Miller: B1G Money, Delany's Revenge

[ColumbusHawk]

I think the problem with ESPN is that they not only pay all of this money for College Football but they have to be involved with everything everywhere. How much do they lose on the NBA? Or MLB? Or all of the other random sports they broadcast? Fox can focus mostly on creating a model to make money off of college football, with a few smaller ventures on the side. With that said, there has to come a point when, no matter what model you use, you can't possibly make money. I hope the deal works out well for Fox. Only means more money for The University of Iowa.

Fox also is involved with everything, everywhere with their regional sports channels. Fox airs MLB, the NBA, the NHL & NFL. In central Ohio, Fox televises the Blue Jackets, Cavaliers, Indians & Reds on their three regional sports cable channels. Last night, two of the three channels aired the Cavaliers' playoff game, the other had the Indians' game. Today, the Indians are on at noon & the Cubs-Reds game is on at seven.

 

[DJL]

Fox also is involved with everything, everywhere with their regional sports channels. Fox airs MLB, the NBA, the NHL & NFL. In central Ohio, Fox televises the Blue Jackets, Cavaliers, Indians & Reds on their three regional sports cable channels. Last night, two of the three channels aired the Cavaliers' playoff game, the other had the Indians' game. Today, the Indians are on at noon & the Cubs-Reds game is on at seven.

I agree, but on a much smaller level. Regional coverage is a lot different than nightly national coverage. I honestly have idea idea how much different, but it seems like being the "Worldwide Leader" in many different sports is expensive.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

yes we are seeing cord cutting but it will be replaced by cafeteria type pay for view web servicing contracts. I cut Directv and tried Sling during late Feb-March. It did not work well on my laptop but that might be other issues. I would love to just buy the channels I want to watch, Golf, NBCSN, BTN, ESPNs, and buy on a per event basis also. I dropped Sling and now go out an spend $15 in beer to watch a contest so I aint getting ahead money wise. But I just love that Directv is not getting my dough for a crappy lineup of channels.

Get a Roku. Hook it directly into your TV. As long as you have reasonably high-speed internet, you're better off than paying cable/satellite. You may have to scramble to stream games live, or go to a sports bar, but at least you aren't paying for Bravo, We, OWN, E!, etc.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

The hassle of live streaming games is the only deal breaker for me & it's difficult for me to cut that cord. I don't want to have to rush home to attempt to find a stream and hope my login info works, etc.. Sucks, because that is the only reason I continue to pay the $$$$$$, for convenience. Silly!

 

[trj]

I think the problem with ESPN is that they not only pay all of this money for College Football but they have to be involved with everything everywhere. How much do they lose on the NBA? Or MLB? Or all of the other random sports they broadcast? Fox can focus mostly on creating a model to make money off of college football, with a few smaller ventures on the side. With that said, there has to come a point when, no matter what model you use, you can't possibly make money. I hope the deal works out well for Fox. Only means more money for The University of Iowa.

ESPN overpaid for the NFL TV rights and they overpaid by a lot. The trickle down effect was they ended up having to overpay for MLB and the NBA. In other words, ESPN screwed themselves with the NFL TV rights deal.

 

[trj]

The hassle of live streaming games is the only deal breaker for me & it's difficult for me to cut that cord. I don't want to have to rush home to attempt to find a stream and hope my login info works, etc.. Sucks, because that is the only reason I continue to pay the $$$$$$, for convenience. Silly!

I am with you on this. I am not the most tech savvy guy on the planet so I just rather have the convenience. I am all about saving money, but wasting a few bucks here and there will not cause me to go homeless.

 

[ICHawk24]

ESPN is still the largest chunk of Disney profits, despite all the news articles about cord cutting. Star Wars brought in a billion dollars this year. ESPN brings in 10 times that amount.

CBS paid a huge amount for the tournament this year, yet had a return on investment of over 50%. In response, they signed an 8 year extension through 2032. Live sports is the golden child of content.

Cord cutting will change revenue streams, but ESPN knows that top-tier content is what makes them the Worldwide Leader. Sure, they cut Colin Cowherd, Bill Simmons, and a bunch of expensive talking heads. But they've never shied on the price for content. I would be shocked if they don't end up with a piece of the second half of B1G content. Sure, they made a low-ball offer in the first round, of course they did. They didn't want to set the market, after being bitten by the NFL, but they will pay the price for the B1G second half.

WatchESPN/ESPN3 is the future. Which is still driven by content.

 

[deanvogs]

ESPN is still the largest chunk of Disney profits, despite all the news articles about cord cutting. Star Wars brought in a billion dollars this year. ESPN brings in 10 times that amount.

CBS paid a huge amount for the tournament this year, yet had a return on investment of over 50%. In response, they signed an 8 year extension through 2032. Live sports is the golden child of content.

Cord cutting will change revenue streams, but ESPN knows that top-tier content is what makes them the Worldwide Leader. Sure, they cut Colin Cowherd, Bill Simmons, and a bunch of expensive talking heads. But they've never shied on the price for content. I would be shocked if they don't end up with a piece of the second half of B1G content. Sure, they made a low-ball offer in the first round, of course they did. They didn't want to set the market, after being bitten by the NFL, but they will pay the price for the B1G second half.

WatchESPN/ESPN3 is the future. Which is still driven by content.

Great post, and this is exactly right. ESPN is already involved with the cord cutters. They are part of the Sling lineup, and part of the Playstation Vue lineup, and they will continue to be front and center with the cord cutters as well. ESPN will pay as much or more than FOX did for the other half of the B1G rights, cord cutting isn't getting rid of the most successful network on TV.

 

[AreWeThereYet]

Cord cutting will influence the market, but let’s not overstate how many people are doing it. A survey last year by Digitalsmiths, found that just 8.2 percent of respondents cut cable or satellite service entirely, compared to 45.2 percent reducing their level of service, 44.1 percent dropping premium channels, 17.2 percent giving up premium sports packages, and 10.7 percent ditching DVR rentals. There is also a small percentage of people who will never signed up for cable TV packages. It looks like more people want to slim down their cable package than cut it off altogether.

 

[Fryowa]

The hassle of live streaming games is the only deal breaker for me & it's difficult for me to cut that cord. I don't want to have to rush home to attempt to find a stream and hope my login info works, etc.. Sucks, because that is the only reason I continue to pay the $$$$$$, for convenience. Silly!

In order to stream the games you still have to be a cable or dish subscriber though, right? Isn't that what your login is based on? Not being a smart***, just thought that was the deal.

 

[AreWeThereYet]

In order to stream the games you still have to be a cable or dish subscriber though, right? Isn't that what your login is based on? Not being a smart***, just thought that was the deal.

I believe for BTN2go content you need to list a cable provider or a BTN plus subscription depending on content. I am not sure if that allows you to stream over a DSL connection.

 

[Randolfo]

It's tough enough to win the big ten with the likes of OSU, Mich, Mich State, Neb, Penn State...all are true football bluebloods. The last thing we need is expansion bringing in a Texas or Notre Dame to put us at that much greater of a disadvantage.

 

[hawkeyemark]

It's tough enough to win the big ten with the likes of OSU, Mich, Mich State, Neb, Penn State...all are true football bluebloods. The last thing we need is expansion bringing in a Texas or Notre Dame to put us at that much greater of a disadvantage.

We just have to life with the fact that we have a small population base which puts us at a recruiting as well as an exposure disadvantage since the networks have no interest in us unless our programs have a national profile and we win. The direction of the conference in building revenues at the highest levels at least allows us to recruit nationally in areas where we choose to focus and from there with our facilities and emphasis on development we can compete on our own terms. We simply have to use the resources available and then do things our way.

 

[hawkjunkie]

ESPN pushed Jim Delany against the proverbial wall in 2004. Jim didn't blink. Now, with reports of the Big Ten inking a deal for just half of their Tier One TV rights for $250 million per year, Delany is dictating to ESPN...and might help build the perfect beast to take them on. I cover a lot of ground here in nearly 3,000 words, including my thoughts on more Big Ten expansion, as the table is set.

http://hawkeyenation.com/2016/b1g-money-big-ten

Would you agree that when a team joins an expanding conference, it makes that team less conspicuous? I do. It makes every team fade, and get lost in the numbers. Especially when they lose. Any national attention disappears. And you are left with the locals, alumni & diehards cheering.

We are a nation of short-term memory. The country was once somewhat enthralled by Nebraska. But they have now faded into the woodwork of the B1G. Great. Now the B1G has 1.8 million eyeballs. Yay. Good move in the short-term, has us with a bad move for the long-term. At least they buy tickets, but thats not very helpful to the B1G.

Now, can you tell me that adding a 3rd team from a state with a population of only 6 million would be beneficial to the B1G - in the long-term?? Short-term, sure. But go 3-9, 7-5 and 6-6, and America forgets(unless you have "forced" eyeballs by ESPN, which would disappear joining the B1G). Long-term it would be a bad move...

I am against expansion. Teams get lost in ambiguity. One can become almost anonymous. But if it is going to happen, add the schools with population. Schools with eyeballs.

Texas has a lot of eyeballs. That would solidify the B1G move to the south. They would boost the B1G West for certain. The current alignment is setup perfectly for them. If Texas is worried about lost tradition, we could add their main rival in Oklahoma(if we had to). Plus they would meet up with Nebraska again.

Anyhow, expansion needs to be about eyeballs, if it has to happen... Eyeballs that will still be there in 20 years. And not gone in 3 years.

 

[JonDMiller]

Ratings matter, and the actual people that pay to watch the games. Forcing people to pay higher cable bills is only going to backfire and has thus far. Teams like Colorado, Nebraska, Maryland made financial moves but they sacrificed success because of it. The cable bubble has burst and the money only goes down from here.
http://www.businessinsider.com/espn-cord-cutting-losses-2015-12

Umm...if the bubble burst, and ratings matter.....why Fox payin the B1G $250M per year?

 

[JonDMiller]

Would you agree that when a team joins an expanding conference, it makes that team less conspicuous? I do. It makes every team fade, and get lost in the numbers. Especially when they lose. Any national attention disappears. And you are left with the locals, alumni & diehards cheering.

Iowa probably got more brand attention this past college football season than any other in its history...in a 14 team league and having won just four games three seasons prior.

 

[AreWeThereYet]

Aside from adding viewers, I never quite got how 8 team divisions were better than 7. It's a nice round number, but to me it just means one more team spends more time in the basement. You can't have all winners and the weakest are kept down by the combined weight of those above them.

 

[hawkjunkie]

Iowa probably got more brand attention this past college football season than any other in its history...in a 14 team league and having won just four games three seasons prior.

Exactly. One season and the whole country is looking at you.... Adding Notre Dame, although a huge gain in the first couple of years, would be a gargantuan mistake. One losing season and, POOF they are nobodies. Just like adding that team to the west. No net gain, except ticket sales for the visiting team... We should have added Missouri. A single D1 school in a state of over 6 million and a lot of alumni. That's eyeballs...

Without ESPN to support ND, they would be any other school with a history. Three teams in a state of only 6 million would net the B1G nothing in less than 5 years. It is really quite simple

 

[JonDMiller]

Exactly. One season and the whole country is looking at you.... Adding Notre Dame, although a huge gain in the first couple of years, would be a gargantuan mistake. One losing season and, POOF they are nobodies. Just like adding that team to the west. No net gain, except ticket sales for the visiting team... We should have added Missouri. A single D1 school in a state of over 6 million and a lot of alumni. That's eyeballs...

Without ESPN to support ND, they would be any other school with a history. Three teams in a state of only 6 million would net the B1G nothing in less than 5 years. It is really quite simple

Notre Dame has a religious denomination behind them. Say what you will about that, but there is an affinity...and it bears out in the TV ratings ND still produces. Still, I'd prefer Texas and GT....gets you into the southern states, and you add three Top 10 TV markets in Houston, Dallas and Atlanta.

 

[DJL]

Mike Trico going to NBC. That makes me think that NBC is making a run at the BIG contract.....and maybe ND is in play?