Has anybody heard anything about how Fox Sports Ohio being taken over by ESPN will affect the MAC?

Surely Fox Sports Ohio will no longer broadcast Xavier basketball and perhaps Dayton basketball as Fox will still own Big East rights and wont let "ESPN Plus Ohio" broadcast them.

Will this allow Fox Sports Ohio (ESPN Ohio) to simulcast most of the MAC football and basketball games that are on will also be on ESPN3 nationally?

(01-17-2018 11:37 AM)Miami (Oh) Yeah ! Wrote:  Has anybody heard anything about how Fox Sports Ohio being taken over by ESPN will affect the MAC?

Surely Fox Sports Ohio will no longer broadcast Xavier basketball and perhaps Dayton basketball as Fox will still own Big East rights and wont let "ESPN Plus Ohio" broadcast them.

Will this allow Fox Sports Ohio (ESPN Ohio) to simulcast most of the MAC football and basketball games that are on will also be on ESPN3 nationally?

I don't have any answers, but you do raise some interesting and important questions.

The story about the local Fox Sports (also Detroit, etc.) haven't been covered, but it the real opportunity to change ESPN which was initially one, then two, then three, etc. national networks into both national and local affiliates.

I assume they will go against the Fox Sports philosophy of making those locals essentially nodes of a national network.

So we might see UofM and B1G, for example, on ESPN/2, etc.(including Fox and BTN) but other conferences, like the MAC, on the local regional sports channels.

I would assume instead of 'farming out' games to CBSSN that those MAC games will go to ESPN regionals in say Ohio, MI, etc.

Could ESPN pick a 'game of the week' for each of their affiliates, say one game for ESPN-Detroit, one for ESPN-Ohio, etc.?

Some have said the FOX sports nets may pave the way for a B12 expansion of Cincinnati and Houston local to those markets.

I would consider that a win.

(01-18-2018 07:56 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  Some have said the FOX sports nets may pave the way for a B12 expansion of Cincinnati and Houston local to those markets.

I don't follow B12 sports, but isn't there opposition from other TX schools to adding Houston?

(01-18-2018 07:56 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  Some have said the FOX sports nets may pave the way for a B12 expansion of Cincinnati and Houston local to those markets.

You have a link? I haven't seen this brought up by anyone. If anything I think this would hurt those school's chances even more. What's more, it will hurt the AAC with this media rights renewal in a couple years because it takes out a potential bidder for their services.