zls44
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Big 12 Grant of Rights Uploaded to Google Docs
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Deloss Dodds, he wants someone on the boneyard to find him an out.
I did. I received it back in February, but forgot to put it up and then expansion talk died down so I simply didn't bother. But with hints that it might be firing up again, I decided it was a good time to throw it out there for consumption.
It's interesting - but also cross-references to other documents to make it an incomplete picture of all the moving pieces as it pertains to realignment.
The main potential gotcha I see is that the Grant of Rights covers what's part of the "Telecast Rights Agreements" that the B12 made with ESPN/FOX - if there are terms in that agreement that would change what rights would be owned by the conference then maybe there is some leeway after all.
I also notice that the schools do get rebroadcast rights immediately after the live game ends, so I guess it's possible to still monetize the inventory if desired (and with some creative actions you can try to minimize the value gap between live and the 1st rebroadcast)
The main potential gotcha I see is that the Grant of Rights covers what's part of the "Telecast Rights Agreements" that the B12 made with ESPN/FOX - if there are terms in that agreement that would change what rights would be owned by the conference then maybe there is some leeway after all.
I also notice that the schools do get rebroadcast rights immediately after the live game ends, so I guess it's possible to still monetize the inventory if desired (and with some creative actions you can try to minimize the value gap between live and the 1st rebroadcast)
huskypantz
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I'm still not clear on obligations in the event that a member cedes from the conference. I don't see how rights could be held without reasonable compensation, but I don't see any language stating that.
I find the very first sentence to be interesting, "executed on September 7, 2012, effective as of July 1, 2012". This may help shed light on the ACC GOR. Some have spectulated that ACC members could be poached because they have not signed the GOR, but if this is any indication the ACC GOR may be effective even if it is not officially signed yet.
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Thanks Kyle. Would be nice if someone would do a FOIA request from an ACC school so we could compare.
There's no surprises in the Big XII GoR. The conference made a deal with their TV networks, and the networks wanted a guarantee that the conference could actually deliver the media rights they were buying. The GoR gives those media rights irrevocably. Although technically the GoR assigns them to the conference, the GoR is tied to the media contract between conference networks, so that they are immediately assigned from conference to networks and the conference never has any rights that the media partners aren't paying for. I am sure there is no provision in the media contract allowing a network to get a school's rights without paying for it. If there are any financial penalties to a school for leaving the conference, they are dealt with in separate agreements. The GoR is designed to protect the network from realignment, not to prevent realignment or penalize a school that realigns. There may be other agreements which do penalize a school for realignment, but not the GoR.
There's no surprises in the Big XII GoR. The conference made a deal with their TV networks, and the networks wanted a guarantee that the conference could actually deliver the media rights they were buying. The GoR gives those media rights irrevocably. Although technically the GoR assigns them to the conference, the GoR is tied to the media contract between conference networks, so that they are immediately assigned from conference to networks and the conference never has any rights that the media partners aren't paying for. I am sure there is no provision in the media contract allowing a network to get a school's rights without paying for it. If there are any financial penalties to a school for leaving the conference, they are dealt with in separate agreements. The GoR is designed to protect the network from realignment, not to prevent realignment or penalize a school that realigns. There may be other agreements which do penalize a school for realignment, but not the GoR.
I agree with you, but the words within the contract state, "executed on September 7, 2012, effective as of July 1, 2012". That implies that the contract was effective before it was executed.
The words on Page 2, part 1 are interesting as well. It states that "each of the Member Institutions hereby (a) irrevocably grants to the Conference during the Term (as defined below) all rights (the "Rights") necessary for the Conference to perform the contractual obligations of the Conference expressly set forth in the Telecast Rights Agreement, regardless of whether such Member Institution remains a member of the Conference during the entirety of the Term and (b) agrees to satisfy and perform all contractual obligations of a Member Institution that are expressly set forth in the Telecast Rights Agreement". Without having access to the defined "Rights" (although we understand them to be First and Second tier rights minus 1 football and 4 basketball games) and the "Telecast Rights Agreement" it is hard to fully weigh in on this GOR agreement. To paraphrase, the GOR agreement states that the Member Institutions "Rights" are bound to the conference for contractual obligations within the "Telecast Rights Agreement".
I see a few options here for movement from one conference to another.
1. If a school leaving a GOR conference is replaced by another school that meets the requirements of the "Telecast Rights Agreement", the departing school would have grounds to argue that the GOR is in place to ensure the "Telecast Rights Agreement" and that the departing school's "Rights" are required to meet the contractual obligations and therefore the "Rights" of the departing school should be forefitted by the Conference because the new replacement school's "Rights" will fill that void. The catch is that the "Telecast Rights Agreement" may be as simple as requiring "X" amount of teams, or as detailed as requiring specific teams and specific match ups.
2. As stated, the GOR is in place to protect the contractual obligations of the Telecast Rights Agreement. This leaves the possibility that FOX or ESPN would be willing to negotiate with a school for its departure to another conference. FOX or ESPN may see it equally or more profitable if a few teams moved from one conference to another. For example, FOX may see more value in total inventory if it allowed Kansas to move to the B1G with Uconn as the 16th School, and replacing Kansas with UofH or Cincy.
3. A school could choose to leave the conference and challenge the GOR in court. The departing school would be able to challenge the GOR, Telecast Rights Agreement, or define Rights. With three or more documents to challenge in court, a departing school would have much more opportunity to look for termination clauses and loop holes.
In summary, I do not believe the GOR forces a school to stay in a conference, but rather is in place to protect contractual obligations to FOX or ESPN. For this reason, I believe any school that wishes to switch to another conference will do so and will find a way to move its media rights with it. But, I also feel that no school currently in a P5 conference is actively looking to switch conferences or they would not have recently signed a GOR.
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