Neal Pilson in the NYT this morning:
The most important data point in favor of Big 12 expansion, said Neal Pilson, a media consultant and former CBS Sports president, is the massive rights extensions the Big Ten reportedly
struck with Fox, ESPN and CBS, which would nearly triple that conference’s annual rights revenue (not including the Big Ten Network), to nearly a quarter of a billion dollars.
“A digital network the A.C.C. is talking about with ESPN — it’s a no-brainer, but it’s not a big revenue generator,” Pilson said Wednesday. “It’s added exposure. It looks good. It sounds good. But in terms of the real driver, which is revenue generation, I think the Big Ten is much more relevant.”
For that reason, Pilson advised the Big 12 to take a page from the Big Ten’s playbook. Much as the Big Ten, a traditionally Midwestern league, recently added Rutgers and Maryland to plant its flag near several East Coast population centers, the Big 12, whose members reside in Great Plains states and Texas (and West Virginia), ought to invite Connecticut to join, Pilson said.
“Having Texas and Oklahoma and the other major Big 12 schools playing in the Northeast would create additional revenue opportunities and make it a more attractive conference in terms of new sponsors and a better linear television deal,” Pilson said.
Thanks, Neal! (and E-F-F OFF Bristol)