(04-10-2019 11:01 AM)ICThawk Wrote: (04-10-2019 08:54 AM)zoocrew Wrote: How does Oklahoma and Texas continuously get away with screwing the rest of the Big 12? Get the hell out of that conference it’s the least level playing field I’ve ever seen.
This contract makes it clear every non UT/OU school is basically a AAC school and I now fully expect ESPN has the ability to influence these 2 leagues futures.
2024/25 is coming.
I may be incorrect but it seems that Texas & Oklahoma T1 & T2 media rights are already owned by the B12 under the GOR so they are "shared " and are already under contract with ESPN & Fox. Texas & Oklahoma both have T3 rights that are NOT shared (as do each of the other B12 teams). As Texas' T3 are tied to the LHN and Oklahoma's T3 to Fox from pre-existing contracts I'm not sure how this arrangement could have been done otherwise. ESPN already held T3 rights to KU so it appears that the other B12 schools simply were able and did sell their T3 to ESPN (probably the reason why teams start providing content in different years) and that the conference added the title games which Fox had opted out of. And, the article notes, while some Texas & Oklahoma content will appear on ABC as Big12 content under T1 & T2 of the B12 conference contract , some may appear on ESPN+ as T3 when they play other B12 teams. So, if your assessment is that just because any team that appears on ESPN+ it is an AAC team, then it appears you're going to have to widen your definition to include Texas & Oklahoma.
Additionally, since there wouldn't/won't be a B12 network (yes, Texas doesn't always play nice) before at least 2031 (if ever), and since all the other P5s have a network [though some (read Pac12) certainly have distribution problems] this gives some B12 teams ready-made national exposure which they otherwise might not have (and from ESPN's perspective, gives fans of those teams a "reason" to subscribe to ESPN+).
You are on the right track. It's the rest of the posters who don't play chess.
This isn't bad news for the Big 12. It's a pivotal move by ESPN in order to create a reality in which the present Big 12 has many more options at their disposal. If my thoughts on this are correct then there is only 1 tell left out there that would reveal it. If ESPN goes after Oklahoma's T3 (currently held by FOX), which I believe they will, then through the end of the existing Big 12 contract ESPN will have 1/2 of all of the Big 12's T1 and T2 rights, all of their CCG rights, and all of their T3 rights (if they land OU).
What this does is to put ESPN in a much stronger position for any of the following options which are all favorable to the Big 12:
1. Purchase the remaining T1 and T2 rights in 2025 and convert the LHN into a Big 12N by continuing to pay Texas its advantage in revenue through 2031 and turning the LHN into a marketable product to enhance its own package with the SECN and ACCN.
2. The kind of stability the Big 12 would project through such a move (should OU and UT remain committed) might make it a more attractive option for some current PAC 12 schools which are not old core PAC 8.
3. If Texas and/or Oklahoma did indeed defect and OU's T3 rights were in the hands of ESPN instead of FOX it would make it far easier to rebuild the Big 12 into an enhanced version of the AAC, keep it P5, and still utilize the old LHN which Texas would not need in any other P5 conference they decided to join. 5 years of the LHN's value would easily cover exit fees and the remainder would be easy for ESPN to absorb if needed.
So regardless of what UT and OU do, this move likely insures that the remaining 6-8 schools would remain a P5 and since ESPN holds rights to the AAC it would be easy to move some of their best into the Big 12 and have a more valuable overall product.
Now for this view of the future to have legs then after today's contract announcment all that need be done is for ESPN to rest OU's T3 rights renewal from FOX.
So I see this as anything but doom and gloom for the 8 schools of the Big 12 not named Texas and Oklahoma. And such a move doesn't restrict Texas and Oklahoma's ability to move should they desire to, as it actually will make it easier.
P.S.: The ACC and SEC have many baseball, softball, and some basketball games on ESPN+. The contract seemed only to be one more example of how ESPN might be lining them up for conversion to a conference network. It is why OU is now the only key piece missing.