Realignment Megathread (All The Moves)

[Gonzo]

I don't think the big12 can go to market now. Also if ESPN really wante the Pac12 they would have made a legit offer during their exclusive window. If you really want something you don't wait until it becomes available to everyone.

They might have thought their offer was legit. I get what you're saying, but you can really want something and at the same time not want to overpay for it. Why rush an offer of $10 only to find out that the best other offer was $5, and realize you could've gotten it for $6.

 

[Cloneon]

I think it really just comes down to ESPN's math here.

If ESPN wants both, Is it more cost effective for ESPN to pay for the big 12 and PAC separately, or to pay a bit more for a bigger big 12 and lowball whatever becomes of the remnants of the PAC?

And of course, interest from others like Fox could also play into things.

Exactly! And for 'packaging/sales' I think we have the right commissioner at this time. Or, at least I hope so.

 

[SEIOWA CLONE]

The amount they had to pay went up.

ESPN dropped out of the B10 media rights because the league wanted $350 million, and would not move to the number off the $300 million they had offered. So those rights went to NBC.
None of that affects the B12, in fact, it may actually help the B12, now that the B10 is out of the picture.
Last year when ESPN held the rights to the B10, they had them one at noon Eastern on ESPN, 3:00 on ABC and then prime time on ABC or ESPN. They still held the rights to the ACC, and the smaller conferences.
Now they have switched from the B10 to the SEC, so the SEC will fill the slots that were before shown on ESPN/ABC.

EPSN still had plenty of slots open for the B12, under the old agreement, why would those slots change now, just because they have SEC? They still need a 3rd conference to fill those slots either the P12 or the B12. That after they have filled all their old slots with SEC teams instead of B10 teams.

 

[Cloneon]

They might have thought their offer was legit. I get what you're saying, but you can really want something and at the same time not want to overpay for it. Why rush an offer of $10 only to find out that the best other offer was $5, and realize you could've gotten it for $6.

Or, not have the funds to pay for the breadth of product they want.

 

[CRcyclone6]

Ok, ok, ok, it’s going to be, everything is ok, you are ok. Deep breath now. You have value. You are important. You matter.

 

[Gonzo]

ESPN dropped out of the B10 media rights because the league wanted $350 million, and would not move to the number off the $300 million they had offered. So those rights went to NBC.
None of that affects the B12, in fact, it may actually help the B12, now that the B10 is out of the picture.
Last year when ESPN held the rights to the B10, they had them one at noon Eastern on ESPN, 3:00 on ABC and then prime time on ABC or ESPN. They still held the rights to the ACC, and the smaller conferences.
Now they have switched from the B10 to the SEC, so the SEC will fill the slots that were before shown on ESPN/ABC.

EPSN still had plenty of slots open for the B12, under the old agreement, why would those slots change now, just because they have SEC? They still need a 3rd conference to fill those slots either the P12 or the B12. That after they have filled all their old slots with SEC teams instead of B10 teams.

Agree. I don't think it's bad news for the Big 12 that the B1G and ESPN are breaking up.

 

[alarson]

Or, not have the funds to pay for the breadth of product they want.

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.

 

[jbhtexas]

ESPN dropped out of the B10 media rights because the league wanted $350 million, and would not move to the number off the $300 million they had offered. So those rights went to NBC.
None of that affects the B12, in fact, it may actually help the B12, now that the B10 is out of the picture.
Last year when ESPN held the rights to the B10, they had them one at noon Eastern on ESPN, 3:00 on ABC and then prime time on ABC or ESPN. They still held the rights to the ACC, and the smaller conferences.
Now they have switched from the B10 to the SEC, so the SEC will fill the slots that were before shown on ESPN/ABC.

EPSN still had plenty of slots open for the B12, under the old agreement, why would those slots change now, just because they have SEC? They still need a 3rd conference to fill those slots either the P12 or the B12. That after they have filled all their old slots with SEC teams instead of B10 teams.

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".

 

[LLCoolCY]

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 "take your check and shut up".

Not necessarily if the Big 12 signs a big deal with ESPN there will be promotion. ESPN is business, last year the goal was to destroy the B12 next year with a new deal it could be to ensure it prospers. They will do what is best for their bottom line. It isn't personal it is just business and as assets change so do plans. Not saying I am keen on partnering with ESPN but I'm not against it if the money is right.
Let's face it Fox will give the Big10 the same preferential treatment ESPN would to the SEC. Being the Flagship program of CBS or NBC sounds great but their platforms aren't as large and accessible to the common fan as those two either.

 

[jbhtexas]

Not necessarily if the Big 12 signs a big deal with ESPN there will be promotion. ESPN is business, last year the goal was to destroy the B12 next year with a new deal it could be to ensure it prospers. They will do what is best for their bottom line. It isn't personal it is just business and as assets change so do plans. Not saying I am keen on partnering with ESPN but I'm not against it if the money is right.
Let's face it Fox will give the Big10 the same preferential treatment ESPN would to the SEC. Being the Flagship program of CBS or NBC sounds great but their platforms aren't as large and accessible to the common fan as those two either.

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...

 

[MeanDean]

I am like others on here. I hate the idea of getting into bed with ESPN after they just stole OU and UT from the conference and tried to reduce the remaining 8 to AAC level.

At this point I don't trust those slime-weasels and unless there are guaranteed promotional efforts in the contract for the conference and our content on ESPN/ABC all hours and all channels I am not confident they still won't make the Big XII their closing time, drunk on their ass, who did I just wake up in bed with?, sex partner.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

They might have thought their offer was legit. I get what you're saying, but you can really want something and at the same time not want to overpay for it. Why rush an offer of $10 only to find out that the best other offer was $5, and realize you could've gotten it for $6.

Could argue the other way that if they offered $10 and it went out for bid that once it got bid up you end up paying $15. Usually if you really want a product you try to lock it up before anyone else comes calling. That number could be what they genuinely value the pac at or it could be what they were wiling to pay but it also indicates that the Pac isnt a priority.

 

[CloneGuy8]

Big 12 could be similar to the Big 10, albeit much less $, in having deals with multiple networks.

 

[Gonzo]

Could argue the other way that if they offered $10 and it went out for bid that once it got bid up you end up paying $15. Usually if you really want a product you try to lock it up before anyone else comes calling. That number could be what they genuinely value the pac at or it could be what they were wiling to pay but it also indicates that the Pac isnt a priority.

Could. And I agree that Pac isn't a priority right now.

 

[WhoISthis]

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.

Or they could be like Fox, who slashed expenses in the buildup to this spending

 

[LLCoolCY]

Wilner’s article on the Big 10 rights means for the PAC10. Sure feels like he’s bracing for the Big 12 to be the choice of conference and a threat. Tone change in my mind from his PAC fluffing articles before this.

The Big Ten’s media deal, ESPN’s exclusion, the competition factor and what it all means for Pac-12 survival

ESPN won’t own any Big Ten rights starting in 2023, an encouraging development for the Pac-12 as it fights for survival following the USC and UCLA departures.

www.mercurynews.com

 

[Gonzo]

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.

 

[VoiceOfReason]

If the Big10 rights can be adjusted up… good luck with that GOR PAC10.

I'm not so sure. If the Big Ten is raking $100 million per team, which seems possible at this point, I'm not sure any team actually increases their revenue enough to be worth it, other than Notre Dame. It seems like they would take, at most, one team other than ND to balance, and that's about it. Maybe two more West Coast teams if they want to get into adding weeknight games or double-headers or someone wants to pony up for a primetime late game.

I think at this point, there's two possible outcomes. Either the Big 12 is in the driver's seat and fills the gap at ESPN when their deal is up OR ESPN panics and dramatically overpays the Pac 10 and they're in the driver's seat with a better deal than the Big 12, causing them to look to expand.

 

[isucy86]

It's good for the PAC that ESPN is out of the B1G. PAC has the inventory that they need and they can negotiate now.

I would agree its not bad for the Pac12 that ESPN is no longer bidding on Big10 content. But does ESPN really need Pac12 content?

They are already invested heavily in both the ACC & SEC conferences. So to maximize their investment in those conferences, I would expect ABC televises the best among the 15 ACC & SEC games each week at 11a CT, 3p CT & 7p CT. ESPN & ESPN2 would get the next tier SEC & ACC games at those time slots.

As far as the 10:30p ET Saturday time slot, on average in 2021 it was the 12th most watched game each week. Is Disney going to pay top dollar for the 12th most watched football game?

The other option is to televise a late SEC game on ESPN. One week last year ESPN televised the Aub v LSU game at 9p ET Sat and it was the 6th most watched game that week. With the SEC adding UT & OU, they will have 11 teams in the central time zone- so a lot of inventory where 2 CT teams play each other.

 

[tman24]

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.

I assume its a Big noon gets first pick. NBC gets second and CBS gets third. or maybe cbs and nbc swap second pick. so then id assume it leaves fox primetime for whats left for big 10. or maybe thats where big 12 comes in.