Major Announcement... TV? (Update>CBSSN)

[TheDrifter75]

Anthony should have written "which is INTO THE seven figures for four years". By writing over, he meant over the million dollar mark.

You don't seriously think the deal is into the tens of millions, do you?

My last post was addressing the comments of 250k, according to the article we can expect more. Whether that is 1.5 mil or 4, I don't know but from the language it looks like more than 1 mil over 4 years.

Now, do I expect 10s of millions, no, not at all. Could it be 10 mil over 4 years, maybe. Again, according to the article it could be a deal about average to what teams in other conferences receive. One of the conferences mentioned is the Mountain West. Their contract was for 6 years at 270 mil, 45 mil per year, 3.75 mil per team. Throw in the monies from the other conferences mentioned and average it out and 2.5 mil isn't to far fetched. I know the MW numbers include other sports.

Trust me, I'd be estactic with that deal or better because it's not what I was expecting. With all the hoops DB has had to jump thru I'm pleased something is done, a foundation set to build on. At the same time, I'd be disappointed in 250k per, maybe so even at 500k. Could it all be pie in the sky? Sure, but come on man, I'm having fun, enjoying the news and pointing out pieces of the article I hadn't seen anyone else highlight. Be easy and dream big. We'll digest the numbers when they are out, whatever they may be, and move on.

 

[Chief00]

That’s what I’m thinking

The AAC will bump Aresco after this. Or. He’s gone to a Bigtime P5

Nonetheless. He’s the best UCONN AD in the post Perno era (lol). Great job since Summer of 2019. And I really believe he CARES about the student athletes

Arrogance aside - you don’t include Lew Perkins in that category?

 

[Chief00]

It cites being behind the Mountain West in the CBS Sports pecking order, but UConn doesn't play games when the Mountain West does unless they want their kickoffs as 10 AM so that's a bit irrelevant. I also don't think UConn v. P5 gets bumped behind Army/Navy/MW v. non-P5 opponents.

At the end of the day, this really comes down to UConn selling this deal to recruits and getting better as program. Sell the schedule, the facilities, the academics, and the TV deal. No paywall, cable TV. This deal offers the flexibility to come to new terms in 4 years, something the AAC cannot do until 2032. Get better, get more money in 2023. Being good in MBB & FB simultaneously like from 08-12 would do wonders for the AD and university. No excuse for this team to be bad anymore.

As Chief was saying all day yesterday - we are all UConn brothers and this will translate to The Grind.

 

[TheDoggPound]

We had zero leverage with SNY.
They already had the women so there was no danger of being bounced from Ct. cable systems. They probably thought we had no other options as well.
SNY probably offered to pick up production costs with a promise to revisit down the road.
Our past AD`s probably would have went with that. I have a feeling DB went shopping for better with the bird in hand.

You don't know any of that.. it's not wise to speculatively disparage SNY and that goes for everyone on here, not to single you out.. SNY could've offered the same deal as CBSSN (or better) but AD David Benedict solely liked the appeal of being on a more widely distributed network.

 

[Ldandy]

How could the bigger brand AAC and Mountain West schools not look at this and consider independence for themselves?

Most schools would have nowhere to stash their non revenue sports. UConn is lucky in this regard.

 

[Nostical]

You don't seriously think the deal is into the tens of millions, do you?

No one called it an 8 figure deal. It was described as over 7 figures.

 

[CL82]

I think SNY’s mindset was they were accommodating football to preserve their basketball relationship. UConn needed something more football centric. I do think SNY does a really nice all around job but this is national and covers our recruiting footprint and will support the recruiting Grind Chief talks about.

If I were to guess SNY was motivated by their belief that they were the sole bidder and therefore could set the price. Let’s face it, football is not exactly setting the world on fire right now and viewership is uncertain. Locking into a relationship with UConn football is a futures bet. It’s only worth the risk if you can get it low enough.

I suspect the benefit of CBSSN deal, at least from Connecticut’s perspective, is more exposure than revenue than at this time. It is a statement to recruits and potential opponents that independence was a power move by Connecticut not a retreat. It’s a good deal and I’m glad we’ve got it. If we win and if our viewership is solid, then the next iteration will be worth more on a per game basis.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I knew I could do it! One downside is that CBSSN has the longest commercial breaks. Horrible on cold days.

If I were a betting man, I'd suggest the one downside to this announcement is the lack of hard numbers. That ambiguity will probably turn in to 4 pages of posters debating what "over seven figures" means.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Also sounds like if Edsall wasn't happy with this whole situation before he's come around.

Spoiler alert. He wasn't.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The benefit of bad TV coverage the last few years is that it appears no one at CBS Sports Network has actually seen UConn play football. Lucky for us.

This is a great deal for UConn.

 

[freescooter]

CBSSN kind of sucked when we could have been playing on ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU. Now that we were looking at ESPN+ or flosports or regional networks, CBSSN is great lol

That is actually a fairly accurate analysis. If you have a choice of a Ford Focus or a Mercedes, Subaru suv, or even a Celica, the Focus looks like a crappy choice. But if the alternative is a skateboard it looks pretty good. this is a decent deal that gives us national coverage. Not sure but I think the numbers are pretty good going forward with yhis year’s a bit lower due to the 4 vs 6/7 game package. It isn’t Notre Dame, but it isn’t UMass either.

 

[CTMike]

I’m not following why folks are writing off SNY? Aren’t they going to pick up the games that CBSSN doesn’t?

 

[Exit 4]

I’m not following why folks are writing off SNY? Aren’t they going to pick up the games that CBSSN doesn’t?

I think we flirted pretty hard and then ran off with another date...
Yeah, seems like it’s still worthwhile for SNY to pick up our FCS game and other odds and ends, just expect them to do it at cost... which is fine.

 

[Waquoit]

Also sounds like if Edsall wasn't happy with this whole situation before he's come around.

Randy has to shut his piehole and start winning some games.

 

[Waquoit]

I think we flirted pretty hard and then ran off with another date...

Or gave up on them when they didn't call...

 

[Exit 4]

Or gave up on them when they didn't call...

They called... they wanted it... for cheap

 

[LoyalFanCT]

What is the least expensive way to get CBS Sports Channel? Is there way to get it per game rather than subscribe?

 

[HuskyAlum012]

What is the least expensive way to get CBS Sports Channel? Is there way to get it per game rather than subscribe?

Probably subscribe to Hulu/Youtube TV. I currently pay $55 per month for Hulu Live TV. (Also have to pay for internet on top of that)

 

[coachcap]

Prior to the announcement of yesterday, my speculation was that UCONN was using its NBE affiliation to negotiate with FOX. In this scenario, the Huskies would be relegated to filler positioning on FX1 or FX2 & be "Stuck" playing on Wednesday or Friday nights as in its early Big East football iteration.
The deal with CBSSN allows for more traditional Saturday timeslots. By taking the Mountain West out of the equation due to the time zone difference, UCONN is well positioned for Noontime coverage. If the opponent is of national interest (think PITT, Syracuse), It is almost a given that CBSSN would choose a Husky home game over a run of the mill CUSA contest. It also will help with scheduling games against Army & Navy as CBSSN owns the rights to all 3 of the programs. If AD Dave can get creative with scheduling, there are endless possibilities. For example: On the weekend of the Navy-Notre Dame game, a UConn at Army game would be a Noontime start, & a BYU at UConn tilt could be a 3:30 or 7 p.m. start. Home & homes against certain Mountain West teams would almost guarantee 3:30 or 7 p.m. starts & I expect to see these teams to show up as future opponents. Games against these teams would also enhance UConn's recruiting footprint as a byproduct.
There are other benefits to this alliance beyond the monetary one in the short term. It guarantees mainstream cable coverage, easier scheduling negotiating, & better access to national recruits. Face it, the future of UConn football is looking MUCH less bleak than when the athletic department first announced the move to football independence.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

Wouldn't that be the Toner? He 1) got us in the Big East, 2) hired Calhoun, and 3) hired Auriemma.

(yeah, sorry but you just teed that up there...)

Toner was also head of the NCAA. He played a major role in shaping college sports.

 

[Nostical]

The benefit of the CBSSN deal is more exposure than revenue at this time. ..If we win and our viewership is solid, the next iteration will be worth more on a per game basis.

This is exactly the right perspective to employ when evaluating the deal.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

How many people in the metro New York City region get the CBS Sports Channel as part of their cable
subscription? If number is relatively large that is great. If it smaller, UConn may not get the regional attention than it might have with SNY or another channel. Not to say that the new announcement doesn't hold promise. College sports is rapidly changing, especially with the pandemic. Perhaps CBS Sports will get more subscribers in New York City and its suburbs.

 

[CTMike]

I think we flirted pretty hard and then ran off with another date...
Yeah, seems like it’s still worthwhile for SNY to pick up our FCS game and other odds and ends, just expect them to do it at cost... which is fine.

Getting paid for CBSSN and SNY there to cover what’s left is a very nice combination.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

Probably subscribe to Hulu/Youtube TV. I currently pay $55 per month for Hulu Live TV. (Also have to pay for internet on top of that)

I just checked with Charter Spectrum. Adding Digital Tier 1 to my cable package is just $12 a month. Can be cancelled, too.

 

[Storrs South]

Why they went with CBSSN seems pretty clear to me:

Randy wanted a consistent timeslot to play in instead of getting jerked around by ESPN every week and who knows how SNY would have scheduled this with the Mets in the Fall.
Benedict wanted national coverage to make it easier to get P5 teams to come to the Rent so opponents can see the games.

I bet the money was secondary and here's why:

Whether it's $250k/year or $750k/year or $1.5M/year is noticeable but not significant compared to a $80 million budget. But if Benedict can schedule better opponents, get national coverage, give Randy something to recruit to and get better players to eventually win more games, then the amount of money they can get with more people coming to games and filling the Rent is significantly higher than anything TV is willing to pay at this point in time. More ticket sales, more more merch, donations, etc. That's a bigger pot to be had and one they have missed out on for 4 years.