(11-09-2010 06:01 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(11-09-2010 05:16 PM)piratefan1975 Wrote:  The Big 10 Network has been a big success; so successful that the Big 10 decided to expand to increase the size of its network.

ESPN had to have felt threatened by the formation of conference television networks that would CRIPPLE their stranglehold on the college football landscape.

The SEC, seeing the success of the Big 10 network, had entertained the idea of a similar network prior to signing a 15-year $2.25 billion deal with ESPN. Likewise, the ACC entertained the idea of a conference network before landing a 12-year, $1.86 billion deal with, guess who, ESPN.

University of Texas had made their aspirations clear of their own network. Guess who just signed a huge contract with ESPN.

All of these conferences/teams have great fanbases, great attendance, great tradition and rivalries. I have no doubt they had the fanbases large enough to make their own networks a viable TV option.

Is ESPN willing to pay these enormous sums in order to curtail the popularity of conference networks? Seems that way.

I know there were possibly bidding wars going on for some of these contracts, but I think the mere threat of conference networks is the primary catalyst for such lucrative contracts, especially where ESPN felt most threatened from the SEC, ACC and Texas.

The Big East is by far, the least compensated for their TV Contract, which is nearing its termination. Does the Big East have the clout in their big city markets and northeastern presence to start a successful Big East Network? Can they compete against many professional teams that dominate their markets? Those are million dollar questions.

Can expansion candidates in large metropolitan areas muster enough clout to warrant a Big East Network? That's the two million dollar question.

Does ESPN fear a Big East Network; prompting a huge payoff similar to the other conferences mentioned? I'm not talking about respect for a Big East Network...I'm talking a fear of a very real threat. Do the talking heads at ESPN have a vested interest in favoring any one particular candidate over another due to fears of the formation of a network?

I wish I were a fly on the wall in the Big East Offices. Very interesting stuff whether we get in or not.

This is probably the most accurate assessment of the TV situation on this board.

ESPN got burned by letting the Big Ten Network form. As a result, it *feared* the SEC and ACC doing the same, and they paid up accordingly. The new Texas Longhorn network has the very nice benefit of killing a viable overall Big 12 network, too.

Your question about the Big East is spot-on: does ESPN *fear* a Big East network in the same manner as it did with the SEC or ACC? If the answer is yes, then BE schools are going to be extremely happy with the next TV contract. If the answer is no, then ESPN isn't going to pay up and the BE schools will be disappointed (and complain for the next 5 years about how they're underpaid compared to the ACC again).

My guess: it's somewhere in between. I think ESPN will give the BE a nice increase in its TV contract, but it's not going to be an eye-popping number because it doesn't really believe a Big East network will come to fruition. Part of this is that a BEN can only really be successful if it gets basic carriage in the NYC market (and the BE wouldn't dare starting a network unless it believed that it could get such carriage there), which is already saturated with multiple expensive regional sports networks.

fair enough but what a BEN would have going for it is great great markets (NY, Philly, Cincy, Chicago, Milwuake, Tampa etc.) so who knows.

Very good questions. I'll add the following observations. If the BE is serious about creating a BEN (and I don't know if they are), UCF is a more important add than TCU. Tampa and Orlando are large TV markets, but with only one school of local interest, it will be difficult for the BE to demand a meaningful subscriber fee.

Dallas is a great TV market, but TCU will not deliver a subscriber fee. Crap, I don't believe the MTN even clears Dallas cable, why would the BEN do better? TCU brings huge value for a national TV package though.

Take away: If the BE makes UCF a priority, I would expect a big push for a BEN. If the BE bends over backwards to bring in TCU, it would suggest that the BEN is unlikely. Of course, both could come in, in which case who knows?