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I recently read an article by Pete Grayhoff of the Kansas City Star in which he evaluated all the potential BIG 12 candidates with a paragraph on each. Like many in the non-local media, he was pretty dismissive of UConn, but rather than simply respond in the comment section after the article I decided to send him a personal email to try and inform him about the value of UConn. I enclosed lots of Dooley's research and some of my own. I wanted to test whether I could actually reach the writer with a respectful critique, have him read it and then have him respond. It seemed to work as he responded tonight. Hopefully, we can still change the hearts and minds of the opinion makers.
From: "Grathoff, Pete" <pgrathoff@kcstar.com>
Sunday Feb 28, 2016 9:45pm
Subject: Re: BIG XII Expansion Candidate
Larry,
Thanks for writing. UConn is a more intriguing option than I believed. I didn't realize the TV numbers were so strong. It will be curious to see how this thing plays out.
I appreciate the note and that you took the time to read that piece.
Pete
On Tue, Feb 23, 2016 at 6:05 AM
Pete,
I very much enjoyed your comprehensive article on the Big12 expansion candidates although you may have been a bit too dismissive of UConn as you analyzed what each school brought to the table. Please take a look at this data----especially how UConn benefits a BIG XII Network model and just how big an impact UConn has on the NYC viewing market. Don’t count out the Huskies just yet.
Thanks,
Larry
UConn TV/Markets
UConn would provide potential viewership into the following markets within a two hour driving radius.
http://www.tvb.org/media/file/2015-2016-dma-ranks.pdf
#1 New York (which includes Southwest CT) - 7.3M TV homes (6.5% of U.S.)
#8 Boston/Manchester - 2.4M TV homes (2.1% of U.S.)
#30 Hartford/New Haven - 945K TV homes (.8% of U.S.)
#52 Providence/New Bedford - 600K TV homes (.5% of U.S.)
#116 Springfield/Holyoke - 246K TV homes (.2% of U.S.)
Total potential reach: 11.4M TV homes
Conversely, here are how some of our competitors stack up (and I'm trying to be as liberal as possible). I consider Houston, Cincinnati, BYU, UCF, and USF as UConn's top competitors -
#10 Houston - 2.4M TV homes (2% of U.S.)
#11 Tampa/St.Pete - 1.9M TV homes (1.6% of U.S.)
#19 Orlando/Daytona - 1.5M TV homes (1.3% of U.S.)
#18 Cleveland/Akron - 1.5M TV homes (1.3% of U.S.)
#27 Indianapolis - 1M TV homes (1% of U.S.)
#31 Columbus, OH - 900K TV homes (.8% of U.S.)
#34 Salt Lake, UT - 885K TV homes (.7% of U.S.)**
#36 Cincinnati - 860K TV homes (.7% of U.S.)
#50 Memphis - 636K TV homes (.5% of U.S.)
#61 Ft Myers, FL - 505K TV homes (.4% of U.S.)
#63 Lexington, KY - 472K TV homes (.4% of U.S.)
#64 Dayton - 460K TV homes (.4% of U.S)
#77 Toledo - 400K TV homes (.3% of U.S.)
Total potential COMBINED reach (Houston, Cincinnati, UCF, and USF): 12.3M TV homes
**BYU should also be counted as there are a total of 6.46M LDS Church members in the U.S. http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/facts-and-statistics/country/united-states.When combined with the DMA of Salt Lake City, BYU brings a total potential reach of 7.2M TV homes.
CONCLUSION: UConn is the unquestioned #1 candidate for potential TV reach. Not every 11.4M TV home will watch UConn, but not every TV home listed in their respective demographics, including all 6.46M LDS members, will watch our B12 competition either. We are talking about potential TV reach which is important for any movement towards a B12 Network launch. If Texas decides who the 12th member will be (assuming that the "rumors" about Cincinnati being #11 is true), then we would bring the most potential TV homes to their Longhorn Network.
See below for UConn’s TV reach into NYC.
SNY Success With UConn Shows Potential For Big 12 Network In Northeast
The latest Big 12 expansion news came in on February 12th from a source close to the situation. The Chicago based firm, Navigate Research, hired by the Big 12 conference to assess potential additions for the league in conjunction with the launch of a conference television network, had finished their analysis and UConn was on the list of recommended additions. Naturally, there have been inquiries from Big 12 land and a number of them can be summed up by the following question; would UConn really bring the New York City market?
To answer this question, one does not need to look further than SNY. For those that reside outside of the northeast region, SNY or SportsNet New York, is the official television home of the New York Mets, New York Jets and all things New York sports. SNY is also the official TV home of the UConn Huskies Men’s and Women’s basketball programs, televising over 450 hours of UConn programming annually, including more than 20 live games. Included in those live games, are select football contests; this year’s season opener against Villanova being one of them. Founded by Sterling Entertainment Enterprises, Time Warner and Comcast, SNY is available to viewers throughout New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and northeastern Pennsylvania, and nationally on DIRECTV, Verizon FiOS, Comcast Cable, and AT&T U-Verse.
For television executives at the Manhattan based network, the answer to the question, will UConn bring the New York market, was a resounding, yes. UConn and SNY began their relationship in 2010, focusing on football and men’s basketball coverage. In addition to games, the network produced pre and post-game shows, live, in-studio from Manahattan. Team previews, season recaps and game week football press conferences, broadcast live on-air, were part of the original agreement. Special features, including a Hard Knocks type documentary on UConn football premiered in 2012, during spring football. It was a success.
“SNY’s national footprint was a big selling point with the university,” SNY President Steve Raab said when first partnering with the Huskies. “All that programming is an incredible recruiting tool. We’ve always believed that creating a single destination – one that provides consistency as well as the most comprehensive, in-depth coverage for UConn fans, would result in increased visibility and popularity.”
In time for the 2012-13 season, SNY added more UConn content, paying an additional $4.55M over four years to lock in coverage of the women’s basketball program. That’s $4.55M for just the women’s program. It brought another facet of UConn athletics to the more than 14 million potential viewers.
Last night’s primetime lineup?
6:30 PM – UConn Women’s Pre-game
7:00 PM – UConn Women’s Basketball vs. Cincinnati
9:00 PM – UConn Women’s Post-game
9:30 PM – The Geno Auriemma Show
When the deal was signed to add women’s basketball to the programming already offered, Raab was ecstatic.
“It’s a really complete package,” Raab said. “I don’t know that there is another college program receiving this much attention.” Ironically, Raab was asked about the deal that the University of Oklahoma had signed with Fox Sports that brought 1,000 hours of sports programming to the local airwaves in the Sooner state. “That package doesn’t reach 14 million homes,” he responded. “We also own the worldwide rights to the UConn women and don’t have to black out programming, including games, to distributors out of market.” Ratings have only increased since the partnership expanded to include all three major programs at UConn. In 2014, one women’s basketball game alone, drew a 9.6 market share in the Hartford/New Haven DMA; the Huskies saw an 18% ratings increase on SNY that year. “We knew we would deliver UConn a broader national audience, but these substantial ratings gains across all of our UConn properties on a local level are another great development,” Raab added. “We are excited about the potential to grow the brand even more as we continue our partnership with the University.” What is even more impressive is the ratings increases have occurred since the Huskies moved from the Big East, to the perceived, lesser talented and less competitive American Athletic Conference. As we’ve moved into 2016, the UConn men’s hockey program has begun to receive exposure, with two live simulcasts appearing on SNY, in conjunction with the Hockey East television deal.
As assessments and comparisons among potential BIG XII expansion candidates continues, SNY is Exhibit A of why UConn is the most valuable option when looking at additions in conjunction with a Big 12 Network. If you think viewership is good when playing the likes of Tulsa, SMU and Tulane, imagine the possibilities and exposure in the northeast for Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma.
Before Tier 3 media rights became a thing of the past, UConn also stacked up with its P5 peers. UConn signed a Tier 3 media deal with IMG valued at $80M over 10 years, which, at the time, placed UConn in the top half of similar deal values. UConn also signed a Tier 3 media contract with SNY for women's basketball only, valued at $1.14M/yr. Combined, this put UConn's Tier 3 media rights well over $9M/yr which would be valued in the upper half of P5 member values. UConn also signed an apparel contract with Nike at around the same time as its IMG Tier 3 medial contract, and that contract was valued at $2.775M in 2014-15. This would put UConn at 27th, ahead of Cincinnati ($2.625M with Under Armour...which was signed more recently than UConn's deal). USF comes in at $1.67M with Under Armour; Houston at 500K with Nike; UCF, Memphis and BYU are not listed (but BYU likely has a comparable deal with Nike that UConn has).
From: "Grathoff, Pete" <pgrathoff@kcstar.com>
Sunday Feb 28, 2016 9:45pm
Subject: Re: BIG XII Expansion Candidate
Larry,
Thanks for writing. UConn is a more intriguing option than I believed. I didn't realize the TV numbers were so strong. It will be curious to see how this thing plays out.
I appreciate the note and that you took the time to read that piece.
Pete
On Tue, Feb 23, 2016 at 6:05 AM
Pete,
I very much enjoyed your comprehensive article on the Big12 expansion candidates although you may have been a bit too dismissive of UConn as you analyzed what each school brought to the table. Please take a look at this data----especially how UConn benefits a BIG XII Network model and just how big an impact UConn has on the NYC viewing market. Don’t count out the Huskies just yet.
Thanks,
Larry
UConn TV/Markets
UConn would provide potential viewership into the following markets within a two hour driving radius.
http://www.tvb.org/media/file/2015-2016-dma-ranks.pdf
#1 New York (which includes Southwest CT) - 7.3M TV homes (6.5% of U.S.)
#8 Boston/Manchester - 2.4M TV homes (2.1% of U.S.)
#30 Hartford/New Haven - 945K TV homes (.8% of U.S.)
#52 Providence/New Bedford - 600K TV homes (.5% of U.S.)
#116 Springfield/Holyoke - 246K TV homes (.2% of U.S.)
Total potential reach: 11.4M TV homes
Conversely, here are how some of our competitors stack up (and I'm trying to be as liberal as possible). I consider Houston, Cincinnati, BYU, UCF, and USF as UConn's top competitors -
#10 Houston - 2.4M TV homes (2% of U.S.)
#11 Tampa/St.Pete - 1.9M TV homes (1.6% of U.S.)
#19 Orlando/Daytona - 1.5M TV homes (1.3% of U.S.)
#18 Cleveland/Akron - 1.5M TV homes (1.3% of U.S.)
#27 Indianapolis - 1M TV homes (1% of U.S.)
#31 Columbus, OH - 900K TV homes (.8% of U.S.)
#34 Salt Lake, UT - 885K TV homes (.7% of U.S.)**
#36 Cincinnati - 860K TV homes (.7% of U.S.)
#50 Memphis - 636K TV homes (.5% of U.S.)
#61 Ft Myers, FL - 505K TV homes (.4% of U.S.)
#63 Lexington, KY - 472K TV homes (.4% of U.S.)
#64 Dayton - 460K TV homes (.4% of U.S)
#77 Toledo - 400K TV homes (.3% of U.S.)
Total potential COMBINED reach (Houston, Cincinnati, UCF, and USF): 12.3M TV homes
**BYU should also be counted as there are a total of 6.46M LDS Church members in the U.S. http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/facts-and-statistics/country/united-states.When combined with the DMA of Salt Lake City, BYU brings a total potential reach of 7.2M TV homes.
CONCLUSION: UConn is the unquestioned #1 candidate for potential TV reach. Not every 11.4M TV home will watch UConn, but not every TV home listed in their respective demographics, including all 6.46M LDS members, will watch our B12 competition either. We are talking about potential TV reach which is important for any movement towards a B12 Network launch. If Texas decides who the 12th member will be (assuming that the "rumors" about Cincinnati being #11 is true), then we would bring the most potential TV homes to their Longhorn Network.
See below for UConn’s TV reach into NYC.
SNY Success With UConn Shows Potential For Big 12 Network In Northeast
The latest Big 12 expansion news came in on February 12th from a source close to the situation. The Chicago based firm, Navigate Research, hired by the Big 12 conference to assess potential additions for the league in conjunction with the launch of a conference television network, had finished their analysis and UConn was on the list of recommended additions. Naturally, there have been inquiries from Big 12 land and a number of them can be summed up by the following question; would UConn really bring the New York City market?
To answer this question, one does not need to look further than SNY. For those that reside outside of the northeast region, SNY or SportsNet New York, is the official television home of the New York Mets, New York Jets and all things New York sports. SNY is also the official TV home of the UConn Huskies Men’s and Women’s basketball programs, televising over 450 hours of UConn programming annually, including more than 20 live games. Included in those live games, are select football contests; this year’s season opener against Villanova being one of them. Founded by Sterling Entertainment Enterprises, Time Warner and Comcast, SNY is available to viewers throughout New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and northeastern Pennsylvania, and nationally on DIRECTV, Verizon FiOS, Comcast Cable, and AT&T U-Verse.
For television executives at the Manhattan based network, the answer to the question, will UConn bring the New York market, was a resounding, yes. UConn and SNY began their relationship in 2010, focusing on football and men’s basketball coverage. In addition to games, the network produced pre and post-game shows, live, in-studio from Manahattan. Team previews, season recaps and game week football press conferences, broadcast live on-air, were part of the original agreement. Special features, including a Hard Knocks type documentary on UConn football premiered in 2012, during spring football. It was a success.
“SNY’s national footprint was a big selling point with the university,” SNY President Steve Raab said when first partnering with the Huskies. “All that programming is an incredible recruiting tool. We’ve always believed that creating a single destination – one that provides consistency as well as the most comprehensive, in-depth coverage for UConn fans, would result in increased visibility and popularity.”
In time for the 2012-13 season, SNY added more UConn content, paying an additional $4.55M over four years to lock in coverage of the women’s basketball program. That’s $4.55M for just the women’s program. It brought another facet of UConn athletics to the more than 14 million potential viewers.
Last night’s primetime lineup?
6:30 PM – UConn Women’s Pre-game
7:00 PM – UConn Women’s Basketball vs. Cincinnati
9:00 PM – UConn Women’s Post-game
9:30 PM – The Geno Auriemma Show
When the deal was signed to add women’s basketball to the programming already offered, Raab was ecstatic.
“It’s a really complete package,” Raab said. “I don’t know that there is another college program receiving this much attention.” Ironically, Raab was asked about the deal that the University of Oklahoma had signed with Fox Sports that brought 1,000 hours of sports programming to the local airwaves in the Sooner state. “That package doesn’t reach 14 million homes,” he responded. “We also own the worldwide rights to the UConn women and don’t have to black out programming, including games, to distributors out of market.” Ratings have only increased since the partnership expanded to include all three major programs at UConn. In 2014, one women’s basketball game alone, drew a 9.6 market share in the Hartford/New Haven DMA; the Huskies saw an 18% ratings increase on SNY that year. “We knew we would deliver UConn a broader national audience, but these substantial ratings gains across all of our UConn properties on a local level are another great development,” Raab added. “We are excited about the potential to grow the brand even more as we continue our partnership with the University.” What is even more impressive is the ratings increases have occurred since the Huskies moved from the Big East, to the perceived, lesser talented and less competitive American Athletic Conference. As we’ve moved into 2016, the UConn men’s hockey program has begun to receive exposure, with two live simulcasts appearing on SNY, in conjunction with the Hockey East television deal.
As assessments and comparisons among potential BIG XII expansion candidates continues, SNY is Exhibit A of why UConn is the most valuable option when looking at additions in conjunction with a Big 12 Network. If you think viewership is good when playing the likes of Tulsa, SMU and Tulane, imagine the possibilities and exposure in the northeast for Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma.
Before Tier 3 media rights became a thing of the past, UConn also stacked up with its P5 peers. UConn signed a Tier 3 media deal with IMG valued at $80M over 10 years, which, at the time, placed UConn in the top half of similar deal values. UConn also signed a Tier 3 media contract with SNY for women's basketball only, valued at $1.14M/yr. Combined, this put UConn's Tier 3 media rights well over $9M/yr which would be valued in the upper half of P5 member values. UConn also signed an apparel contract with Nike at around the same time as its IMG Tier 3 medial contract, and that contract was valued at $2.775M in 2014-15. This would put UConn at 27th, ahead of Cincinnati ($2.625M with Under Armour...which was signed more recently than UConn's deal). USF comes in at $1.67M with Under Armour; Houston at 500K with Nike; UCF, Memphis and BYU are not listed (but BYU likely has a comparable deal with Nike that UConn has).
