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Full Version: AAC lands $1 billion media rights deal from ESPN
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Anyone in this league is lying if they say they wouldn't rather be in the American.
And that deal just magnifies how pathetic ours is. How much longer will are collective idiot presidents keep the moron we have now in control of our conference.

The AAC hired a former TV executive to run their conference and we hired a former Tulsa administrator to run ours. We can all see the difference it's made. I hope our presidents are real happy with their politically correct/diverse hire. Instead of highering someone with experience and business accumen we try to score political points with a female government employee.
Good job for them!

Can only help in our next negotiations. We just need some new leadership.
It's a good deal as it stands now but there are some red flags that stand out.

No Grant of Rights clause, so any AAC school can leave if selected by a P5 conference for membership. Big XII TV contract ends after the 2024-2025 athletic year and they may choose to expand leaving the AAC in a similar situation CUSA was prior to the conference realignment shuffle in the early 2010's, where in that time CUSA had a favorable TV contract.

According to the Sports Business Daily, "majority of basketball games and a significant number of the football games will go to ESPN+". For Houston, Memphis, UCF, it may not be much of an issue but UConn, Tulane, ECU and others, majority of their games will be on ESPN+. Games in which they may have had televised as part of their cable/satellite package, now will have to be purchased for extra.

Looking forward to the release of further details of the new TV contract when it becomes available.

And here is some from John Ourand: "The deal does not include a Grant of Rights. But ESPN did get a 'conference composition clause' in the contract that protects the network financially if any of the AAC’s top brands exit."

My guess is that if, for example, UCF, Houston or Memphis leaves, ESPN is not held to the 7-8 million dollar payout per school - the payout may be less?

Any other guesses?
Why is everyone banking on the B12 to expand? Why would they? AAC seems pretty stable to me.
(03-19-2019 04:15 PM)odu09 Wrote: [ -> ]Why is everyone banking on the B12 to expand? Why would they? AAC seems pretty stable to me.

I think the main theory now is they won't expand (they went through that dog and pony show a year or two ago) but will end up getting raided of their valuable assets (Texas, Oklahoma, etc.) by the PAC or ACC and basically create a P4 and demote the B12 like the Big East/AAC was. Then the B12 would backfill. We'll see but without any consolidation of the power conferences I don't see any further realignment happening unless we rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.
(03-19-2019 04:15 PM)odu09 Wrote: [ -> ]Why is everyone banking on the B12 to expand? Why would they? AAC seems pretty stable to me.

I'm not banking on it but Big XII have looked at expansion in the past but during negotiations if the Big XII and networks feel they can make more money by expanding, they will and any AAC institution will jump at first chance. AAC is getting 7 mil per school, currently P5 schools at minimum get 30 mil.
I know we're beating a dead horse here, but shouldn't deals like this underscore our need to get some fresh leadership in place?

In the past week, we were embarrassed with our selection process, and now this.

We can't honestly look at ourselves as peers with those schools that are making literally 10 times the amount of money we make. Sad to say, but if you look at things objectively we just don't stack up unless we could get new leadership in place.
(03-19-2019 04:34 PM)rileylives Wrote: [ -> ]I know we're beating a dead horse here, but shouldn't deals like this underscore our need to get some fresh leadership in place?

In the past week, we were embarrassed with our selection process, and now this.

We can't honestly look at ourselves as peers with those schools that are making literally 10 times the amount of money we make. Sad to say, but if you look at things objectively we just don't stack up unless we could get new leadership in place.

14x what we make actually.
Now for the fine print:

"The comprehensive deal provides ESPN with rights to all of the AAC’s live programming, except for a small package of basketball games on CBS and some Navy football games on CBS Sports Network. The new contract also calls for some Saturday football games to be broadcast on ABC. Football, along with men's and women's basketball, will remain on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, but the majority of basketball games and a significant number of the football games will go to ESPN+. Other live sports including baseball, softball and soccer also will air on ESPN+. Renewal talks with CBS have not begun."

A few basketball and football games were already on Espn 3. I take it that more than that will now be on Espn+. Maybe it will just be the Tulanes and other lowlies of the league but who knows?

Additionally the fans will now be paying for what used to be free.

Overall, a decent deal though imho.
Tulane basketball will get hidden on ESPN+. Our alumni will pay the ESPN+ fee for it and life moves on. I just want the conference football slate on cable and I'm happy.

Bad AAC basketball being hidden from public viewing is actually a win.
(03-19-2019 05:17 PM)oliveandblue Wrote: [ -> ]Tulane basketball will get hidden on ESPN+. Our alumni will pay the ESPN+ fee for it and life moves on. I just want the conference football slate on cable and I'm happy.

Bad AAC basketball being hidden from public viewing is actually a win.

The contract is for 12 years. $7 million will be peanuts by then.
(03-19-2019 05:19 PM)cotton1991 Wrote: [ -> ]
(03-19-2019 05:17 PM)oliveandblue Wrote: [ -> ]Tulane basketball will get hidden on ESPN+. Our alumni will pay the ESPN+ fee for it and life moves on. I just want the conference football slate on cable and I'm happy.

Bad AAC basketball being hidden from public viewing is actually a win.

The contract is for 12 years. $7 million will be peanuts by then.

Things will shift in 8 years from now. I actually can see some of the P5 deals contracting.
(03-19-2019 05:17 PM)oliveandblue Wrote: [ -> ]Tulane basketball will get hidden on ESPN+. Our alumni will pay the ESPN+ fee for it and life moves on. I just want the conference football slate on cable and I'm happy.

Bad AAC basketball being hidden from public viewing is actually a win.

I disagree, streaming is not a horrible option. I would applaud our Conference USA leadership if they put together a exclusive streaming rights package with, say Amazon prime, more so then our current TV structure.

What is terrible, however, is when you have 5 or more multiple viewing and streaming options. ESPN plus as a whole is a much better situation then our current form.
(03-19-2019 05:19 PM)cotton1991 Wrote: [ -> ]
(03-19-2019 05:17 PM)oliveandblue Wrote: [ -> ]Tulane basketball will get hidden on ESPN+. Our alumni will pay the ESPN+ fee for it and life moves on. I just want the conference football slate on cable and I'm happy.

Bad AAC basketball being hidden from public viewing is actually a win.

The contract is for 12 years. $7 million will be peanuts by then.
and what will we be getting? The discarded shells?
(03-19-2019 05:36 PM)rileylives Wrote: [ -> ]
(03-19-2019 05:17 PM)oliveandblue Wrote: [ -> ]Tulane basketball will get hidden on ESPN+. Our alumni will pay the ESPN+ fee for it and life moves on. I just want the conference football slate on cable and I'm happy.

Bad AAC basketball being hidden from public viewing is actually a win.

I disagree, streaming is not a horrible option. I would applaud our Conference USA leadership if they put together a exclusive streaming rights package with, say Amazon prime, more so then our current TV structure.

What is terrible, however, is when you have 5 or more multiple viewing and streaming options. ESPN plus as a whole is a much better situation then our current form.

Further, if any of your schools outperform their expectations, there's always the ability to have a main line ESPN2 or ESPN broadcast. We have no such hope.
If this isn't a wake-up call to our conference presidents and leadership, they are literally sleeping behind their power wheels.
(03-19-2019 03:42 PM)hooverblazer Wrote: [ -> ]Anyone in this league is lying if they say they wouldn't rather be in the American.
Oh, please. It’s a “lateral move”!!

One of the geniuses on this forum told me that.
Reading their boards, seems like the only happy ones are ECU fans? Everyone else is pretty disappointed. I'll admit I didn't read much, but $7M in 2032 is not great. I think their more realistic fans realize how far away they are still from P5. They separated themselves from us though, mission accomplished.

My favorite is their complaint about having to "pony up" for ESPN+. They have no clue of the struggle lol.

Also there's a thread for them to fire their commissioner. Maybe they can hire Judy. Throw in a toy Hummer and it's a done deal.
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