Non-Key Tweets

[bobbyinaz]

Right now all options are in play for every P5 conference, but the ACC and the B12 are leaky boats and there appears to be only one network available from the marketplace and it requires more and better content from whichever league gets it first.

There will be pressure for each league to get its agreement done before the other. The first domino will create chaos whether it's the B1G, B12, UT, OU, FSU or the ACC that pushes it over. An extra $10M per year will get any of these schools to jump.

The question is will there be a next domino & when? It's easy to say "of course the SEC & B1G will expand" because expansion means more dollars. At this point, they have created such a separation between themselves and the other 3 conferences that they now make the rules. They can decide when & for the most part with whom they will add when the time comes.

While we have all been saying that the 1st conference between the ACC & B12 to get a network is the one who survives the stark reality is that in order to start a network someone needs to finance it. If neither Fox or ESPN are willing to pony up the cash necessary then there are no new networks. FOX is already contracted with the B12 & is going to have 50% of the B1G broadcasts going forward. ESPN shares the B12 with FOX and owns almost all (except for Raycom) of the ACC. Why would either of them commit more money for a network when they already own the rights?

While UConn desperately needs something to happen, there is more of a likelihood that nothing happens and the status quo remains

 

[businesslawyer]

I'm not talking $300 over 20 years. You're right. That will never happen again.

But I am beginning to suspect that all of this spring's Big 12 rumblings have merely been a ploy for OU to get more money.

Ten years ago OU was making 96% of what Texas was making off of television rights and 35% more than Iowa State was making off of television rights. Today OU only makes 72% of what Texas makes off of television rights and only 10% more than what Iowa State makes off of television rights.

Everybody's boat has risen in the tide - except for OU. And that's what this is all about.

Texas is fat and happy and content with the status quo. Everyone else in the Big 12, besides OU, is probably already making more money than they can hope to make anywhere else. The SEC isn't clamoring for Kansas State. Nobody's knocking on West Virginia's door.

Everybody's open to discussion and nobody would turn down the prospect of more money, but OU is the only whining dog.

I'm pro-expansion. I think it would be good for the conference and every team in it.

But I think we're already seeing signs that OU isn't even really that pro-expansion. They just want more money.

And at the end of the day, I think somebody is just going to throw some cash at OU and tell them to be quiet because upfront it would be a whole lot cheaper to do that than to figure out how to create a network that generates enough money to pay for all start up costs, gives everybody a profit, keeps Texas whole and elevates two schools from G5 salaries to P5 salaries.

I'm sorry it's an unpleasant scenario. It's not what I want either. It's just the writing I see on the wall at the moment.

None of that gives even an ounce of possibility of giving the Sooners their own network. None. Why do people double down on nonsensical statements.

The only way OU is getting more money than ISU or KSU is if they demand a disproportionate share of existing TV revenues and threaten to leave if they don't get it. Do they have anywhere to go? I doubt it. But they can certainly try for that. But a network? LOL.

 

[ElGuapo]

Not a Tweet from me, but my good friend had dinner with Jim Calhoun last week and Coach said that he thinks UCONN to the B12 is happening.
I would have been at the dinner too had I not been in England for work last week.
So close yet so far for the me and The BY because I would have kindly dug Mr. Calhoun all dinner long for information.

Take it for what it's worth.

 

[CoastAtlantic]

Bluevod@bluevodreal
Confirmed NBC & TNT leading heading into the final stretch for 2nd half TV Deal. ND is in Serious play.〽️

 

[Fairfield 1st]

Not a Tweet from me, but my good friend had dinner with Jim Calhoun last week and Coach said that he thinks UCONN to the B12 is happening.
I would have been at the dinner too had I not been in England for work last week.
So close yet so far for the me and The BY because I would have kindly dug Mr. Calhoun all dinner long for information.

Take it for what it's worth.

He also had us in the ACC before Louisville disaster...but I love him so I'll take whatever he says as gold

 

[coachcap]

Not a Tweet from me, but my good friend had dinner with Jim Calhoun last week and Coach said that he thinks UCONN to the B12 is happening.
I would have been at the dinner too had I not been in England for work last week.
So close yet so far for the me and The BY because I would have kindly dug Mr. Calhoun all dinner long for information.

Take it for what it's worth.

Next chance to grill Coach Jim is at the Franciscan Life Awards Banquet at the Aquaturf facility in Plantsville (Southington) next Tuesday. It's being hyped on the Gresh & Joe D. show & in both the N.H.Register & Hartford Courant Sports sections. Among the awardees are Tom Coughlin & UCONN baseball coach Jim Penders. Will the cat slip out of the bag then as the Big XII meetings are going on?

 

[coachcap]

Not a Tweet from me, but my good friend had dinner with Jim Calhoun last week and Coach said that he thinks UCONN to the B12 is happening.
I would have been at the dinner too had I not been in England for work last week.
So close yet so far for the me and The BY because I would have kindly dug Mr. Calhoun all dinner long for information.

Take it for what it's worth.

Next chance to grill Coach Jim is at the Franciscan Life Awards Banquet at the Aquaturf facility in Plantsville (Southington) next Tuesday. It's being hyped on the Gresh & Joe D. show & in both the N.H.Register & Hartford Courant Sports sections. Among the awardees are Tom Coughlin & UCONN baseball coach Jim Penders. Will the cat slip out of the bag then as the Big XII meetings are going on?

 

[coachcap]

Not a Tweet from me, but my good friend had dinner with Jim Calhoun last week and Coach said that he thinks UCONN to the B12 is happening.
I would have been at the dinner too had I not been in England for work last week.
So close yet so far for the me and The BY because I would have kindly dug Mr. Calhoun all dinner long for information.

Take it for what it's worth.

Next chance to grill Coach Jim is at the Franciscan Life Awards Banquet at the Aquaturf facility in Plantsville (Southington) next Tuesday. It's being hyped on the Gresh & Joe D. show & in both the N.H.Register & Hartford Courant Sports sections. Among the awardees are Tom Coughlin & UCONN baseball coach Jim Penders. Will the cat slip out of the bag then as the Big XII meetings are going on?

 

[coachcap]

Not a Tweet from me, but my good friend had dinner with Jim Calhoun last week and Coach said that he thinks UCONN to the B12 is happening.
I would have been at the dinner too had I not been in England for work last week.
So close yet so far for the me and The BY because I would have kindly dug Mr. Calhoun all dinner long for information.

Take it for what it's worth.

Next chance to grill Coach Jim is at the Franciscan Life Awards Banquet at the Aquaturf facility in Plantsville (Southington) next Tuesday. It's being hyped on the Gresh & Joe D. show & in both the N.H.Register & Hartford Courant Sports sections. Among the awardees are Tom Coughlin & UCONN baseball coach Jim Penders. Will the cat slip out of the bag then as the Big XII meetings are going on?

 

[CL82]

@coachcap I wonder if there will be any chance to ask Coach Calhoun about this in the near future?

 

[noeynox]

@coachcap I wonder if there will be any chance to ask Coach Calhoun about this in the new future?

Ask @coachcap when the next chance to grill coach Calhoun is?

 

[NYUConn]

Ask @coachcap when the next chance to grill coach Calhoun is?

You think it'll coincide with the Big 12 meetings?

 

[Afroabe224]

Not a Tweet from me, but my good friend had dinner with Jim Calhoun last week and Coach said that he thinks UCONN to the B12 is happening.
I would have been at the dinner too had I not been in England for work last week.
So close yet so far for the me and The BY because I would have kindly dug Mr. Calhoun all dinner long for information.

Take it for what it's worth.

Any chance said dinner was close in proximity to a car wash??

 

[CoastAtlantic]

SXM College Sports‏@SiriusXMCollege
. @TTuberville tells us that if the Big 12 doesn't expand it will implode. He doesn't think it will stay status quo.

Greg Flugaur ‏@flugempire 9h9 hours ago
Greg Flugaur Retweeted SXM College Sports

https://mobile.twitter.com/SiriusXMCollege/status/735458422892691456… BTM said the same thing at last dinner.. If UT does not pull trigger on reform (exp..ect) they will lead implosion

Greg Flugaur ‏@flugempire 9h9 hours ago
Greg Flugaur Retweeted Greg Flugaur

https://mobile.twitter.com/flugempire/status/735460312384692225… B12 Status Quo is no longer an option.... Reform or implode. Riding with 10 with no CCG days are over.

Zach Hedges ‏@zthedges 8h8 hours ago
@flugempire But will interim presidents (TT, KSU, BU) be willing to vote on such an important issue next week?

Greg Flugaur ‏@flugempire 6h6 hours ago
@zthedges No probably not. No meaningful votes will happen next...but if Reform doesn't take place blend of year..B12 will implode.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Disagree. Don't think for a second that FSU and Clemson (FSU in particular since they only joined in the last 25 years) have any loyalty to the ACC. If the Big 12 can get their act together and offer a better pay day those schools will be gone in a second.

Top to bottom right now the Big 12 is head and shoulders above the ACC. Do you think FSU and Clemson would rather be playing BC, Cuse and Pitt when they could be facing TCU, Kansas State and Oklahoma State?

FSU and Clemson like the easier path to the final 4 of football. That is the only thing they like about the ACC. I am sure they aren't excited about playing Oklahoma et al- the path is much more difficult.

This is, of course, opposite of BC, who collects checks with no regard to winning.

 

[ElGuapo]

Any chance said dinner was close in proximity to a car wash??

My friend won an 8 person dinner table through a charity auction that included Coach and his wife.
Jeff was Coach's guest instead.
So my friend and 5 guests.
I was offered the last seat at the table but had to turn it down due to my work trip.
That night would have meant the world.
Oh well.
That's the report back I heard today.

 

[SubbaBub]

The question is will there be a next domino & when? It's easy to say "of course the SEC & B1G will expand" because expansion means more dollars. At this point, they have created such a separation between themselves and the other 3 conferences that they now make the rules. They can decide when & for the most part with whom they will add when the time comes.

While we have all been saying that the 1st conference between the ACC & B12 to get a network is the one who survives the stark reality is that in order to start a network someone needs to finance it. If neither Fox or ESPN are willing to pony up the cash necessary then there are no new networks. FOX is already contracted with the B12 & is going to have 50% of the B1G broadcasts going forward. ESPN shares the B12 with FOX and owns almost all (except for Raycom) of the ACC. Why would either of them commit more money for a network when they already own the rights?

While UConn desperately needs something to happen, there is more of a likelihood that nothing happens and the status quo remains

There are many potential triggers. The last one chronologically would be the next B1G contract. If there is money to be made and the huge gap we anticipate between the P2 and everyone else, then it will go down then. Prior to that happening any number of schools/conferences could and likely will react to the lack of networks or specifically additional revenue to the teams in the ACC and B12.

No B12N, OU is looking.
No ACCN, FSU is definitely looking as are a few others out of the self preservation fear that split the Big East.
The permutations are numerous. Any whiff of a P5 school moving will start a run.

 

[NYUConn]

FSU and Clemson like the easier path to the final 4 of football. That is the only thing they like about the ACC. I am sure they aren't excited about playing Oklahoma et al- the path is much more difficult.

This is, of course, opposite of BC, who collects checks with no regard to winning.

You could be right, but of the checks are bigger in the Big 12 they will take a step up in competition any day.

 

[Charley Horse]

None of that gives even an ounce of possibility of giving the Sooners their own network. None. Why do people double down on nonsensical statements.

The only way OU is getting more money than ISU or KSU is if they demand a disproportionate share of existing TV revenues and threaten to leave if they don't get it. Do they have anywhere to go? I doubt it. But they can certainly try for that. But a network? LOL.

Forgive me for being abstruse. I'll try to make it very clear.

If you think the LHN was simply about ESPN foolishly overpaying one school for its content, then it it would be difficult for you to believe they would make the same blunder again (even on a much smaller scale) by paying OU more than they are already getting for their Tier 3 content.

If, however, you understand that the LHN deal was really about ESPN keeping the Big 12 together and its most valuable content out of the hands of ESPN's competitors then you may begin to realize how much of a bargain it would be for ESPN to pay one school a few million more per year than to negotiate a deal big enough to pay two G5 schools P5 money - especially when you already own the content of those two schools.

 

[Charley Horse]

Think about it.

You're ESPN. You kept the Big 12 together and its most lucrative assets (Texas & OU) out of the Pac-12 (where their content would be out of your hands) in 2010 by deliberately overpaying for its tier 1 and tier 2 rights and Texas' tier 3 rights.

Now, 6 years later, OU demands a network, expansion and a championship game and expects you to fork out even more money to make it happen or they're going to walk - not to the SEC where you would still own their content, but to the B1G where you wouldn't, thus setting off a chain of events that could send Texas to the Pac and leave you owning the content of a seriously devalued conference.

Then you begin to suspect, OU isn't really that gung ho on expansion. They just resent the LHN.

So what are you going to do if you're ESPN?

Pay at least $50 million more per year so the Big 12 can expand (and possibly alienate Texas in the process)?

Or pay OU an extra $5 million per year for tier 3 content so they can feel better about themselves, the Big 12, Texas and the LHN?

Honestly, I don't see what's so hard to understand.

I dont like it, UConn fans can't like it but does it not make sense?

 

[Charley Horse]

Doubling down on nonsense my ass.

 

[HuskyHawk]

FSU and Clemson like the easier path to the final 4 of football. That is the only thing they like about the ACC. I am sure they aren't excited about playing Oklahoma et al- the path is much more difficult.

This is, of course, opposite of BC, who collects checks with no regard to winning.

That's not the only thing they like. FSU is on record saying the academic status of the ACC is important to them. Both schools like playing games closer to home. Neither of them want to join the Big 12, that's just WVU moonshine wishful thinking. The truth is that WVU would love to leave the Big 12 for the ACC. They'll never admit it, since the ACC rejected them once already.

The ACC is more stable than the Big 12. They may both survive, but I don't think the ACC is getting raided or is going away. If ESPN needs to prop up one of the ACC or Big 12, it will pick the ACC.

 

[noeynox]

@Charley Horse you also have to take into consideration that the LHN is losing bug time money, not just what they're paying UT, AND your asking them to double down on that with OUR. Not to mention OU 3rd tier rights are owned by Fox. The reality is there is hope that transitioning to a big 12 network means they are actually making money and not bleeding out. No conference network or at least a plan to realistically launch one and the big 12 should stand pat.

 

[Hoophound]

Forgive me for being abstruse. I'll try to make it very clear.

If you think the LHN was simply about ESPN foolishly overpaying one school for its content, then it it would be difficult for you to believe they would make the same blunder again (even on a much smaller scale) by paying OU more than they are already getting for their Tier 3 content.

If, however, you understand that the LHN deal was really about ESPN keeping the Big 12 together and its most valuable content out of the hands of ESPN's competitors then you may begin to realize how much of a bargain it would be for ESPN to pay one school a few million more per year than to negotiate a deal big enough to pay two G5 schools P5 money - especially when you already own the content of those two schools.

Not really, the network would make more money for everyone or it wouldn't come to fruition. The thing you need to understand from our perspective is that aside from Texas, Oklahoma and maybe Kansas, there are no schools in the Big 12 that bring any real value to a network. UConn on the other hand, brings tons of value to a network and we know it to be true because of our contract with SNY. This whole thing really comes down to how serious the Big 12 is about getting a network. UConn and BYU probably make the most sense if that is the goal. I'm not sure if Cincinnati can pull enough weight economically, due to being in Ohio State's shadow, but I could be wrong. To your point, we can pull our own weight. The problem is 7-8 of the Big 12 schools can't. Those schools should see the value in expansion, especially with a program in a major market with no competition and a national brand, basketball or not.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Think about it.

You're ESPN. You kept the Big 12 together and its most lucrative assets (Texas & OU) out of the Pac-12 (where their content would be out of your hands) in 2010 by deliberately overpaying for its tier 1 and tier 2 rights and Texas' tier 3 rights.

Now, 6 years later, OU demands a network, expansion and a championship game and expects you to fork out even more money to make it happen or they're going to walk - not to the SEC where you would still own their content, but to the B1G where you wouldn't, thus setting off a chain of events that could send Texas to the Pac and leave you owning the content of a seriously devalued conference.

Then you begin to suspect, OU isn't really that gung ho on expansion. They just resent the LHN.

So what are you going to do if you're ESPN?

Pay at least $50 million more per year so the Big 12 can expand (and possibly alienate Texas in the process)?

Or pay OU an extra $5 million per year for tier 3 content so they can feel better about themselves, the Big 12, Texas and the LHN?

Honestly, I don't see what's so hard to understand.

I dont like it, UConn fans can't like it but does it not make sense?

Nope. It doesn't make sense. Every school in the Big 12 already keeps its own T3 rights. OU's deal for those rights is with Fox. It was a 10 year deal signed in 2012. Since OU can't support a network with its fan base, any such Network would be a complete waste of time. Even LHN gets pretty weak carriage fees ( 35-40 cents, in Texas), which is why it is a disaster. It won't be renewed.

There are two options here. Each school sells its own media rights, or they band together as conferences. It used to be that each school did it, and that went away for everyone but Notre Dame. The switch to conference pooled media deals is the very thing that drove conference consolidations and expansion. Does that mean that they share with less valuable schools? Yes, just as the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots share with the Buffalo Bills and Jax Jaguars. But in every case, it's more than they would get on their own anyway. Even Notre Dame at this point, would make more money joining the ACC (which would increase its payout accordingly).