AAC Media Contract

[Guapo]

Regardless of SMW classification of major vs mid-major, the fact that more people watched Cincy/Houston ON ESPN than watched Villanova/Seton on FOX is a huge win for the AAC. FOX is network over the air and that naturally boosts ratings by a lot.

It’s almost like big public schools have more fans

 

[Guapo]

Regardless of SMW classification of major vs mid-major, the fact that more people watched Cincy/Houston ON ESPN than watched Villanova/Seton on FOX is a huge win for the AAC. FOX is network over the air and that naturally boosts ratings by a lot.

It’s almost like big public schools have more fans

Then again, the A-10 (on CBS*) outrated both so

 

[HuskyHawk]

U think people like my dad who is almost 70 is going to purchase espn + to watch the men’s games? Not gonna happen. This sucks because normally every uconn game is on tv. No matter how obscure cbssportsnetwork, espnu or sny are on the channel lineup , at least people kno they can get it on regular cable. Especially old people. Ridiculous

My Dad turns 80 this year. I am sure he will buy ESPN+. Probably will make things easier for him.

 

[Slick]

What fan base? Have you been to a football game? Of course not, nobody goes!

I go. If somehow the team shows progress this year more fans will go

 

[Slasher]

Then again, the A-10 (on CBS*) outrated both so

Right because it was on CBS. If you look at that report the AAC championship was down 27% from last year, because last year it was on CBS.

 

[BUConn10]

I want all of you to go back to the old “prediction” thread for how much the AAC GoR will net each school.

Then I want you to block any moron who was over $6 million+ off. It’s an easy way to filter out who has a head on their shoulders and who is a gtcam on this board pretty easily.

 

[jibsey]

Just completed my first week of youtubetv. Couldn’t get it on the firestick so I got new Rokus. Have Netflix and Philo for my wife. I hope they add the UCONN ESPN+ but the’ll probably charge for it. A lot of people will not be getting the games I guess and frankly that’s quite sad.

 

[weyuo]

If the deal was 5 years that's one thing, but 12? That's not right. Unless.... Aresco foresees a collapse of revenue for collegiate sports and wanted to lock the AAC in on a guarantee for as long as possible. With the slow but steady growth in conversation about the actual value of a four year degree he may be onto something. With the FBI looking into collegiate sports, increasing scandals of the affluent buying their kids way onto the college campus and the fact that tech school grads can easily out earn their collegiate peers you have to wonder how all that will erode the casual fan viewership and eventually derail the TV gravy train.

 

[FriarJ]

Just completed my first week of youtubetv. Couldn’t get it on the firestick so I got new Rokus. Have Netflix and Philo for my wife. I hope they add the UCONN ESPN+ but the’ll probably charge for it. A lot of people will not be getting the games I guess and frankly that’s quite sad.

We are investigating cutting the cord from directv. I'm trying Hulu. I am so used to the guide for channel surfing, it's not that easy with Hulu.

 

[calluke]

We are investigating cutting the cord from directv. I'm trying Hulu. I am so used to the guide for channel surfing, it's not that easy with Hulu.

I love Hulu Live. Although prices just went up. Still much better than full blown DTV.

 

[Dooley]

The number per school/year came in a little lower than what I thought (I guessed $8M-$10M/yr per school), but I'm guessing the lower figure has 100% to do with no GOR. UConn can still get to $8M-$10M/yr with a Tier 3 deal with SNY and, maybe, even more money if it can renew a Tier 3 deal with IMG. The reported $7M/yr certainly is disappointing for UConn, no question about it. I said on another CR thread about this that it feels like when your boss tells you that you had a great year and then says your annual raise will be $500/yr. You're happy about the raise but really hoped for better.

ESPN+: personally I don't have a problem with paying for things that I actually watch. I have absolutely zero need for the SECN, ACCN, B10N, PACN and most FS sports (until they start to air baseball games in the summer). If UConn is going to play games on ESPN+, I will buy ESPN+ and cancel something else. I want my consumer entertainment dollars to go to things I actually watch and care about. And if there is an added bonus of being able to watch more UConn sports (baseball? hockey? soccer??), then I'm more than happy about it.

What I can't seem to find anywhere is if the new AAC media deal comes with a revised exit fee/terms. Current exit fee/terms is $10M & 27 months notice...with wiggle room to negotiate for a quicker exit (e.g. Rutgers, Louisville, etc). If the exit fee is locked in, at least we won't have to debate the Big East anymore. It would be great for UConn if its fanbase can all get on the same page so our coaches don't have to spend valuable recruiting time trying to address recruit's concerns about conference instability.

 

[NewEnglandCB]

I would rather join the Big East and deal with Villanova, Georgetown, St. John's, Seton Hall and even Providence than to remain in the AAC.

 

[UconnU]

The contract includes a clause that gives ESPN an out if “top brands” leave. So we know which programs are considered “top brands”...?

 

[DefCONNOne]

Ya'll complaining about ESPN+ need to relax. Yes, it's $5/mo, so have one less Starbucks for the month. The amount of games you get on there is well worth it (many college sports, Serie A soccer, etc.). If you want to complain about the years/amount of cash, go for it, but ESPN+ should not be something to cry over.

Geez, could you be any more smug with this response?

 

[polycom]

I want all of you to go back to the old “prediction” thread for how much the AAC GoR will net each school.

Then I want you to block any moron who was over $6 million+ off. It’s an easy way to filter out who has a head on their shoulders and who is a gtcam on this board pretty easily.

I spend more time than I care to admit trying to find this thread and I can't do it. Also don't be soft "@" @gtcam

 

[DefCONNOne]

Yeah and ESPN+ has only been around for a year and cable has been around for an eternity. ESPN started ESPN+ because they've been losing MILLIONS of subscribers per year. Streaming will be king sooner than you think. I know you think you know everything about media, but you really have no clue.

Is this one of those ironic posts, that's not meant to be ironic?

 

[Chin Diesel]

So, if you pay for ESPN+ do you get all the regular ESPN's with it?

Or do you still need a separate streaming for ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU ........?

Right now I have You Tube TV, Netflix and Prime and am perfectly happy with my viewing options.

 

[polycom]

So, if you pay for ESPN+ do you get all the regular ESPN's with it?

Or do you still need a separate streaming for ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU ...?

Right now I have You Tube TV, Netflix and Prime and am perfectly happy with my viewing options.

ESPN+ is like another channel of ESPN it doesn't give you access to main ESPN channels. Similar to main ESPN doesn't give you access to ESPN+ content.

 

[Huskymagic]

We need to go back to the Big East. No one cares about college football in the Northeast.

The only way its worth staying in the AAC is if we aggressively expand to add Gonzaga and BYU to make this truly the "American" conference. We need to up the marquee names immediately, create an East and West division or .

This money difference between the Big East and AAC is relatively small that its not worth really comparing considering the enormous costs of having a football program.

 

[ucawn]

This is awful. I knew ESPN+ was going to be a part of this.

Everything will be moving to this as more people ditch cable

 

[ecasadoSBU]

I’m a cord cutter too and what is driving internet prices is the fact that most of these companies have sole control over the telecom wiring from the local governments. Like I said there are companies working on high speed wireless internet via satellite and if that takes off these traditional cable companies are in a world of trouble. Just as an example, Google is currently working on satellite internet. We’re not talking about some guy in his garage.

I wonder how Google is going to get past the current latency issues in Satellite internet. My guess is that they wont. They will probably offer Satellite internet for remote locations, and continue rolling out fiber to more accessible locations. Nothing beats the speed of light my friend!

 

[AntG168]

The difficult thing about this situation we find ourselves in is that there is no blueprint. Our situation is unique. No elite program has ever had to navigate these waters. So we are pioneers at this point. Wether it leads to absolute destruction or a resurgence remains to be seen. One thing we all know is NO ONE HAS THE ANSWERS.

 

[whaler11]

So, if you pay for ESPN+ do you get all the regular ESPN's with it?

Or do you still need a separate streaming for ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU ...?

Right now I have You Tube TV, Netflix and Prime and am perfectly happy with my viewing options.

It’s almost like this question hasn’t been answered a dozen times in this thread.

 

[whaler11]

The number per school/year came in a little lower than what I thought (I guessed $8M-$10M/yr per school), but I'm guessing the lower figure has 100% to do with no GOR. UConn can still get to $8M-$10M/yr with a Tier 3 deal with SNY and, maybe, even more money if it can renew a Tier 3 deal with IMG. The reported $7M/yr certainly is disappointing for UConn, no question about it. I said on another CR thread about this that it feels like when your boss tells you that you had a great year and then says your annual raise will be $500/yr. You're happy about the raise but really hoped for better.

ESPN+: personally I don't have a problem with paying for things that I actually watch. I have absolutely zero need for the SECN, ACCN, B10N, PACN and most FS sports (until they start to air baseball games in the summer). If UConn is going to play games on ESPN+, I will buy ESPN+ and cancel something else. I want my consumer entertainment dollars to go to things I actually watch and care about. And if there is an added bonus of being able to watch more UConn sports (baseball? hockey? soccer??), then I'm more than happy about it.

What I can't seem to find anywhere is if the new AAC media deal comes with a revised exit fee/terms. Current exit fee/terms is $10M & 27 months notice...with wiggle room to negotiate for a quicker exit (e.g. Rutgers, Louisville, etc). If the exit fee is locked in, at least we won't have to debate the Big East anymore. It would be great for UConn if its fanbase can all get on the same page so our coaches don't have to spend valuable recruiting time trying to address recruit's concerns about conference instability.

The IMG deal is done. Long term underwhelming.

There isn’t going to be any game Tier 3 content to sell. It seems to all be part of this deal.

If it’s not they should fire everyone in Storrs for not communicating that fact.

 

[spudzj6]

Honest question: what can we do as UConn fans to help the situation, sans donating my kidney and first born to the school?

Would the AAC benefit from fans buying espn+? Would it not matter because were in a bind for more than a decade? Would NOT buying ESPN+ have a negative affect? What is our play as fans in this situation?