AAC 2nd TV Contract/Negotiations

[whaler11]

you can bet any/every AAC vs FCS game will be ESPN+

Hoping its just replacing ESPN3/WatchESPN on the current deal. But we'll see.

No ESPN+ on current deal. They are talking about next deal. And it’s a no bid contract from the sounds of it.

Guaranteed they have a decent amount of games on ESPN+. It’s the only way to up the contract.

 

[Exit 4]

Can you get ESPN+ as part of a cable package or must you sign up for it independent of cable?

A push of our games to ESPN+ even if for more money sounds like a bad idea. Can’t recruit if we are on an oddball channel.

 

[zls44]

Can you get ESPN+ as part of a cable package or must you sign up for it independent of cable?

A push of our games to ESPN+ even if for more money sounds like a bad idea. Can’t recruit if we are on an oddball channel.

ESPN+ exists totally outside of the cable ecosystem. It doesn't come with any other package, but you don't need any other package to get it.

 

[huskymedic]

Can you get ESPN+ as part of a cable package or must you sign up for it independent of cable?

A push of our games to ESPN+ even if for more money sounds like a bad idea. Can’t recruit if we are on an oddball channel.

ESPN + is not a channel on cable - it’s 100% a streaming service.

https://nypost.com/2018/04/03/espn-...the-main-channel-and-all-of-your-local-games/

 

[Exit 4]

Great! (not). Guess I’m a dinosaur for having a cable and a dvr. I’m going to be annoyed if anything good is put on ESPN+. I already buy all the regular ESPN channels on an expanded sports tier. And by ‘good’ I mean anything with college football.

 

[zls44]

And by ‘good’ I mean anything with college football.

Most of the MAC & Sun Belt are ESPN+ starting this year. So's the Ivy League and a few other FCS leagues. Over 100 games are ESPN+ only this year.

 

[CL82]

If games that were previously cable are getting shifted to +, this sucks for us. In the past SNY soaked up some ESPN3 content. Hopefully that continues. I worry about our content ending up on a platform that will have a relatively few viewers. I suspect the SNY games maybe be vulnerable. I don't expect Aresco to protect our interests if it results in a better deal for the league.

 

[Drew]

No ESPN+ on current deal. They are talking about next deal. And it’s a no bid contract from the sounds of it.

Guaranteed they have a decent amount of games on ESPN+. It’s the only way to up the contract.

Yeah I guess I didn't word that as well as I thought I did.

Currently, AAC vs FCS is primarily WatchESPN. Our game vs URI this year for instance is WatchESPN nationally but is also being broadcast on SNY locally.

My hope is that the current games that are subject to WatchESPN on the current deal are the only ones moved to ESPN+ in the next deal. My brain knows that there will be a lot more on there than that.

 

[Fishy]

The AAC is gonna get clubbed like a baby seal in the next contract.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The AAC is gonna get clubbed like a baby seal in the next contract.

Our athletic department is not viable over even the intermediate term. What is the end game for the athletic department?

 

[Fishy]

Our athletic department is not viable over even the intermediate term. What is the end game for the athletic department?

Miraculous invite to P5 conference - 2%
Enormous smoking crater - 98%

 

[The Viking]

The AD will go balls to the wall until 2022-2023 when the B1G contract may cause something. Regardless, 6 years from now I'd imagine we're in another conference...either a P5 or the BE.

 

[UconnU]

Miraculous invite to P5 conference - 2%
Enormous smoking crater - 98%

Is BEast for non-football even on the table?

 

[UCFBfan]

My hope is that the current games that are subject to WatchESPN on the current deal are the only ones moved to ESPN+ in the next deal. My brain knows that there will be a lot more on there than that.

So is WatchESPN going away entirely?? Is it going to be fully replaced my this ESPN + garbage in the near future? Just curious because I find myself using the Watchespn app often but won't shell out the extra $5 a month for the few football games.

 

[CL82]

The AAC is gonna get clubbed like a baby seal in the next contract.

"What did I ever do to you?"​

So said less colorfully, the AAC is going to be revealed for what it is, quality fill material. The AAC contract will let us know what the value is for that.

All I really want is the right to control our tier 3 rights. We can make a decent chunk of change off of that.

 

[Zissou]

Is BEast for non-football even on the table?

No. Not actively. It is always possible and I would expect an open door for any talks, but there is no assurance of an invite should UConn show interest.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I will admit that I did not see a Minnesota vs. Indiana football game being worth 25x what a UConn vs. Houston game was worth, but that is where the market is. The media market is telling the G5 schools to drop dead.

 

[Kolumbo]

Reading some comments about Colorado and Colorado State. These two schools are more similar than I thought. Same enrollment. UC is AAU, Flagship, Space-grant; CSU is APLU, Flagship, Land-grant. UC has higher revenues and larger endowment but CSU still seems like a great candidate and has more grad students. Unfortunately. Brand new football stadium to boot. Similar in size to The Rent but on campus.

 

[Exit 4]

Reading some comments about Colorado and Colorado State. These two schools are more similar than I thought. Same enrollment. UC is AAU, Flagship, Space-grant; CSU is APLU, Flagship, Land-grant. UC has higher revenues and larger endowment but CSU still seems like a great candidate and has more grad students. Unfortunately. Brand new football stadium to boot. Similar in size to The Rent but on campus.

On the recruiting trail CSU in FL picked up several kids that we had offered or looked at. They have been winning their share of recruiting battles at our level of player. Pros: on campus stadium, attractive state, high growth state, weather overall is a plus. I think the ingredients are here to be what UConn was in 1985.

 

[pepband99]

If games that were previously cable are getting shifted to +, this sucks for us. In the past SNY soaked up some ESPN3 content. Hopefully that continues. I worry about our content ending up on a platform that will have a relatively few viewers. I suspect the SNY games maybe be vulnerable. I don't expect Aresco to protect our interests if it results in a better deal for the league.

I can't see ESPN being unhappy about getting paid for the local broadcast rights (a la SNY in the northeast). National stuff is absolutely at risk.

Aresco should be shipped to Dallas on a rocket if he gives up the ability for locals to buy rights, in exchange for propping up ESPN+.

Also - it wouldn't make any sense for live sports to transition to ESPN+ exclusively. ESPN gets more revenue per cable subscriber than ESPN+ subscriber. Live sports is one of the few things propping up cable at all.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

Is that Psychic Seal? Prognosticating Pup? Does it know anything? Is the Kitty OK?

 

[huskymedic]

Nuttin really new: AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco discusses league's future, TV negotiations and more

 

[CL82]

Nuttin really new: AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco discusses league's future, TV negotiations and more

The league’s current television and media rights deal is up in 2020. Is there an update on any negotiations?

Aresco: “Nothing formal going on. (Two years out? ) The TV discussion was important and we’re filling in our membership on what’s going on. We’re trying to identify where the competition would be and what’s our value with the assets we bring and what we could do to enhance our value. All of those things were discussed in the meeting. The league is in a great place and it’s come a long way, but now we just need to get fair value for what we offer.

“One of our presidents said that it’s agenda item 1 through 25, which is a good way to put it.

“We’ve had a great year and it’s probably the best time we ever could have picked
in terms of the value of our conference being at its highest since we reconstituted ourselves five years ago. I think we’ve got a great product and when you’ve got a great product you're confident ultimately you can figure out the right kind of TV and media.”

Sounds like there's not much demand or urgency, doesn't it?

 

[Exit 4]

The league’s current television and media rights deal is up in 2020. Is there an update on any negotiations?

Aresco: “Nothing formal going on. (Two years out? ) The TV discussion was important and we’re filling in our membership on what’s going on. We’re trying to identify where the competition would be and what’s our value with the assets we bring and what we could do to enhance our value. All of those things were discussed in the meeting. The league is in a great place and it’s come a long way, but now we just need to get fair value for what we offer.

“One of our presidents said that it’s agenda item 1 through 25, which is a good way to put it.

“We’ve had a great year and it’s probably the best time we ever could have picked
in terms of the value of our conference being at its highest since we reconstituted ourselves five years ago. I think we’ve got a great product and when you’ve got a great product you're confident ultimately you can figure out the right kind of TV and media.”

Sounds like there's not much demand or urgency, doesn't it?

Gonna have to repeat what we have already done as a conf football wise in 2018 and 2019. Kind of a tall order in some respects. And it would be preferred if our conf took a big step forward in MBB.

 

[Kolumbo]

Curious which fan base discusses CR nearly as much as we do. Found this timely nugget. Canvas Stadium.

Hate the name of Colorado State football's Canvas Stadium? Sports in 2018 aren't for you