AAC 2nd TV Contract/Negotiations

[HuskyHawk]

If you can get your tier 3 rights and sell them out, it would mean even more.

I hope that AD Dave is pushing that. I think it's a tough sell, because most of our conference mates don't get any significant value from it. We are probably the only one. If we can't get those tier 3 rights, we need to push for UConn to get an extra $2-3M. The women alone bring that.

 

[HuskyHawk]

So? Would you rather take in 8-10, million or continue at 1.8?

This may be enough to retain coaches and Ads for a while. I'll add I'm highly skeptical of them landing anywhere close to 5 times as they are now getting that is huge jump.

My realistic goal was to get Big East money. If Aresco gets anywhere those numbers and tier 3 rights back he deserves a statue.

In the end streaming will play a huge role in our future going forward. Just today Disney and CBS announced aggressive sports streaming options to be ramped up around 2019. The timing in our expiring contract may be just right. Maybe by then Google and amazon are doing this.

I think they can get $8. The prior deal was a steal for ESPN. AAC football ended up being extremely profitable for them, and basketball as well. Anything under $10 is still a good deal for ESPN.

Streaming is interesting. I'd love to retain some individual streaming rights if possible. I saw the Disney announcement. Their content won't be on Netflix anymore. HBO also announced it will pull out from availability on Amazon. Meanwhile, CBS All Access streaming is all but dead. It's failing and can't get subscribers, probably because Fox and NBC provide the equivalent content for free to cable customers. These models are still shaking out. Broadcast networks will find there is no appetite to pay twice for the same content, especially when it is free over the air.

 

[noeynox]

I think they can get $8. The prior deal was a steal for ESPN. AAC football ended up being extremely profitable for them, and basketball as well. Anything under $10 is still a good deal for ESPN.

Streaming is interesting. I'd love to retain some individual streaming rights if possible. I saw the Disney announcement. Their content won't be on Netflix anymore. HBO also announced it will pull out from availability on Amazon. Meanwhile, CBS All Access streaming is all but dead. It's failing and can't get subscribers, probably because Fox and NBC provide the equivalent content for free to cable customers. These models are still shaking out. Broadcast networks will find there is no appetite to pay twice for the same content, especially when it is free over the air.

CBS is going with a new OTT service. I linked it somewhere. Good post though

 

[CL82]

Even $8-$10 million per team is nowhere near P5 level. The B1G will make $51.1 million per team this season.

Yep, but this, plus tier 3 rights, plus our Nike deal, plus our IMG deal puts us in a position to keep running a P5 level program until the P5 current media contracts and GoRs expire which is the next window for realignment. I suspect that that is the game plan, at least in the near term.

 

[HuskyHawk]

CBS is going with a new OTT service. I linked it somewhere. Good post though

Right, because CBS All Access, which was an OTT service they launched in 2014, has been a total failure. The new sports one is going to fail too. Main reason: Fox provides the same thing at no charge .

OTA streaming devices are about to take off, making what CBS is offering pretty much irrelevant for most people.

 

[noeynox]

Right, because CBS All Access, which was an OTT service they launched in 2014, has been a total failure. The new sports one is going to fail too. Main reason: Fox provides the same thing at no charge .

OTA streaming devices are about to take off, making what CBS is offering pretty much irrelevant for most people.

I disagree. I watched Les Moonves talk about CBS, CBS Sportsnetwork, and this new service. There is upside there, its another way for them to showcase content. This is good for non P5 leagues if a network is going to look to acquire content.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Diving in to the different streaming content. Whomever figures this out best, will be the winner.

Me, as a consumer, am willing to pay for content. Once I pay for it, I want it available on the device of my choice without having to pay again. I want it available as an app on a smart TV, a mobile app or a laptop/desktop service. Make me log on, I'm fine with it. A provider can mask the cost of having multiple means of distributing content; i don't need a breakdown. heck, I'd even be willing to pay for tiered access if they make it a clean pricing model. Don't nickel/dime me for money or additional access.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Diving in to the different streaming content. Whomever figures this out best, will be the winner.

Me, as a consumer, am willing to pay for content. Once I pay for it, I want it available on the device of my choice without having to pay again. I want it available as an app on a smart TV, a mobile app or a laptop/desktop service. Make me log on, I'm fine with it. A provider can mask the cost of having multiple means of distributing content; i don't need a breakdown. heck, I'd even be willing to pay for tiered access if they make it a clean pricing model. Don't nickel/dime me for money or additional access.

Exactly.

Here's part two to that. You want to separate yourself out and run your content only on your app, as HBO and Disney propose to do. Ok, but you damned well better make it a very good app and invest the time and money to keep it up and you also better make it available on every platform. Many people are streaming via Bluray players or smart TVs, and the apps available are limited. If yours isn't...you are losing revenue by going solo. I got Starz and loved that I can tack in on Amazon Prime. HBO too....for the rest of the year. That's a benefit.

 

[Hoophound]

Why would ESPN pay 96-120 million per year when they could just give the ACC UConn and 25 million and continue to pay the American schools 2 million each? It would cost half as much.

If UConn isn't enough then send Cincy along too, or put Houston in the B12. They'd still be ahead by 20-25 million. Seems unlikely unless one of the networks truly wants the American to prosper.

 

[SubZero]

I think they can get $8. The prior deal was a steal for ESPN. AAC football ended up being extremely profitable for them, and basketball as well. Anything under $10 is still a good deal for ESPN.

Where did you see the numbers for the AAC? I would think that it's unlikely that ESPN release any numbers to the public other than the amount paid and that's usually done by the conferences. Is this wishful thinking or did someone leak the numbers?

 

[CL82]

I think they can get $8. The prior deal was a steal for ESPN. AAC football ended up being extremely profitable for them, and basketball as well. Anything under $10 is still a good deal for ESPN.

Agreed but you still need someone bidding against them if you hope to maximize the offer.

 

[SubbaBub]

ACC is in 5th place at about $22M per school depending how you count ND. The AAC is 6th at under $6M in payouts by the conference. Anything less than $10-12 will still be a huge problem. Besting the current deal isn't on the list of goals. If they can't get more than they are making now, they should just fold.

The challenge will be to cobble together that amount or more if a single outlet won't pony up that much. If the can top $15M per school then we can start to believe the P6 hype. I don't think they get anywhere near there without being creative to the point of making it harder for fans to follow their teams.

One of the benefits of being under a big network umbrella is consistent familiar timeslots on the same networks. Big Monday at 7pm was always a BE game and more often than not a UConn game. The B1g and SEC enjoy this. The AAC needs to prioritize dollars. If that means the only people who see your games are hardcore fans streaming it online or some hodgepodge of outlets, so be it. The NHL makes it work somehow without consistently being on a major network.

 

[Stinger92860]

Just curious, does anyone know what the Big East takes in per school. If we get the 8-10m per school per year, could we get a BE school such as Georgetown to switch?

 

[Chin Diesel]

ACC is in 5th place at about $22M per school depending how you count ND. The AAC is 6th at under $6M in payouts by the conference. Anything less than $10-12 will still be a huge problem. Besting the current deal isn't on the list of goals. If they can't get more than they are making now, they should just fold.

The challenge will be to cobble together that amount or more if a single outlet won't pony up that much. If the can top $15M per school then we can start to believe the P6 hype. I don't think they get anywhere near there without being creative to the point of making it harder for fans to follow their teams.

One of the benefits of being under a big network umbrella is consistent familiar timeslots on the same networks. Big Monday at 7pm was always a BE game and more often than not a UConn game. The B1g and SEC enjoy this. The AAC needs to prioritize dollars. If that means the only people who see your games are hardcore fans streaming it online or some hodgepodge of outlets, so be it. The NHL makes it work somehow without consistently being on a major network.

That's about the number I had in mind.

$15m-$20m including all TV rights, Nike money, football bowl payouts and NCAA bball tourney credits.

 

[billybud]

The ACC, last year (2016), was in it's once every three year cyclical low (the Orange Bowl was a playoff bowl thus no revenue)...The Big 12 will be in it's three year low this year and won't be getting their $40 million for the Sugar Bowl.

Every three years, there is a $67 million swing in favor of the Big 12...

in 2015...

The 14 full-time football-playing schools received an average of $26.2 million -- putting the ACC third among the Power 5 conferences. Notre Dame, a member in all sports but football, received $6.2 million.

* Obviously, the Maryland exit fee is non-recurring. That accounts for approximately $2 million/school. It should also be noted that the ACC received a payment from the Orange Bowl in 2014-15 which it will not receive for 2015-16.

 

[FDNY99]

Just curious, does anyone know what the Big East takes in per school. If we get the 8-10m per school per year, could we get a BE school such as Georgetown to switch?

The "Big East" traitors inked a 12 yr $500 million dollar deal with Fox in 2013 that can rise up to $600 mill if they expand to 12 teams. It is worth about $40-$50 mill/yr total ($41.66 if you divide it up on a calculator). With the 10 schools right now it equals out to $4.0-$5.0 mill/yr/school ($4.166 if you divide it up on a calculator).
New Big East, Fox Sports Formally Ink 12-Year, $500M Deal; ESPN Signs Mountain West

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Yep, but this, plus tier 3 rights, plus our Nike deal, plus our IMG deal puts us in a position to keep running a P5 level program until the P5 current media contracts and GoRs expire which is the next window for realignment. I suspect that that is the game plan, at least in the near term.

I have to imagine that is the case as well. Obviously in the long term, the tens of millions of dollars more that a P5 school makes will add up, but in the near term, unless P5 coaches all start making $10M/year, can't we continue to float along?

As far as our infrastructure goes, our practice facilities are brand new for hoops and modern enough for football. It just seems to be travel/coaching as the main operating expenses that are draining us (not mention fielding about 49 varsity sports teams).

 

[whaler11]

UEFA got $60MM from Turner for more than 300 games. That was with bids from MLBAM and Fox...

 

[whaler11]

I have to imagine that is the case as well. Obviously in the long term, the tens of millions of dollars more that a P5 school makes will add up, but in the near term, unless P5 coaches all start making $10M/year, can't we continue to float along?

As far as our infrastructure goes, our practice facilities are brand new for hoops and modern enough for football. It just seems to be travel/coaching as the main operating expenses that are draining us (not mention fielding about 49 varsity sports teams).

If the school continues to tap the students for what will be $30 million a year pretty soon they can pretty much do it forever.

 

[Drew]

ABC Airs Two Most-Viewed Black Friday Games across all Networks; Both Games Up Double-Digits for the Day - ESPN MediaZone

South Florida at UCF (3:30 p.m.) delivered a total live audience of 4,700,000 viewers, which followed Miami at Pitt (noon), a game that had total live audience of 4,663,000 viewers. In addition to being the two most-viewed games of the day, ABC was up 12% and 49%, respectively, from last year’s same Black Friday windows (Nebraska at Iowa at 3:30 p.m. and Houston at Memphis at noon).

The high-scoring, UCF victory is the most-viewed American Athletic intra-conference game ever and is ABC’s second most-watched Black Friday late afternoon game (3:30 p.m. or later) since 2005.

Locally, Orlando earned a 11.1 rating, the No. 1 rated market for the Knights’ victory. It is the second best Orlando rating for a UCF regular season game ever on ESPN’s networks. The complete top 10:

Rank Local Rating Market
1 11.1 Orlando
2 10.1 Tampa
3 7.4 West Palm Beach
4 7.0 Columbus
5 6.5 Birmingham
6 6.4 Greenville
7 6.0 Jacksonville
8 5.5 Atlanta
9 5.3 Fort Myers
5.3 Miami
5.3 Nashville

 

[Confident Carl]

Figured it would be worth starting a thread on this as the negotiation period is approaching (deal runs through 2019-20 currently)

Original TV Deal: AAC: TV deal is with ESPN, CBS Sports

The current set up in regards to exposure on ESPN networks is tremendous, especially for UConn basketball. I hope that Aresco is able to find a way to keep that or even expand it, but I would take some better game start times (not 9pm on a Thursday to be able to be on ESPN2) if it meant a few more CBSSN games.

Don't think adding Wichita State does much of anything if anything at all. Think they're purely just a competition add.

Is there a way to negotiate certain announcing crews into a deal? I love when Doris Burke does our games and the CBS family has a ton of great announcers, would make the CBSSN games a lot more tolerable if the announcing crews were better (Ian Eagle anyone?). For football, the CBSSN crews are actually pretty good.

Whatever happens, The American simply cannot leave the ESPN family of networks unless it has a deal that will get games on network tv. If we take a deal with NBC for instance, it can't mean every game is on NBCSN. Need to keep the exposure aspect of the next deal for relevancy in my opinion.

I think we will see a modest bump in the amount being paid to each school, maybe to $3 or $4m. Not only does the conference deserve it but Aresco is negotiating in a much better place than he did with the original TV deal. The games the AAC has had on tv have drew fairly well and the league has proven to be extremely competitive (especially in football). Having The American championship game on ABC the past couple years has been awesome.

Lastly, and this is so minor, but I hope we can find a way to get some of the conference's baseball games on ESPNU/CBSSN. Not sure how many of us are aware but baseball is probably the American's best sport. The league is incredibly competitive this year. Would be nice to have the ability to showcase that product during the 'dead period' of sports after basketball.

As the NFL ratings decline, due to a lack of patriotism, the AAC should take advantage of the opportunity by adding Army and Airforce and market the American as the most patriotic football conference in the country complete with all the pomp and excitement that the academies bring to a football game. This gives the American a unique identity.

Ranking the 10 Best Patriotic College Football Helmets

https://nypost.com/2017/11/22/the-nfl-ratings-slump-is-getting-worse/

Also might be the time to add two more powerful programs, BYU and Boise State. That would bring football to 16. Obviously strengthens the caliber of the American.

The two major questions would be:

1. How much $ economic value would the additions of Army, Air Force, BYU and Boise St add to the conference TV contract wise? None, little, lot? That would obviously have to be quantified before you could get the new teams to depart from their their current status. Why waste the time if there is no increase in contract value.

2. As in the first go around they would have to address basketball and Olympic sports issues. This is what a 16 team American Athletic Conference looks like.
Might also want to consider more quality Bball teams. Army would be Football only.

AAC East

UCONN
ARMY
NAVY
TEMPLE
CINCINNATI
ECU
UCF
USF

AAC West

AIRFORCE
BOISE STATE*
BYU
MEMPHIS
HOUSTON
SMU
TULANE
TULSA

*If BYU is too complicated then possibly Colorado State or SDSU (we've been down this road but maybe now is the time since the AAC has some history).

 

[zls44]

As the NFL ratings decline, due to a lack of patriotism

LOLOLOL

1. That's not why its declining
2. F fake patriotism

 

[Confident Carl]

LOLOLOL

1. That's not why its declining
2. F fake patriotism

Forbes thinks it is.

NFL Anthem Protests Continue To Smack League's Broadcasters And Sponsors

 

[mavblues]

LOLOLOL

1. That's not why its declining
2. F fake patriotism

I have not watched one game all year due to the kneeling during the anthem. Lifelong Steelers fan. Threw away all my gear.

 

[Confident Carl]

I have not watched one game all year due to the kneeling during the anthem. Lifelong Steelers fan. Threw away all my gear.

Not watching NFL or Giants either