The ACC is dead man walking, ESPN. destroyed the conference, just as they did the Big East.
I'm trying to spin the best outcome that doesn't include giving up football. Independence for anyone not named ND is unrealistic long term. At least if something like this were to happen, you would have a consistent schedule with relevant opponents on it for fans in Connecticut. If the money is considerably better than now it would have to be a win.
Agreed. It’s just a win that likely leaves us permanently mired in the under class of big boy college athletics. That isn’t the worst outcome and I don’t really see a path to a better one.
I'd tend to agree. The difference is with UConn having great success on multiple fronts in the Big East and Independent plus issues that have plagued ACC the last 3 years it's not as big a deal minus the financial aspect which the school seems to be dealing with as best it can.
I don’t disagree but I almost attribute it more to “acceptance” rather than a lack of want to. It’s almost like “well we tried and now we’re just fine with this over the alternative”.
I don't think the BE will be relegated to streaming - basketball is different than football as it plays games all week long as opposed to predominantly Saturdays-only. Linear TV needs live sports content, so I don't think we have to worry about this in at least the next round of the TV contract.
There was a clip from Marchand & Ourand recently where they talked about where the BE would be if their rights were up for renewal today and the feedback was that they’d be “in a very similar situation to the PAC12 as a ”nice to have” but not a “need to have””.
I really appreciate the back and forth but a few things here…
painttouches.com
The article comes to the conclusion that the rights could worth ~$7 million, but there are some flaws in his logic. For example, he compares Big 10 TV ratings vs. Big East ratings TV ratings on FS1. This year, FS1 is broadcasting 30 Big 10 games and broadcasting >100 Big East games so the quality of the Big 10 matchups on FS1 were higher than the quality the entirety of Big East games. Of course the Big 10 games on FS1 were higher rated than the Big East games. If the Big East could cherry pick games for FS1, the ratings would be higher, but with fewer games.This is a pretty good read showing that the BE as a TV property is basically the MLS. Which just signed a 10 year all in deal with Apple (roughly 30 games per year sub-licensed to linear on FOX):
What are Big East TV Rights worth?
With TV rights values exploding, what might a conference like the Big East be worth?
@CTFAN4LIFE
1. I never claimed the markets to be "Big East" - you went there. My point is that BE schools are in big/important markets with influential media outlets, etc and they garner front page status in newspapers, online newsfeeds, etc. Of course, all of these markets are shared. But, the point is that the BE is well served by their markets.I really appreciate the back and forth but a few things here…
1. Are you really claiming these markets as “Big East”? Philly, DMV, Milwaukee, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Omaha are dominated by Big Ten fans. I’d even argue NYC metro has more B1G fans than BE fans. Xavier is like the 5th most popular school in Cincinnati behind Ohio State, Kentucky, Cincinnati, and Louisville. We’re calling that a Big East market?
2. On court success doesn’t necessarily directly translate to better viewership. The BE does have a better on court success track record than the PAC, but I’d appreciate data showing that the BE has markedly better viewership than they do. And it’s not even close when comparing to the B1G.
3. I’d need to see data on this claim… the footprint is extremely similar to the B1G who has a large hoops streaming component as referenced. Not sure what this point is supposed to make.
4. The BE tournament was a can’t miss event. As someone that lives outside of the NYC metro are in Charlotte, I can tell you approximately 0 people care about it here. Last year’s BE tournament final was the 8th highest rated conference tournament final, on par with the A10 final ratings and behind the B1G, SEC, ACC, B12, MWC, AAC, P12 finals:
Big Ten an exception as conference title games rebound
Outside of the Big Ten, ratings for the major college basketball conference title games rebounded significantly during championship week.www.sportsmediawatch.com
5. I’m not sure what this point is trying to make. Yes ESPN is looking at a platform that would allow you to click into a Peacock (or similar streaming service) game from their device. What does that have to do with whether the BE will be avoiding streaming in their next deal?
The PAC conference tournament final outrated the BE tournament final in 2019, 2021, 2022. I can’t easily find data for before that but that’s not a great trend. Villanova’s two NCAA Tournament titles are the lowest rated cable tv finals in the sport’s history. 1 out of 30 (!!) of the top watched games in 2018, 2019, 2021 was a Big East game. I just don’t see any way the data bears the Big East getting a full or mostly linear TV deal, especially if they’re looking for $7M+ in TV money
Long story short, if the B1G- which is easily the most widely watched league in college hoops- has 45 games on Peacock- expect a bunch of BE games going on a streaming service as well.
Not necessarily. It could be a meeting to ratify the Pac-12 TV deal/GOR.
I still believe the PAC has the best class top to bottom and it's an intriguing chess match. And with no inside info, I wonder if Colorado would rather stay aligned with the remaining PAC programs which for the most part are excellent academic and athletic institutions, and not return to the conference it left, especially given that conference is now watered down and abandoned by TX and OK. I think that would be a really tough pill to swallow, returning to the Big 12. The more I think about it, no freaking way.
True, but UConn swallowed a similar pill and it has worked out well so far. At the end of the day, Colorado would be silly to look let the past dictate its future. If I'm the 4 corner schools I'd make the jump to the Big12 as they have a better future than the PAC.
Completely different. It would be like UConn leaving the AAC only to return to the AAC after Cincy and Houston left. That would be very very bad. UConn never left the Big East, it left the AAC to join the New Big East and no one thinks that is the permanent play. The Big 12 may have a better future, or not. It's still a band of very different academies which has proven to not be an ideal situation. Just 2 state flagships in the bunch.
Eh that's still very different. The AAC was always very top heavy with the bottom dragging it down. The Big 12 has little to no bottom in both sports. I mean Kansas football typically but not right now.
Marquette account did an exercise to guess what it could be and figure it will or be close to doubling what league gets today which is in neighborhood of $8 mill a year per school. $10 would be great, but doesn't seem realistic in current environment where ESPN will likely not put in a competitive bid (be it from a linear cable and/or monetary standpoint) as Disney has asked Bristol to be picky with inventory.
