction of polls for collegiate athletics.[6][7][8]