what does ESPN gain for a weakened UConn? Serious question - I've heard this said before and I've seen some damning evidence that they are trying to drag UConn through the mud, but what do they get out of it?
This: ESPN is still the major player in college sports but their peak of dominance has passed them by. I still would love to have a penny for every dollar of profit they make. But their empire is being whittled away by conferences and other media players particularly Fox.
I read the CR forum a lot. Hard to contribute much with all the savvy of the Big Business and Corporate Lawyer types that present there but I glean a lot. I do feel that even as the conferences are trying to get as much dough out of the media players the media types are arranging conferences to suit their interests. The alliances are in an ever state of flux so a BE ESPN alliance turns into a BE Fox alliance and that can change quickly depending on how other things play out.
ESPN has little incentive to promote the AAC. They have it on the cheap and only have a short contract with the AAC (six years). If the AAC does well during these six years ESPN might have to face other bidders in four years. Four years will be when discussions begin for new contracts. So ESPN will do just enough to make a profit on the investment and hope the conference doesn't gain momentum. The only thing ESPN has in its control is to limit the quality of the AAC exposure. UConn is the diamond of the conference. Create flaws in the diamond and the conference value decreases.
ESPN has had to reduce it's profits in college sports because they are in bidding wars with Fox and CBS and because conferences are insisting on more monies and setting up their own networks. The AAC is the first contract to come up for renewal. The current contract stinks as most of you know. If the AAC does well, if UConn does well, then ESPN will be forced to raise its price for the AAC considerably or lose it. It's a balancing act for ESPN to not destroy the conference but not allow it to get to get too successful. Historically this wasn't the case when ESPN and the BE made the decision to ally with one another. But this is a different world.
