(03-24-2016 12:19 PM)RutgersGuy Wrote: I already posted a link with the full schedule of MLB playoff games last year. 3 games Fox of FS1 aired were on a saturday. Whats your point? I already addressed that. Once again, because they have other properties doesn't mean they can't air multiple OTA B1G games most weekends.
It kinda does, but I'm not interested in digging up everything Fox and FoxSports1 showed last year, most of which they have contracts saying how much has to be on FOX OTA. There are 13 x 3 = 39 or so "windows" on FOX-OTA on Saturdays during most college football seasons, 18 are spoken for with PAC-12 and Big 12, a half dozen are committed to MLB. That leaves a max of 15. I'm pretty sure some other FOX-OTA Saturday slots are spoken for, but I"m going to leave it there because theoretically Fox could bump a few of those (extra MLB, PAC, XII games) to FoxSports1. (Also I think a couple of PAC-12 games on Fox had super-late start times).
You can't fit 2 Big Ten games a week for 12-13 Saturdays into 15 windows. And that ignores the main attraction of the Big TEn for Fox--building up FoxSPorts1 so they can boost the per-subscriber price.
Quote:A 50/50 split means they will be willing to take less money, something that Delany hasn't indicated he is open to doing. Pitting ESPN against Fox is what will make the league the most money.
That only works if ESPN and Fox are both desperate to get the whole package. What's pretty likely is both ESPN and Fox tell Delaney "We're looking at $250M for the whole package, or $150 for our half of an even-steven split." (Assuming that ESPN doesn't tell Delaney "You don't have to spread this around, but Disney HQ is telling us that we can't spend any money on anything.")
The current ESPN-Big Ten package covers up to about 40 football games. The Big Ten might be in a position somewhat like the Pac-12 was. They had (making up numbers) 50 games to sell, and ESPN only wanted 20 and Fox only wanted 20. But they got ESPN and Fox to pay for the 20 what they would have paid for the 50, because the value is concentrated in the first 20.
What Fox really wants is to be able to put Big Ten football on Fox Sports 1, creating a habit of including FS1 in the channel flipping rotation with ESPN/2/U/OTA on Saturdays. Fox Sports 1 is fairly crowded, but not as crowded as Fox-OTA. So let's say 1-2 games a week, 20 games during the season. Another 10 games on Fox-OTA.
You may notice that 20 plus 10 is 30. And Fox could easily live with 20, 10 on Fox-OTA and 10 on FoxSports1. 10 weeks of Big Ten at noon, Big XII at 4 and PAC-12 at 8 (all times eastern) is pretty solid. (OK, less than 10 because FS1 has other programming.)