First, I don't think there is any question that ESPN played a role in realignment. For crying out loud, they financed it - if you think a conference expanded without knowing what their broadcast partner would pay for the addition, you're lost.
I thought ESPN made a reasonable offer to the Big East and I also do not think it was unreasonable for the Big East to turn down an initial offer. Clearly, we lacked business savvy at the top because instead of counter offering or waiting on the market, ESPN facilitated the end of the conference - unlike Nelson and his connecting-the-dots addition, (some of the increases were market adjustments and not related to additional programs), I think that was an excellent strategy for ESPN.
You can say they have less content, but that's debatable given that they've grown their other holdings - and they've eliminated content that might have been available to a competitor.