Did ESPN just hand over the East Coast to Fox?

[chakka3421]

Bigger forces are at play here than just conference realignment. Its all become suddenly clear to everyone with the recent additions of Rutgers and Maryland to the B10. Nothing to do with performance either on the field or in the AD departments or traditional rivalries. I know if the business I worked for operated like Rutgers and Maryland has over the last 5 years, our business would have failed by now.

If the BE and ACC are left to die, didnt Fox just take over the NE after they pick up UVA and UNC to get to 16? Not only was the ACC blindsided, but ESPN execs as well in my view.

Next move is ESPN, not just the ACC or they may end up losing the whole east coast.

 

[TexanMark]

TGD did the best he could...I don't blame him. Not his fault SU lost the AAU tag. We tied our horse to the ACC stall as the only viable option. Looks like it is out of our hands (SU Athletic Performance and Ticket sales driving our worth) and we need to see if the Conference Whales pick tradition, loyalty over the short term until the ACC can get monetized better. ESPN should be working with the ACC to come up with a strategy. If not we are toast. Commonsense tells me they realize the ACC is too valuable to get picked apart. Like a blue-chip stock basketball is undervalued currently and ESPN has a ton of inventory to keep and horde. It fills up a ton of cheap programming from Nov to Mar. The ACC is at the brink but can be easily saved.

 

[Noexcuse]

TGD did the best he could...I don't blame him. Not his fault SU lost the AAU tag. We tied our horse to the ACC stall as the only viable option. Looks like it is out of our hands (SU Athletic Performance and Ticket sales) and we need to see if the Conference Whales pick tradition, loyalty over the short term until the ACC can get monetized better. ESPN should be working with the ACC to come up with a strategy. If not we are toast. Commonsense tells me they realize the ACC is too valuable to get picked apart. Like a bluechip stock basketball is undervalued currently and ESPN has a ton of inventory to keep and horde. It fills up a ton of cheap programming from Nov to Mar. The ACC is at the brink but can be easily saved.

ESPN has become a talk show network with some sporting events thrown in.

 

[AgentOrange]

The only real option, in order to truly hold things together for the ACC, is the creation of a conference network. This, along with a grant of rights from its members in return for a greater per team payout would solidify the league as-is for many years.

 

[orangecuse]

ESPN has become a talk show network with some sporting events thrown in.

ESPN/ABC has more live sports programing than any other network...

 

[Alsacs]

Were you in the chat last nite? I was saying the same thing, but ESPN will still have the SEC except for 1 game a week for CBS which is still a good product.

 

[chakka3421]

Alsacs - you referring to me? No I was not in on the chat line. Anyway, the only saving grace for SU is that it is the only flagship sports college actually located in NY and if needed by Fox to lock out ESPN altogether and fuuly capture NYC, SU gets the invite conditional on AAU status. Or maybe NY doesnt matter anyway if you can isolate it. The SEC aint interested and I dont think the B10 is either.

From a cable TV perspective, the Upstate cluster is probably 3 million plus households or probably $30-$40 million in value at $1 per subscriber to be included in basic cable. SU could probably would not devalue the B10 network by much but also wouldn't add much to it either unless you add NYC influence somehow to the equation.

Now if the BTN decides to go beyond 16 teams for some reason, then things become more interesting. I also think Kansas is in play for the B10 - Kansas and UVA makes sense keeping things more northern if for some reason NC BOT keeps all in ACC and NC teams become unavailable to anyone.

 

[Alsacs]

Alsacs - you referring to me? No I was not in on the chat line. Anyway, the only saving grace for SU is that it is the only flagship sports college actually located in NY and if needed by Fox to lock out ESPN altogether and fuuly capture NYC, SU gets the invite conditional on AAU status. Or maybe NY doesnt matter anyway if you can isolate it. The SEC aint interested and I dont think the B10 is either.

From a cable TV perspective, the Upstate cluster is probably 3 million plus households or probably $30-$40 million in value at $1 per subscriber to be included in basic cable. SU could probably would not devalue the B10 network by much but also wouldn't add much to it either unless you add NYC influence somehow to the equation.

Now if the BTN decides to go beyond 16 teams for some reason, then things become more interesting. I also think Kansas is in play for the B10 - Kansas and UVA makes sense keeping things more northern if for some reason NC BOT keeps all in ACC and NC teams become unavailable to anyone.

Yes, because I agree everything you are saying. Good and fair analysis.