Fox wins MWC Rights Deal from ESPN

[gampelcrazies]

Aresco surely to make a call to Idaho... and the big question is, would such a call ever lead to a second conversation.

Nope

 

[MemphisBlues]

Boise State just filed a lawsuit against the Mountain West Conference.

 

[huskymedic]

Boise State just filed a lawsuit against the Mountain West Conference.

 

[Dooooooomed]

Getting juicy! Go Indy, Go!

 

[huskymedic]

 

[WrenchFan69]

Getting juicy! Go Indy, Go!

Even if they left the MWC, wouldn't they just go AAC for football and WAC for everything else?

 

[businesslawyer]

I read BSU's complaint. Sometimes, when you read a complaint, you conclude that the facts stated by the plaintiff just can't be true, because the defendant couldn't have thought it would have gotten away with its actions. This is such a complaint. From the alleged facts BSU was wronged and is owed money, but I'm guessing the MWC will have a very different belief of the facts leading up to the contract. We'll see.

 

[noeynox]

I read BSU's complaint. Sometimes, when you read a complaint, you conclude that the facts stated by the plaintiff just can't be true, because the defendant couldn't have thought it would have gotten away with its actions. This is such a complaint. From the alleged facts BSU was wronged and is owed money, but I'm guessing the MWC will have a very different belief of the facts leading up to the contract. We'll see.

So if the other schools in the conference vote no against unequal revenue sharing can't they just tell Boise they are free to walk? Comparing it with UConn's situation, they were unhappy with the paywall for its BB programs so they bounced.

 

[businesslawyer]

So if the other schools in the conference vote no against unequal revenue sharing can't they just tell Boise they are free to walk? Comparing it with UConn's situation, they were unhappy with the paywall for its BB programs so they bounced.

Depends on what the rest of the agreements between BSU and MWC -- and the conferences organizational documents -- provide for.

 

[Slasher]

Depends on what the rest of the agreements between BSU and MWC -- and the conferences organizational documents -- provide for.

Exactly. The conference may have a by-law that says any other contract can be negated by conference majority.

 

[businesslawyer]

Exactly. The conference may have a by-law that says any other contract can be negated by conference majority.

It could, but that presumes that BSU are idiots to negotiate for special rights and not make clear that those special rights can't be taken away without its consent.

My instinct is that MWC is going to say BSU consented to this, maybe with a statement like "if you can get us over $5M a year we don't need a special right any more." Because otherwise, it just wouldn't make sense based on the provisions BSU quoted.

As for throwing them out, it's difficult to believe that BSU entered an arrangement where it could be thrown out and MWC could keep the TV monies from BSU home games. And MWC absolutely wants that money.

 

[noeynox]

It could, but that presumes that BSU are idiots to negotiate for special rights and not make clear that those special rights can't be taken away without its consent.

My instinct is that MWC is going to say BSU consented to this, maybe with a statement like "if you can get us over $5M a year we don't need a special right any more." Because otherwise, it just wouldn't make sense based on the provisions BSU quoted.

As for throwing them out, it's difficult to believe that BSU entered an arrangement where it could be thrown out and MWC could keep the TV monies from BSU home games. And MWC absolutely wants that money.

It just may be best for the other schools to let them leave and take their TV rights. Boise is the most valuable school in that league, but they just may be too much of a pain in the rear to deal with.

 

[UConnJim]

Who knows what the contracts and league bylaws saw, so commentary is just speculation at this point.

What we can comment on is that only Boise’s football program is valuable and that is based on recent performance, not on its established fan base. In other words, Boise’s value is tied to cyclical football performance and that can drop off and leave Boise St.’s value severely diminished if it hasn’t already. Boise St. hasn’t finished in the top 10 since 2011 or the top 20 since 2014. Is Boise St. worth a large premium over the MW schools? And, the AAC media contract appears slightly less than Boise St. will get from the MW. And, I just can’t see the AAC adding Boise in all sports. Outside what the contracts and by-laws may say, it appears that the MW position has strengthened over the past 5 years.

 

[huskymedic]

time out called...

 

[huskymedic]

 

[businesslawyer]

time out called...

So if people are interested in what that blurb means, starting a lawsuit requires (i) filing papers with a court, and then (ii) serving the other parties with your suit. My interpretation is that the documents have been filed but the MWC has not been served. Which would make the papers a prop for negotiations that would happen anyway. Which, again, has my spidey sense tingling that there are some relevant facts that BSU has totally omitted from its complaint.

We'll see.

 

[huskymedic]