As Predicted By Anyone With A Brain, The ACC Is NOT Getting A TV Network

[buckaineer]

It's interesting the ACC office hasn't commented on this new ACC network. Usually they are out ahead of the game spinning every so called development but not a peep on this so far.

 

[TerryD]

This might or might not be a big deal, but it still looks bad for the ACC to be lumped in with all those midmajor conferences. Why aren't the Big Ten, Big 12, PAC 12, or SEC included in this announcement? They all have games on WatchESPN.

Maybe there really is something to the Maryland lawsuits other than just fighting over exit money. Maybe that Florida State to Big 12 rumor from WHUS has some teeth to it. If Florida State ever hopes to go to the SEC or Big 12, they are in the best position they will ever be in to do it. They may still have a window to leave before the ACC is locked up tight when the Maryland lawsuits are settled, and they are just coming off a championship so maybe the SEC will finally invite them over Florida's objections.

ACC Grant of Rights?

 

[buckaineer]

ACC Grant of Rights?

Obviously the ACC doesn't believe in their Grant of Rights or they wouldn't still be suing Maryland which is all about trying to stop other schools from trying to leave the conference.

It's interesting FSU's president bolted just shortly before the announcement of this ACC network. He supposedly signed FSU up under promises of an ACC network coming into place from news accounts at the time.

Sometimes such things are unrelated, but then again sometimes they are.

 

[UConn Dan]

No. The Atlantic 10, the Colonial Athletic Association, the Mountain West, SEC, B1G, and others aren't there either. They are launching this so that it is easy to find all the games during the Conference baskctball tournaments next month. ESPN is planning to stream every ACC men's basketball and women's basketball tournament game. This sorts them for easy streaming access. Why this particular list of conferences? Who knows? I imagine that the AAC and the others will be added later.

the AAC is 100% an espn property. The others you mention are not. It's bizarre that they aren't listed at launch but it likely has to do with the new contract that starts in the fall.

 

[upstater]

The American could have been left off the list because such a high percentage of their conference games are "guaranteed" to be run on nationally televised (broadcast) platforms..

Exactly.

 

[upstater]

No. The Atlantic 10, the Colonial Athletic Association, the Mountain West, SEC, B1G, and others aren't there either. They are launching this so that it is easy to find all the games during the Conference baskctball tournaments next month. ESPN is planning to stream every ACC men's basketball and women's basketball tournament game. This sorts them for easy streaming access.

Why this particular list of conferences? Who knows? I imagine that the AAC and the others will be added later.

The ones you list are on other networks, ESPN doesn't have them, and/or they have their own networks.

 

[upstater]

This is for NelsonMuntz and all the others still pining for games against Marquette.

The extra $2m gets you next to nothing. NBC did UConn a big favor with that contract that explicitly guaranteed the conference that 90% of th games would be on TV (and by TV, I don't mean WatchESPN or ESPN3). The extra money for taking a conference and then burying it in the lineup (NC State, for instance, has only 4 games on ESPN/ESPN2 and CBS while UConn has 16) would not add any value to UConn.

Exposure is the name of the game for now--until UConn starts bleeding so badly that all hope is lost. And the extra $2m would not keep UConn running for long anyway.

If you flip this, you realize that the ACC schools are trading exposure and extra conference network revenues for $17-20m a year.

Right now, UConn needs exposure, exposure, exposure. As soon as UConn becomes an afterthought, the athletic program is done.

 

[buckaineer]

the AAC is 100% an espn property. The others you mention are not. It's bizarre that they aren't listed at launch but it likely has to do with the new contract that starts in the fall.

I believe CBS is also a media partner with the AAC.

 

[upstater]

I believe CBS is also a media partner with the AAC.

Yes, the CBS games are not subcontracted with ESPN. It's a totally separate contract, one that is ludicrously cheap for CBS. But hey, that's 3 to 6 games a year on network TV.

The games on CBSSN however are subcontracted through ESPN.

 

[itgoeslike]

It might be premature to give Aresco credit, but he may have structured the NBC deal with the assumption that ESPN would indeed exercise their option to meet any offer. If the deal with NBC was worth $5M year but had no guarantees, ESPN could exercise their option and relegate conference content to obscure outlets or resell without any provisions. Aresco may have made the calculation that 6 years of national exposure would do more to help the conference and its members than an extra $3M a year.

 

[UConn Dan]

I believe CBS is also a media partner with the AAC.

yes you are right instead of 100% I should have said 90% espn property.

 

[btstimpy]

Maybe for reruns, but the article states that they will be starting live broadcasts in the fall, which is when the AAC's football deal kicks in. If football resembles the current basketball season, you'll see UConn and other AAC teams nationally televised each week. Consider that every UConn basketball game has been nationally televised this year, at least from where I'm sitting.

Not reruns only. It will be live on ESPN, ESPN2, ESNPU, or ESPN3 and live on this simultaneously. That's what I mean by simulcast.

 

[btstimpy]

It's interesting the ACC office hasn't commented on this new ACC network. Usually they are out ahead of the game spinning every so called development but not a peep on this so far.

There isn't a development here. ESPN is reorganizing how to search for games on Watch ESPN that were already going to be on Watch ESPN. What is the ACC supposed to announce?

 

[btstimpy]

The ones you list are on other networks, ESPN doesn't have them, and/or they have their own networks.

I've seen games from all of them on ESPN I thought. I know that the Big East isn't there, but I know I've seen SEC, Big Ten, and AAC. This is all about the upcoming conference tournaments. Maybe other networks, like CBS, has the SEC. Or maybe the Big Ten Tournament will be on BTN. That would make sense why they aren't listed. But I don't understand the AAC.

 

[upstater]

I've seen games from all of them on ESPN I thought. I know that the Big East isn't there, but I know I've seen SEC, Big Ten, and AAC. This is all about the upcoming conference tournaments. Maybe other networks, like CBS, has the SEC. Or maybe the Big Ten Tournament will be on BTN. That would make sense why they aren't listed. But I don't understand the AAC.

It's the AAC's contract with ESPN that's different. It's explicitly for TV.

 

[Durks07]

Obviously the ACC doesn't believe in their Grant of Rights or they wouldn't still be suing Maryland which is all about trying to stop other schools from trying to leave the conference.[/B]

It's interesting FSU's president bolted just shortly before the announcement of this ACC network. He supposedly signed FSU up under promises of an ACC network coming into place from news accounts at the time.

Sometimes such things are unrelated, but then again sometimes they are.

Unless I have this wrong, Maryland is not subject to the GOR. They announced they were leaving prior to the GOR going into effect. Either way, if the ACC does not believe in the GOR's enforceability then other schools are not precluded from leaving anyway. The GOR is a contract provision, and without "testing" it in the court system, it is not enforceable. Having the GOR but not holding a school accountable for violating it renders it a nullity, and encourages further defection. Not testing it in court for one school but trying it for another is a bad fact for the ACC. Either way, a court may find that the GOR is unenforceable, but the power of the GOR is the threat that it might hold up.

 

[buckaineer]

There isn't a development here. ESPN is reorganizing how to search for games on Watch ESPN that were already going to be on Watch ESPN. What is the ACC supposed to announce?

Please. Get Real. A two second search on the internet shows these tidbits that the ACC announced

ACC announces 2014 schedule
ACC announces conference championship game will remain in Charlotte through 2019
ACC announces academic team
ACC announces Men’s Basketball Tournament Legends

but were supposed to believe they have no interest in announcing an ACC network that has been
talked about for months?

Obviously the ACC doesn't want anyone talking about this, and they certainly aren't "correcting" it with spin as you are desperately trying to do.

 

[btstimpy]

Obviously the ACC doesn't believe in their Grant of Rights or they wouldn't still be suing Maryland which is all about trying to stop other schools from trying to leave the conference.

It's interesting FSU's president bolted just shortly before the announcement of this ACC network. He supposedly signed FSU up under promises of an ACC network coming into place from news accounts at the time.

Sometimes such things are unrelated, but then again sometimes they are.

Grand of Rights has nothing to do with Maryland. Maryland is being sued for the Exit Fee because Maryland is contractually obligated to pay it, and Maryland has publicly announced that they are not planning to pay it. If they pay it and leave, they would not be sued.

Your conspiracy theories about Eric Barron are something you might need to ask him Perhaps he went to Penn State to help move Penn State into the ACC. It's just as imaginable.

 

[buckaineer]

Unless I have this wrong, Maryland is not subject to the GOR. They announced they were leaving prior to the GOR going into effect. Either way, if the ACC does not believe in the GOR's enforceability then other schools are not precluded from leaving anyway. The GOR is a contract provision, and without "testing" it in the court system, it is not enforceable. Having the GOR but not holding a school accountable for violating it renders it a nullity, and encourages further defection. Not testing it in court for one school but trying it for another is a bad fact for the ACC. Either way, a court may find that the GOR is unenforceable, but the power of the GOR is the threat that it might hold up.

You are correct, UMD is not under any ACC GOR.

There is a lawsuit currently involving an ACC buyout fee however. When the buyout fee was increased and announced, several members were surprised and commented that this would prevent schools from looking elsewhere due to its exorbitant amount.

Maryland is leaving the conference, but the ACC knows a 3 times the operating budget buyout--a number that grows every year ($52 million for Maryland)--is something that can prohibit schools from leaving as some were considering.

The point is--that if they indeed felt confident in their GOR then they wouldn't have considered raising the buyout fee for a second time, and they certainly wouldn't continue to sue Maryland. After all, if no one else can leave due to a GOR then why sue? There's little chance they will ever take away $52 million from UMD which will be gone in a few months, and they put themselves and their membership and partners in legal and financial peril of far more than $52 million by continuing rather than settling.

 

[btstimpy]

Please. Get Real. A two second search on the internet shows these tidbits that the ACC announced

ACC announces 2014 schedule
ACC announces conference championship game will remain in Charlotte through 2019
ACC announces academic team
ACC announces Men’s Basketball Tournament Legends

but were supposed to believe they have no interest in announcing an ACC network that has been
talked about for months?

Obviously the ACC doesn't want anyone talking about this, and they certainly aren't "correcting" it with spin as you are desperately trying to do.

This is not an ACC network or anything like it. This is ESPN reorganizing how to search for games on Watch ESPN. That is their streaming outlet. It is for ESPN to announce how they structure it, and that is precisely what they did. They are doing it at this time in preparation for all of the conference men's and women's basketball tournaments that they will be broadcasting in the next 3 weeks on all of the ESPN outlets.

 

[Dooley]

Oh good. More channels that will be added to the cost of my cable bill that I will boycott. F ESPiN

 

[buckaineer]

Grand of Rights has nothing to do with Maryland. Maryland is being sued for the Exit Fee because Maryland is contractually obligated to pay it, and Maryland has publicly announced that they are not planning to pay it. If they pay it and leave, they would not be sued.

Your conspiracy theories about Eric Barron are something you might need to ask him Perhaps he went to Penn State to help move Penn State into the ACC. It's just as imaginable.

The courts will decide what UMD is contractually obligated to pay if anything at all. They will also determine if the ACC owes Maryland treble damages for attempting to impede them with an illegally punitive fee --raised for a second time in a year, in which the ACC did not follow its own bylaws on either examining the proposed change, or enacting the change. The court will also decide if the ACC had any right to withhold monies from Maryland in part or whole. Maryland never voted for this buyout and they and other schools felt it was illegal and didn't abide by league rules. It was created and enacted after knowledge of Marylands impending move, it never was some longstanding rule of the conference as you try to suggest. Maryland also never declared they would not pay a buyout to the league. They publicly discussed the illegality of this rapid exorbitant change to the buyout, but never stated they weren't going to pay anything.

As far as Penn State, there is 0 chance PSU is giving up a $20 million per year financial advantage over the ACC to join the lowest paid and weakest league in major college football.

 

[buckaineer]

This is not an ACC network or anything like it. This is ESPN reorganizing how to search for games on Watch ESPN. That is their streaming outlet. It is for ESPN to announce how they structure it, and that is precisely what they did. They are doing it at this time in preparation for all of the conference men's and women's basketball tournaments that they will be broadcasting in the next 3 weeks on all of the ESPN outlets.

Ok sure. Sure it is. You keep waiting on that blockbuster payout network. The rest of us will be back here in reality when you come to your senses.

The ACC announces pretty much everything as I have shown. Its telling they haven't even mentioned this new ACC network.

 

[btstimpy]

Ok sure. Sure it is. You keep waiting on that blockbuster payout network. The rest of us will be back here in reality when you come to your senses.

The ACC announces pretty much everything as I have shown. Its telling they haven't even mentioned this new ACC network.

Are you actually this dense? Maybe I already know the answer. This is not an ACC network. This is Watch ESPN. Every one of those conferences listed are getting ready to hold basketball tournaments that ESPN wants its viewers to have easy access to find them online to watch the games.

 

[Durks07]

You are correct, UMD is not under any ACC GOR.

There is a lawsuit currently involving an ACC buyout fee however. When the buyout fee was increased and announced, several members were surprised and commented that this would prevent schools from looking elsewhere due to its exorbitant amount.

Maryland is leaving the conference, but the ACC knows a 3 times the operating budget buyout--a number that grows every year ($52 million for Maryland)--is something that can prohibit schools from leaving as some were considering.

The point is--that if they indeed felt confident in their GOR then they wouldn't have considered raising the buyout fee for a second time, and they certainly wouldn't continue to sue Maryland. After all, if no one else can leave due to a GOR then why sue? There's little chance they will ever take away $52 million from UMD which will be gone in a few months, and they put themselves and their membership and partners in legal and financial peril of far more than $52 million by continuing rather than settling.

Ok, that's where I misunderstood what you were getting at. They probably do not feel "confident" in the GOR. A strong argument exists that GORs are unenforceable. This is the best explanation that I have found thus far arguing this point: http://msn.foxsports.com/college-fo...erage/myth-of-the-big-12s-grant-of-rights.php (however, it automatically assumes that GORs are liquidated damage clauses). To this point, the legality of the GORs is grounded in conferences that have GORs declining to poach schools from other conferences with GORs. God forbid the Big 12 try and poach FSU, win, and then the PAC-12 take Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Ok. State, and the B1G takes Kansas. That is the irony in winning against the GOR.