Major Announcement... TV? (Update>CBSSN) | Page 8 | The Boneyard

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

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.
 
I’m not following why folks are writing off SNY? Aren’t they going to pick up the games that CBSSN doesn’t?
 
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.
 
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What is the least expensive way to get CBS Sports Channel? Is there way to get it per game rather than subscribe?
 
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)
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
The rub with the money is that people are going to compare what would have been with the AAC. Of course it’s much more nuanced than just money, but it’s a measuring stick that people cannot ignore.
 
As others have said, most glaringly this answers the question: Hey P5 team, let's do a home and home series...Our home game will be on linear TV nationally available.

Only thing left is to get some sort of bowl tie in. Doesn't have to be anything crazy and it's going to be vs a G5/Indy program but it's a carrot nonetheless.
 
My question is why doesn't the university release the actual numbers? They are a taxpayer funded entity. The numbers should absolutely be public.

BTW, the entire Big East conference has a 12 year $500 million TV contract. That's $41 million a year divided among 12 teams. A little over $4 mil per. UConn football willl not be receiving a eight figure contract (minimum $10,000,000 which translates to $2.5 million a year).
 
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My question is why doesn't the university release the actual numbers? They are a taxpayer funded entity. The numbers should absolutely be public.

BTW, the entire Big East conference has a 12 year $500 million TV contract. That's $41 million a year divided among 12 teams. A little over $4 mil per. UConn football willl not be receiving a eight figure contract (minimum $10,000,000 which translates to $2.5 million a year).

Why are you so bad at this? The Big East doesn’t have 12 teams.
 
My question is why doesn't the university release the actual numbers? They are a taxpayer funded entity. The numbers should absolutely be public.

BTW, the entire Big East conference has a 12 year $500 million TV contract. That's $41 million a year divided among 12 teams. A little over $4 mil per. UConn football willl not be receiving a eight figure contract (minimum $10,000,000 which translates to $2.5 million a year).
Maybe what was signed yesterday has two pricing tiers - a floor based on the games signed and a ceiling for what has been discussed but not yet signed.

As a public body of course the contract numbers will be public - probably in a couple months at the latest.
 
The rub with the money is that people are going to compare what would have been with the AAC. Of course it’s much more nuanced than just money, but it’s a measuring stick that people cannot ignore.

That's right. And there are a couple common problems with comparing the deals. None of us have the actual contract agreements so we do not exactly know everything involved with the deals in terms of what is and isn't covered, scheduling, etc. so we can't fully appreciate what each contract is giving to the school. But assuming we considered that all things equal:

  • the AAC deal is heavily backloaded. That $7 million figure you have seen flying around is not even achieved by the contract for another 4-5 years. It starts from what I've read at around $5-$5.5 million in 2020
  • Then the fact that the AAC deal has zero room for growth since it is locked in for 12 years. By the time AAC teams are getting $7million annually for TV, UConn will already be on a new TV deal for football and negotiating a new one for basketball. If you're in the airline industry that consistency in gas prices locked in is nice for business. I don't think the same goes for conference TV rights, especially before we could see a real explosion in value in the mid-2020s.
  • the two contracts are giving something different to the schools: one is throwing not all but many of the revenue sports behind a paywall. All of UConn's revenue sports are on TV. Would you rather have $5 million to be on ESPN+ or $3m to be on linear TV? The former case is great for ESPN since they are forcing many fans to subsidize the deal through ESPN+ subscriptions + a school subsidy need to produce content for ESPN.
The more I've read about that AAC deal, the less appealing is had become from a fan perspective. From a pissing contest standpoint, it almost doesn't matter if you are talking about $7 v. $5 v. $3 million a year annually when you consider what the P5 schools are making and the budgets of the ADs. There's way more upside for UConn in the Big East because of the ability to bring back fan interest in basketball and football, but this separate from the TV deal discussion. I am confident UConn is better off in the Big East/Indy route because of the ability to fill the Rent again, and push Gampel/XL attendance to heights we have not seen since 2012. If UConn can play well in revenue sports the next 4 years, then whatever the money is for this CBS Sports Network deal is insignificant.
 
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As others have said, most glaringly this answers the question: Hey P5 team, let's do a home and home series...Our home game will be on linear TV nationally available.

Only thing left is to get some sort of bowl tie in. Doesn't have to be anything crazy and it's going to be vs a G5/Indy program but it's a carrot nonetheless.

For some of us UCONN football fans ... our favorite bowl experience was Toronto. So that bowl expectation isn’t grand nor January One. Just rewards for solid seasons.
 


Alternate access link here

>>Between now and 2025, UConn AD David Benedict has made agreements to play Illinois, Virginia, Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Purdue, Clemson, Fresno State, Central Florida, Syracuse, Michigan, NC State, Boston College, Utah State, Duke, Tennessee, Maryland, Ohio State and Army.<<


I agree with Coach Edsall 100% about the schedule and TV contract helping with recruiting. Now all we need is a recruiter.
 
From a fan perspective, sorry AAC peers.

We get MSG intensity games in hoop. Name programs at the Rent. And the future with full loud UConn fans cheering our Blue. Money doesn’t really matter; we were at a low in your structure. Might be good for you.
 
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