I can only figure that the league and the nets figure that ratings would be down on a Saturday night, leading to less revenue from advertisers. Guess they've never seen what people watch in bars and restaurants during college football season.
I live about an hour from Baton Rouge, but I've been there enough on Saturday nights to know that EVERY TV in EVERY restaurant is on ESPN or Tigervision when LSU is playing, and it's the same in New Orleans for the Saints. People will watch it, but they haven't figured that out yet.