Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="McLovin, post: 4905343, member: 9450"] It will be interesting to see how much content is relegated to a streaming service in the next contract… Streaming makes a lot of sense for the networks with the public school power conferences because their fan bases are very large (flagship institutions dominate allegiance of non-affiliated fans, plus large alumni bases). But I don’t know how many new subscribers ESPN+ would really get from Creighton or Marquette fans, as their fan bases are small in comparison to programs like Wisconsin or Nebraska (which dominate their markets). I think the Big East is a more valuable property on linear TV than streaming, especially as a lead in game or follow-up game for a good match-up in the ACC, Big 12 or SEC. There are enough ranked teams in the league to have at least 1 ranked team playing most nights (and sometimes a top 25 match-up). You can have a high quality, intriguing match-up on ESPN/2 casuals will tune in for. The Big East schools almost always have a fantastic atmosphere that looks great on TV, plus high quality play and juicy story lines - this year it’s the coaches. Of course, some games will be relegated to streaming if we end up with ESPN because of the surplus inventory, but I think it would be a mistake for them to put too much on +. I would be concerned that UConn would end up with a bunch of ESPN+ games over the first couple years of the contract as they try to get our (the largest Big East fanbase, by far) dollars. They did this with Kansas in the Big 12 new media deal, they have played a TON of games on ESPN+ this year. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach