NBC Sports...make a play

[Kevin Caliendo]

This is a crazy idea.But, what if NBC and their new cable network approached ND and said "Here is $25M per year, create a conference amongst teams from the Big East and ACC that you want and we will invite them. The Big East contract is up for bid and we can lure the ACC schools with a guarnateed higher payout."

Does ND do that? the big East schools definitely say yes of course, so you start with: ND, Uconn, RU, Louisville, and then you invite BC, Maryland, Syracuse, VaTech, UVa, Clemson, UNC, Duke, FSU and Miami. NBC guarantees them $20M per team to start for all sports. Teams like Pitt, GTech, etc are backup plans. Would the ACC schools do it? if FSU says yes, Clemson and VaTech likely go and the dominoes fall.

ESPN gutted the Big East. Could NBC/ND do the same to the ACC?

 

[whaler11]

Maybe you haven't heard but Notre Dame enjoys their independence. They could also get that much money for joining the Big 10 and playing teams they would prefer to associate with.

 

[Dann]

i feel like a couple weeks ago me and a couple others here were posting stuff like this every day just to get ripped on by the rest of this board. now that its so god dam obvious to everyone here whats going on, everyone else is now exploring this fun/madness also and its just ok now.... i'm laughing.

carry ok kevin, i think that would be a unreal turn of events for uconn and a great way for us to get good tv $$ and a good stable home.

 

[Kevin Caliendo]

Well, I wrote this for a Uconn board (which is why I included Uconn), but there are three things in play here. ND legitimately being left out without a conference affiliation, the ACC being vulnerable and NBC needing real content. the only conference that NBC can bid on is the Big East and ND is still in the big East, so it makes some sense to have big East teams involved. Sure its ridiculous, but many of the things that have happened in the past two years have had less rationale.

I don't see how the ACC can survive without ND now, because I think FSU and VaTech have to leave to be players nationally in football.

 

[whaler11]

Yeah ND will be left without a conference affiliation. The Big 10 is going to add Rutgers and Virginia and ND will be out in the cold. Serenity now.

 

[Uptop]

This is a crazy idea.But, what if NBC and their new cable network approached ND and said "Here is $25M per year, create a conference amongst teams from the Big East and ACC that you want and we will invite them. The Big East contract is up for bid and we can lure the ACC schools with a guarnateed higher payout."

Does ND do that? the big East schools definitely say yes of course, so you start with: ND, Uconn, RU, Louisville, and then you invite BC, Maryland, Syracuse, VaTech, UVa, Clemson, UNC, Duke, FSU and Miami. NBC guarantees them $20M per team to start for all sports. Teams like Pitt, GTech, etc are backup plans. Would the ACC schools do it? if FSU says yes, Clemson and VaTech likely go and the dominoes fall.

ESPN gutted the Big East. Could NBC/ND do the same to the ACC?

Timing is everything. And if fsu, miami, clemson etc... are bolting and I believe they are, then I hope they do so AFTER NBC, Big East and ND do their thing.

If NBC is going to be a player in college football, then it must be willing to steal teams like espn and dish out equal and opposing ruthlessness, too. We shall see.

 

[UCFBfan]

I don't think ND pulls enough weight on it's own to do this and NBC isn't powerful enough in college sports to provide the extra pull.....I think ACC teams would see how ESPN has basically snubbed any Big East school and consider what might happen to them if they left for NBC....

Also, any conference with ND and a mix of BE/ACC schools would not budge it's way into the Big 4 conferences. I can't see FSU or Miami signing on for that conference and they are the only "major" programs not in the current Big 4. Even they are not that much of a powerhouse anymore....

 

[CL82]

I could see NBC asking ND to schedule more BE teams for away games so that their Big East product has more value but that's the most that they'd be able to do.

 

[RS9999X]

I could see NBC asking ND to schedule more BE teams for away games so that their Big East product has more value but that's the most that they'd be able to do.

NBC survives with Notre Dame and Army. ND's best ratings are always games like Michigan not BE games.

If you were an NBC exec would you want to manage one $15 million football contract (Notre Dame) plus Army or deal with the whole BE menagerie and a $100 mil Football Contract that won't outdraw ND/Army?

From a financial risk standpoint its a brilliant strategy. Require ND to book USC, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, Purdue, Boston College, Army, etc Minimum outlay. Minimum management. National Games bought cheap.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

NBC survives with Notre Dame and Army. ND's best ratings are always games like Michigan not BE games.

If you were an NBC exec would you want to manage one $15 million football contract (Notre Dame) plus Army or deal with the whole BE menagerie and a $100 mil Football Contract that won't outdraw ND/Army?

From a financial risk standpoint its a brilliant strategy. Require ND to book USC, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, Purdue, Boston College, Army, etc Minimum outlay. Minimum management. National Games bought cheap.

That is like saying CBS shouldn't carry the SEC because no matchup outdraws Alabama/LSU. I am pretty sure both networks have more than one available time slot a week.

 

[RS9999X]

That is like saying CBS shouldn't carry the SEC because no matchup outdraws Alabama/LSU. I am pretty sure both networks have more than one available time slot a week.

I was writing more in response to the ND has to join a conference craziness. Their deal serves a purpose. NBC is anouncing a Prime Time Michigan/ND for 2012.

 

[Fishy]

In this scenario, is NBC really, really drunk?

Because they would have to be.

 

[pj]

Makes a lot of sense Kevin. It's hard to put deals together because the contracts expire at different times. Big East conference has to get signed before Notre Dame's NBC contract expires. If both work with NBC then the network can broker something like this.

Creative arrangements would be possible, eg Notre Dame playing fewer conference games than the others, say 4 conference games versus 7 for the full Big East teams, but getting a chance to play in a conference championship game with a good enough record.

If they pull in UNC/UVa/Md and Rutgers/UConn, then they would have NYC and DC markets, plus the major mid-Atlantic states. If they get FSU, Miami, Gtech, and Clemson then it makes a lot of sense football wise. That's 10 teams and a very good conference football property for NBC. Add any decent 6 teams for inventory and you're there.

Don't know how you could get so many ACC teams away from ESPN without a lawsuit, unless the conference has collapsed by FSU etc going to the B12. In that case it's less attractive to NBC. But who knows.

 

[Cheddie]

In this scenario, is NBC really, really drunk?

Because they would have to be.

Well, the network has nothing else anyone wants to watch.