Cliff Peale ‏@cliffpeale ·49 mins
.@PrezOno on AAC contract w/@espn: "They're getting so much product for so little." @uofcincy @GoBEARCATS


Cliff Peale ‏@cliffpeale ·4 hrs
NO COMMENT: @PrezOno touted AAC but would not answer if @uofcincy still looking at other conferences. "We're a member of AAC." @Enquirer

Cliff Peale ‏@cliffpeale ·22 hrs
BETTER TV DEAL?: @PrezOno says AAC will try to negotiate better deal w/@espn after @UConnHuskies titles. @uofcincy @Enquirer

I don't like him giving "no comment" about whether we are still looking at other conferences. I feel like he used to basically say, "YES WE ARE LOOKING AT OTHER CONFERENCES! WE NEED TO GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" without actually saying that.

If the American can get a TV deal in the $7 million to $10 million range that would be great.

(04-11-2014 04:31 PM)bearcatlawjd Wrote:  If the American can get a TV deal in the $7 million to $10 million range that would be great.

Ain't going to happen. The top 2 programs (UC and UConn) will bolt at the first opportunity, and ESPN knows it. Not exactly a national secret.

We don't want to get trapped with a GOR or other type of buy out...

AAC can try, but zero leverage. UC should be talking to ESPN privately about getting help getting out.

(04-11-2014 06:46 PM)KCat Wrote:  We don't want to get trapped with a GOR or other type of buy out...

There will never be a Grant of Rights with the AAC. Every school has to sign on for it to be enforceable, UC and UConn would never agree to it, so there is no point in the other schools even approaching the subject. Its a non starter.

(04-11-2014 09:28 PM)Mopper Wrote:  

(04-11-2014 06:46 PM)KCat Wrote:  We don't want to get trapped with a GOR or other type of buy out...

There will never be a Grant of Rights with the AAC. Every school has to sign on for it to be enforceable, UC and UConn would never agree to it, so there is no point in the other schools even approaching the subject. Its a non starter.

If it could get the TV contract around $10 million per school and the American was included in any breakaway the power five is planning then I could see a GOR as viable option. Too many variables would have to happen for that to be a possibility.

I do believe the American will get a bump in their TV deal because ESPN will want to invest in this conference to make sure its stronger than the non-ESPN properties like the Mountain West and the Big East. A bump could be as little as $5 million or $6 million per team or basically the amount USF, UC, and UConn are earning with settlement with the Big East. I am not sure ESPN needs UConn or Cincinnati in a power conference because they are getting those schools a discount price. I expect UConn to have a bunch of high profile non-conference basketball games next season featured on ESPN.

If I am ESPN I don't even answer the phone. Why would you? As I posted months ago UCs best individual case
was a deep tourney run. Now all talk is about UConn.

(04-11-2014 10:09 PM)bearcatlawjd Wrote:  I do believe the American will get a bump in their TV deal because ESPN will want to invest in this conference to make sure its stronger than the non-ESPN properties like the Mountain West and the Big East.

Just like what they are doing now huh? Huge leap of faith to assume ESPN is going to take care of us or the AAC. This is something that some of the new member posters, and apparently you too, still need to learn.

ESPN got what they wanted. Now the AAC are their slaves.

(04-12-2014 08:38 AM)BJUnklFkr Wrote:  

(04-11-2014 10:09 PM)bearcatlawjd Wrote:  I do believe the American will get a bump in their TV deal because ESPN will want to invest in this conference to make sure its stronger than the non-ESPN properties like the Mountain West and the Big East.

Just like what they are doing now huh? Huge leap of faith to assume ESPN is going to take care of us or the AAC. This is something that some of the new member posters, and apparently you too, still need to learn.

ESPN got what they wanted. Now the AAC are their slaves.

Exactly. I don't see why there would be any incentive from ESPN to renegotiate the contract before the 7-year deal is up after the 2020-21 season. That is unless there is a clause built into the contract stating that if the AAC reaches certain TV rating thresholds or something like that which would allow both parties to come to the table now.

(04-11-2014 10:09 PM)bearcatlawjd Wrote:  

(04-11-2014 09:28 PM)Mopper Wrote:  

(04-11-2014 06:46 PM)KCat Wrote:  We don't want to get trapped with a GOR or other type of buy out...

There will never be a Grant of Rights with the AAC. Every school has to sign on for it to be enforceable, UC and UConn would never agree to it, so there is no point in the other schools even approaching the subject. Its a non starter.

If it could get the TV contract around $10 million per school and the American was included in any breakaway the power five is planning then I could see a GOR as viable option. Too many variables would have to happen for that to be a possibility.

I do believe the American will get a bump in their TV deal because ESPN will want to invest in this conference to make sure its stronger than the non-ESPN properties like the Mountain West and the Big East. A bump could be as little as $5 million or $6 million per team or basically the amount USF, UC, and UConn are earning with settlement with the Big East. I am not sure ESPN needs UConn or Cincinnati in a power conference because they are getting those schools a discount price. I expect UConn to have a bunch of high profile non-conference basketball games next season featured on ESPN.

I would be extremely disappointed if UC signed a "GoR" with the AAC... Even for $10 MM/year.

First, I suspect you will see a "bump" in the media rights contract... IN SIX YEARS...when the current contract expires. All of the speculation that ESPN will "bump" the contract this year with the "look in" is, frankly, delusional. You'd have a better argument that, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus..." than to try and argue that ESPN will voluntarily "bump" the contract when the contract hasn't even started yet.

The size of that increase is speculative, but I don't think anything beyond a doubling ($4 MM/school/year) is realistic. Getting back to old BE standards would be nice ($6MM/school/year for FB and $8MM/school/year total) but I don't think you'll see it. In the words of Monty Python, $10MM/school/year is "straight out."

Two truths are staring us straight in the face:
1) The goal of business is to Pay as LITTLE as you can for something that will return as MUCH as possible... So the idea that ESPN will "reward" the conference for delivering greater than intended results is ludicrous.

and

2) This conference, as it currently exists, will NEVER be worth enough to bother with a "Grant of Rights" type of deal. A GoR is impractical in this case because none of the component parts...as it exists right now...are worth enough. Plus, without a GoR, the conference has the flexibility to drop a member (say Temple) if they start to fail or a member (say Tulsa) if they don't bring the results while an non-member does. GoR's are designed to keep valuable assets from bolting at the expense of keeping less valuable assets bound. There just are no assets of value worth also binding the dregs of this conference...

One thing not to lose sight of is the value of the exposure we get on ESPN. I wouldn't move games from ESPN to FOX (or any other network) over a couple of million dollars if we want to build UC into a national brand.

(04-13-2014 08:38 AM)back2vinyl Wrote:  One thing not to lose sight of is the value of the exposure we get on ESPN. I wouldn't move games from ESPN to FOX (or any other network) over a couple of million dollars if we want to build UC into a national brand.

That is what is one the reasons I am not a huge fan of moving to the Big XII if the ACC was an option or the American some how could get a great deal. Their deal is part ESPN and part Fox with a few Longhorn network issues. My other issue is bad geography and the WVU experience.

If the Big XII went to 16 teams in four pods with UC included that would be awesome because the geography and "good fit" issue isn't a problem.

East: UConn, USF, UCF, WVU
North: Cincinnati, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State
Texas: Texas, Texas Tech, TCU, Baylor
Central: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Memphis, BYU

Right now Big XII isn't smart enough to become true super conference.

(04-13-2014 09:01 AM)bearcatlawjd Wrote:  

(04-13-2014 08:38 AM)back2vinyl Wrote:  One thing not to lose sight of is the value of the exposure we get on ESPN. I wouldn't move games from ESPN to FOX (or any other network) over a couple of million dollars if we want to build UC into a national brand.

That is what is one the reasons I am not a huge fan of moving to the Big XII if the ACC was an option or the American some how could get a great deal. Their deal is part ESPN and part Fox with a few Longhorn network issues. My other issue is bad geography and the WVU experience.

If the Big XII went to 16 teams in four pods with UC included that would be awesome because the geography and "good fit" issue isn't a problem.

East: UConn, USF, UCF, WVU
North: Cincinnati, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State
Texas: Texas, Texas Tech, TCU, Baylor
Central: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Memphis, BYU

Right now Big XII isn't smart enough to become true super conference.

I agree with you about the Big XII. Texas is basically biding its time until either the GOR expires, or finds a way to get around it. They will also be getting a big paycheck from that failure of a network LHN, and that is also quite a few more years. One theory suggests that the main reason Texas, Oklahoma, and the like, don't want to expand, is because expansion would reduce the percentage of schools that would rather just see the conference dissolve. Those include (IMO) Texas, Oklahoma, OSU, Kansas, and maybe TT if they are truly able to ride UT's coattails. No way any school that gets added at this stage wants it to go away.

Although it may be better to have an unstable lifeboat than none at all, otherwise, I want no part of a conference that very few of its members really want to be in. And that adequately describes the Big XII. I suppose 3-4 years of big TV money and playoff paycheck would make the $10MM exit fee from the AAC, to an extent, worth it. But, what next?