ESPN: Karma is a bitch

[CL82]

Is ESPN is the sports version of Blockbuster Video?

Article talks about ESPN's NFL deal as being the death of the network. It's a contributing factor, although I'd argue that ESPN move to consolidate conferences so that it could more easily monopolize the market is another contributing factor.

What does this mean to UConn? It's unclear. Less money in future TV contracts means no incentive to expand conferences to get a better deal. On the other hand if the TV mega deals are drying up, conferences will new ways to monetize their product. Here, Connecticut's 3.5M population (.95M in Fairfield County, i.e., the NYC DMA) is helpful as is UConn's domination of that market.

Bottom line: we'll never benefit from the cable TV $ boom as the bubble is about to burst. But that burst means change, and change is our ally.

 

[HoopsFan21]

A lot of P5 schools are going to have their bubble burst soon. Will be interesting to see what happens at the next contract renewals and how long the big money P5 schools are willing to carry the middle and bottom of their conferences once their own revenue feels like it's stagnating or topped out.

 

[SenecaTinsley]

Is ESPN is the sports version of Blockbuster Video?

Article talks about ESPN's NFL deal as being the death of the network. It's a contributing factor, although I'd argue that ESPN move to consolidate conferences so that it could more easily monopolize the market is another contributing factor.

What does this mean to UConn? It's unclear. Less money in future TV contracts means no incentive to expand conferences to get a better deal. On the other hand if the TV mega deals are drying up, conferences will new ways to monetize their product. Here, Connecticut's 3.5M population (.95M in Fairfield County, i.e., the NYC DMA) is helpful as is UConn's domination of that market.

Bottom line: we'll never benefit from the cable TV $ boom as the bubble is about to burst. But that burst means change, and change is our ally.

All that population and yet you average 20,715 for football. Even such big draws as Arkansas State, Wyoming, & Marshall have bigger crowds. Your basketball? It wasn't even in the top 50 for attendance in 2017. Such paltry numbers destroy any notion of "dominating" NYC. So few care.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

ESPN having less money isn't going to help us, either in the AAC or into the possibility of another league expanding for more money.

I get why people are angry at ESPN, but this isn't good for us.

 

[uconnbaseball]

All that population and yet you average 20,715 for football. Even such big draws as Arkansas State, Wyoming, & Marshall have bigger crowds. Your basketball? It wasn't even in the top 50 for attendance in 2017. Such paltry numbers destroy any notion of "dominating" NYC. So few care.

Gosh, I wonder why? Could it be because of conference realignment making it much more difficult for us compared to Rutgers and Syracuse? (although their recruiting for both sports still sucks because big time players don't want to play in Syracuse...)

 

[HuskyHawk]

ESPN having less money isn't going to help us, either in the AAC or into the possibility of another league expanding for more money.

I get why people are angry at ESPN, but this isn't good for us.

Short term? Agreed, since the AAC needs a new deal. Long term? The future could well hinge on a return to smaller, regional conferences playing local foes. That drives up attendance and reduces travel cost. It's also tailor made for sellable games via streaming. In that landscape, UConn comes out a winner. Problem is, just like the hovercars and jet packs we were supposed to have by the 1980's, it's further off than people think, and we (or at least I) will likely be too old to care by then.

 

[CL82]

All that population and yet you average 20,715 for football. Even such big draws as Arkansas State, Wyoming, & Marshall have bigger crowds. Your basketball? It wasn't even in the top 50 for attendance in 2017. Such paltry numbers destroy any notion of "dominating" NYC. So few care.

Lol, UConn at MSG ticket prices for the NCAA skyrocketed prices literally hundreds of dollars for the upper deck. UConn games as MSG are packed with Connecticut fans year in and year out again paying a premium to be there. Golly seems like a lot of trouble for people who don't care.

#Trollharder

 

[SenecaTinsley]

Gosh, I wonder why? Could it be because of conference realignment maling it much more difficult for us compared to Rutgers and Syracuse? (although their recruiting for both sports still sucks because big time players don't want to play in Syracuse...)

Rutgers & Syracuse? You don't even compare favorably to the conference you complain about. UConn is almost 25% under the AAC attendance AVERAGE for football. The abysmal attendance figures and the unsustainable level of public funds needed to prop up the athletic dept point to a very low level of fan interest, regardless of any demographics that are near you. See UMass and Boston or San Jose State and the south bay area.

 

[uconnbaseball]

Rutgers & Syracuse? You don't even compare favorably to the conference you complain about. UConn is almost 25% under the AAC attendance AVERAGE for football. The abysmal attendance figures and the unsustainable level of public funds needed to prop up the athletic dept point to a very low level of fan interest, regardless of any demographics that are near you. See UMass and Boston or San Jose State and the south bay area.

Syracuse doesn't compare very well to the upper echlon of the AAC from a fan interest standpoint, either. Sure, UConn might be AAC level athletically right now, but so is Syracuse and their mediocre sports teams.

 

[SenecaTinsley]

Syracuse doesn't compare very well to the upper echlon of the AAC from a fan interest standpoint, either. Sure, UConn might be AAC level athletically right now, but so is Syracuse and their mediocre sports teams.

You're right about Syracuse, their average of 33,753 is 30% less than the ACC average. Not a good look.

 

[uconnell]

Rutgers & Syracuse? You don't even compare favorably to the conference you complain about. UConn is almost 25% under the AAC attendance AVERAGE for football. The abysmal attendance figures and the unsustainable level of public funds needed to prop up the athletic dept point to a very low level of fan interest, regardless of any demographics that are near you. See UMass and Boston or San Jose State and the south bay area.

Have you ever been to UMass Amhurst? Their football stadium is like a high school stadium.

 

[SenecaTinsley]

Have you ever been to UMass Amhurst? Their football stadium is like a high school stadium.

No, I haven't and it appears as though many people have never been there. My point wasn't about the UMass stadium, it was about UMass's awful attendance and how it would be foolish to point at the Boston demographics as some sort of selling point for UMass football. The same thing for SJSU football and south bay area.

 

[CL82]

I love how this troll quickly dumped his basketball argument in favor of a football one. After two abysmal coaching hires, UConn attendance is down. It would be silly to assume that it will always be. Fans remember when the Rent was packed consistently.

 

[SenecaTinsley]

I love how this troll quickly dumped his basketball argument in favor of a football one. After two abysmal coaching hires, UConn attendance is down. It would be silly to assume that it will always be. Fans remember when the Rent was packed consistently.

Dumped in favor of a football one? Uh no, the football point was the main topic. I threw the basketball attendance in merely to point out that your basketball attendance isn't anything close to special either. I hope you can get back to your days of crowds in the upper 30s for football, that's a good number in the AAC. BTW: I really don't think selling a mere 2,771 of your 17,500 tickets to the Fiesta Bowl does much to help your cause.

 

[CL82]

Dumped in favor of a football one? Uh no, the football point was the main topic. I threw the basketball attendance in merely to point out that your basketball attendance isn't anything close to special either. I hope you can get back to your days of crowds in the upper 30s for football, that's a good number in the AAC. BTW: I really don't think selling a mere 2,771 of your 17,500 tickets to the Fiesta Bowl does much to help your cause either.

Golly there sure seems to more that 3,000 blue shirts in this picture from the game:

Really if the best you have against our program is that we went to BCS Bowl and finished the season ranked #25, I feel like your heart isn't in this.

Okay, though let's go back to your point how we don't draw we draw in NYC.

Wow those 'neutral' fans sure took a liking to us huh?

 

[dogged1]

Dumped in favor of a football one? Uh no, the football point was the main topic. I threw the basketball attendance in merely to point out that your basketball attendance isn't anything close to special either. I hope you can get back to your days of crowds in the upper 30s for football, that's a good number in the AAC. BTW: I really don't think selling a mere 2,771 of your 17,500 tickets to the Fiesta Bowl does much to help your cause.

That's a lie, you don't hope that at all. It's obvious that you're here just to incite. Go crawl back into your little orange cave.

 

[uconnfan68]

Dumped in favor of a football one? Uh no, the football point was the main topic. I threw the basketball attendance in merely to point out that your basketball attendance isn't anything close to special either. I hope you can get back to your days of crowds in the upper 30s for football, that's a good number in the AAC. BTW: I really don't think selling a mere 2,771 of your 17,500 tickets to the Fiesta Bowl does much to help your cause.

Another line of BS. Maybe only 2771 bought tickets through the school, but that wasn’t all that were sold. We should get credit for being smarter than the Fiesta Bowl folks.

 

[Doggie Style]

Have you ever been to UMass Amhurst? Their football stadium is like a high school stadium.

I've played in that stadium. I agree!'

 

[SenecaTinsley]

Another line of BS. Maybe only 2771 bought tickets through the school, but that wasn’t all that were sold. We should get credit for being smarter than the Fiesta Bowl folks.

OK, congrats on being so smart your heavily subsidized athletic dept had to eat nearly $3 million dollars in unwanted tickets and turning the national media's spotlight on your flaccid fan support.

 

[buddy]

Thank Syracuse laden ESPN for their role is all of this.

 

[dogged1]

Thank Syracuse laden ESPN for their role is all of this.

Could it be that Seneca is one of those ESPN/Syracuse employees? That article would be giving him nightmares. Oh joy!

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Is ESPN is the sports version of Blockbuster Video?

Article talks about ESPN's NFL deal as being the death of the network. It's a contributing factor, although I'd argue that ESPN move to consolidate conferences so that it could more easily monopolize the market is another contributing factor.

What does this mean to UConn? It's unclear. Less money in future TV contracts means no incentive to expand conferences to get a better deal. On the other hand if the TV mega deals are drying up, conferences will new ways to monetize their product. Here, Connecticut's 3.5M population (.95M in Fairfield County, i.e., the NYC DMA) is helpful as is UConn's domination of that market.

Bottom line: we'll never benefit from the cable TV $ boom as the bubble is about to burst. But that burst means change, and change is our ally.

One could argue that UConn was a great beneficiary of the Cable TV boom
It went from one of the most parochial of State Universities to a National brand
We did miss the last Dance but we are positioned much better than we were in 1970 for the next dance.

 

[auggie22]

OK, congrats on being so smart your heavily subsidized athletic dept had to eat nearly $3 million dollars in unwanted tickets and turning the national media's spotlight on your flaccid fan support.

You must be disappointed that you are not provoking more of a response. It is because you are stupid and it shows up in your posts. I think if you were smart or funny you would be getting a better reaction.

From the apparent chip on your shoulder I would also guess that you are a fan of a clearly better football program that has less brand recognition. Boise State? Iowa State? Oklahoma State? One of the flyover state schools I would bet.

 

[Skiblets]

You must be disappointed that you are not provoking more of a response. It is because you are stupid and it shows up in your posts. I think if you were smart or funny you would be getting a better reaction.

From the apparent chip on your shoulder I would also guess that you are a fan of a clearly better football program that has less brand recognition. Boise State? Iowa State? Oklahoma State? One of the flyover state schools I would bet.

Dude is so dumb. Only reason that Oklahoma didn't take a bath on the Fiesta Bowl like we did is that the Big 12 pools bowl money and subsidizes the ticket requirement. Big East did not. Fish in a barrel with these trolls

 

[Marty Jackson]

Is ESPN is the sports version of Blockbuster Video?

Article talks about ESPN's NFL deal as being the death of the network. It's a contributing factor, although I'd argue that ESPN move to consolidate conferences so that it could more easily monopolize the market is another contributing factor.

What does this mean to UConn? It's unclear. Less money in future TV contracts means no incentive to expand conferences to get a better deal. On the other hand if the TV mega deals are drying up, conferences will new ways to monetize their product. Here, Connecticut's 3.5M population (.95M in Fairfield County, i.e., the NYC DMA) is helpful as is UConn's domination of that market.

Bottom line: we'll never benefit from the cable TV $ boom as the bubble is about to burst. But that burst means change, and change is our ally.

it's great to root against ESPN... But let's not forget there are about 4,000 well paying jobs in CT that rely on ESPN...
Given the state's current fiscal condition, that's just another kick in the nut sack after another after another.

Yeah, karma is a bitch...