Big East Media Rights: "We Coulda Been on NBC!"

[MaxwellCuse]

Looks like our soon-to-be-ex Big East brethren will be shopping their media rights around after the 60-day "exclusive" window w/ ESPN expires in 5 days. Brett McMurphy reports:

http://espn.go.com/college-football...orks-other-espn-new-tv-deal-according-sources

None of this is "new news" but it is oftentimes forgotten the financial reality of where we are now and where we are going:

"The Big East's current six-year media rights deal is worth $3.12 million annually for each of the eight full members and $1.5 million annually for each of the eight non-football members. The eight football members split $13 million; the 16 basketball members split $24 million.

In April of 2011, former Big East commissioner John Marinatto recommended the Big East accept a nine-year deal from ESPN worth $1.17 billion, an average of $130 million annually. That deal would have earned full members $13.8 million a year and non-football members $2.43 million a year. However, the league's presidents voted to turn it down.

Based on a 14-team football league (with four football-only members) and a 17-team basketball league, a $60 million deal per year would be worth $4.06 million each for the 10 full members; $3 million each for the four football-only members (Boise State, San Diego State, Navy and TBA); and $1.06 million each for the seven non-football members. A $130 million deal per year would be worth $8.8 million each for the 10 full members; $6.5 million each for the four football-only members and $2.3 million each for the seven non-football members."

Don't know about you guys but I'm not going to miss the NBE all that much.

 

[All4SU]

My ADD kicks in every time I read these articles about media monies. All I really need to read is contained in this one paragraph:

In the past year, the Big East had West Virginia, TCU, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame announce they were leaving the league. The Big East has responded by adding Temple this year and will add Boise State, San Diego State, Memphis, UCF, Houston and SMU next year and Navy in 2015.

 

[upperdeck]

the BE commish was talking it up today about how great the new deals would be on XM radio

 

[orangefog]

the BE commish was talking it up today about how great the new deals would be on XM radio

Could you tell that he was fighting back tears?

 

[sutomcat]

Looks like our soon-to-be-ex Big East brethren will be shopping their media rights around after the 60-day "exclusive" window w/ ESPN expires in 5 days. Brett McMurphy reports:

http://espn.go.com/college-football...orks-other-espn-new-tv-deal-according-sources

None of this is "new news" but it is oftentimes forgotten the financial reality of where we are now and where we are going:

"The Big East's current six-year media rights deal is worth $3.12 million annually for each of the eight full members and $1.5 million annually for each of the eight non-football members. The eight football members split $13 million; the 16 basketball members split $24 million.

In April of 2011, former Big East commissioner John Marinatto recommended the Big East accept a nine-year deal from ESPN worth $1.17 billion, an average of $130 million annually. That deal would have earned full members $13.8 million a year and non-football members $2.43 million a year. However, the league's presidents voted to turn it down.

Based on a 14-team football league (with four football-only members) and a 17-team basketball league, a $60 million deal per year would be worth $4.06 million each for the 10 full members; $3 million each for the four football-only members (Boise State, San Diego State, Navy and TBA); and $1.06 million each for the seven non-football members. A $130 million deal per year would be worth $8.8 million each for the 10 full members; $6.5 million each for the four football-only members and $2.3 million each for the seven non-football members."

Don't know about you guys but I'm not going to miss the NBE all that much.

With the old BE contract, the all-sports-except-football schools got about 50% of what the all-sports-including-football schools got. It will be interesting to see what happens with the new contract, especially with the addition of football only schools to the mix.

From everything I have read, the real world rights for basketball are much lower than for football, which could lead to a scenario where the new football only schools make more money than the long time member schools that do not play BE football (i.e. schools like Georgetown, Villanova, St John's, etc.).

It was reported that in recent meetings, the the non football schools were pushing during league meetings for this round of negotiations to get the same money as the football schools.

The biggest challenge for the Big East now is, I think, to deal with the enormous gap between what the non football schools think they should get and what the open market says they are worth. If you think the schools that play football are going to be unhappy with the new BE contract, wait until the basketball schools see reality in cold, hard numbers. They are the ones who were too greedy to take the $130 million ESPN offered initially. If they had, they would have a lot more money for their athletic programs and Syracuse, Pitt and West Virginia would still be in the fold.

Worst sports decision of the decade? Maybe.

 

[MaxwellCuse]

^^ Tom, you make some very good points. I have read on some of the forums of the basketball schools figures like $4 million or $5 million a year for basketball and I wonder what universe they are inhabiting. We know that the A-10 schools are getting something on the order of $375K annually in their new media contract. Yes, the Big East has more value than the A-10 but more than 10X as much? I don't think so. I agree that the hoops schools are going to rue the day they told ESPN thanks but no thanks.

 

[Alsacs]

[quote="In April of 2011, former Big East commissioner John Marinatto recommended the Big East accept a nine-year deal from ESPN worth $1.17 billion, an average of $130 million annually. That deal would have earned full members $13.8 million a year and non-football members $2.43 million a year. However, the league's presidents voted to turn it down..[/quote]
What the odds the Big East gets 100 million a year annually? NBC Sports Network today allegedly bid 83 million dollars a year for the Barclay's Premiere League. ESPN/FOX bid allegedly 24 million so I think the Big East may get a pay day from NBC. I could see the Big East getting more than the 130 a yr they turned down if NBC is going to overpay so dramatically to get content on its network.

 

[retro44]

who watches NBC anyways

 

[MaxwellCuse]

I could easily see the BE getting $100 million per year. Problem is that there are a lot more mouths to feed now than there were before SU, WVU and Pitt split.

 

[orange79]

I will always wonder if we would have stayed if the BE had accepted the ESPN offer. IMO, we would have gone anyway, but the decision would have been much more difficult.

 

[OrangePA]

The BE had every intention of going to market.

It had no intention of signing with ESPN before doing so.

 

[zibby]

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the BE is going to get a lot less compared to the deal they turned down last year. We're talking about 10 teams including SU, Pitt, TCU, WFVU versus 14 teams including a huge pile of garbage.

Not that those rocket scientists on CSNbbs.com have figured it out yet. They're still convinced they're going to get Big 5 money.

 

[Stern]

who watches NBC anyways

No reason too. And Big East Football with SMU vs Rutgers. UCONN vs Houston. And San Diego St vs Temple isn't going to change that. Might actually make it worse for NBC Sports. Give them a low rent feel and a minor league look when compared to ESPN.