Media rights squeeze (SBJ)

[huskymedic]

-> It’s not a bursting sports rights bubble that cynics have been predicting for the past three decades. But as consumers continue to drop their pay-TV subscriptions and move toward streaming services, media companies have started giving these deals a lot more scrutiny.

Keeping a close eye on media rights

Sports properties that have media rights deals expiring within the next three years:

Atlantic 10 Conference
Big East Conference
Breeders’ Cup
College Football Playoff (expanded format)
Formula One
French Open
IndyCar
Kentucky Derby
NASCAR
NBA
NCAA (championships other than men’s basketball)
NHL (Canada)
Notre Dame Football
Preakness
Series A
UFC <-

 

[CL82]

-> It’s not a bursting sports rights bubble that cynics have been predicting for the past three decades. But as consumers continue to drop their pay-TV subscriptions and move toward streaming services, media companies have started giving these deals a lot more scrutiny.

Keeping a close eye on media rights

Sports properties that have media rights deals expiring within the next three years:

Atlantic 10 Conference
Big East Conference
Breeders’ Cup
College Football Playoff (expanded format)
Formula One
French Open
IndyCar
Kentucky Derby
NASCAR
NBA
NCAA (championships other than men’s basketball)
NHL (Canada)
Notre Dame Football
Preakness
Series A
UFC <-

I wonder if the tightening of rights is really relevant to the niche the big east occupies. It is a very inexpensive property compared to the viewership it brings. Holding the national champions is a big plus. Having three teams that may have a realistic opportunity to compete for a national championship is even better.

I don't disagree with the articles premise, but a tightening of the market affects the ceiling of a market. The big east isn't anywhere near the ceiling.

 

[UConnJim]

I wonder if the tightening of rights is really relevant to the niche the big east occupies. It is a very inexpensive property compared to the viewership it brings. Holding the national champions is a big plus. Having three teams that may have a realistic opportunity to compete for a national championship is even better.

I don't disagree with the articles premise, but a tightening of the market affects the ceiling of a market. The big east isn't anywhere near the ceiling.

Put it this way, the entire Big East basketball contract is worth as much as Rutgers media payout. I think the real question going forward is why are networks paying Northwestern, Minnesota, Rutgers, Vanderbilt,... as much as Ohio St., Michigan, Alabama, and Texas?

 

[CL82]

Put it this way, the entire Big East basketball contract is worth as much as Rutgers media payout. I think the real question going forward is why are networks paying Northwestern, Minnesota, Rutgers, Vanderbilt,... as much as Ohio St., Michigan, Alabama, and Texas?

The answer is because it's part of the bundle. It's the same reason why cable TV subscribers "pay for" the Home Shopping Network.

 

[billybud]

Put it this way, the entire Big East basketball contract is worth as much as Rutgers media payout. I think the real question going forward is why are networks paying Northwestern, Minnesota, Rutgers, Vanderbilt,... as much as Ohio St., Michigan, Alabama, and Texas?

The question is...Why are conferences splitting the money equally to members instead of on the basis of who brings in the viewers. Since it is the conferences who split the money from media.

A question that has been the subject of backroom arguing in the ACC.

 

[Drew]

I wonder if the tightening of rights is really relevant to the niche the big east occupies. It is a very inexpensive property compared to the viewership it brings. Holding the national champions is a big plus. Having three teams that may have a realistic opportunity to compete for a national championship is even better.

I don't disagree with the articles premise, but a tightening of the market affects the ceiling of a market. The big east isn't anywhere near the ceiling.

I don’t disagree that the Big East is fine filler content for a network.. at the right price

The BE hoops ratings compared to “peer” high-major leagues are not great. The question becomes for FOX (or any other bidder) - is it worth $50M annually or whatever the BE would cost to fill x number of nights with between 200-450k viewers, or could they find other content to air during that time for a cheaper price that would produce similar viewership and revenue?

I do not see how or why FOX needs as many Big East games as it currently broadcasts starting in 2024-25. Cutting their linear games in half and focusing on UConn/Nova/St John’s/Georgetown seems like it could be a smarter strategy. Then where does the BE turn… either CBSSN or a streaming network most likely.

Keep in mind the Big 12 and Big Ten are 18 team leagues starting next year… those games have to get broadcast somewhere and that somewhere may very well be FS1

Edit- there’s also the NBA for possible basketball content, which is coming up for a new deal in 2 years, as well as a chance to buy low on a “new” PAC12 where FOX already has teams from the MWC.

 

[noeynox]

The question is...Why are conferences splitting the money equally to members instead of on the basis of who brings in the viewers. Since it is the conferences who split the money from media.

A question that has been the subject of backroom arguing in the ACC.

Until recently that question always had the same answer. They considered themselves partners. Now FSU has developed penis envy cause Florida makes considerably more than them. You don't hear Michigan grumbling about making the same Maryland, like you hear FSU crying about Wake and BC.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

The answer is because it's part of the bundle. It's the same reason why cable TV subscribers "pay for" the Home Shopping Network.

Did you ever notice every package includes that and QVC
If I paid $100 bucks a month not to have QVC I would come out ahead .

 

[hoopsfan22]

The question is...Why are conferences splitting the money equally to members instead of on the basis of who brings in the viewers. Since it is the conferences who split the money from media.

A question that has been the subject of backroom arguing in the ACC.

Then why bother even having a conference? Just let everyone do their own thing and secure their own TV deal worth whatever the school is worth. If you want to have a "conference" at that point it could be nothing more than a basic scheduling agreement.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Put it this way, the entire Big East basketball contract is worth as much as Rutgers media payout. I think the real question going forward is why are networks paying Northwestern, Minnesota, Rutgers, Vanderbilt,... as much as Ohio St., Michigan, Alabama, and Texas?

Because they aren’t paying Rutgers Minnesota etc. they are paying Ohio State and Michigan and those schools were, up until this summer, willing to allow other teams to freeload .

 

[UConnJim]

I don’t disagree that the Big East is fine filler content for a network.. at the right price

The BE hoops ratings compared to “peer” high-major leagues are not great. The question becomes for FOX (or any other bidder) - is it worth $50M annually or whatever the BE would cost to fill x number of nights with between 200-450k viewers, or could they find other content to air during that time for a cheaper price that would produce similar viewership and revenue?

I do not see how or why FOX needs as many Big East games as it currently broadcasts starting in 2024-25. Cutting their linear games in half and focusing on UConn/Nova/St John’s/Georgetown seems like it could be a smarter strategy. Then where does the BE turn… either CBSSN or a streaming network most likely.

Keep in mind the Big 12 and Big Ten are 18 team leagues starting next year… those games have to get broadcast somewhere and that somewhere may very well be FS1

Edit- there’s also the NBA for possible basketball content, which is coming up for a new deal in 2 years, as well as a chance to buy low on a “new” PAC12 where FOX already has teams from the MWC.

FOX needs more college basketball content. I've laid out the math multiple times before looking at every conference and their media partners, but, I'll add some comment. The vast majority of Big 10 basketball games are shown on the BTN, not FOX. All of the Big 10 basketball tournament is on the BTN except the semis and finals. which are on CBS. If I remember correctly, about 3 Big 10 basketball games are on FOX/FS1 per week. And, FOX has no college basketball conference tournaments except the Big East.

 

[CL82]

The BE hoops ratings compared to “peer” high-major leagues are not great.

The answer to that is because FS2 and FS2 do not have huge audiences. Put the same games on ESPN in the audience is there a larger. Move them again to a major network like ABC, and the audiences are larger still.

 

[CL82]

I do not see how or why FOX needs as many Big East games as it currently broadcasts starting in 2024-25. Cutting their linear games in half and focusing on UConn/Nova/St John’s/Georgetown seems like it could be a smarter strategy.

Well, I guess we'll have to count on fox TV executives not being quite as smart as you.

 

[billybud]

Until recently that question always had the same answer. They considered themselves partners. Now FSU has developed penis envy cause Florida makes considerably more than them. You don't hear Michigan grumbling about making the same Maryland, like you hear FSU crying about Wake and BC.

It isn't really about Wake and BC...ir's about competing at the highest level against SEC and B1G teams making so much more...and UNC, Clemson have said the same thing...some programs don;t compete at that level.

U of Florida has always had more money than FSU...simce the beginning....

 

[Drew]

FOX needs more college basketball content. I've laid out the math multiple times before looking at every conference and their media partners, but, I'll add some comment. The vast majority of Big 10 basketball games are shown on the BTN, not FOX. All of the Big 10 basketball tournament is on the BTN except the semis and finals. which are on CBS. If I remember correctly, about 3 Big 10 basketball games are on FOX/FS1 per week. And, FOX has no college basketball conference tournaments except the Big East.

I disagree that they need more college basketball content specifically. Fox needs sports content- regardless of what that content is- that is cheap to produce and is profitable for them during the months of Jan-April until they start to broadcast baseball again.

That content could come from a plethora of different places… they could bid on the NBA, they could re-up with the Big East, increased linear exposure for the MWC, buy into a new PAC, the newly merged USFL/XFL rights, etc. The #’s signed during the old B1G and Big 12 deals aren’t going to remain 100% exactly the same given the recent additions.. it will be interesting to see how that shakes out from a network perspective.

Hell, the CFP is said to be looking for an extra $60M for the added CFP games in ‘24 and ’25. Could Fox decide to use the BE TV money to buy into the CFP instead, with a shot at buying into a major foothold in the event in ‘26?

I do not think it’s a slam dunk that the Big East winds up with the same linear exposure that it has today in the next deal. Every single league that has signed a deal since the BE inked with Fox originally has had a streaming component to it. I would be shocked if the BE avoids that fate.

 

[billybud]

It;s every network for themselves...look at what Fox wants to do...

After a wave of conference realignment shook college athletics, Fox Sports announced it's working on putting together a postseason men's college basketball tournament that would feature Power 5 schools that did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

The most recent money grab would require teams from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East to play in the tournament, as all three leagues are tied up with television contracts under Fox Sports. The tournament would feature a 16-team field that would play at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas after the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight games. And, of course, there would be plenty of NIL opportunities for student-athletes.


So...what if ESPN starts a counter tournament for teams in the ACC and SEC ?

 

[billybud]

"It will completely destroy the NIT tournament," Dan Dickau said on the Gonzaga Nation podcast. "And it's going to create an even bigger gap between your haves and have-nots in college athletics."

 

[UConnJim]

Netflix will broadcast their first live sports content, The Netflix Cup (golf), in November. It's a low budget event, but if Netflix gets into live sports, that could be another bidder for content.

Netflix shakes up sports strategy after 'Full Swing' success

 

[HuskyHawk]

Until recently that question always had the same answer. They considered themselves partners. Now FSU has developed penis envy cause Florida makes considerably more than them. You don't hear Michigan grumbling about making the same Maryland, like you hear FSU crying about Wake and BC.

It's also historical because in the 1970s all teams sold their own rights. There was no conference based collective negotiation. The overall payouts only increased when the rights were combined. The collective is much more valuable than the individual schools would be on their own. Conferences have expanded because that has added to the payouts for each. What the networks want is an ecosystem that creates appealing matchups. That's why the "brings the value" comments are off base. FSU games are most valuable when fans of all the teams in the conference are attracted to those games. Put FSU in the B1G and people in Georgia and the Carolinas care a lot less about them.

Payouts are going to drop. For everything. The advertising model probably cannot support this much longer. As cable collapses the ROI won't be there. There may be new ways to capture value.

 

[UConnJim]

The BE hoops ratings compared to “peer” high-major leagues are not great. The question becomes for FOX (or any other bidder) - is it worth $50M annually or whatever the BE would cost to fill x number of nights with between 200-450k viewers, or could they find other content to air during that time for a cheaper price that would produce similar viewership and revenue?

You can't compare the FOX ratings between other conferences and the Big East. Why? The Big East is the only conference in which virtually ALL of their games are broadcast by FOX. So, you are going to have some attractive games and some less attractive games. Using the Big 10 as an example, FOX broadcasts a small subset of Big 10 games so, in general, they pick the best games. The vast majority of Big 10 basketball games end up on the BTN. As an example, Penn State appears on FS1 once this year and 20 times on the BTN, but Butler appears on FS1 21 times this year. People seem to forget that the BTN, SECN, and ACCN have sucked up a huge amount of basketball content that isn't available for other linear channels.

And, as we all know, all things equal, ratings on network channels > ESPN > FS1/ESPN2 > ESPNU > ESPN News > CBSSN/FS2. And, time slots are critical as well. Do you know what was the most watched regular season college basketball game of the 2022/2023 season? DePaul at Creighton on Christmas Day on FOX. It followed the Packers/Dolphins game.

 

[Patman]

It;s every network for themselves...look at what Fox wants to do...

After a wave of conference realignment shook college athletics, Fox Sports announced it's working on putting together a postseason men's college basketball tournament that would feature Power 5 schools that did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

The most recent money grab would require teams from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East to play in the tournament, as all three leagues are tied up with television contracts under Fox Sports. The tournament would feature a 16-team field that would play at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas after the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight games. And, of course, there would be plenty of NIL opportunities for student-athletes.


So...what if ESPN starts a counter tournament for teams in the ACC and SEC ?

after the elite 8... does this then imply they will take NCAA tournament losers?

 

[billybud]

after the elite 8... does this then imply they will take NCAA tournament losers?

No...they will take teams that do not qualify for the Dance....hilling the NIT.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

We’re going to get six figures and 70% streaming