Big Ten and other Conference Expansion

[ScriptOhio]

According to a report by Sports Business Journal’s Michael Smith, the seven-year deal is worth $8.05 billion.

“The Big Ten Conference media rights agreements are more than just dollars and deals. They are a mechanism to provide stability and maximum exposure for our student-athletes, member institutions and partners during these uncertain times in collegiate athletics,” Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said in a statement. “We are very grateful to our world-class media partners for recognizing the strength of the Big Ten Conference brand and providing the incredible resources we need for our student-athletes to compete at the very highest levels, and to achieve their academic and athletics goals.”

Just sayin': First and foremost, it all about the money.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

So, the question becomes does the SEC push ESPN to match the Big Ten package, and does ESPN bet the ranch by paying it?

ESPN is proper fucked because the SEC is not made up of national schools with national alumni bases like the B1G. They're not turning tv sets on in SF or Seattle or Denver. So does ESPN put all their eggs into the Southeast basket or do they overpay for some PAC games to get more national coverage leaving less money to up the SEC payout.

OTOH, they can look forward to the day in the near future when they get to take the Longhorn Network out into the woods and make it dig its own grave. So they got that goin' for them.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

Wouldn’t it be:
$8.05B over seven years is 1.15B per year. Roughly $72m per school with 16 schools. Plus $20M from BTN put it at $92M per year.

I’m also curious what the $20M from BTN comes from.

also fun is I don’t think the sec owns any of their network, so they don’t get shit from it.

Add in the bowl, playoff and NCAA tournament split, and that should get each school over the $100M mark.

 

[3yardsandacloud]

So, the question becomes does the SEC push ESPN to match the Big Ten package, and does ESPN bet the ranch by paying it?

ESPN already has a contract. Sec can go pound sand.

Nearly 40M a year more for B1G schools than SEC schools and the B1G gets to renegotiate these deals a year before the SEC agreements are up? Yes please.

I think some other considerations are at play here. While we all look at this latest deal at face value (our teams now make more than SEC teams), it seems to me some 3-D chess is being played here and Warren probably will deserve some credit after the "time will tell" portion of the next 5-10 years. While I'm not a a fan of being in bed with NBC and their relationship with Notre Dame, nor happy with how ESPN has treated college football as their private amusement park, consider this:

Why would ESPN now feel any pressure to match the B10 package with the SEC? Now, who does the SEC use as leverage in negotiation? "Well give us our billion dollars or we will take our games to CBS... I mean NBC... rather Fox..." Of course ESPN will pay a fair price because they need the content, but there won't be a media entity desperate enough to force ESPN's hand on the money negotiations. The only other option would be some type of streaming option which (at least currently) seems far removed from being viable as a revenue stream, nor a service the SEC would like to force on their fans.

As for NBC and Notre Dame? Certainly more of a "time will tell" scenario, but it seems this deal will continue to isolate ND. Forcing them into a corner on the decision to join up or face the real possibility of being marginalized in the eyes of media partners. Will be interesting to see how B10 games broadcast on NBC will compare to their ratings vs ND games. At some point I think NBC will realize that paying a premium for ND isn't beneficial to their bottom line. Content is king and NBC just accessed an exponential increase in it's ability to deliver. Think they'll want to go back to a limited content on the hopes that ND will have a great season here and there? Think NBC will continue to make concessions for ND when they have 16-20 other athletic partners to consider? Heck, NBC will now have the opportunity to broadcast some marquee ND matchups simply because of their B10 relationship ... without an exclusive agreement with Notre Dame. At some point, the synergy of the Big10 becomes too lucrative and beneficial for partners to ignore. The reach of academic, research, corporate and political tentacles is massive and almost impossible to leave because of the benefits enjoyed thru association. I could certainly see a scenario where NBC is applying pressure on ND to accept B10 membership ... for the benefit of both.

It's hard to tell exactly how this all shakes out, but the trajectory is 2 power conferences. I see no way they give Championship game access to an independent ND. Pressure is now on and they had better be damn good from day one until the foreseeable future, or they will be forced to join a conference.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

I think some other considerations are at play here. While we all look at this latest deal at face value (our teams now make more than SEC teams), it seems to me some 3-D chess is being played here and Warren probably will deserve some credit after the "time will tell" portion of the next 5-10 years. While I'm not a a fan of being in bed with NBC and their relationship with Notre Dame, nor happy with how ESPN has treated college football as their private amusement park, consider this:

Why would ESPN now feel any pressure to match the B10 package with the SEC? Now, who does the SEC use as leverage in negotiation? "Well give us our billion dollars or we will take our games to CBS... I mean NBC... rather Fox..." Of course ESPN will pay a fair price because they need the content, but there won't be a media entity desperate enough to force ESPN's hand on the money negotiations. The only other option would be some type of streaming option which (at least currently) seems far removed from being viable as a revenue stream, nor a service the SEC would like to force on their fans.

As for NBC and Notre Dame? Certainly more of a "time will tell" scenario, but it seems this deal will continue to isolate ND. Forcing them into a corner on the decision to join up or face the real possibility of being marginalized in the eyes of media partners. Will be interesting to see how B10 games broadcast on NBC will compare to their ratings vs ND games. At some point I think NBC will realize that paying a premium for ND isn't beneficial to their bottom line. Content is king and NBC just accessed an exponential increase in it's ability to deliver. Think they'll want to go back to a limited content on the hopes that ND will have a great season here and there? Think NBC will continue to make concessions for ND when they have 16-20 other athletic partners to consider? Heck, NBC will now have the opportunity to broadcast some marquee ND matchups simply because of their B10 relationship ... without an exclusive agreement with Notre Dame. At some point, the synergy of the Big10 becomes too lucrative and beneficial for partners to ignore. The reach of academic, research, corporate and political tentacles is massive and almost impossible to leave because of the benefits enjoyed thru association. I could certainly see a scenario where NBC is applying pressure on ND to accept B10 membership ... for the benefit of both.

It's hard to tell exactly how this all shakes out, but the trajectory is 2 power conferences. I see no way they give Championship game access to an independent ND. Pressure is now on and they had better be damn good from day one until the foreseeable future, or they will be forced to join a conference.

I was very wary of NBC in the beginning, particularly since what was being bandied about were B12 "shoulder games" meant primarily to boost Notre Dame's value. What actually hit the table isn't anything close to that. A guaranteed prime time Saturday night game cockblocking the domers from hosting night games while paying the B1G roughly 3x per game over what ND is getting from the network. With Dick Ebersol out of the picture, I think the MBA's running NBC clearly recognized who their more valuable partner is and will be moving forward. My only question is what kind of schemes and manipulations are the priests in South Bend cooking up to try and poison the waters.

If the domers come back to the room, I think it's clear that they can leave their "conditions" behind, and if they don't understand that NBC will help them understand it. Hell, if accurate, that list seems more of a poison pill meant to guarantee a rejection (they couldn't have been THAT arrogant, could they?) just so they could go back and tell the faculty, "hey, we tried."

 

[FCollinsBuckeye]

If you're the SEC, how do you put all your eggs in a basket with this trendline?

View attachment 32867

"ESPN Will Rise Again!"

--SEC, probably

 

[cincibuck]

Once Texas joins the SEC will have four schools with alums who move about nationally because of the strength of their academics - Vandy, Florida, and Georgia.

 

[3yardsandacloud]

I was very wary of NBC in the beginning ...

Agreed, but I think adding NBC (and CBS) is really a move to limit the SEC's ability to negotiate a lucrative deal going forward. Now the SEC and ESPN are somewhat stuck with each other. The networks don't NEED the SEC and ESPN won't have to pony up to keep the SEC.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

Rumor is this is who the priests sent to Rosemont to deliver their "conditions."

 

[Dryden]

Kevin Warren will appear on HBO's Real Sports next Tuesday, and leaks from the interview appear to indicate he expects the Big Ten to expand to 20 and that Big Ten schools will be paying the players in the future.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Big Ten media rights: Conference's TV deal is richest in college sports history

How much is Big Ten TV deal worth?
According to the Action Network, the media rights deal is worth between $7 billion and $8 billion over the course of its seven-year deal: over $1 billion in payouts on an annual basis. The deal also includes an escalation clause that could see the deal rise in value to $10 billion total, based on changing markets and inflation.

The Athletic reports that CBS and NBC, new partners with the Big Ten, are paying $350 million annually for their media rights package.

That said, the deal is backloaded, as CBS' current deal with the SEC runs through the 2023 college football season. Because of that, the network will have a limited number of games it can broadcast before ramping up coverage in 2024.

Per the Action Network, Big Ten schools will receive the same distribution in 2023-24 as it will this year, roughly $60 million per school. The payout will increase slightly in the second year of the deal before it jumps to roughly $100 million per school, annually, starting in 2025. That's based purely on the media deal and does not include revenue from making the College Football Playoff, bowl games or NCAA Tournament.

How does Big Ten compare to Power 5 contracts?
Here's how the Big Ten's deal compares to those in the other traditional Power 5 conferences (via On3 Sports).

Power 5 Media Rights Deals
Conference Annual payout Expiration
Big Ten....... $1 billion........ 2030
SEC........ $300 million....... 2034
Pac-12.... $250 million....... 2024
ACC........ $240 million....... 2036
Big 12..... $200 million....... 2025

Entire article: https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-football/news/big-ten-tv-deal-media-rights/daevm7ykdkokiqnbvi82zdik#:~:text=On top of continuing to,40-year relationship with ESPN.

 

[cincibuck]

Kevin Warren will appear on HBO's Real Sports next Tuesday, and leaks from the interview appear to indicate he expects the Big Ten to expand to 20 and that Big Ten schools will be paying the players in the future.

Interesting.

Kevin Warren will appear on HBO's Real Sports next Tuesday, and leaks from the interview appear to indicate he expects the Big Ten to expand to 20 and that Big Ten schools will be paying the players in the future.

Hmmmmm, if the conference is doing the paying, would this lead to something like a draft of high school freshmen? Thought being that the Indianas and Northwesterns of this world are going to want some kind of an even playing field. So, yeah, you get to go to school for free and get paid, but you have to go to the school that drafts you or sit out a year.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

Interesting.

Hmmmmm, if the conference is doing the paying, would this lead to something like a draft of high school freshmen? Thought being that the Indianas and Northwesterns of this world are going to want some kind of an even playing field. So, yeah, you get to go to school for free and get paid, but you have to go to the school that drafts you or sit out a year.

Nah. Unworkable at the college level. Plus, some 5* is not going to be forced to go to Indiana when he can just head to the SEC instead. I think players will get some kind of standard B10 salary that's the same at every school. Then, they can add NIL on top of that based on their individual value. I think one of the first things that will get legislated away in the process though is the booster collectives. Everyone from Gene Smith to Nick Saban is looking for a way to kill those things in the crib.

 

[TampaBuckeyes]

Kevin Warren will appear on HBO's Real Sports next Tuesday, and leaks from the interview appear to indicate he expects the Big Ten to expand to 20 and that Big Ten schools will be paying the players in the future.

He didn’t say he expects it to go to 20 teams, he said that he could see the possibility. The interviewer was trying to put words in his mouth. Same for paying the players. He’s not going to say no, but he sure as hell didn’t say yes or even likely.
The interviewer asked questions that could only be answered in on way to get headlines, not to get honest answers.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

Once Texas joins the SEC will have four schools with alums who move about nationally because of the strength of their academics - Vandy, Florida, and Georgia.

Florida and UGA have certainly become B1G quality schools over the last couple of decades, but I question whether they really have large national alumni bases. In the three large cities that I've lived in as an adult (Chicago, DC and SF), I've never noticed a presence. I'm guessing that their alumni still predominately settle in the South. Vandy definitely does, but it's small and doesn't give a shit about football. That leaves Texas as one school that could be compared to B1G schools in this regard.