ESPN negotiations

[RS9999X]

Anyone else think the BE is on the clock to the open market? Aresco hasn't said much. Except about negotiating an early exit for ND

 

[Srqhusky]

definitely going to go down to the wire. I wouldn't expect anything soon

 

[Waquoit]

I just read that Fox is changing Speed Channel to an all-sports network. Any hints that they may be a player here?

 

[Srqhusky]

that is interesting. i think the nbe is best off by making a deal with espn tier 1 for 8-10 mil if thats what the numbers are. it will allow espn to play a saturday game or maybe 2 and fill some friday night game slots during the year. they will still east up nbe bball as the top 8 programs are still big draws and good programs. there will still be a lot of fball and bball games to go around so a tier 2 deal with nbc or fox for a couple mil would be great news for this conf. say a 2-4 mil a team tier 2 deal. that would get the nbe ok numbers overall and for schools like lville and uconn with great tier 3 numbers it would allow them to be on par with acc and others $ wise which is what we need to be $ wise. uconn soccer has made fox so they def do have some interest in college sports in the nbe i think. with espn being tier 1 we wont be hated on as bad as we are now and the gor thing will be out the window it seems. could be a good strategy for the nbe.

What exactly is the difference between tier 1 ,2,3

 

[nelsonmuntz]

ESPN has no incentive to make a serious offer for another week or two. They will simply keep spreading rumors that Louisville/Rutgers/whoever is about to leave for the Big 12 or ACC, and see if they can get the Big East to make a panic signing. I do believe ESPN wants the Big East if they can get it at a reasonable price, and they also have no interest in walking away and letting NBC get the Big East for cheap. Worst case for ESPN, they want NBC to overpay for the league.

 

[RS9999X]

ESPN has no incentive to make a serious offer for another week or two. They will simply keep spreading rumors that Louisville/Rutgers/whoever is about to leave for the Big 12 or ACC, and see if they can get the Big East to make a panic signing. I do believe ESPN wants the Big East if they can get it at a reasonable price, and they also have no interest in walking away and letting NBC get the Big East for cheap. Worst case for ESPN, they want NBC to overpay for the league.

The separate streaming model is heating up. Can they sell one million BE subscriptions for $49.95 a year to out-of-market alumni and fans? Subs that include vault coverage and re-runs?

Or is NBC so content starved given their huge regional nvestments in Cablevision sports that thye have to offer a decent bid?

For UConn viewers the SNY deal (local) and major Network (exposure) and streaming (for non-local viewers) is more important than ESPN.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Louisville
Yukon
GTown
Nova
....

Marquette and Cinci at the least.

Troy bell was a decade ago.

 

[epark88]

Louisville
Yukon
GTown
Nova
....

You forgot:

Memphis
Temple
St. Johns

So seven, as opposed to:

Dook
UNC
NCSU
Syracuse
...

 

[UConnDan97]

You forgot:

Memphis
Temple
St. Johns

So seven, as opposed to:

Dook
UNC
NCSU
Syracuse
...

Actually, 9, if you add OkaForPrez's comment of Cincy and Marquette (which absolutely should be added, since they are March Madness teams).

 

[huskypantz]

I just read that Fox is changing Speed Channel to an all-sports network. Any hints that they may be a player here?

Fox has definitely stepped up their football lineup with the noon broadcasts on fx and some broadcasts on bigFox. Between the B12 and Pac12 they have a decent amount of content. Bringing in the Big East would give them more 12noon options for EST games aside from WVU home games. I think I could stomach Fox over NBC. They need to get us non-CT residents a viewing option similar to watchEspn, though.

 

[Adios]

Louisville
Yukon
GTown
Nova
....

Just stick to hockey and go post over in the "Olympic sports" section. I mean, that's the only sport BC is relevant in, right? Our women's basketball program probably gets more eyeballs than your football program.

 

[Adios]

It's pretty obvious it's not for BC fans. No one in Boston cares about BC.

 

[UConn9604]

Maryland won a championship in the past decade
FSU has been to the tournament the last 4 years & won the ACC last year
As much as you and I hate ND, there is no denying they're a big time draw no matter where they go.
Pitt has been to the dance 10 of the past 11 years.

Maryland - not really, their win was in 2002, which will have been 11 years ago this season; two Final Fours (2001, 2002)
FSU - one Final Four (1972)
Notre Dame - one Final Four (1978)
Pitt - one Final Four (1941)

Collectively, we've had a better 25 years than these four programs, combined, have had in their histories: 3 titles, 4 Final Fours > 1 title, 5 Final Fours.

 

[Husky68]

Then why does ESPN constantly put our game on national broadcasts?

Last 3 ACC games:
BC @ Miami -ABC
Miami @ BC -ABC
Clemson @ BC -ESPN2

Next announced ACC game:
BC @ FSU -ESPN2

Have you guys even had a home game on TV yet? Let me guess, it's all part of some massive conspiracy ESPN has against UConn.

Well at the Roman Colisieum there were always the "christians (ala BCU)" and the lions/gladiators/firepits so BCU is good fodder for fans of other schools so there is little chance of a "real" game breaking out and getting Miami or Clemson fans all upset.

 

[Marty Jackson]

going to the dance every year and doing nothing is a good program but never great. you got 3 of those really. pitt will be exposed more in the acc. they are never more that a competitive team. cuse minus melo for 1 year is a pitt on roids. has nd ever made it past the sweet 16?

uconn/lville speak for themselves
cincy/memphis/marq/nova/gtown anyone would be happy with in america program wise
sju/dep are rebuilding, lets see what happens. Fecundity prov/shu/ruty
the nbe in bball will be fine

the acc has unc/duke
fsu has been a great program of late
md/gt/wake fell off the same cliff that bc football fell off of
ncst is coming back to life nicely, they will join fsu as the acc top 5 i think with cuse.
pitt will always be top 8 but never anything to worry about. recruiting there will slowly delcine in time.
clem/uva/vt..w/e

you can through Temple in the cincy/memphis group. solid program.
Houston is a wildcard...

 

[Marty Jackson]

you can through Temple in the cincy/memphis group. solid program.
Houston is a wildcard...

Top Tier: Duke, UNC, Syr, Pitt vs Uconn, UofL (edge to ACC based on numbers)
2nd Tier: Maryland, NC State, ND, WF, GT, MD, BC, VA vs Memphis, Cincy, Temple, Marquette, Nova, G'Town, Houston (ACC has the numbers, BE teams are better top to bottom)
3rd Tier: Miami, Clemson, VT, FSU vs Depaul, PC, Seton Hall, SMU, UCF, USF
(not sure. Probably give edge to ACC)

Overall, I think the ACC is stronger at the top because they have 4 vs our 2 'Top' programs. I think the BE has more depth in the middle tier schools today, but the ACC has more numbers and these programs could all be very good. The ACC's bottom is better than the BE's.

I think it's close but I'd have to give the nod to the ACC as of today. In any given year, either league could have 8-9 teams in the tourney.

 

[Srqhusky]

that is interesting. i think the nbe is best off by making a deal with espn tier 1 for 8-10 mil if thats what the numbers are. it will allow espn to play a saturday game or maybe 2 and fill some friday night game slots during the year. they will still east up nbe bball as the top 8 programs are still big draws and good programs. there will still be a lot of fball and bball games to go around so a tier 2 deal with nbc or fox for a couple mil would be great news for this conf. say a 2-4 mil a team tier 2 deal. that would get the nbe ok numbers overall and for schools like lville and uconn with great tier 3 numbers it would allow them to be on par with acc and others $ wise which is what we need to be $ wise. uconn soccer has made fox so they def do have some interest in college sports in the nbe i think. with espn being tier 1 we wont be hated on as bad as we are now and the gor thing will be out the window it seems. could be a good strategy for the nbe.

Thanks Dan!!

 

[Jericho]

tier 1 is usually your big contract. lets say its espn. they have claim to any game they want for time slots they need
tier 2 if uhave a 2nd contract can pick from games that the tier 1 tv station didn't grab
both of those tiers can work together to help each other and spread games etc. it could be a partner contract with one being more invested $ wise taking the head position
tier 3 is what a school gets from other deals. radio deal. img deal. sny deal with womens bball for uconn for example. tier 3 depending on what confrence your in is either controlled by the school like uconn right now or it can be controlled by a company. in the acc, all tier 3 tv stuff is controlled by raycom. so acc schools dont make any tier 3 $$ really. its bull **** considering how crapy raycom is and how small the tv contract they got was. imagine having to throw that 1mil girls bball contract into the raycom pot? sucks. uconn and lville do extremely well tier 3 wise compared to other schools in the same position. thats why they are not going to be heart broken like the other schools with a 10mil ish tv contract if that happens becuase the tier 3 they have will atleast keep the $ close to big boy status all together.

i'm not really sure if i did that right so please correct me if so...

It's quasi right. The Tier 1 stuff is best. But the Tier 2 stuff rakes in pretty huge money too. I also think you're overestimating Tier 3. While many schools bring it big money on Tier 3, those numbers factor in all Tier 3 stuff. And most of it comes from non-TV rights. In the ACC, they sold the Tier 3 rights to ESPN, who in turn sub-licensed them to Raycom. Uconn Tier 3 TV stuff isn't worth too much. The women's basketball does has value. But that's an anomaly. I'm not sure if any other women's program in America has any kind of positive value. Also since Tier 3 has all women's sports, the Tier 3 women's package is of much greater quantity. The rest of Tier 3 might pull another Million or so

 

[RS9999X]

It's quasi right. The Tier 1 stuff is best. But the Tier 2 stuff rakes in pretty huge money too. I also think you're overestimating Tier 3. While many schools bring it big money on Tier 3, those numbers factor in all Tier 3 stuff. And most of it comes from non-TV rights. In the ACC, they sold the Tier 3 rights to ESPN, who in turn sub-licensed them to Raycom. Uconn Tier 3 TV stuff isn't worth too much. The women's basketball does has value. But that's an anomaly. I'm not sure if any other women's program in America has any kind of positive value. Also since Tier 3 has all women's sports, the Tier 3 women's package is of much greater quantity. The rest of Tier 3 might pull another Million or so

Raycomm pays around $60 million a year (32% in the renegotiated deal) for Tier 3. All digital rights, managing ACC Conference branding and ACC Conference corporate sponsorship (as opposed to each team's own deals). That doesn't include each team's IMG Deal but does include the Conference web site and media/game day/broadcast production

Easily the best discussion on RayComm's role is here at the botton where its pretty much itemized out.


http://www.staatalent.com/Headlines/10/10/05raycom-acc.php

ACC Commissioner John Swofford's son works for RayComm which is great political drama where Florida State fans cry foul every time they hear that Raycomm owns their Tier 3 tights and treats the Great FSU like Wake Forest--all to protect the Swofford kids career and the Charlotte mafia.

Teams still hold their own deals for stadium management and merchandising etc through IMG

My favorite Tier 3 deal

Seat cushion sales!
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2011/06/06/Colleges/Seats.aspx

 

[Jericho]

Raycomm pays around $60 million a year (32% in the renegotiated deal) for Tier 3. All digital rights, managing ACC Conference branding and ACC Conference corporate sponsorship (as opposed to each team's own deals). That doesn't include each team's IMG Deal but does include the Conference web site and media/game day/broadcast production

Easily the best discussion on RayComm's role is here at the botton where its pretty much itemized out.


http://www.staatalent.com/Headlines/10/10/05raycom-acc.php

ACC Commissioner John Swofford's son works for RayComm which is great political drama where Florida State fans cry foul every time they hear that Raycomm owns their Tier 3 tights and treats the Great FSU like Wake Forest--all to protect the Swofford kids career and the Charlotte mafia.

Teams still hold their own deals for stadium management and merchandising etc through IMG

My favorite Tier 3 deal

Seat cushion sales!
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2011/06/06/Colleges/Seats.aspx

That's a very useful post. And to clarify my above statement, the idea of Tiers 3 television rights being some bonanza is a bit of a myth. There's so much more to Tier 3 rights overall that there is some money to be made. But the television side is what gets inflated. When you talk about Tier 3 television, you're talking about possibly one football game and a handful on men's basketball (maybe somewhere like 5-8 games). You also get everything else sports wise. For the most part this everything else is not making money, although women's basketball at UConn is an exception.

I am familiar with the Swafford connection/nepotism. It's not shocking. I don't think its overly significant either. The ACC is getting paid either way and the fact someone in power has found a cushy job thanks to a relative is hardly new. I can't imagine a real reason to get overly worked up about Tier 3 rights. I mean if you looked at UConn basketball, their Tier 3 is like including their games against Vermont, New Hampshire, Stony Brook, Fordham, Maryland-Eastern Shore, etc... People largely won't care either way.

 

[phillionaire]

Then why does ESPN constantly put our game on national broadcasts?

Last 3 ACC games:
BC @ Miami -ABC
Miami @ BC -ABC
Clemson @ BC -ESPN2

Next announced ACC game:
BC @ FSU -ESPN2

Have you guys even had a home game on TV yet? Let me guess, it's all part of some massive conspiracy ESPN has against UConn.

yeah it definitely didn't have anything to do with who you were playing. people were just so excited to watch boston college get wrecked by clemson, and now they're gonna get to see free shoes university run a train on ya'll

 

[UC990411]

What exactly is the difference between tier 1 ,2,3

I think tier 1 rights are national broadcasts, tier 2 are regional broadcasts on major networks and tier 3 rights are regional on regional networks. But I'm not positive about 2

 

[Fishy]

To oversimplify, the Tier 1 rights holder are the national broadcasters - they have the rights to everything a conference puts out. If they want to put women's field hockey on ABC, they have the rights to it. But they don't want to do that - they want national games.

The games that they pass on fall to Tier 2 rights holders. Again, they can take whatever they want, but they're going to pick games with regional interest for cable, etc.

Tier 3 is the scrapple that's left over.

 

[CL82]

Then why does ESPN constantly put our game on national broadcasts?

Um, a desparate attempt to bolster a failing investment?

 

[Adios]

Top Tier: Duke, UNC, Syr, Pitt vs Uconn, UofL (edge to ACC based on numbers)
2nd Tier: Maryland, NC State, ND, WF, GT, MD, BC, VA vs Memphis, Cincy, Temple, Marquette, Nova, G'Town, Houston (ACC has the numbers, BE teams are better top to bottom)
3rd Tier: Miami, Clemson, VT, FSU vs Depaul, PC, Seton Hall, SMU, UCF, USF
(not sure. Probably give edge to ACC)

Overall, I think the ACC is stronger at the top because they have 4 vs our 2 'Top' programs. I think the BE has more depth in the middle tier schools today, but the ACC has more numbers and these programs could all be very good. The ACC's bottom is better than the BE's.

I think it's close but I'd have to give the nod to the ACC as of today. In any given year, either league could have 8-9 teams in the tourney.

How the heck is Pitt a top tier program? Who did they produce? DeJuan Blair? Cincinnati produced more NBA talent than Pitt. So has Memphis. And Temple. And Georgetown. And Houston. And Marquette. And Villanova. (WTF?!?!!?)