"...If the Bruins are forced to remain in the Pac-12, which is unlikely, the dynamics of the media negotiations could change drastically.
Asked about the timing of a media deal, Kliavkoff said: “I would not expect an announcement in the balance of this calendar year...."”
I'm largely on the train that the PAC will do just fine and get a decent media deal while continuing into the future, but the constant delays in this contract raises some eyebrows.
I get not being to commit to a deal until the UCLA situation is resolved, but it really seems like there is over abundance of focus on their membership status. Kliavkoff, right now, should be creating an image that the PAC is going to be fine with or without UCLA. That UCLA's status, while important, is really just a sideshow to what the PAC is doing and bringing to the table. There should be clear numbers established for "with UCLA" or "without UCLA" to the point that the decision over UCLA's membership status is only going to tip off which way we are going. The remaining members should be committed to the conference and it needs to be obvious that commitment will exist regardless if UCLA leaves. It is important to show this NOW, when things are UNCERTAIN.
Now, he can wait until after the December 14 meeting for the BOR. But after that point, he needs to get a deal done and in front of the schools. If he doesn't at least have word in the press regarding partners and value by the end of January, then something very suspect is going on.
"...If the Bruins are forced to remain in the Pac-12, which is unlikely, the dynamics of the media negotiations could change drastically.
Asked about the timing of a media deal, Kliavkoff said: “I would not expect an announcement in the balance of this calendar year...."”
I'm largely on the train that the PAC will do just fine and get a decent media deal while continuing into the future, but the constant delays in this contract raises some eyebrows.
I get not being to commit to a deal until the UCLA situation is resolved, but it really seems like there is over abundance of focus on their membership status. Kliavkoff, right now, should be creating an image that the PAC is going to be fine with or without UCLA. That UCLA's status, while important, is really just a sideshow to what the PAC is doing and bringing to the table. There should be clear numbers established for "with UCLA" or "without UCLA" to the point that the decision over UCLA's membership status is only going to tip off which way we are going. The remaining members should be committed to the conference and it needs to be obvious that commitment will exist regardless if UCLA leaves. It is important to show this NOW, when things are UNCERTAIN.
Now, he can wait until after the December 14 meeting for the BOR. But after that point, he needs to get a deal done and in front of the schools. If he doesn't at least have word in the press regarding partners and value by the end of January, then something very suspect is going on.
Well the contract expires in mid-2024, so he does have 6 months before it really gets to be an issue if he doesn't at least have an agreement in principle.
The earlier talk was they'd have something by Thanksgiving. Once the Regents pushed things back on UCLA I figured that would get pushed back till after the holidays.
Nobody is going to negotiate with the Pac in good faith when they don't even know what the membership will look like. Once they get that figured out, they can negotiate in earnest. Even then, Kliavkoff has the luxury of waiting a few months to see if a competitive bidding market develops, economy turns around, etc. Now that the big 12 deal is known and it's clearly not enough to convince the 4C to pack their bags, Kliavkoff has options. His only worry is what the B1G does, and that will be there regardless of what the Pac announces in the new few months.
Deion going to a school without access to the LA market is.... jarring, to say the least. I mean what the hell was he thinking aside from a payout and the prestige of that kind of school? Does he honestly believe he can recruit nationally long term?
I'm not suggesting Deion is playing 4D chess, but if I'm Kliavkoff, I'm going all in on UCLA and Zaga next. You just have to have a presence there and anything beyond SDSU is dilutive.
I'm guessing the Board will block or levy penalties so cost prohibitive that UCLA will have to renegotiate. Then I'd say Iger and ESPN make a play to buy the PAC12 outright (or Apple). The better move would be to collude and offer USC an unequal share to stay, but first things first, UCLA needs to get blocked.
(This post was last modified: 12-07-2022 08:05 PM by RUScarlets.)
(12-01-2022 10:39 PM)Alanda Wrote: The earlier talk was they'd have something by Thanksgiving. Once the Regents pushed things back on UCLA I figured that would get pushed back till after the holidays.
...wouldn't be surprising at all to see the BoR 'shelve' the issue again until the first of the year...
By the way, HBO Max is now getting into sports. Will be showing US men’s and women’s national soccer games in conjunction with TNT.
Could be another player in the TV sports streaming area
(12-07-2022 08:59 PM)MWC Tex Wrote: By the way, HBO Max is now getting into sports. Will be showing US men’s and women’s national soccer games in conjunction with TNT.
Could be another player in the TV sports streaming area
You mean just Max. They just announced the name change.
(12-07-2022 07:56 PM)AllTideUp Wrote: The PAC has a serious issue losing a presence in its most valuable and largest market. They will take a hit for that by any reasonable measure.
The question is how creative can they be and what's the market outside of the traditional bidders?
They're not going to attract any new power players and there's nothing they could do to stem the Big Ten should they decide to add more.
So there's really nothing to do, but wait and hope. Nonetheless, I don't see the next PAC contract being real impressive.
I thought the big 12 was doa 18 mos ago, but their past 2 championship games have featured 4 of the 8 left behind schools and had outstanding viewership numbers. This year's was pretty close to the B1G's. Their average over the past 2 years is nearly 3x the ACC's Championship Game's. That's not a typo. The ACC has averaged about 3.1m over the past 2 years, while the big 12 CCG has averaged close to 9m. Sure, the Pac has problems, and those problems may well end up spelling their doom, but there's still a legitimate chance for them to survive long term and even thrive.
(12-08-2022 02:46 PM)bullet Wrote: On a serious realignment note, the Dude of WV has been suspended from Twitter. He may need our prayers for his withdrawal symptoms.
Marchand and Ourand talked about it on their podcast yesterday. Not much new. They expect the deal to be somewhere around the same as the ACC and Big 12. ESPN and Amazon are the most likely to do a deal with them. Ourand says Fox is interested "at a certain level". And NBC could be persuaded "at a certain level". Ourand also says that outside of Kevin Warren, there seems to be no momentum in the B1G to add other teams. Summarizing it's about other teams being additive to revenue. Start at 9:24.
(12-07-2022 08:11 PM)GreenFreakUAB Wrote:
(12-01-2022 10:39 PM)Alanda Wrote: The earlier talk was they'd have something by Thanksgiving. Once the Regents pushed things back on UCLA I figured that would get pushed back till after the holidays.
...wouldn't be surprising at all to see the BoR 'shelve' the issue again until the first of the year...
I'd like to see it just to see how others react to another delay.
My only comment is Kliavkoff is saying a bunch of nonsense. Bob Thompson, retired Fox Sports President, gave some great replies:
He had many comments on Sanders hiring, but they can be summed up with this one
Just complete BS nonsense from Kliavkoff, phony excuses for the delay. It benefits him not at all. The honest truth would have sounded far better, "we are not in a rush, the landscape has changed dramatically since we opened talks, and most importantly we want to do this right." Instead he just says flat false stuff, just like one about UCLA net losing money going to the B1G. Crazy stupid.
There are good elements in the reports. Fox is apparently in the talks, meaning they want a piece, likely some of the late slots they have with the current contract, but not likely at a high premium, more decent P5 filler content. ESPN made clear they are not bidding extra for the whole package, they just want what they have now, but Fox no doubt helps bridge the gap. Amazon seems to have an interest in something, perhaps the streaming (doesn't really fit their football strategy, but who knows).
But Kliavkoff's lying and saying stupid stuff, just ruins his credibility. He's made Yormack look the more credible of the two.
/
Pac TV contract not anytime soon
