The following is all pure opinion on
I think that ESPN is very much aware of their own situation as a business. They are a company that was founded approx 30 years ago now (a little more) whic
ESPN people, I think, know that they can't keep adding channels. The online world, and the streaming world is the direction they've got to go now if they want to reach a wide range of people,
Because, when it comes to the actual business of sports and broadcasting, regional viewership is becoming extremely important.
All of that said, I believe that a year ago, the ACC(motivated by ESPN) simply had the intent of significantly weakening the Big East conference to strenghten it's own BASKETBALL presence on the east coast in competition with the Big East, and at the same time pad their own football conference against the movement occuring at the time. Nobody is telling me that PItt and Cuse were added to the ACC to strenghten the football league.
ESPN interest in weakening the big east would be to avoid the rise of competition in broadcasting in sports, as they've cornered nearly every major broadcasting realm in sports - with the model they created 32 years ago, AND they are very much aware of their business model deficiencies, and what the rise of competition may do to expose it.
I do believe that had Syracuse and UConn been invited to the ACC - we would have gone with Cuse, and the Big East would not have survived as an athletic league, never mind weakening, Buh-bye big east. But UConn got hung up in expansion committee for the ACC b/c of certain committee member's efforts from Chestnut Hill, and the ACC settled on Pitt.
Even still, the big east nearly died, and it appears that the major television networks have uncovered ESPN's weakness in the sports broadcasting world.
We'll see what ESPN comes up with for the Big EAst in September.