Amazon Exec Suggests Possible Future Of CFB Conference Realignment

[Drew]

Amazon Exec Suggests Possible Future Of CFB Conference Realignment | SportsRadio 930

“We’re still seven or eight years away, but if we had to restructure the landscape today, we would not start by negotiating with a conference. We don’t care about the SEC, Big 12 of Big 10 as a whole. In our opinion, those entities are not our focus. Instead, we would want to identify 30 or 40 teams that command the biggest audience. That may be by reputation or location, but generally we all know that there are members in every one of these conferences that frankly don’t move the needle."

 

[History Geek]

Amazon Exec Suggests Possible Future Of CFB Conference Realignment | SportsRadio 930

“We’re still seven or eight years away, but if we had to restructure the landscape today, we would not start by negotiating with a conference. We don’t care about the SEC, Big 12 of Big 10 as a whole. In our opinion, those entities are not our focus. Instead, we would want to identify 30 or 40 teams that command the biggest audience. That may be by reputation or location, but generally we all know that there are members in every one of these conferences that frankly don’t move the needle."

And there you go.

 

[SubbaBub]

There is one problem with that. Those 30-40 programs want to play the other 70.

If major CFB only consists of 40 teams then 30 of those teams (incl fans and boosters) that are used to winning a majority of their games are going to be very unhappy. Especially when those former wins are against little bothers and rivals that don't make the cut.

 

[CL82]

There is one problem with that. Those 30-40 programs want to play the other 70.

If major CFB only consists of 40 teams then 30 of those teams (incl fans and boosters) that are used to winning a majority of their games are going to be very unhappy. Especially when those former wins are against little bothers and rivals that don't make the cut.

Agree Subba, but do those 30-40 programs want to share the pie equally with the other 70? That will be the engine for change.

 

[Exit 4]

There is one problem with that. Those 30-40 programs want to play the other 70.

If major CFB only consists of 40 teams then 30 of those teams (incl fans and boosters) that are used to winning a majority of their games are going to be very unhappy. Especially when those former wins are against little bothers and rivals that don't make the cut.

Yep..totally....and so the scheduling I expect to remain more the same than to narrow up, but what this is signaling is that the future is looking at uneven payouts for broadcast media to teams within the same conference. Wake Forest is on notice....but I think we have a while yet until this starts to happen, at least one more broadcast rights cycle of status quo (one for all and all for one).

 

[Stinger92860]

NFL at the college level. Why even pretend they are student athletes, just become a minor league for the NFL. No classes, no scholarship, just a paycheck. This happens I’ll just become Pro sports only fan.

 

[billybud]

NFL at the college level. Why even pretend they are student athletes, just become a minor league for the NFL. No classes, no scholarship, just a paycheck. This happens I’ll just become Pro sports only fan.

Basketball seems already along that track...with one and dones...big money spent for agent steering, coaching bribes, big shoe money involvement

It seems to me that the connection between pro ball and college basketball is even closer.

 

[UCHuskies08]

NFL at the college level. Why even pretend they are student athletes, just become a minor league for the NFL. No classes, no scholarship, just a paycheck. This happens I’ll just become Pro sports only fan.

Why do we have NCAA sports at all? Nowhere else in the world molds young athletes this way. It's an anachronism that has enough political clout to keep itself alive even though it shouldn't exist.

 

[06029]

And there you go.

Those are the same 30 or 40 teams that are the Thursday night and Saturday afternoon/Prime Time slots. It is top 6 in the P5 conferences plus (as much as it hurts to type it) ND. All he is suggesting is that the revenue model should reward those schools for their eyeballs. Or, just turn that into the NFL developmental league and make them all pro's.

What needs to happen is that every school should be able to live stream every game and set a price on an individual basis/season pass basis that fans pay for. A base fee goes to the streaming service and the balance to the school and, if somehow they still exist, the conference. Do it for every sport. It is what people want. It's the next iteration of ESPN+ but not on ESPN.

 

[Purple Stein]

What needs to happen is that every school should be able to live stream every game and set a price on an individual basis/season pass basis that fans pay for. A base fee goes to the streaming service and the balance to the school and, if somehow they still exist, the conference. Do it for every sport. It is what people want. It's the next iteration of ESPN+ but not on ESPN.

The future’s not even here yet and it already sucks. Even my car wash wants me to subscribe to it....

 

[Adios]

Basketball seems already along that track...with one and dones...big money spent for agent steering, coaching bribes, big shoe money involvement

It seems to me that the connection between pro ball and college basketball is even closer.

FLORIDA'S SPURRIER UNLOADS ON `FREE SHOES UNIVERSITY'

 

[Fishy]

Amazon Exec Suggests Possible Future Of CFB Conference Realignment | SportsRadio 930

“We’re still seven or eight years away, but if we had to restructure the landscape today, we would not start by negotiating with a conference. We don’t care about the SEC, Big 12 of Big 10 as a whole. In our opinion, those entities are not our focus. Instead, we would want to identify 30 or 40 teams that command the biggest audience. That may be by reputation or location, but generally we all know that there are members in every one of these conferences that frankly don’t move the needle."

Amazon boy is a fool.

Given the networks that the conferences already have, Amazon will be left to negotiate with Big 12 schools not named Texas.

The P5 doesn’t need Amazon.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

All I want is UConn to be paid what we're worth...more than Rutgers.

 

[UConnJim]

Amazon boy is a fool.

Given the networks that the conferences already have, Amazon will be left to negotiate with Big 12 schools not named Texas.

The P5 doesn’t need Amazon.

He was stating a hypothetical. Everyone realizes that some schools are more valuable than others within the same conference, so he was stating the obvious that if they restructured the landscape they wouldn't negotiate with conferences, just the valuable schools.

Right now, the SEC and Big 10 have very valuable conference networks. In 7 years, how valuable will they be? The PAC network is not that successful, the Big 12 doesn't have a network (except Texas), and the ACC Network is too early to tell. Notre Dame sells football rights today. As customers move away from the cable bundle, the future value of conference networks becomes less certain.

As costs for athletics go up, why won't schools want to be paid what their content is worth and control their own brand? Notre Dame football has always done it that way. Texas realized that this was the right approach when they went with the Longhorn Network.

The media landscape changed college sports with the rise of cable TV. Remember how cable TV/ESPN helped build the Big East basketball conference? Streaming will change college athletics, although it's too early to tell how. That said, it is very easy in today's world to pay an individual school for the value of their media rights.

 

[Drew]

Amazon Scores Rights Deal for English Premier League Soccer

Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -0.47% boosted its bet on live sports programming, Thursday, by winning the rights to broadcast some soccer games from the English Premier League.

The broadcasting rights are limited to Britain and Ireland, where viewers will be able to watch a small number of games on the company’s Amazon Prime video service. Still, the move extends Amazon’s so-far modest foray into live sporting events.

Amazon last year broadcast 10 Thursday-night NFL games, typically the league’s least-compelling match ups. That was part of a deal valued at around $50 million, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. Amazon and the NFL renewed the deal for 2018 and 2019.

In keeping with its NFL foray, the Premier League deal is a small one for Amazon. The rights cover three seasons beginning next year. They include a very limited package of games—just a few days a year in December, including the Dec. 26 Boxing Day holiday. On match days the Premier League can host up to 10 games a day.

 

[Kolumbo]

This article about KU mentions UConn and Ohio U.

Should KU be worried about getting dumped from a Power 5 Conference? The financial stakes are huge

 

[CL82]

This article about KU mentions UConn and Ohio U.

Should KU be worried about getting dumped from a Power 5 Conference? The financial stakes are huge

First, did they just call UConn a mid-major??

Second:
The second trend is if television networks decide to change their models. Right now they deal with conferences, who then split the money fairly equally among their members. But Sperber thinks it is possible television companies may want to start dealing with schools directly.

This may be a lifeline for us. I have to believe our content would be desirable.

 

[buddy]

First, did they just call UConn a mid-major??

Second:
The second trend is if television networks decide to change their models. Right now they deal with conferences, who then split the money fairly equally among their members. But Sperber thinks it is possible television companies may want to start dealing with schools directly.

This may be a lifeline for us. I have to believe our content would be desirable.

Is being a G5 school by definition being a mid major?

 

[billybud]

Is being a G5 school by definition being a mid major?

No...not if the discussion is basketball.

But the article context is discussing football and Kansas...and yes...G5's are pretty much defined as mid majors by the author in terms of football.

And the way the playoff is designed (might as well be a boy's tree house with a sign.."no G5's allowed")...a UCF with a perfect record is somehow not a player.

 

[Vowelguy]

Amazon boy is a fool.

Given the networks that the conferences already have, Amazon will be left to negotiate with Big 12 schools not named Texas.

The P5 doesn’t need Amazon.

Depends on where the cash is a decade from now. As we have seen with TV series, Amazon (+Netflix) have been able to put so much cash behind development that they have usurped content development from the networks.