ESPN not happy with LHN?

[dayooper]

I know it's just message board fodder, but if ESPN is unhappy with The LHN to the extent that it pulls he plug, that could potentially change the landscape of conference realignment.

From the Oklahoma Sooners LandThieves site:

"Huge thread on Orangebloods.com (pay site) that two ESPN honchos have admitted LHN is a total failure. Nothing further was posted, but it names the two executives and indicates further discussions internally at ESPN"

Link

I would imagine that there would be a clause in the Big12 GOR about The LHN.

 

[CoastAtlantic]

Ok, Baylor and UConn to ACC

West Virginia and Oklahoma State to SEC

Kansas and Oklahoma to B1G

Texas gets ND-type deal with ACC that allows them to play regional rivals and play OU every year, regardless of conference affiliation.

I can live with that arrangement.

 

[pj]

Why would the ACC want Baylor? Why would the SEC want West Virginia and Oklahoma State?

I can believe Texas would want independence, and that the ACC would give them a favorable deal. I could see the B1G taking its 2 favorites from UConn, Kansas, and Oklahoma. ... or maybe Oklahoma going to the SEC with Oklahoma State, taking care of its little brother; UConn and Kansas to the B1G.

If the ACC wanted to expand to 16 + ND+Texas, which I doubt, they should rectify its prior mistake by taking WVU as a partner for Pitt, and then Cincy presumably as a partner for Louisville (continuing the B1G territory penetration strategy they had adopted with Pitt, ND, L'ville).

More likely, I see the ACC sticking at 14+ND+Texas, and the B12 leftovers adding BYU, Cincy, UCF, USF to replace Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Kansas.

 

[Seaa Blue]

ESPN has an out clause, but it will cost them big time. I forget the details.

Thing is, they had to know this was a bad deal with the potential for it being horrific right from the get-go. They did it anyway.

 

[Ha Who]

ESPN has an out clause, but it will cost them big time. I forget the details.

Thing is, they had to know this was a bad deal with the potential for it being horrific right from the get-go. They did it anyway.

Well they can cover their losses with Connecticut taxpayer money

 

[Fishy]

If the Longhorn Network went away, I think the clock starts ticking on the Big 12.

The Big 10, SEC, Pac 12 and ACC likely swell up to 16 in some fashion. (Texas can't go indy like Notre Dame....if they had that kind of stroke, the LHN wouldn't have died in the crib.) The remnants of the Big 12 merge with the remnants of the AAC.

 

[FDNY99]

If the Longhorn Network went away, I think the clock starts ticking on the Big 12.

The Big 10, SEC, Pac 12 and ACC likely swell up to 16 in some fashion. (Texas can't go indy like Notre Dame....if they had that kind of stroke, the LHN wouldn't have died in the crib.) The remnants of the Big 12 merge with the remnants of the AAC.

And suddenly the AAC gets that much stronger to make a push as P6 if that happens.

 

[Ldandy]

ESPN has an out clause, but it will cost them big time. I forget the details.

Thing is, they had to know this was a bad deal with the potential for it being horrific right from the get-go. They did it anyway.

The thing I never understood was why they believed that an entire network based around one school, regardless of which school, would be interesting to anyone not affiliated with that school? No one and I mean no one gives 2 schitts about Texas in either the Midwest or Northeast. I don't have LHN on my Directv, but if I did I would not likely watch more than 2 minutes of it in a given year. Talk about overreaching.

 

[dayooper]

If the Longhorn Network went away, I think the clock starts ticking on the Big 12.

The Big 10, SEC, Pac 12 and ACC likely swell up to 16 in some fashion. (Texas can't go indy like Notre Dame....if they had that kind of stroke, the LHN wouldn't have died in the crib.) The remnants of the Big 12 merge with the remnants of the AAC.

This, and I think the Big10 may not stop at 16 if they think Texas is involved. They would take OU and Kansas if that sealed the deal, IMO. Throw in UConn and that gets you to 18. Would they go to 20? Who knows? 20 would be easier to deal with than 18, but who would they take? Assuming the ACC is off limits, there really aren't any AAU options left. Would The Big10 bear down and take Texas Tech? Houston? Buffalo? Would Texas be a big enough haul for The Big10 to go against what they seem to stand for?

 

[woomba]

The thing I never understood was why they believed that an entire network based around one school, regardless of which school, would be interesting to anyone not affiliated with that school? No one and I mean no one gives 2 schitts about Texas in either the Midwest or Northeast. I don't have LHN on my Directv, but if I did I would not likely watch more than 2 minutes of it in a given year. Talk about overreaching.

At the time of the creation of LHN, LHN was actually centered around showing highschool Texas FB with the Longhorns being the centerpiece of that action. Once that ideal was killed due to legal issues, the potential of the network plummeted...although since Texas is taking a fixed payment from ESPN anyway they're laughing all the way to the bank.

 

[Ldandy]

At the time of the creation of LHN, LHN was actually centered around showing highschool Texas FB with the Longhorns being the centerpiece of that action. Once that ideal was killed due to legal issues, the potential of the network plummeted...although since Texas is taking a fixed payment from ESPN anyway they're laughing all the way to the bank.

I know they aimed to show Texas HS Football, but the rest of the Big 12 Schools went apes*** because of the inherent advantage it would create for UT. As for regular viewers, not recruits and their parents, who outside of the state would have watched these games anyway? Who would plan to spend their Friday Night watching high schools thousands of miles away from them? LOL good luck with that.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

ESPN has an out clause, but it will cost them big time. I forget the details.

Thing is, they had to know this was a bad deal with the potential for it being horrific right from the get-go. They did it anyway.

They had to. Ig they didn't stall UT's jump to the P-12 by dangling this carrot, the Horns, Red Raiders, Sooners & Cowboys would have become members of the P-16.

 

[CTMike]

When in doubt root for chaos.

 

[noeynox]

They had to. Ig they didn't stall UT's jump to the P-12 by dangling this carrot, the Horns, Red Raiders, Sooners & Cowboys would have become members of the P-16.

And the Pac 12 is almost entirely a fox product no? Stroke of genius by ESPN, especially if they have an out clause.

 

[UConnDan97]

I want to go on record as saying that I will support UConn joining the B1G as Oklahoma's travel partner...

 

[CL82]

Well they can cover their losses with Connecticut taxpayer money

They did it to stabilize the B12. If they hadn't we'd be in a conference with Kansas already.

 

[Limbo Land]

If the Longhorn Network went away, I think the clock starts ticking on the Big 12.

The Big 10, SEC, Pac 12 and ACC likely swell up to 16 in some fashion. (Texas can't go indy like Notre Dame....if they had that kind of stroke, the LHN wouldn't have died in the crib.) The remnants of the Big 12 merge with the remnants of the AAC.

So the AAC is going to kick out teams.... no chance. AAC is stuck now at 11 with the moves to add ECU, Tulane, and Tulsa with 12 when Navy is on board. Aresco will not jettison anyone from this league. He saved them and is on a mission to prove to everyone he can get this to work. PAC 12 doesn't want to expand and sure as hell don't want OK State and Texas Tech the two names associated with a move with Ok and Texas. Big 12 dissolution will only happen if Pac 12 commish can convince the president to go beyond what they have already. They don't want to! Plus politics is even worse in that neck of the country then in on the east coast. Those schools will never be carved up.

Most likely Big 12 remains together with a possibility Texas going indep. and Oklahoma heading to southeast and Kansas going to B1G. If that happens then Cincy, UCF will head west.

 

[ZooCougar]

Hard to not see this one coming. LHN has limited appeal and utility, just like an All Texas college football conference has little appeal and utility.

 

[ZooCougar]

And suddenly the AAC gets that much stronger to make a push as P6 if that happens.

Or it becomes the P4.

 

[upstater]

ESPN needs to get out of this LHN deal quick before it brings down the entire network.

 

[MTHusky]

As much as I would like to see the LHN deal dumped since it should help UCONN, I'm sure the losses that ESPN takes with the LHN is the size of just a pimple on the butt of Bevo.

 

[UConn Dan]

In regards to Texas, until chip brown says it, I'm not buying.

 

[frankthetank]

ESPN needs to get out of this LHN deal quick before it brings down the entire network.

The costs of the LHN are relative pennies compared to the massive increase in rights fees that ESPN would have to deal with if Texas went to the Pac-12 or Big Ten. That was and continues to be the biggest value of the LHN to ESPN: it prevents the biggest fish BY FAR in conference realignment from going anywhere. $15 million per year in rights fees to Texas is chump change to ESPN (it's about what ESPN pays for a *single* Monday Night Football game) considering the hundreds of millions of extra dollars that it would have to pay to a Pac-16 with Texas or, even worse (from the eyes of Disney), an NFL-esque monolith if Texas joined the Big Ten.

At the same time, the desirability of the LHN outside of the Texas market is irrelevant to the finances of that channel. The working theory for the LHN is the same for any other regional sports network (including the BTN and SEC Network): charge a massive amount per subscriber in the home market and then everything else in other markets (even if it's just pennies) is gravy. The state of Texas alone generates MASSIVE subscriber rights fees for RSNs. Case in point: the Yankees and Dodgers have the largest TV deals in MLB, which shouldn't surprise anyone as the marquee clubs in the 2 largest markets. Sitting at #3, though, isn't the Cubs (marquee club in the #3 market), Red Sox (all of New England) or Mets (who have equity in SNY). It's the Texas Rangers. That's what the LHN is tapping into. Now, we can quibble about whether ESPN has succeeded on that regional basis, but no one at Disney ever expected people in Connecticut to care about the LHN. The Texas market alone is what they cared about (and it's why the University of Texas is a bigger conference realignment free agent than even Notre Dame in today's environment because conferences like the Big Ten and Pac-12 want in on the Texas market, too).

 

[Calamitous]

The thing I never understood was why they believed that an entire network based around one school, regardless of which school, would be interesting to anyone not affiliated with that school? No one and I mean no one gives 2 schitts about Texas in either the Midwest or Northeast. I don't have LHN on my Directv, but if I did I would not likely watch more than 2 minutes of it in a given year. Talk about overreaching.

I can't think of one team where that might work, with the exception of ND. BYU has a National following, but their numbers are much smaller than ND. In other words, more Catholics than Mormons in this country.

Maybe one day Liberty University will achieve P5 status and start a contract for national TV coverage

 

[upstater]

Sheez, people.