Which makes a ton of sense in the long term, so long as that money is reinvested in the product. I don't think Rutgers nor Maryland was "home run" add in a pure football sense.. not even close... but... in a long term market sort of strategy, it's evil genius. Or... has the potential to be so.I think you misunderstood what I was saying. The schools of Northwestern and Illinois themselves don't lock down Chicago. Its the fact that these schools - much like Rutgers and Maryland - are pumping out alumni that work in these large markets (Chicago, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, etc) and its suburbs. With that comes the demand to carry the Big Ten Network. Its all about the B1G branding and the Big Ten Network right now is a money sucker. Its deal with Fox Sports and the addition of 2 more schools have completely taken about 75% of the major available markets.
Think about it, the leftover large markets are spread out amongst the rest of the big conferences:
LA - Pac 12
Atlanta - SEC
Miami - ACC
Dallas - Big 12
Boston - ACC
The Big Ten is the most profitable conference because of a strategic expansion. Even though the SEC is teamed with ESPN, the B1G still comes in at $45 million more dollars in the TV Market this year.
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