The most interesting part of all this to me is ESPN's treatment of the Longhorn Network vs. the SEC Network. It's a good bet that SECN will have an easier time getting carriage agreements in Texas than the Longhorn Network has -- perhaps ESPN will bundle the channels and threaten Texas carriers with withholding the SEC Network if they don't pick up LHN.

LHN only getting major carriage in Texas because of A&M?

Yes, that would do nicely :D

And if any SEC team plays at Texas, ESPN can have SECN pick up the LHN feed and save some money there. This could also make it easier for LHN to show Texas road games in a variety of sports.

Besides aggie alums/students/t-shirt fans, no one will want to pay for the SEC network in this state. Texans have already demonstrated our dislike for the LHN and we will do the same for the SEC network. I promise this isn't a slam on the schools I like in the SEC ( LSU & Arkansas) but we won't help fill the coffers of a school who left the state.

Seriously think about this? You think Coog, Mustang, Owl, Horned Frog, Longhorn, Bear and Red Raider fans will be happy paying for something they could care less about? Ask Aggie fans how they feel about paying for the LHN?

(04-12-2013 10:21 PM)jml2010 Wrote:  Besides aggie alums/students/t-shirt fans, no one will want to pay for the SEC network in this state. Texans have already demonstrated our dislike for the LHN and we will do the same for the SEC network. I promise this isn't a slam on the schools I like in the SEC ( LSU & Arkansas) but we won't help fill the coffers of a school who left the state.

Seriously think about this? You think Coog, Mustang, Owl, Horned Frog, Longhorn, Bear and Red Raider fans will be happy paying for something they could care less about? Ask Aggie fans how they feel about paying for the LHN?

And I seriously doubt there will ever be a Big XII network, as no one anywhere outside the Big XII cares about your conference. Maybe you all better warm up to the big dog a.k.a. LHN as thats all you will ever have. Aggie fans will buy the SECN and thats all we care about...

(04-12-2013 11:15 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  

(04-12-2013 10:21 PM)jml2010 Wrote:  Besides aggie alums/students/t-shirt fans, no one will want to pay for the SEC network in this state. Texans have already demonstrated our dislike for the LHN and we will do the same for the SEC network. I promise this isn't a slam on the schools I like in the SEC ( LSU & Arkansas) but we won't help fill the coffers of a school who left the state.

Seriously think about this? You think Coog, Mustang, Owl, Horned Frog, Longhorn, Bear and Red Raider fans will be happy paying for something they could care less about? Ask Aggie fans how they feel about paying for the LHN?

And I seriously doubt there will ever be a Big XII network, as no one anywhere outside the Big XII cares about your conference. Maybe you all better warm up to the big dog a.k.a. LHN as thats all you will ever have. Aggie fans will buy the SECN and thats all we care about...

I agree about a Big 12 network. I mentioned in another thread that was a "Big IF".

Texans have already proved that we won't pay for the LHN and we won't pay to watch a team that left the state. aggie fans only represent a small miniscule fraction of the 26 million that live in this state. I promise you, all hell will break loose if Texans are asked/forced to pay for the SECN. I didn't care when DirecTV added the BTN but I along with millions of others in this state will cancel if we are forced to pay for a SE based conference in which only 1 team from this state plays in. Satellite/Cable companies know this and they will listen to the masses as they are losing subscribers by the day because of rising fees.

(04-12-2013 11:57 PM)jml2010 Wrote:  

(04-12-2013 11:15 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  

(04-12-2013 10:21 PM)jml2010 Wrote:  Besides aggie alums/students/t-shirt fans, no one will want to pay for the SEC network in this state. Texans have already demonstrated our dislike for the LHN and we will do the same for the SEC network. I promise this isn't a slam on the schools I like in the SEC ( LSU & Arkansas) but we won't help fill the coffers of a school who left the state.

Seriously think about this? You think Coog, Mustang, Owl, Horned Frog, Longhorn, Bear and Red Raider fans will be happy paying for something they could care less about? Ask Aggie fans how they feel about paying for the LHN?

And I seriously doubt there will ever be a Big XII network, as no one anywhere outside the Big XII cares about your conference. Maybe you all better warm up to the big dog a.k.a. LHN as thats all you will ever have. Aggie fans will buy the SECN and thats all we care about...

I agree about a Big 12 network. I mentioned in another thread that was a "Big IF".

Texans have already proved that we won't pay for the LHN and we won't pay to watch a team that left the state. aggie fans only represent a small miniscule fraction of the 26 million that live in this state. I promise you, all hell will break loose if Texans are asked/forced to pay for the SECN. I didn't care when DirecTV added the BTN but I along with millions of others in this state will cancel if we are forced to pay for a SE based conference in which only 1 team from this state plays in. Satellite/Cable companies know this and they will listen to the masses as they are losing subscribers by the day because of rising fees.

Your argument makes sense. But I would proffer that cable companies are losing subscribers for reasons far more poignant than rising fees and that if the SECN doesn't claim as much of the Texas market as it thinks it will it won't be because it has only 1 SW team. The biggest reasons for cable decline is the economy and because of that the jobs situation for many citizens of this nation, not just Texas. Their decisions are a matter of priority. The second reason is that you pay tremendous amounts of money for crap. I never realize that a rock song I heard in the early 80's would prove to be so true. Back then it was "57 channels and nothing on". Today it could be 457 channels and nothing on.

There is no artistry in production of most of the new shows. The plots are thin if they even exist, the dialogue is cut to snippets of meaningful discourse when it isn't simply puerile banter, and the best shows on were produced either by a company like HBO, or public television, or were produced in the 1960's & 70's and were memorized by someone my age 30 years ago. Now there have been exceptions all along, but not many and they are getting to be fewer and fewer.

I doubt the sports channels will suffer too much because a game is at least live and consists of new material. (Unless you watch the reruns of those which I don't.)

When you consider the span of your life statistically and then discount almost a third of that in sleep then the pertinent question becomes how much of my life can I afford to spend watching the tube? Activity and interaction with people are what make life enjoyable and oddly enough are activities associated medically with longevity. TV is not and actually decreases your average life expectancy significantly the more hours you watch it. One of the things that I think young people are doing right these days is cutting the cord.

If you don't listen to the garbage they call news, don't veg out in front of the tube, and spend noise and distraction free time with your family and friends you'll survive and thrive and probably be a lot happier. Then, if you watch your team play on Saturday and they win its a great week. SEC, Big 10, Big 12, ACC, PAC these are just hollow corporate logos. It's the people behind them that can be interesting and the people you are with when you watch them that make the spectating of the sport meaningful. If your team wins and nobody else cares is it really worth the investment of your time to keep up? But if the team is the starter of relationships that you share with others then it's worth every penny.

What Big 10 teams are based in Texas? Are there any Big 10 teams with bigger fan bases in Texas than A&M? Obviously the answer to both is a resounding "No".

And yet despite those 2 facts above I and pretty much everyone else in Texas with cable TV above the basic level gets the Big 10 network right now.

If the B1G network can get that level of carriage here, there is no doubt SECN will be available here in at least Dallas and Houston to start with because there are a ton of SEC fans in both cities, far more than the number of Big 10 fans.

Oh and I love the absolutely pathetic "they left this state" what a bunch of whiny sour grapes!

Get over it. A&M is still here and is proudly representing the Lone Star State in CFB's greatest conference.

(04-13-2013 09:24 AM)10thMountain Wrote:  What Big 10 teams are based in Texas? Are there any Big 10 teams with bigger fan bases in Texas than A&M? Obviously the answer to both is a resounding "No".

And yet despite those 2 facts above I and pretty much everyone else in Texas with cable TV above the basic level gets the Big 10 network right now.

But outside the nine-state footprint, the BTN charges a very low rate unless a local cable system puts them on a specialty sports tier, so viewership from Big Ten alumni doesn't have to be very large to justify putting it on a tier that qualifies for the low carriage rate.

The fight the SECN will be having in Texas is over which areas are considered to be home markets and which are outside their home market.

Greater Dallas and Houston are all you need to for home area. Ton of SEC fans in both places to justify it and that's a huge chunk of the TX population to drive subscriptions.

If you get home carriage there then Austin or Amarillo can be outside and its no biggie.

(04-13-2013 12:19 PM)10thMountain Wrote:  Greater Dallas and Houston are all you need to for home area. Ton of SEC fans in both places to justify it and that's a huge chunk of the TX population to drive subscriptions.

If you get home carriage there then Austin or Amarillo can be outside and its no biggie.

I think we are selling CFB fans short here. I like good games. I don't really care whom or where... I like a UT-OU game as well as the folks in Texas like to watch Alabama-LSU. It's just a great game. We have the BTN here in Biloxi and I am sure people here watch the games. There are enough alumni, transplants, and people that just love a good game etc., to make a network pretty much work anywhere.

(04-13-2013 12:38 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  

(04-13-2013 12:19 PM)10thMountain Wrote:  Greater Dallas and Houston are all you need to for home area. Ton of SEC fans in both places to justify it and that's a huge chunk of the TX population to drive subscriptions.

If you get home carriage there then Austin or Amarillo can be outside and its no biggie.

I think we are selling CFB fans short here. I like good games. I don't really care whom or where... I like a UT-OU game as well as the folks in Texas like to watch Alabama-LSU. It's just a great game. We have the BTN here in Biloxi and I am sure people here watch the games. There are enough alumni, transplants, and people that just love a good game etc., to make a network pretty much work anywhere.

That's right. But don't forget the other thing in the SECN's favor.....TV stinks. If there was anything on that was worth watching other than sports many husbands would have to watch a game alone on the second set. The fact that the wasteland that was television is now the toxic wasteland that is TV means that college sports, any college sports, and most professional sports have a greater likelihood of being the viewers choice than almost anything on except maybe a good old movie. And, since my wife and I have lived long enough to see most of those old movies in our house the choice will be sports. We'll watch National Geographic, Public Television, The History Channel (when it's actually about history) Turner Classic, and the Western channel if we watch anything else.

(04-13-2013 12:49 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(04-13-2013 12:38 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  

(04-13-2013 12:19 PM)10thMountain Wrote:  Greater Dallas and Houston are all you need to for home area. Ton of SEC fans in both places to justify it and that's a huge chunk of the TX population to drive subscriptions.

If you get home carriage there then Austin or Amarillo can be outside and its no biggie.

I think we are selling CFB fans short here. I like good games. I don't really care whom or where... I like a UT-OU game as well as the folks in Texas like to watch Alabama-LSU. It's just a great game. We have the BTN here in Biloxi and I am sure people here watch the games. There are enough alumni, transplants, and people that just love a good game etc., to make a network pretty much work anywhere.

That's right. But don't forget the other thing in the SECN's favor.....TV stinks. If there was anything on that was worth watching other than sports many husbands would have to watch a game alone on the second set. The fact that the wasteland that was television is now the toxic wasteland that is TV means that college sports, any college sports, and most professional sports have a greater likelihood of being the viewers choice than almost anything on except maybe a good old movie. And, since my wife and I have lived long enough to see most of those old movies in our house the choice will be sports. We'll watch National Geographic, Public Television, The History Channel (when it's actually about history) Turner Classic, and the Western channel if we watch anything else.

Logical fallacy. You're assuming TV people want YOU to watch. Its like commercials nowadays. I find most stupid or offensive. But they don't care. I'm not in the prime demographic they want to reach. That group has different ideas of what appeals to them.

(04-13-2013 12:49 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(04-13-2013 12:38 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  

(04-13-2013 12:19 PM)10thMountain Wrote:  Greater Dallas and Houston are all you need to for home area. Ton of SEC fans in both places to justify it and that's a huge chunk of the TX population to drive subscriptions.

If you get home carriage there then Austin or Amarillo can be outside and its no biggie.

I think we are selling CFB fans short here. I like good games. I don't really care whom or where... I like a UT-OU game as well as the folks in Texas like to watch Alabama-LSU. It's just a great game. We have the BTN here in Biloxi and I am sure people here watch the games. There are enough alumni, transplants, and people that just love a good game etc., to make a network pretty much work anywhere.

That's right. But don't forget the other thing in the SECN's favor.....TV stinks. If there was anything on that was worth watching other than sports many husbands would have to watch a game alone on the second set. The fact that the wasteland that was television is now the toxic wasteland that is TV means that college sports, any college sports, and most professional sports have a greater likelihood of being the viewers choice than almost anything on except maybe a good old movie. And, since my wife and I have lived long enough to see most of those old movies in our house the choice will be sports. We'll watch National Geographic, Public Television, The History Channel (when it's actually about history) Turner Classic, and the Western channel if we watch anything else.

You sound just like my family Jr. We hardly ever watch the major networks, except for sports. Usually Discovery, Animal Planet, etc. Gator Boys, Northwoods Law, and Nat Geo. I would rather learn about the Aztecs than watch a silly Sitcom. Any CFB game is fine with me, no matter what sports channel.

Texans won't pay higher cable/satellite fees to watch a team that left the state. If A&M won't play their formal rivals on H/H terms in the state of Texas, then don't expect Texans to pay for their conference network. So yes, in a sense, A&M left the state of Texas

I love CFB and I will watch Idaho play New Mexico St as long as my DirecTV bill doesn't go up. I will watch the SEC as long as my bill doesn't go up.

I think the SEC and TV execs will be surprised and disappointed when they find out how little Texans care about a school in College Station.

(04-13-2013 12:49 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(04-13-2013 12:38 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  

(04-13-2013 12:19 PM)10thMountain Wrote:  Greater Dallas and Houston are all you need to for home area. Ton of SEC fans in both places to justify it and that's a huge chunk of the TX population to drive subscriptions.

If you get home carriage there then Austin or Amarillo can be outside and its no biggie.

I think we are selling CFB fans short here. I like good games. I don't really care whom or where... I like a UT-OU game as well as the folks in Texas like to watch Alabama-LSU. It's just a great game. We have the BTN here in Biloxi and I am sure people here watch the games. There are enough alumni, transplants, and people that just love a good game etc., to make a network pretty much work anywhere.

That's right. But don't forget the other thing in the SECN's favor.....TV stinks. If there was anything on that was worth watching other than sports many husbands would have to watch a game alone on the second set. The fact that the wasteland that was television is now the toxic wasteland that is TV means that college sports, any college sports, and most professional sports have a greater likelihood of being the viewers choice than almost anything on except maybe a good old movie. And, since my wife and I have lived long enough to see most of those old movies in our house the choice will be sports. We'll watch National Geographic, Public Television, The History Channel (when it's actually about history) Turner Classic, and the Western channel if we watch anything else.

Wow, I thought the Western Channel was the Big XII Network...lol Seriously, heres my example regarding network carriage...

My son in law is from Quincy Illinois. He came here in the Seabees, married my daughter and stayed. We always tune in to the BTN to find those hard to find Illini games. We really enjoy rooting for each other's success. This is played out a million times a week I am sure. Even major hotel chains cater to the traveling business people, like the guy from Florida, staying in Dallas on a business trip, and wanting to see an SEC game. They will carry the networks.

(04-13-2013 01:00 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(04-13-2013 12:49 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(04-13-2013 12:38 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  

(04-13-2013 12:19 PM)10thMountain Wrote:  Greater Dallas and Houston are all you need to for home area. Ton of SEC fans in both places to justify it and that's a huge chunk of the TX population to drive subscriptions.

If you get home carriage there then Austin or Amarillo can be outside and its no biggie.

I think we are selling CFB fans short here. I like good games. I don't really care whom or where... I like a UT-OU game as well as the folks in Texas like to watch Alabama-LSU. It's just a great game. We have the BTN here in Biloxi and I am sure people here watch the games. There are enough alumni, transplants, and people that just love a good game etc., to make a network pretty much work anywhere.

That's right. But don't forget the other thing in the SECN's favor.....TV stinks. If there was anything on that was worth watching other than sports many husbands would have to watch a game alone on the second set. The fact that the wasteland that was television is now the toxic wasteland that is TV means that college sports, any college sports, and most professional sports have a greater likelihood of being the viewers choice than almost anything on except maybe a good old movie. And, since my wife and I have lived long enough to see most of those old movies in our house the choice will be sports. We'll watch National Geographic, Public Television, The History Channel (when it's actually about history) Turner Classic, and the Western channel if we watch anything else.

Logical fallacy. You're assuming TV people want YOU to watch. Its like commercials nowadays. I find most stupid or offensive. But they don't care. I'm not in the prime demographic they want to reach. That group has different ideas of what appeals to them.

That's an interesting observation, but since sports advertising dollars rely heavily upon Boomers, X'ers, and generation Y, and universities who once relied heavily upon the WWII generation and their contributions now have to rely upon the money the networks offer for those three generations eyeballs on the corporate ads, our demographic does count. It might not count for television as a whole and I find your point intriguing in that regard, but it does have to rely directly on viewership for the % paid for the ads by the corporations to the networks for live sporting events. The rates aren't fixed like for regular programming. So we still count there.

One reason I'm intrigued about who the ads are designed for is because the purchasing power of the younger generation is less than for their predecessors at that age. This is the second generation for which that trend is true and it is a first for our nation's history. If these trends deepen it will bring about some radical changes in advertising policies and targets. It is already bringing about changes in who is targeted most strongly for tax increases. I'd say if the trend continues (and I believe it will) the attributes of what once made our nation great will be all but gone and those who produce will either leave to live where there are less restrictive policies, or they will simply acquiesce and produce less.

(04-13-2013 01:16 PM)jml2010 Wrote:  Texans won't pay higher cable/satellite fees to watch a team that left the state. If A&M won't play their formal rivals on H/H terms in the state of Texas, then don't expect Texans to pay for their conference network. So yes, in a sense, A&M left the state of Texas

I love CFB and I will watch Idaho play New Mexico St as long as my DirecTV bill doesn't go up. I will watch the SEC as long as my bill doesn't go up.

I think the SEC and TV execs will be surprised and disappointed when they find out how little Texans care about a school in College Station.

I think you are wrong regarding Aggie popularity in Texas but that's OK. Another angle on this may be that with DISH, Direct TV, and cable all in a very heated market race, may choose to try to "one-up" the other by offering the SEC network at no extra cost. Cheaper for them to suck it up on this that lose a 400 channel customer.

(04-13-2013 01:19 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(04-13-2013 01:00 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(04-13-2013 12:49 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(04-13-2013 12:38 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  

(04-13-2013 12:19 PM)10thMountain Wrote:  Greater Dallas and Houston are all you need to for home area. Ton of SEC fans in both places to justify it and that's a huge chunk of the TX population to drive subscriptions.

If you get home carriage there then Austin or Amarillo can be outside and its no biggie.

I think we are selling CFB fans short here. I like good games. I don't really care whom or where... I like a UT-OU game as well as the folks in Texas like to watch Alabama-LSU. It's just a great game. We have the BTN here in Biloxi and I am sure people here watch the games. There are enough alumni, transplants, and people that just love a good game etc., to make a network pretty much work anywhere.

That's right. But don't forget the other thing in the SECN's favor.....TV stinks. If there was anything on that was worth watching other than sports many husbands would have to watch a game alone on the second set. The fact that the wasteland that was television is now the toxic wasteland that is TV means that college sports, any college sports, and most professional sports have a greater likelihood of being the viewers choice than almost anything on except maybe a good old movie. And, since my wife and I have lived long enough to see most of those old movies in our house the choice will be sports. We'll watch National Geographic, Public Television, The History Channel (when it's actually about history) Turner Classic, and the Western channel if we watch anything else.

Logical fallacy. You're assuming TV people want YOU to watch. Its like commercials nowadays. I find most stupid or offensive. But they don't care. I'm not in the prime demographic they want to reach. That group has different ideas of what appeals to them.

That's an interesting observation, but since sports advertising dollars rely heavily upon Boomers, X'ers, and generation Y, and universities who once relied heavily upon the WWII generation and their contributions now have to rely upon the money the networks offer for those three generations eyeballs on the corporate ads, our demographic does count. It might not count for television as a whole and I find your point intriguing in that regard, but it does have to rely directly on viewership for the % paid for the ads by the corporations to the networks for live sporting events. The rates aren't fixed like for regular programming. So we still count there.

One reason I'm intrigued about who the ads are designed for is because the purchasing power of the younger generation is less than for their predecessors at that age. This is the second generation for which that trend is true and it is a first for our nation's history. If these trends deepen it will bring about some radical changes in advertising policies and targets. It is already bringing about changes in who is targeted most strongly for tax increases. I'd say if the trend continues (and I believe it will) the attributes of what once made our nation great will be all but gone and those who produce will either leave to live where there are less restrictive policies, or they will simply acquiesce and produce less.

They're not going after boomers as much anymore either. Its that 15-34. Maybe the Mercedes people are targeting older demographics, but the cell phone and beer commercials aren't. The Viagra and long term care insurance commercials on those old movies are.

(04-13-2013 12:19 PM)10thMountain Wrote:  Greater Dallas and Houston are all you need to for home area. Ton of SEC fans in both places to justify it and that's a huge chunk of the TX population to drive subscriptions.

If you get home carriage there then Austin or Amarillo can be outside and its no biggie.

Yes, they'll want to get East Texas and greater DFW acknowledged as their footprint. They may put out an ambit claim for all of Texas, but they won't get their whole ambit claim, just as the BTN had to concede on a lower carriage rate in Philadelphia.