SonofaSailor
Well-Known Member
There will still be some apparatus to carry the live sporting events to the world, be that more ESPN3 or BTN2Go or a Hulu-type site for live sports. Anyway you slice this, the conferences with the biggest cable contracts now (eyeballs) will also be the conferences that have the best pay-per-view (or however it works over the interwebs) contracts then. Even if the current model dies within the decade, you're not changing who has the most viewership. If live sports aren't bundled with crap programming, then it'll be all about having proof your conference has enough eyeballs watching to get your channel onto another distribution apparatus.
You're right...to a point...basically what the bundled cable model does...is taxes EVERYONE in the city of new york because Rutgers is near there. I would bet quite a large sum of money...that a VAST majority of new york subscribers couldn't care less about the Big Ten Network. Rutgers and Maryland were brought on board for the TV markets they can hold hostage...simple as that.
What I'm saying is...when that model dies...the old Big Ten would have been one of the wealthiest conferences anyways due to it's incredibly large alumni base. Not to mention all the "tavern Hoks (bucks, Wolverines, badgers, gophers etc.)"
What will replace bundled cable will probably be some sort of "pay as you wish" or bucket. Where you pick 25 channels or whatever. Capitalism and the gosh darned FREE MARKETS (Red, White and Blue...yay 'Murica) win the day and the only revenue you get is what consumers are willing to pay for your channel.
The days of taxing an entire city of 8 million and change $1-5 (or whatever BTN is in that market) are going to be over...