skyhoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 2,105
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Post by skyhoya on May 7, 2012 19:56:21 GMT -5
The sky has been fallin for the BE since the ACC did it's first raid and took some valuable asset and TV markets. Now we get the Memphis market and praurie dogs.
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Post by BubbleVisionBiff on May 7, 2012 20:04:51 GMT -5
I'd like to know the rationale behind voting down a $1.4 billion deal from ESPN. Ask Mark Nordenberg. Wasn't he the head of the Exec Committee that recommended it to his peers? And then took his ball and went south? |
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DanMcQ
Moderator 
Posts: 11,470
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Post by DanMcQ on May 7, 2012 20:06:40 GMT -5
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strummer85
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
"Does your father know you're working here?"
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Post by strummer85 on May 7, 2012 20:13:53 GMT -5
I hate to be the one to suggest this, but I think we all know the University well enough to know that this is a possibility. What are the odds these articles are right, and we just took (or maybe even led) a catastrophically bad strategic position re: the ESPN contract?
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DanMcQ
Moderator
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Post by DanMcQ on May 7, 2012 20:18:32 GMT -5
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Post by HoyaSinceBirth on May 8, 2012 8:29:11 GMT -5
How do posters here constantly forget this series of events.
Yes we were one of the main proponents of turning down the ESPN contract. Yes in hind sight it looks like a bad move.
At the time though it was arguably a great move. At the time expansion had stopped. All the other conferences had finished negotiating their deals. The BE was going to be the only available conference and there were going to be several interested buyers who would drive up the price if we passed on the exclusive negotiations with ESPN. Also the $1.4 billion dollar offer was not a great offer. It was less than what the BE deserved. At the time this move was praised especially by the football schools. In fact they were crowing that it was the football schools that rejected the offer and that the basketball schools had wanted to accept the offer and were once again holding them back. The move was progressive and forward thinking. Yes it was a bit of a gamble. But seeing as pitt was one of the schools encouraging the move the risk of a BE team leaving probably seemed pretty low.
The answer we'll never know is would Pitt and Cuse have left even if we accepted the ESPN offer. It seems like they were pretty determined to leave. It would have left us squarely in 6th among the power conferences for as long as that contract ran. So the BE would still be having the same problems it's been having that the schools earn less than their competitors. Now most of that is on the crappy football schools. Moving to the ACC is not going to magically make them more productive on the field. Rejecting the deal clearly was not the cause of this since Pitt is one of the schools that urged the BE to reject the offer.
It's really frustrating because if everyone had stayed on board the BE was poised to receive a contract better than the ACC's since they had rejected the original ESPN offer and were taking their product on the open market. So one would think that would have satisfied the football schools.
Now the question is how much will we get once negotiations happen. How will it compare to the $1.4 Billion. If we get a deal as good or better than that one how will people react? Will it still have been a mistake to reject the ESPN offer?
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Post by BubbleVisionBiff on May 8, 2012 8:42:42 GMT -5
How do posters here constantly forget this series of events. Now the question is how much will we get once negotiations happen. How will it compare to the $1.4 Billion. If we get a deal as good or better than that one how will people react? Will it still have been a mistake to reject the ESPN offer? I'd rather be selling eyeballs in Dallas, Houston and Orlando than Morgantown, Pittsburgh, and lower Canada. |
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Post by FrazierFanatic on May 8, 2012 10:16:06 GMT -5
The sky has been fallin for the BE since the ACC did it's first raid and took some valuable asset and TV markets. Now we get the Memphis market and praurie dogs. In terms of TV markets we are much stronger now than we were 8 months ago. We lost valuable basketball assets and 2 very mediocre football programs, and W Va which is a decent program. We will get a bigger TV contract than $1.4 billion. IF - and it's a big if - we can hold the conference together for a few years, things will look better. |
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concord
Member
The foe long since in silence slept; Alike the conqueror silent sleeps.
Posts: 71
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Post by concord on May 8, 2012 12:06:23 GMT -5
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Post by HoyaSinceBirth on May 8, 2012 12:10:27 GMT -5
Neal Pilson, a media consultant and former president of CBS Sports, predicted that the Big East could surpass the deal it turned down last year, which was considered similar in value to the A.C.C.’s $155 million annual deal.
“I think if they stay together and negotiate as a single unit, I think they can come away with a reasonably favorable result,” Pilson said. “Even more than what ESPN offered a year and a half ago. I think the competition will drive it.”
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Post by HometownHoya on May 8, 2012 12:26:02 GMT -5
I have a question: is there any legal repercussion to what is going on? I realize that most people think that the rife with ESPN is a conspiracy but if evidence comes out later of tampering, could ESPN get in trouble? False reporting? Misleading? Collusion? Slander? etc.
I tend to stay away from conspiracy theories but ESPN has been fishy the last few years. Especially when it comes to the Big East attempting to shop the free market for their next deal.
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Post by vamosalaplaya on May 8, 2012 15:24:17 GMT -5
With Comcast/NBC and Fox both getting into the all sports game, ESPN, and wildcards like Turner- the Big East should be in an amazing spot to get a good TV deal as anchor programming - if the conference stays together.
Hopefully they will get a charismatic commissioner. It does feel like a change of leadership was needed. The conference has alot to work with if it can hold its membership in place.
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jgalt
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,245
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Post by jgalt on May 8, 2012 17:06:41 GMT -5
With Comcast/NBC and Fox both getting into the all sports game, ESPN, and wildcards like Turner- the Big East should be in an amazing spot to get a good TV deal as anchor programming - if the conference stays together. I think this was the feeling when they turned down the original ESPN offer. Comcast/NBC has since signed an agreement with the CAA, but the CAA aint what it used to be. So we will see. I for one think that hitching up with NBC would be ultimately more beneficial than being the 10th or 11th priority on ESPN. Comcast/NBC will pay AND give the BE attention. There just isnt that mystique of being on ESPN. We'll know how committed NBC is to other sports (Besides NHL and MLS which they already have) when some of the ESPN talent comes up for contract renewal. If NBC can pick up some big time talent, they could be a player in 24/7 sports. |
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kghoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,161
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Post by kghoya on May 8, 2012 17:17:09 GMT -5
Well the CAA hasnt changed yet. Yes Georgia State left but they added nothing. NBC just piced up the Ivy League FWIW.
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Post by HoyaSinceBirth on May 8, 2012 17:54:53 GMT -5
Conference just has to make it to September.
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rosslynhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by rosslynhoya on May 8, 2012 18:44:17 GMT -5
I for one think that hitching up with NBC would be ultimately more beneficial than being the 10th or 11th priority on ESPN. Comcast/NBC will pay AND give the BE attention. There just isnt that mystique of being on ESPN. We'll know how committed NBC is to other sports (Besides NHL and MLS which they already have) when some of the ESPN talent comes up for contract renewal. If NBC can pick up some big time talent, they could be a player in 24/7 sports. I agree 100% here. I was amazed this last spring at how many absolutely garbage SEC games were carried live over the air on our local CW affiliate, let alone on CBS itself. Did those extra eyeballs watching help CBS financially, or is it enough to just have the extra heft that guarantees CBS as your home for SEC sports? The Big East television contract gives NBC a real opportunity to break into serious college basketball and go head-to-head with ESPN. The market forces are not moving in Bristol's favor. |
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jgalt
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Post by jgalt on May 8, 2012 21:08:23 GMT -5
Well the CAA hasnt changed yet. Yes Georgia State left but they added nothing. NBC just piced up the Ivy League FWIW. Thats right. I forgot the VCU and ODU didnt leave after all. Think that will happen though eventually. VCU definitely should move up and take advantage of recent success. |
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FLHoya
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Proud Member of Generation Burton
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Post by FLHoya on May 8, 2012 22:04:57 GMT -5
I for one think that hitching up with NBC would be ultimately more beneficial than being the 10th or 11th priority on ESPN. Comcast/NBC will pay AND give the BE attention. There just isnt that mystique of being on ESPN. We'll know how committed NBC is to other sports (Besides NHL and MLS which they already have) when some of the ESPN talent comes up for contract renewal. If NBC can pick up some big time talent, they could be a player in 24/7 sports. Here's a thought question(s) I'm curious about: Let's say if/when the Big East TV contract comes up, both ESPN and NBC put in bids. What's the threshold where you take NBC over ESPN? How much does NBC have to outbid ESPN by to justify jumping to the Peacock? What if both offer the same thing? Or have people convinced themselves that ESPN won't be interested/will low-ball an offer? I guess it's a roundabout way of saying: how confident are you in Comcast/NBC becoming a major player? Guess the contract money is the important thing, and a stabilizer for the conference...but going forward, is being Priority #1 on NBC Sports better than Priority #4-5 on the ESPN Family? Unclear to me. Visibility matters, and IMO NBC Sports still needs a major leap to get in the same league. |
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kghoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,161
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Post by kghoya on May 8, 2012 22:08:58 GMT -5
I don't know about you guys, but for me, the sports that happen on the former Outdoor Life Network don't really exist in my world.
Maybe that changes over time.
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Post by HoyaSinceBirth on May 8, 2012 22:49:09 GMT -5
I don't know about you guys, but for me, the sports that happen on the former Outdoor Life Network don't really exist in my world. Maybe that changes over time. Well that's just based on your interests and their current products. If you were a Hockey fan you'd watch the channel plenty. If they have a product people care about people will watch. If NFL games were shown on NBC sports people would watch, same is true of BE Basketball. As to FL's question. JT3 clearly is very concerned about visibility in the contract(based on his statements at open practice) and I'm sure the league is taking similar concerns by all the organizations into consideration. Hopefully NBC has plans to roll out this product in the correct fashion if they get their hands on it. I think between their local Comcast Channels, NBC sports, NBC, CNBC, and MSNBC they'd be able to televise just as many BE games as ESPN does. Whether they will is unclear. Hopefully the BE convinces NBC to create something similar to ESPN3 or is able to establish an online BE network to televise games online if NBC doesn't air them on TV. |
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