CSNbbs

Good for them! Maybe we can convince Illini Tire to help buy our way into the AAC.

(05-11-2016 10:20 AM)Dog Fan Wrote: [ -> ]Good for them! Maybe we can convince Illini Tire to help buy our way into the AAC.

My hope is that 2 teams are taken from the AAC so that if NIU does get an invite to the AAC its a joint invite with Toledo. To me that is the best case realistic scenario for NIU if we do move.

Also for those AAC fans please do realize that ESPN will IMMEDIATELY VOID their TV contract...they will likely renegotiate it rather then drop the conference all together but the TV money in the AAC will not be much better then we would get starting next year in the MAC.

(05-11-2016 10:40 AM)HuskieJohn Wrote: [ -> ]My hope is that 2 teams are taken from the AAC so that if NIU does get an invite to the AAC its a joint invite with Toledo. To me that is the best case realistic scenario for NIU if we do move.

Also for those AAC fans please do realize that ESPN will IMMEDIATELY VOID their TV contract...they will likely renegotiate it rather then drop the conference all together but the TV money in the AAC will not be much better then we would get starting next year in the MAC.

Its a step up regardless. Have to start swimming up stream.

(05-11-2016 10:40 AM)HuskieJohn Wrote: [ -> ]My hope is that 2 teams are taken from the AAC so that if NIU does get an invite to the AAC its a joint invite with Toledo. To me that is the best case realistic scenario for NIU if we do move.

Also for those AAC fans please do realize that ESPN will IMMEDIATELY VOID their TV contract...they will likely renegotiate it rather then drop the conference all together but the TV money in the AAC will not be much better then we would get starting next year in the MAC.

Do you know if there is language in their agreement that would allow ESPN to do this? I would think conferences would have the foresight to protect themselves from something like that.

(05-11-2016 10:40 AM)HuskieJohn Wrote: [ -> ]My hope is that 2 teams are taken from the AAC so that if NIU does get an invite to the AAC its a joint invite with Toledo. To me that is the best case realistic scenario for NIU if we do move.

Also for those AAC fans please do realize that ESPN will IMMEDIATELY VOID their TV contract...they will likely renegotiate it rather then drop the conference all together but the TV money in the AAC will not be much better then we would get starting next year in the MAC.

I think you are only partially correct there... I believe the AAC deal with ESPN has the teams split off into groups and a renegitation is only triggered if certain teams leave. I also think the AAC owns its second and third tier rights which gives them the ability to negotiate directly with CBS and other networks for its content. This is different from the MAC where ESPN owns everything and games are sublicensed out to other networks with ESPN collecting the fee. If you think a revamped AAC will be getting MAC money I think you are selling them a bit short.

The AAC commissioner is a former television network executive having worked for both CBS and ESPN. I think that is why there is interest in NIU as he has to be thinking of the network appeal to including Chicago in the AAC.

Here's an interesting article about the AAC's deal w ESPN from a few years ago with direct NIU mentions

Quote:Here’s the rub – ESPN doesn’t want the Mountain West, Sun Belt, MAC or Conference USA champion playing in the Cotton Bowl or the Peach Bowl. They want the AAC champion.

The BCS posed a problem after the double-hosting model was introduced in 2006 because it was stuck with two "poor" teams from a ratings standpoint – the Big East champion and a BCS buster. When the BCS busters with name value, specifically Utah and TCU, left for greener pastures, ESPN inherited a problem.

Namely, ESPN could not have a team like Northern Illinois in primetime on New Year’s Day. This was confirmed when UCF played on New Year’s Day last year and ratings were up 11%. In response, the college football powers moved the AAC berth over to the "BCS buster" category in an effort to eliminate the Northern Illinois’ and Hawaii’s of the world from dragging down ratings ever again.

http://www.theuconnblog.com/2014/8/13/59...est-friend

(05-11-2016 12:14 PM)NIU32 Wrote: [ -> ]Here's an interesting article about the AAC's deal w ESPN from a few years ago with direct NIU mentions

Quote:Here’s the rub – ESPN doesn’t want the Mountain West, Sun Belt, MAC or Conference USA champion playing in the Cotton Bowl or the Peach Bowl. They want the AAC champion.

The BCS posed a problem after the double-hosting model was introduced in 2006 because it was stuck with two "poor" teams from a ratings standpoint – the Big East champion and a BCS buster. When the BCS busters with name value, specifically Utah and TCU, left for greener pastures, ESPN inherited a problem.

Namely, ESPN could not have a team like Northern Illinois in primetime on New Year’s Day. This was confirmed when UCF played on New Year’s Day last year and ratings were up 11%. In response, the college football powers moved the AAC berth over to the "BCS buster" category in an effort to eliminate the Northern Illinois’ and Hawaii’s of the world from dragging down ratings ever again.

http://www.theuconnblog.com/2014/8/13/59...est-friend

Guy is completely wrong. UCF NYD ratings were down 11%.

That article has it's facts wrong. The Fiesta Bowl that UCF played in, saw it's ratings drop 11% from the previous year. The TV rating was 6.6 with 11.2 million viewers. The NIU Orange Bowl had a rating 6.1 with 10.6 million viewers. It seems neither UCF or NIU moved the needle with viewers. I wonder what UConn's Fiesta Bowl TV ratings were.

(05-11-2016 12:29 PM)Doggone Wrote: [ -> ]That article is it's facts wrong. The Fiesta Bowl that UCF played in, saw it's ratings drop 11% from the previous year. The TV rating was 6.6 with 11.2 million viewers. The NIU Orange Bowl had a rating 6.1 with 10.6 million viewers. It seems neither UCF or NIU moved the needle with viewers. I wonder what UConn's Fiesta Bowl TV ratings were.

Wikipedia says a 6.7 rating with 10.8 million viewers.

Ratings were competitive for our game

Somebody should post a comment to that blog.

(05-11-2016 11:19 AM)Cowboy95 Wrote: [ -> ]

(05-11-2016 10:40 AM)HuskieJohn Wrote: [ -> ]My hope is that 2 teams are taken from the AAC so that if NIU does get an invite to the AAC its a joint invite with Toledo. To me that is the best case realistic scenario for NIU if we do move.

Also for those AAC fans please do realize that ESPN will IMMEDIATELY VOID their TV contract...they will likely renegotiate it rather then drop the conference all together but the TV money in the AAC will not be much better then we would get starting next year in the MAC.

Do you know if there is language in their agreement that would allow ESPN to do this? I would think conferences would have the foresight to protect themselves from something like that.

3/19/13
Brett McMurphy

If the Big East loses two more schools to conference realignment, the league's seven-year media rights deal can be terminated, industry sources told ESPN.

NBC Sports Network's contract divided the league into Group A (Connecticut, Cincinnati, Houston and Temple) and Group B (the remaining members), sources said.

The media rights deal can be terminated if either two Group A schools leave or one Group A and one Group B school leave. If two Group B schools leave, the contract will be renegotiated, sources said.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/...ng-sources

(05-11-2016 01:18 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote: [ -> ]

(05-11-2016 11:19 AM)Cowboy95 Wrote: [ -> ]

(05-11-2016 10:40 AM)HuskieJohn Wrote: [ -> ]My hope is that 2 teams are taken from the AAC so that if NIU does get an invite to the AAC its a joint invite with Toledo. To me that is the best case realistic scenario for NIU if we do move.

Also for those AAC fans please do realize that ESPN will IMMEDIATELY VOID their TV contract...they will likely renegotiate it rather then drop the conference all together but the TV money in the AAC will not be much better then we would get starting next year in the MAC.

Do you know if there is language in their agreement that would allow ESPN to do this? I would think conferences would have the foresight to protect themselves from something like that.

3/19/13
Brett McMurphy

If the Big East loses two more schools to conference realignment, the league's seven-year media rights deal can be terminated, industry sources told ESPN.

NBC Sports Network's contract divided the league into Group A (Connecticut, Cincinnati, Houston and Temple) and Group B (the remaining members), sources said.

The media rights deal can be terminated if either two Group A schools leave or one Group A and one Group B school leave. If two Group B schools leave, the contract will be renegotiated, sources said.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/...ng-sources

Thanks for digging that up. Either the AAC had zero leverage or whoever negotiated that deal should not have had that responsibility.

(05-11-2016 07:08 PM)Cowboy95 Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for digging that up. Either the AAC had zero leverage or whoever negotiated that deal should not have had that responsibility.

The AAC wouldn't have had much leverage, and most networks are going to want to protects themselves (just as the AAC would want to) given the recent conference realignment. The original contract is figured based on assumptions about the teams/markets in the conference, and if that changes substantially it can significantly alter the math for the networks.