On ESPN's NCAAM site, they have a couple of articles about the Big East's TV Deal. Normally, I wouldn't care at all about something like that, but about once per week or so for the last few months, I have checked out both boards just to watch the train wreck (it has a Jerry Springer or Maury Povich type of effect on me). Anyway, as we all know now, the Big East is now a group of the CUSA schools from a year ago. When they all moved, I mean changed their name to Big East, they were talking about getting this huge TV deal and some were guessing it would be 7-10M per year per school and most were guessing 6-7M on the light side. This didn't make sense to me because if you are currently making about 1M per year per school and you all simply change your conference name, your worth isn't going to miraculously going to jump 6-10x because of it. It's like taking a lamborghini logo and putting it on a Kia and expecting to be able to sell it for $250,000.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketba...ghts-deals

Quote:NBC Sports Network verbally offered the Big East between $20 million and $23 million per year for six years to acquire the league's media rights, sources told ESPN.

Quote:Before ESPN's exclusivity window to renew the Big East's rights expired in November, the Big East sought a $300 million-per-year deal from ESPN, which would have been the largest in college athletics. However, the network declined, a source said, putting the Big East's media rights on the open market.

Quote:Just two years ago, the Big East turned down a nine-year deal from ESPN worth $1.17 billion, an average of $130 million annually. Since then the bottom has fallen out for the league, which has had 16 schools announce they were leaving during that time.

In April 2011, former Big East commissioner John Marinatto recommended the Big East accept ESPN's nine-year, $1.17 billion deal, but the league's presidents voted to turn it down. That deal would have earned full members $13.8 million a year and non-football members $2.43 million a year.

If UC, UConn, USF, and the basketball schools are among those that voted "no"...wow, what a mistake they made.

The thing is that NBC Sports can lowball their offer because there's no competition for a nBE football contract. Fox has Big 12 and Pac-12, CBS has SEC, C-USA, and ESPN has a bit of everything. NBC has Notre Dame and MWC to go along with the NFL, the least out of the networks, so they can fill in the gaps with cheap nBE games. While the MAC won't see anything close to the numbers of the MWC or nBE, we should see positive growth (by our standards) as the demand for college football rises, and networks can throw some scraps our way for weeknight/regional programming.

if I'm reading this right you're saying that in two years their annual offer dropped from $300m/yr to $20-$23m/yr? WOW. In a 14 team league that's a loss of $20m/yr per school. If that's true then I really enjoy it, in a petty, mean spirited way.

(02-10-2013 01:56 PM)perimeterpost Wrote:  if I'm reading this right you're saying that in two years their annual offer dropped from $300m/yr to $20-$23m/yr? WOW. In a 14 team league that's a loss of $20m/yr per school. If that's true then I really enjoy it, in a petty, mean spirited way.

Sort of, except their offer dropped from $130 mill per year to $20/23 per year. From what I've read, the $300M was a number that the Big East people approached ESPN with a few months ago and were "laughed out of the room" so to speak. That was a number that the Big East threw out there after all of the defections and with basically a CUSA lineup. $130M was the number that ESPN valued them at 2 years ago and offered with their former lineup but the presidents rejected it. It worked out fine for Pitt, Syracuse, Louisville, and WVU because I'm sure they are making as much or more in the ACC and Big 12 but it appears that UConn, UC, USF, and the basketball schools were too big for their britches and the result was a decimated conference and a ton less money. In the end, UC and UConn may be ok but they are really sweating now and nothing is certain.

What boggles my mind though is how the former CUSA schools expect to rake in the money just by changing their conference name. If the Big Ten broke up and the current schools went to the SEC, ACC, and Big 12 and all of us MAC schools were invited to the Big Ten, would we expect to make $40M per year per school all of a sudden? It makes no sense.

Cincy fans have to be pulling their hair out, if those numbers are correct.

They have to at least be exploring trying to get in the Catholic 7 and putting their football in the MAC. They would save on travel and probably make more money.

Unless ESPN gets involved that number isn't going much higher.

Aresco League is done if $2 million is their TV contract and no-aq.
Done.

NBC is trying to add content for their NBC Sports Channel (formerly Versus, formerly SpikeTV) which they have been amping up this year by adding Dan Patrick and other sports shows. They could use BE football to fill on weekends and they could put any meaningful games on regular NBC. They certainly are going to pay premium dollars to put stuff on the cable/satellite outlet.

(02-10-2013 01:56 PM)perimeterpost Wrote:  if I'm reading this right you're saying that in two years their annual offer dropped from $300m/yr to $20-$23m/yr? WOW. In a 14 team league that's a loss of $20m/yr per school. If that's true then I really enjoy it, in a petty, mean spirited way.

Haha. But I agree. All the nBE fans think the nBE will be as strong, or stronger, that the current (old?) BE. The nBE will be nothing special at all. All the nBE will have is Cincinnati and the BE name - that is all.

I do wish the MAC would try and make a deal with NBCSN to get some more coverage, and get with them before they get real big.

(02-10-2013 04:03 PM)MidnightBlueGold Wrote:  I do wish the MAC would try and make a deal with NBCSN to get some more coverage, and get with them before they get real big.

ESPN owns all our rights until 2016 though right?

(02-10-2013 04:15 PM)Miami (Oh) Yeah ! Wrote:  

(02-10-2013 04:03 PM)MidnightBlueGold Wrote:  I do wish the MAC would try and make a deal with NBCSN to get some more coverage, and get with them before they get real big.

ESPN owns all our rights until 2016 though right?

I have no idea.

I believe 2016 is correct (unless it's 2015), plus NBC would not offer what ESPN would, if they wanted MAC sports at all. For them, the MAC would be filler, not programming to hang its hat on. For ESPN, it's part of a wide strategy to have access to lots of live programming to fill its many channels, hence it can pay more.

(02-10-2013 04:26 PM)axeme Wrote:  I believe 2016 is correct (unless it's 2015), plus NBC would not offer what ESPN would, if they wanted MAC sports at all. For them, the MAC would be filler, not programming to hang its hat on. For ESPN, it's part of a wide strategy to have access to lots of live programming to fill its many channels, hence it can pay more.

The only programming ESPN will pay for would be for weeknight MAC games, which they've been doing already. Perhaps NBC Sports or CBS College would throw us a bone for regional Saturday programming, if we're lucky. The college football landscape will look very different in three years however, and who knows what the MAC will be then.

They keep saying UMass and Tulsa are next in the discussion for a nBE invite. I think Tulsa is the leader though.

UMass would love to stay in the MAC for football, but the problem is that our basketball conference is about to be raided by Catholics.

(02-10-2013 09:03 PM)EmeryZach Wrote:  They keep saying UMass and Tulsa are next in the discussion for a nBE invite. I think Tulsa is the leader though.

UMass would love to stay in the MAC for football, but the problem is that our basketball conference is about to be raided by Catholics.

I'm pretty sure Tulsa is going to get that bid for the Big East. Tulsa has made 19 bowl games with a history that includes some major bowl games. They pay their football coaches 1.5 million down there as well.

(02-10-2013 04:35 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  

(02-10-2013 04:26 PM)axeme Wrote:  I believe 2016 is correct (unless it's 2015), plus NBC would not offer what ESPN would, if they wanted MAC sports at all. For them, the MAC would be filler, not programming to hang its hat on. For ESPN, it's part of a wide strategy to have access to lots of live programming to fill its many channels, hence it can pay more.

The only programming ESPN will pay for would be for weeknight MAC games, which they've been doing already. Perhaps NBC Sports or CBS College would throw us a bone for regional Saturday programming, if we're lucky. The college football landscape will look very different in three years however, and who knows what the MAC will be then.

One problem with MACtion is the games aren't valuable anywhere outside of ESPN. Fox, CBS, NBC won't want the MAC weeknight games. Those networks don't generate 1.0 percent of automatic ratings just on brand alone.

The MAC's best shot I would think is if it could sign a more limited ESPN deal for football but for more money say 400k then turn around and pitch the leftovers to NBC including basketball rights for 600k. Then on top of this money structure the TV deal as pay for play where schools make 300k an appearance like the Mountain West.

I'm going to figure that Fox won't be too interested in MAC ball since they are planning to overpay for the C7. NBC is going after the Big East for heavy content and has the A10 and CAA. I'm kind of divided here on whether the MAC has a better shot at either landing CBS or NBC but there appears to be a regional saturation factor since the MW, MVC and CUSA all landed CBS. The idea might be to saturate a region with one network figuring more local carriers would be interested.

(02-10-2013 03:18 PM)Miami (Oh) Yeah ! Wrote:  Aresco League is done if $2 million is their TV contract and no-aq.
Done.

How is a conference where all the new members are making a minimum of double the money DONE?

Yes the Big East, in 2014, will not be what was in 2011 but its still a heck of a lot better dollars and exposure wise than the MAC, CUSA or Sun Belt.

(02-10-2013 04:17 PM)MidnightBlueGold Wrote:  

(02-10-2013 04:15 PM)Miami (Oh) Yeah ! Wrote:  

(02-10-2013 04:03 PM)MidnightBlueGold Wrote:  I do wish the MAC would try and make a deal with NBCSN to get some more coverage, and get with them before they get real big.

ESPN owns all our rights until 2016 though right?

I have no idea.

The last year on the current contract is the 2016 football season and 2016/2017 BB season.

(02-10-2013 04:35 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  

(02-10-2013 04:26 PM)axeme Wrote:  I believe 2016 is correct (unless it's 2015), plus NBC would not offer what ESPN would, if they wanted MAC sports at all. For them, the MAC would be filler, not programming to hang its hat on. For ESPN, it's part of a wide strategy to have access to lots of live programming to fill its many channels, hence it can pay more.

The only programming ESPN will pay for would be for weeknight MAC games, which they've been doing already. Perhaps NBC Sports or CBS College would throw us a bone for regional Saturday programming, if we're lucky. The college football landscape will look very different in three years however, and who knows what the MAC will be then.

We also get the MAC game of the week. That gives 5 conference games on Saturday early in the season at 11am.

We also have games on STO who was recently bought out by FOX. I am interested to see what happens to those games this year. In the Chicago/DeKalb area we can not get STO without a dish and even then you have to get the premium package to get it.

(02-11-2013 09:47 AM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  

(02-10-2013 03:18 PM)Miami (Oh) Yeah ! Wrote:  Aresco League is done if $2 million is their TV contract and no-aq.
Done.

How is a conference where all the new members are making a minimum of double the money DONE?

Yes the Big East, in 2014, will not be what was in 2011 but its still a heck of a lot better dollars and exposure wise than the MAC, CUSA or Sun Belt.

Finally...amid the chaos, comes a voice of reason!!