Finebaum apparently went on a rant last week on this topic:
https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/se...te-get-big-12/
Berry Tramel responded. Keep in mind, Tramel was one of the people in 2010 who said Nebraska would never leave, Colorado would never leave, etc...:
http://newsok.com/article/5548249
Okay. I admit it. I'm confused.
I thought the TV Networks were forecasted to become less and less important to college football over the next few years, because TV viewers everywhere are now cutting the cord? That's why ESPN is in a downward tailspin, right? ESPN is losing potential viewers (or subscribers) at a ridiculous rate of about 300K subscribers per month. And this means they no longer have the revenue to throw big money contracts at professional and college sports.
Wasn't this exactly why CUSA received virtually zero dollars for their last negotiated TV contract? We've been told repeatedly that "the game is changing", that people now want to stream football games instead of watching them on ESPN or some other regular TV broadcast network (e.g., Foxsports, etc....)
With all this in mind, why does Finebaum think the lack of a conference TV network is hurting the Big XII? And before you answer, please understand that I get the fact that the conference networks have been paying big bucks to conference members up until now. But, isn't the conference TV money GOING AWAY --or at least expected to dwindle-- just like it is for ESPN? Are conference TV networks expected to be imune to these "cutting the cord" problems while regular TV networks are expected to suffer?
ESPN is being hit by chord cutters, but I've seen and heard reporting lately that describes it as a "margin pressure" problem at ESPN. They are still unbelievably profitable. They will continue to pursue the NBA and NFL. And even knowing what they're facing in the coming decade they were part of the Big 10's new deal signed in 2016. Fox is also a major player in that deal and chord cutters have impacted their networks, as well.
http://www.indystar.com/story/sports...ames/86133418/
Regarding the CUSA deal. It went from 700k to 200k per year. It appears the reason for the steep decline was as much bad advice from the consultant involved which led to the presidents moving away from a proposed deal from Fox early in the last round of negotiations as anything else.
Regarding Conference TV money. Separate the Tier 1 and 2 money (traditional network revenue) from the Tier 3 money (conference network revenue). As evidenced by the traditional network deals the Big 10 and SEC have received there is no indication that money is going to dry up. Even in the face of all of the chord cutter talk, ESPN and Fox stepped to the plate for the Big 10. Are they willing to live with smaller margins in the future? The answer seems to be yes.
The conference network revenue is a little bit different story. The SEC and Big 10 Networks have been hit by chord cutting just like ESPN. But they're still highly profitable and are bringing in more revenue each year. The Pac 12 network has never really gotten off the ground. The ACC Network launches in the next few years, and how ESPN rolls its out has been the subject of a lot of speculation. But it's still expected to be highly profitable for that league.
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2...ill_the_k.html
The problem for the Big 12 when it comes to Tier 3 money is the fact schools like Texas and Oklahoma can generate big tier 3 money. For Texas it's through guaranteed money from ESPN for the Longhorn Network. For Oklahoma it's through a regional deal with Fox. Most of the rest of the league doesn't have that ability. A Big 12 network would provide, even in a chord cutting world, much more tier 3 revenue to most of the league. Its creation, along with conference expansion and the extension of the Grant of Rights, would stabilize the league for the long term. That's basically Finebaum's point.
Most of the talk yesterday throughout the day on SiriusXM's college sports channel was about the potential demise of the Big 12. Very interesting stuff. David Boren has been working for years to keep the league together, and now it appears that privately even he's thrown in the towel.
University of Houston '01. Any references to "we" or "us" likely refer to UH. Cheers!