E$PN buys Texas

[RaceBoarder]

Re: E$PN buys Texas

Lots of the secondary sports - the cameras are already there for webcasting purposes. Probably buy the rights to lots of old games, too.

What I don't get is how the rest of the conference is ok with this. Texas gets a $15 million/year advantage over the rest of the conference. And not even Oklahoma (one of the parties to the suit which ended the NCAA's control over TV rights) is complaining. But yeah, they're sure not being Texas's b****es or anything

This makes me wonder if other schools have been promised something by ESPN... They are using UT as the test subject and have promised other schools if this is a success, they are next in line...

 

[unofan]

Re: E$PN buys Texas

This makes me wonder if other schools have been promised something by ESPN... They are using UT as the test subject and have promised other schools if this is a success, they are next in line...

Which is fine for about 20 schools nationwide, maybe 30. The Baylor's, Iowa State's, even Kansas's of the world...don't really see it.

 

[MaizeRage]

Re: E$PN buys Texas

This makes me wonder if other schools have been promised something by ESPN... They are using UT as the test subject and have promised other schools if this is a success, they are next in line...

I doubt it. The success of the Big Ten Network was entirely because they won their year-long ****ing contest with Comcast to get the network on their main cable tier and not relegated to the special sports package. Maybe I'm overly frugal, but I'm willing to bet I watch way more BTN than the average person, and I wouldn't have the channel if I had to pay extra for it.

Maybe in the future when cable undergoes its massive reconfiguration and we move to a completely a la carte system, something like that could work, but for right now, I can't really think of any school with enough clout to get their channel included in a basic cable package to a wide enough audience to make it justifiable.

 

[The Darkness]

Re: E$PN buys Texas

Maybe they'll show reruns of Friday Nights Lights with all the extra time they'll have that needs programming. I would pay for that.

Even better maybe they'll buy the rights to the show and this won't be the last season. I would move to Texas to see that.

 

[5mn_Major]

Re: E$PN buys Texas

Which is fine for about 20 schools nationwide, maybe 30. The Baylor's, Iowa State's, even Kansas's of the world...don't really see it.

Single state sports networks will be seriously challenged. If you look at the sports offerred by most schools, there are two sports (mens football and basketball) that have any live draw whatsoever.

So the question is which package will draw more fans...in-conference schools' basketball and football games (ie Illinois) or your own schools gymnastics? IMO better sports with other teams in your conference will get faar more viewers than your own school in some off sport. Which says that except for a rare exception like UT, a solid conference sports network will outperform comparable state sports networks any day.

So from revenue standpoint, the Big10 network should do just fine...legends, leaders and all.

 

[joecct]

Re: E$PN buys Texas

And the rich get richer. Wonder what this does for the non FBS programs? Wait until this kind of cash starts hitting the FBS hockey schools. Then the puck is going to jam the zamboni in the worst way.

 

[SteveF]

Re: E$PN buys Texas

Frankly beyond a couple of football and basketball games...what's going to be on that network?

TEXAS HOLD'EM!

Am I the only one that thought of this?

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if you had read the short thread, you would have seen that yes you were clearly the only one to think of it

 

[Proud2baLaker]

Re: E$PN buys Texas

if you had read the short thread, you would have seen that yes you were clearly the only one to think of it

I had been following but didnt see that post.

 

[Patman]

Re: E$PN buys Texas

Which is fine for about 20 schools nationwide, maybe 30. The Baylor's, Iowa State's, even Kansas's of the world...don't really see it.

I have to wonder if having the individual schools bidding is better than the leagues from ESPN's perspective... every individual on their own would seek to undercut other schools to the trough.... so in the long run if they can get schools to peel away from their conferences for rights then the better for ESPN.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: E$PN buys Texas

I was just going to post that. Took me a while to find the **** picture only to find it already here.