story here

If ESPN takes over the regional Fox Sports stations could it add inventory to both the SEC and ACC Networks and perhaps lead to a merger of several of the Big 12-State channels into some sort of Big 12 network? Seems like it would be easier to work out some sort of co-branding/sister station affiliation with the LHN if the lesser tier Big 12 rights come under the purview of the House of Mouse...

(12-05-2017 11:31 PM)CarlSmithCenter Wrote:  story here

If ESPN takes over the regional Fox Sports stations could it add inventory to both the SEC and ACC Networks and perhaps lead to a merger of several of the Big 12-State channels into some sort of Big 12 network? Seems like it would be easier to work out some sort of co-branding/sister station affiliation with the LHN if the lesser tier Big 12 rights come under the purview of the House of Mouse...

the deal doesn't include news or sports programming. those will be kept by FOX

(12-06-2017 12:23 AM)xCougarDavex Wrote:  

(12-05-2017 11:31 PM)CarlSmithCenter Wrote:  story here

If ESPN takes over the regional Fox Sports stations could it add inventory to both the SEC and ACC Networks and perhaps lead to a merger of several of the Big 12-State channels into some sort of Big 12 network? Seems like it would be easier to work out some sort of co-branding/sister station affiliation with the LHN if the lesser tier Big 12 rights come under the purview of the House of Mouse...

the deal doesn't include news or sports programming. those will be kept by FOX

Your correct---it doesnt include FOX News--but it has to include the RSN sports rights---otherwise, the RSN's would be worthless. It wont include the sports programming for FOX OTA or FS1/FS2.

So all those regional channels would then be produced by Disney/ESPN and probably rebranded. I’m pretty sure the majority of that live content can not be shown nationally, like on Ditectv, as it would violate out of market services like MLB’s season pass, MLS Direct Kick, and other national services.

It could help some of the lesser distributed properties find national streams on ESPN3.

(12-06-2017 12:55 AM)murrdcu Wrote:  So all those regional channels would then be produced by Disney/ESPN and probably rebranded. I’m pretty sure the majority of that live content can not be shown nationally, like on Ditectv, as it would violate out of market services like MLB’s season pass, MLS Direct Kick, and other national services.

It could help some of the lesser distributed properties find national streams on ESPN3.

Im thinking that a lot of current suppliers of FBS content to ESPN-3 (MAC/Sunbelt/CUSA) might find this deal beneficial. I could see these RSN's providing a traditional television outlet by mirroring select content that would have previously only been available on ESPN3.

If local RSN’s are going to ESPN, then thank eternal heaven my city’s RSN went to Comcast/NBC.

I would think the pecking order would be:
1 ABC
2 ESPN/ESPN2
3 Other networks (NBC, FOX,CBS)
4 Conference network
5 RSN
There’s not a lot of quality inventory by the time you get to 5.

Orlando Magic games are on FSN Florida. I wonder how that is gonna work.

(12-05-2017 11:31 PM)CarlSmithCenter Wrote:  story here

If ESPN takes over the regional Fox Sports stations could it add inventory to both the SEC and ACC Networks and perhaps lead to a merger of several of the Big 12-State channels into some sort of Big 12 network? Seems like it would be easier to work out some sort of co-branding/sister station affiliation with the LHN if the lesser tier Big 12 rights come under the purview of the House of Mouse...

This sounds to me like a recipe for disaster if you're college sports.

If Fox is getting out of the regional sports game (combined with the up to know unknown status of their ownership in BTN) that would leave almost everything in the hands of ESPN. Makes me wonder if Fox will continue to be a player in college sports, ESPECIALLY college football.

How could ESPN having a stranglehold on the conference networks PLUS owning most of the rights to games be a good thing? If you think there's bias in coverage and reporting now, just wait until they're the only show in town.

I could see the RSN becoming the landing spot for games currently on ESPN3 or licensed to CBSSN.

(12-06-2017 08:24 AM)BadgerMJ Wrote:  

(12-05-2017 11:31 PM)CarlSmithCenter Wrote:  story here

If ESPN takes over the regional Fox Sports stations could it add inventory to both the SEC and ACC Networks and perhaps lead to a merger of several of the Big 12-State channels into some sort of Big 12 network? Seems like it would be easier to work out some sort of co-branding/sister station affiliation with the LHN if the lesser tier Big 12 rights come under the purview of the House of Mouse...

This sounds to me like a recipe for disaster if you're college sports.

If Fox is getting out of the regional sports game (combined with the up to know unknown status of their ownership in BTN) that would leave almost everything in the hands of ESPN. Makes me wonder if Fox will continue to be a player in college sports, ESPECIALLY college football.

How could ESPN having a stranglehold on the conference networks PLUS owning most of the rights to games be a good thing? If you think there's bias in coverage and reporting now, just wait until they're the only show in town.

How can ESPN owning the rights to various sports leagues give them a monopoly on reporting about those leagues? If something is happening in the NFL, CNN can report on it even though they don't own any NFL broadcast rights, etc.

Plus, none of this will change the fact that FOX owns a big piece of the B1G, Big 12, and PAC media rights, and CBS has SEC rights as well.

(12-06-2017 09:31 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-06-2017 08:24 AM)BadgerMJ Wrote:  

(12-05-2017 11:31 PM)CarlSmithCenter Wrote:  story here

If ESPN takes over the regional Fox Sports stations could it add inventory to both the SEC and ACC Networks and perhaps lead to a merger of several of the Big 12-State channels into some sort of Big 12 network? Seems like it would be easier to work out some sort of co-branding/sister station affiliation with the LHN if the lesser tier Big 12 rights come under the purview of the House of Mouse...

This sounds to me like a recipe for disaster if you're college sports.

If Fox is getting out of the regional sports game (combined with the up to know unknown status of their ownership in BTN) that would leave almost everything in the hands of ESPN. Makes me wonder if Fox will continue to be a player in college sports, ESPECIALLY college football.

How could ESPN having a stranglehold on the conference networks PLUS owning most of the rights to games be a good thing? If you think there's bias in coverage and reporting now, just wait until they're the only show in town.

How can ESPN owning the rights to various sports leagues give them a monopoly on reporting about those leagues? If something is happening in the NFL, CNN can report on it even though they don't own any NFL broadcast rights, etc.

Plus, none of this will change the fact that FOX owns a big piece of the B1G, Big 12, and PAC media rights, and CBS has SEC rights as well.

There's a HUGE difference.

If CNN reports on the NFL, it's probably about a single story, event, or headline. CNN doesn't spend all day every day on sports unlike ESPN.

There's been PLENTY of talk/complaining about ESPN having.....

1) An east coast bias
2) An SEC bias
3) A bias for/against certain teams
4) A bias for/against certain sports leagues
5) A bias for/against certain players
6) A political bias
7) A bias against "smaller" teams/conferences

I've heard many on these very boards complaining about the network "conspiracy" against the G5 in the CFP and how they're "screwing" UCF.

True, Fox/CBS would still own some broadcast/media rights to a number of games.... For now. Most of those contracts come up in 7-8 years so we'll see how the new configuration works out. ESPN already owns the SEC network, the ACC network, the LHN, and maybe half of the BTN (we don't know how that will shake out yet). Combine that with their new ownership of regional sports networks that used to be Fox's, that's much more leverage than before.

Wait until team A gets booted down the proverbial dial because team B has favored status in Bristol.

(12-06-2017 09:55 AM)BadgerMJ Wrote:  

(12-06-2017 09:31 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-06-2017 08:24 AM)BadgerMJ Wrote:  

(12-05-2017 11:31 PM)CarlSmithCenter Wrote:  story here

If ESPN takes over the regional Fox Sports stations could it add inventory to both the SEC and ACC Networks and perhaps lead to a merger of several of the Big 12-State channels into some sort of Big 12 network? Seems like it would be easier to work out some sort of co-branding/sister station affiliation with the LHN if the lesser tier Big 12 rights come under the purview of the House of Mouse...

This sounds to me like a recipe for disaster if you're college sports.

If Fox is getting out of the regional sports game (combined with the up to know unknown status of their ownership in BTN) that would leave almost everything in the hands of ESPN. Makes me wonder if Fox will continue to be a player in college sports, ESPECIALLY college football.

How could ESPN having a stranglehold on the conference networks PLUS owning most of the rights to games be a good thing? If you think there's bias in coverage and reporting now, just wait until they're the only show in town.

How can ESPN owning the rights to various sports leagues give them a monopoly on reporting about those leagues? If something is happening in the NFL, CNN can report on it even though they don't own any NFL broadcast rights, etc.

Plus, none of this will change the fact that FOX owns a big piece of the B1G, Big 12, and PAC media rights, and CBS has SEC rights as well.

There's a HUGE difference.

If CNN reports on the NFL, it's probably about a single story, event, or headline. CNN doesn't spend all day every day on sports unlike ESPN.

There's been PLENTY of talk/complaining about ESPN having.....

1) An east coast bias
2) An SEC bias
3) A bias for/against certain teams
4) A bias for/against certain sports leagues
5) A bias for/against certain players
6) A political bias
7) A bias against "smaller" teams/conferences

I've heard many on these very boards complaining about the network "conspiracy" against the G5 in the CFP and how they're "screwing" UCF.

True, Fox/CBS would still own some broadcast/media rights to a number of games.... For now. Most of those contracts come up in 7-8 years so we'll see how the new configuration works out. ESPN already owns the SEC network, the ACC network, the LHN, and maybe half of the BTN (we don't know how that will shake out yet). Combine that with their new ownership of regional sports networks that used to be Fox's, that's much more leverage than before.

Wait until team A gets booted down the proverbial dial because team B has favored status in Bristol.

Fans whining and complaining is as old as the hills and will happen no matter what kind of media configuration has media rights. Oftentimes, these complaints are contradictory. E.g., before the B1G title game, i heard (a) Wisconsin fans whining that if they were Alabama or Ohio State, they would be ranked a lot higher in the CFP and would still be a viable candidate for the playoffs if they lost the CCG, and (b) UCF fans whining that the only reason Wisconsin was #4 and UCF was #14 was that Wisconsin is in the B1G. And before the CFP decision, both Alabama and Ohio State fans were saying their team deserved the bid and the other team would only get it because of the TV brand value.


That's not evidence that there really is some kind of bias-problem that is going unreported, etc.

If you have Direct or Dish service, you've got eighty bazillion RSN's.
Most Saturdays as you scroll through the list you will see games like Baylor-Kansas being shown on the east and west coasts or Oregon State-Utah across the south and and east.

ESPN has a crap ton of content that will draw more eyeballs in the south and east than Oregon State-Utah that is being produced up to their production standards and being streamed on ESPN3.

I suspect that the long game is that if you are in Texas that you may get SMU-Houston or UNT-UTSA on ESPN Dallas, ESPN Houston, and ESPN San Antonio while ESPN Tennessee and and ESPN South are showing MTSU-UAB or Arkansas State-South Alabama.

More games going into regionally appropriate areas and if you want the full banana to get the games that aren't picked for your market, they'll have a subscription for that.

Even bigger is locally ESPN3 would be able to stream MLB, NHL, and NBA games from the FSRNs in the local markets like FOX Sports GO does now.

It would be especially good for the smaller leagues such as the Big South and the SoCon who have basically their entire TV deals on ESPN3. While Fox fills their RSNs with UFC filler programming and reruns, ESPN could fill some of the slots with these games. The SEC games are already gone, and the ACC RSN games will be gone after next season, pretty much leaving only pro sports on these channels.

Other than a few games on ESPNU and Stadium, and the championship game on ESPN, basically the entire Big South TV package is ESPN3.

Most of the day would probably be filler of studio shows or reruns of other stuff, but at night when there’s no pro sports, going to smaller conferences would provide some good coverage.

HTS basically built up the Colonial Athletic Association into what it was with television coverage in the 90s and early 2000s, as an example.

(12-06-2017 10:19 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  If you have Direct or Dish service, you've got eighty bazillion RSN's.
Most Saturdays as you scroll through the list you will see games like Baylor-Kansas being shown on the east and west coasts or Oregon State-Utah across the south and and east.

ESPN has a crap ton of content that will draw more eyeballs in the south and east than Oregon State-Utah that is being produced up to their production standards and being streamed on ESPN3.

I suspect that the long game is that if you are in Texas that you may get SMU-Houston or UNT-UTSA on ESPN Dallas, ESPN Houston, and ESPN San Antonio while ESPN Tennessee and and ESPN South are showing MTSU-UAB or Arkansas State-South Alabama.

More games going into regionally appropriate areas and if you want the full banana to get the games that aren't picked for your market, they'll have a subscription for that.

I could absolutely see that. That could be a positive development for the Sunbelt, MAC, and CUSA. My sense is that this merger is either a nuetral or negative development for the AAC--I just cant see any way its could feasibly be a positive for the AAC.

(12-05-2017 11:31 PM)CarlSmithCenter Wrote:  story here

If ESPN takes over the regional Fox Sports stations could it add inventory to both the SEC and ACC Networks and perhaps lead to a merger of several of the Big 12-State channels into some sort of Big 12 network? Seems like it would be easier to work out some sort of co-branding/sister station affiliation with the LHN if the lesser tier Big 12 rights come under the purview of the House of Mouse...

With T3 rights in their hip pocket what it would do is facilitate anything ESPN wanted to do with Big 12 rights. But, FOX will still retain 50% of the Big 12 T1/T2 rights.

What it does do is give ESPN some leverage when the current Big 12 contract is up in 2025. Then it could facilitate their moves to other conferences that ESPN has an interest in, or in coalescing those rights into something bigger should they desire to keep the Big 12 together.

The only question here is why would ESPN want to do that? It would be more profitable to broadcast that material under an exiting network.

(12-06-2017 11:10 AM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(12-06-2017 10:19 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  If you have Direct or Dish service, you've got eighty bazillion RSN's.
Most Saturdays as you scroll through the list you will see games like Baylor-Kansas being shown on the east and west coasts or Oregon State-Utah across the south and and east.

ESPN has a crap ton of content that will draw more eyeballs in the south and east than Oregon State-Utah that is being produced up to their production standards and being streamed on ESPN3.

I suspect that the long game is that if you are in Texas that you may get SMU-Houston or UNT-UTSA on ESPN Dallas, ESPN Houston, and ESPN San Antonio while ESPN Tennessee and and ESPN South are showing MTSU-UAB or Arkansas State-South Alabama.

More games going into regionally appropriate areas and if you want the full banana to get the games that aren't picked for your market, they'll have a subscription for that.

I could absolutely see that. That could be a positive development for the Sunbelt, MAC, and CUSA. My sense is that this merger is either a nuetral or negative development for the AAC--I just cant see any way its could feasibly be a positive for the AAC.

My bet is that in a year or two years you are going to see or receive promotional literature or an ad offering you ESPN+ Houston.

For X dollars per month you can stream all the usual ESPN content plus probably the Astros, Rockets, and Dynamo. If anything changes for AAC it might be Houston vs Temple instead of being on ESPN News will be on ESPN Houston and ESPN Philadelphia if you are a customer of cable, satellite, or internet bundler. If you cut the cord and subscribe to ESPN+ Houston you won't notice the difference.

(12-06-2017 10:18 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-06-2017 09:55 AM)BadgerMJ Wrote:  

(12-06-2017 09:31 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-06-2017 08:24 AM)BadgerMJ Wrote:  

(12-05-2017 11:31 PM)CarlSmithCenter Wrote:  story here

If ESPN takes over the regional Fox Sports stations could it add inventory to both the SEC and ACC Networks and perhaps lead to a merger of several of the Big 12-State channels into some sort of Big 12 network? Seems like it would be easier to work out some sort of co-branding/sister station affiliation with the LHN if the lesser tier Big 12 rights come under the purview of the House of Mouse...

This sounds to me like a recipe for disaster if you're college sports.

If Fox is getting out of the regional sports game (combined with the up to know unknown status of their ownership in BTN) that would leave almost everything in the hands of ESPN. Makes me wonder if Fox will continue to be a player in college sports, ESPECIALLY college football.

How could ESPN having a stranglehold on the conference networks PLUS owning most of the rights to games be a good thing? If you think there's bias in coverage and reporting now, just wait until they're the only show in town.

How can ESPN owning the rights to various sports leagues give them a monopoly on reporting about those leagues? If something is happening in the NFL, CNN can report on it even though they don't own any NFL broadcast rights, etc.

Plus, none of this will change the fact that FOX owns a big piece of the B1G, Big 12, and PAC media rights, and CBS has SEC rights as well.

There's a HUGE difference.

If CNN reports on the NFL, it's probably about a single story, event, or headline. CNN doesn't spend all day every day on sports unlike ESPN.

There's been PLENTY of talk/complaining about ESPN having.....

1) An east coast bias
2) An SEC bias
3) A bias for/against certain teams
4) A bias for/against certain sports leagues
5) A bias for/against certain players
6) A political bias
7) A bias against "smaller" teams/conferences

I've heard many on these very boards complaining about the network "conspiracy" against the G5 in the CFP and how they're "screwing" UCF.

True, Fox/CBS would still own some broadcast/media rights to a number of games.... For now. Most of those contracts come up in 7-8 years so we'll see how the new configuration works out. ESPN already owns the SEC network, the ACC network, the LHN, and maybe half of the BTN (we don't know how that will shake out yet). Combine that with their new ownership of regional sports networks that used to be Fox's, that's much more leverage than before.

Wait until team A gets booted down the proverbial dial because team B has favored status in Bristol.

Fans whining and complaining is as old as the hills and will happen no matter what kind of media configuration has media rights. Oftentimes, these complaints are contradictory. E.g., before the B1G title game, i heard (a) Wisconsin fans whining that if they were Alabama or Ohio State, they would be ranked a lot higher in the CFP and would still be a viable candidate for the playoffs if they lost the CCG, and (b) UCF fans whining that the only reason Wisconsin was #4 and UCF was #14 was that Wisconsin is in the B1G. And before the CFP decision, both Alabama and Ohio State fans were saying their team deserved the bid and the other team would only get it because of the TV brand value.


That's not evidence that there really is some kind of bias-problem that is going unreported, etc.

Usually where there's smoke, there's fire.

ESPN has been losing subscribers by the millions and it's not all because of "cord cutting". Evidently there's enough people that are sick of their "bias" that they're making a statement with their wallet. It's a case of perception becoming reality.

Just wait until ESPN has the lion's share of media rights and certain teams from certain conferences are regulated to the sub channels and never on prime time. Just wait until your favorite team always manages to get stuck with Beth Mowins calling the game instead of a real play-by-play person.

I, for one, don't trust that they'll be "fair".