(10-10-2014 12:01 PM)Dasville Wrote: B1G has demonstrated that they go where the $ is so I don't expect Fox ratings to matter. The time slots they give up on ESPN have to be filled. It could benefit the ACC.
Yeah, that's what I'm interested to see. I just don't see them having the balls to do it, but I think the B1G has been vulnerable to hubris for some time.
I have no doubt they'll give a piece to Fox, but unless they give all non BTN content to Fox, I don't know if it will be enough to turn Fox around.
But if they do give it all to Fox, they are murdering their ratings. I mean, Ohio State - Penn State is going to draw a lot of eyeballs anywhere it shows, but Iowa-Minnesota might draw .6 on ESPN, but it's going to pull a .1 on FS1. When you consider that a bunch of content is already on the BTN and out of sight, that's tough reality to shove down the throats of most of your schools. All the money in the world isn't going to do a whole lot for Illinois if they're for all intents and purposes never seen on TV.
And when you're talking about a bunch of schools with a dearth of local talent that need to pull kids nationally (Nebraska, Iowa, etc) that's got to be a bitter pill.
I don't think they can do it. I think they end up with a PAC type deal, but I'll be interested to see if I'm right. In a way, I hope the B1G does pull totally out of ESPN. That will make the ACC that much more important for ESPN to protect, and probably be enough to keep Fox as a competitor.
Plus, since the BTN revenue is going to swamp the ACC's revenue anyway, I'd rather they be handicapped by lower ratings and trying to overcome the ESPN machine.