Realignment Megathread (All The Moves)

FriendlySpartan

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If the Fox/NBC/CBS thing happens I'm not clear on the prime time aspect. Word is prime time B1G games on NBC every Saturday night, but does that mean Fox isn't going to air any prime time B1G games moving forward? That would be a strange concession for Fox, who was in the room during all of these negotiations.
Fox wants the big noon game, that was their real money maker the last couple seasons and where most of the highest rated games were for Fox.
 
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isucy86

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I'm starting to worry that the BIG 12 will get screwed in all of this.

I'll stick to my guns and say the best way for Big12/Pac12 schools to maximize their TV Rights Revenue is to combine their top 14-22 schools from a TV Network standpoint. It sucks for the teams left out, but probably the best way to guarantee $40-$50M in annual revenue/school.
 
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SEIOWA CLONE

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The issue with ESPN isn't broadcast slots. In case you have forgotten, ESPN tried to destroy their Big 12 "parnter" in order to benefit their flagship conference. Not to mention that the ESPN talking heads have continuously maligned the conference during broadcasts for the past several years. As I said in a previous post, having ESPN as the primary media partner is the worst-case scenario for the Big 12. Like now, there will be no promotion by ESPN to grow the Big 12 brand, but rather it will be more of same "take your check and shut up".
Having no one offer and switching places with the P12 now is the Worst-case scenario, quickly followed by an offer like ESPN currently pays the AAC. Both are worst then teaming up with ESPN.

Bowlsby had dirt on ESPN, that was the reason he warned them to stop trying to break up the conference, well let's have the new Comish use that dirt, along with allowing OuT to leave the conference after the 23 seasons, before ESPN takes over the SEC contract and get a new deal done. That gets ESPN out of the LHN contract a year earlier and they can spend that money on the B12.

Also tell them we would like for them to low/no bid any P12 offers, breaking up that conference, knowing that most of those schools would end up in the B12, which then is also good for ESPN.
 
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isucy86

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CBS is still going to want a noon eastern time zone game, along with a prime time game. Starting P12 games for a noon start mean 9:00 o'clock in the West. But does line up well with a the P12 night game in prime time.

NBC, one would think would like to have a noon and 3:30 games, for when they are not covering ND and one when they are.

ESPN loses the B10 games but picks up the SEC games, along with their current ACC contract, looks like they might also want to continue to pick up a few games from the B12, like they did before. They also want to show a lot of ACC games on the ACC network, which they are paying for.

I could see CBS picking up a noon ET game, but there is already a lot of competition at that time slot with ABC, Fox, ESPN, ESPN2 & FS1 showing games.

If NBC starts showing a Saturday night game, I would expect CBS to find non-football programing for Saturday Night to attract the non-sports fan. Fox, ABC, NBC and ESPN could all have Saturday prime time games.
 

Acylum

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Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, Rutgers, Maryland truly were born on 3rd base...

About to be hand over fist rich and will be the wipping boys for the alphas in the conference.

IN life, it's better to be lucky than good
This is why I expect the gov’t to get involved eventually, if things keep going in the same direction. There is no rhyme or reason as to why some teams will be in and others left out other than 50-100 year conference affiliations. None of this is merit-based.
 
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CYCLNST8

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I'll stick to my guns and say the best way for Big12/Pac12 schools to maximize their TV Rights Revenue is to combine their top 14-22 schools from a TV Network standpoint. It sucks for the teams left out, but probably the best way to guarantee $40-$50M in annual revenue/school.
Yeah, but neither commissioner is going to act against their conference's best interests. It'd take multiple schools going behind each others' backs to make it happen. Give me your 16. Here's mine:

Arizona
Arizona State
BYU
Cal
Oregon
Stanford
Utah
Washington

Baylor
Colorado
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Oklahoma State
TCU
Texas Tech
 

cyfan92

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Looking at week 4 of the 2022 season. I assume the TV pickings for 2024 will look like this:

Wisconsin vs Ohio St as Big Noon
Maryland vs Michigan in the CBS slot
USC vs whomever on NBC Prime time

Indiana plays Cincinnati. That could be an FS1 game or the afternoon Fox slot if Fox is going to be with the Big 12
Minnesota vs Michigan St could get the evening Fox slot

BTN/Apple TV games for the remaining teams

Thats only 1 prime window from Fox for the Big 12. Hopefully CBS wants to do an Noon, evening, or late night game. Maybe NBC wants a noon game. That's the only way for the Big 12 to land a large linear provider.
 

isucy86

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Wilner made a good point. He said for the Pac teams on the fence, Kliavkoff can show the teams a copy of ESPN's, Amazon's, etc. written offer versus the unknown with the Big 12 two years away. How about if the Big 12 goes to market now and gets its own written offer to show the Pac teams? On the flip side, the two years away gives Yormark time to grease the wheels of all the media players to get the best deal.
Might be true.

But that assumes the ESPN, Amazon, etc. written offer is enough to make Washington, Oregon, Utah, Arizona State, etc. happy.

As far as Big12 goes, we could have similar contract language that gives ESPN/Fox exclusive negotiating rights. The big question, is that time period specified in the current TV Contract or can the Big12 specify the period?

It appeared the Pac12 was able to move that window up (maybe a week) once they found out USC & UCLA were leaving.
 

cyfan92

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This is why I expect the gov’t to get involved eventually, if things keep going in the same direction. There is no rhyme or reason as to why some teams will be in and others left out other than 50-100 year conference affiliations. None of this is merit-based.

1/3 of the B1G needs to perennially suck for OSU, Michigan, and USC to reign. I'm sure the big dogs put up with equal revenue to guarantee their status.
 
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RustShack

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If ESPN is looking towards the future, they might want to move some PAC schools to the Big12 and overpay. They can negotiate Texas and Oklahoma leaving early, as well as solidify a stake in another conference knowing the ACC is a walking corpse. At the ACC GoR gets closer to expiring, schools will be flocking to the SEC and B1G with the leftovers trying to get into the Big12.

Fox would be interested for the same reasons.
 
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FriendlySpartan

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This is why I expect the gov’t to get involved eventually, if things keep going in the same direction. There is no rhyme or reason as to why some teams will be in and others left out other than 50-100 year conference affiliations. None of this is merit-based.
And that needs government intervention why? Having a football program at a university isn't a right its a perk of the university. At the end of the day its a university first and an athletic dept second.
 

FriendlySpartan

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1/3 of the B1G needs to perennially suck for OSU, Michigan, and USC to reign. I'm sure the big dogs put up with equal revenue to guarantee their status.
Michigan only has 1 outright big ten title in close to 20 years. USC hasn't won the weak Pac in 14 years. Neither school is reigning anything on the field with constancy lately. OSU is another story.
 

Acylum

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And that needs government intervention why? Having a football program at a university isn't a right its a perk of the university. At the end of the day its a university first and an athletic dept second.
Do you have any idea how NIL came about?
 

Trice

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This is also possible as well.

Despite the crazy numbers we're seeing, ESPN hasn't exactly been operating like theyre flush with cash in other areas, when you look at how cheap they've become with some of their broadcasting, not even sending talent to a lot of big games.

I hope if we link up with ESPN again they don't try to pull that remote broadcasting garbage with football. It should be written into any contract that all games have live teams. I'd say the same for basketball too, but I'm guessing that ship has sailed.
 
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FriendlySpartan

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Do you have any idea how NIL came about?
Yeah that is a direct limitation on what athletes could earn. Comparing how much a conference is valued by media companies vs banning players from profiting off their own image isn't apples to oranges, its apples to chainsaws.
 

Trice

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What does it mean to "push the limits with streaming"? The big money remains with linear TV. Yormark already said linear TV is the centerpiece of our next media deal. ESPN is diminished, but diminished isn't dead. Meanwhile the streaming industry has issues of its own: it hasn't been especially profitable and is in the midst of something of an upheaval right now. So what does the contours of pushing the limits of streaming look like?

 

theshadow

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Should include other conferences and which TV networks own the rights to them. Biggest take away is why would ESPN want Big 12 when it has enough of a pool to choose from with the SEC & ACC rights.

Mid-American: ESPN owns all MAC games through June 2027. They sublicense a maximum of 12 per year to CBSSN.



Mountain West: CBS and FOX, through June 2026. Includes CBSSN, FS1, and FS2.


American: With ESPN through June 2032.
A minimum of 40 regular-season telecasts per season on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, including at least 20 across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, which represents increased annual exposure across those ESPN networks.

The American Championship game will be televised each year on ABC or ESPN.

New to ESPN’s TV rights beginning in 2020-21 are all Navy-controlled football games versus Notre Dame, plus first pick of the remaining Navy-controlled football games each year (excluding any games versus Army and Air Force). Beyond select Navy football games and select men’s basketball games, all conference controlled football and men’s basketball games from The American will air on an ESPN network or ESPN+. All women’s basketball controlled games will also be carried across ESPN’s platforms



Conference USA: ESPN (~45 FB games), CBSSN and Stadium. Expiration dates not listed.



Sun Belt: ESPN through June 2031.


 
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StPaulCyclone

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Duh!
But...but...2speedy1 told us all the SDSU would be a horrible addition to the Big 12. Surely he must know more than Chris Williams and Jon Wilner, right?
They Discussed it as a defensive move for B12 and not additive.
 

AuH2O

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Or it could be to continue on looking for ways to crash the Big 12. Yeah, FOX may give preferential treatment to the Big Ten, but they weren't working behind the scenes to move UT to the Big Ten. Unfortunately, not much that can be done if ESPN offers the big money...
I don't this makes any sense. You think ESPN would sign a deal with a league to then destroy it? For what purpose?

The sole purpose of trying to get the league to dissolve was to get OU and UT, while simultaneously adding value to a low-rent property it had in the AAC. Now, to think that would actually work the way they wanted was really stupid. So yes, boosting value of two leagues in which they had sole rights to while dissolving a league that they shared rights to with their main competitor motivated them to try to wreck the Big 12.

They have what they want in OU and UT in an exclusive deal. If for some reason they pay enough to get exclusivity to the Big 12, they sure as hell aren't going to destroy it.

It was never personal, it was just business. Not that ABC/ESPN would be the best partner all other things being equal, but this fear that they are going to come in with the highest bid to turn around and destroy the league makes no sense. So what, the SEC can get one more spot in an expanded playoff? To say that would have a horrible ROI is an understatement.
 

ISUcyclones11

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Fox wants the big noon game, that was their real money maker the last couple seasons and where most of the highest rated games were for Fox.
@Gonzo too

to add on to that Im guessing Fox being in the room means they get first pick at the game they want for Big Noon every single week. NBC/CBS will then draft for the remaining games in the same way they do now with B1G/B12.

There's also a possibility that FOX won't be allowed to broadcast B1G games after noon on their main channel to not conflict with CBS/NBC.

In addition, FOX MLB got extended thru 2028 so i don't think that late slot is open for CFB anyways until mid-November.

Either way, a lot of people are freaking out for Big 12 sake but there's plenty of programming to go around still.
 
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