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AAC Media Rights Deal

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16 minutes ago, Bruininthebay said:

ESPN likely is most interested in Window 4 content on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU.  ESPNU is likely to feature the AAC prominently during Windows 1,2 and 3 but the Mountain West is essential for the MW to provide Window 4 content in ESPN2 and ESPNU.   The MW is simply going to be necessary for ESPN to provide continuous programming throughout each Saturday of the college football season.

The Pac 12 will have a couple good window 4 games too but the price of those games is much larger than ~$7 million per school.  Fox also shares the Pac 12 with ABC/ESPN so when it is the case that the only good Pac 12 game is on Fox, ESPN can feature a competitive Mountain West game.  If a typical MW game earns ~70% of the rating of a Pac 12 game, it's not unreasonable to expect at least $7 million per school per year for MW media rights.

It is still possible that BYU settles during the rest of March or the month of April but no one expects the Mountain West to sign a new deal with CBS rather than ESPN and CBS has an exclusive negotiating period in April with the Mountain West.  The indications are that the conference really wants to move to a different primary media partner so May or June seems like the reasonable time frame to expect a Mountain West deal with ESPN to be announced. 

It would likely increase the MW's market price if BYU reached a new contract for a significant increase like the AAC already has.

NBC Sports might have a lot of interest in the WCC and BYU because NBC already has one FBS independent in its portfolio so a second would allow up to twelve weeks of programming rather than six.  Most of the WCC schools are located where a NBC Sports RSN is located so games which aren't on the national NBC Sports networks could still be shown in local markets via an RSN feed.

Fox Sports probably has interest in BYU because many BYU fans are Fox viewers already and they don't want their viewers watching a competing network.  Fox Sports has a big contract with the Big East and the WCC is the closest equivalent to that conference so they could be in the market for WCC basketball rights in addition to BYU football rights.

Fox is full.   They dont really have room.  CBS-Sports was the high bidder last time....but they are kinda cheap.  Honestly--an ESPN heavy deal might be the best for the MW.  The MW would like to limit late starts.  So, sell a 20 game package of late start games where it is stipulated that  no team can have more than 2 late home starts.  Make CBS-Sports and ESPN bid each other for it.   ESPN will probably win.  Split off another set of games that CBS can buy for less with no late starts.  Sell the rest to ESPN for use in windows 1-3 or on ESPN+.   That gives the MW pretty decent exposure---provides a solid paycheck---while guaranteeing most games will stay out of that late start window.  

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I speculated about Fox with respect to purchasing BYU and WCC rights, not Mountain West rights. I don't think Fox wants MW rights for FS1 or 2.  BYU would like to have a game or two broadcast over the air annually and Fox has more room than ABC does.

Right now BYU is the major possibility.  After the CBS exclusive window passes in April without a new agreement, then the MW's media rights situation will be on the open market.  Ideally BYU gets a big check from Fox now that they have all that Disney money to spend.

I am of the opinion that ESPN has many reasons to pursue the MW and the positive resolution of the AAC's contract situation indicates that the MW will also reach an agreement with ESPN.

Right now the only people I have a disagreement with are AAC partisans who believe that the MW and BYU won't also see comparable increases in their upcoming media rights negotiations.

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13 hours ago, boisewitha-s said:

Lol at the morons that think espn+ is a bad deal and act like they get all their other programming for free. 

It's not that we want all the programming for free. People are cutting the cord due to the increasing fees and bundling practices of Cable and Satellite companies. Now in order to get the desired content, one must subscribe to multiple streaming services. Before long, the costs of Internet access and streaming services are going to force people to either return to Cable/Satellite or give up on broadcast entertainment entirely. The direction that these companies are taking streaming services are not sustainable long term. Maybe not until full a la carte capability is available will the market stabilize.

The other problem I have with ESPN+ is exposure. This may be fine for teams that do not have nor care to strive for a national audience. Most people will watch a game that they come across while scrolling through channels. Flip back and forth between commercials. Neither of those are convenient on streaming platforms. The only people I know that watched games on ESPN3 were there to watch a specific game. They didn't flip back and forth; investigate whatever else may intrigue them. OTA and Cable/Satellite has a distinct advantage there. When I had satellite I would watch portions of 5-10+ games on any given Saturday. Now I watch 1, maybe 2.

Unless the platforms improve to a point where scrolling and switching through games becomes as seamless as Cable/Satellite, small programs will have a much harder time growing their brand and viewership. How long will Disney be willing to pay teams like Tulane and Tulsa $7MM/yr to bring 5,000-10,000 viewers/subscribers to the table? What value would Wyoming or San Jose offer?

Maybe I'm missing the big picture, but this just sounds like a bad deal to me.

 

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2 hours ago, Bruininthebay said:

I speculated about Fox with respect to purchasing BYU and WCC rights, not Mountain West rights. I don't think Fox wants MW rights for FS1 or 2.  BYU would like to have a game or two broadcast over the air annually and Fox has more room than ABC does.

Right now BYU is the major possibility.  After the CBS exclusive window passes in April without a new agreement, then the MW's media rights situation will be on the open market.  Ideally BYU gets a big check from Fox now that they have all that Disney money to spend.

I am of the opinion that ESPN has many reasons to pursue the MW and the positive resolution of the AAC's contract situation indicates that the MW will also reach an agreement with ESPN.

Right now the only people I have a disagreement with are AAC partisans who believe that the MW and BYU won't also see comparable increases in their upcoming media rights negotiations.

I would be very surprised if BYU signs with anyone other than ESPN.

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2 hours ago, Bruininthebay said:

I speculated about Fox with respect to purchasing BYU and WCC rights, not Mountain West rights. I don't think Fox wants MW rights for FS1 or 2.  BYU would like to have a game or two broadcast over the air annually and Fox has more room than ABC does.

Right now BYU is the major possibility.  After the CBS exclusive window passes in April without a new agreement, then the MW's media rights situation will be on the open market.  Ideally BYU gets a big check from Fox now that they have all that Disney money to spend.

I am of the opinion that ESPN has many reasons to pursue the MW and the positive resolution of the AAC's contract situation indicates that the MW will also reach an agreement with ESPN.

Right now the only people I have a disagreement with are AAC partisans who believe that the MW and BYU won't also see comparable increases in their upcoming media rights negotiations.

I am not an AAC partisan however I find it very difficult to believe that we will get over 7 MM per year from any broadcast entity. The AAC got their contract because their viewership numbers were 3.3 times greater (in football) than our viewership numbers are. The difference is what ESPN and others are looking for. I understand why the difference exists, it is population density not quality of teams that is the reason for the viewership numbers.

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30 minutes ago, 1066 said:

I am not an AAC partisan however I find it very difficult to believe that we will get over 7 MM per year from any broadcast entity. The AAC got their contract because their viewership numbers were 3.3 times greater (in football) than our viewership numbers are. The difference is what ESPN and others are looking for. I understand why the difference exists, it is population density not quality of teams that is the reason for the viewership numbers.

It's also due to their contract requiring games broadcast OTA on ABC. Their ESPN viewership is comparative to ours.

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56 minutes ago, baileyake said:

It's also due to their contract requiring games broadcast OTA on ABC. Their ESPN viewership is comparative to ours.

 The AAC was on ABC because Disney thought that was the best content for that slot.  The contract only required 3 ABC games.  Disney placed 7 AAC games on ABC last year.  Its kind of a chicken or the egg argument.  Its like the P5 ratings.  Part of the reason they have better ratings is they get better broadcast windows on better platforms.  Of course, the counter argument is the P5 gets better broadcast windows on better platforms because they get better ratings.  

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15 hours ago, Bruininthebay said:

I speculated about Fox with respect to purchasing BYU and WCC rights, not Mountain West rights. I don't think Fox wants MW rights for FS1 or 2.  BYU would like to have a game or two broadcast over the air annually and Fox has more room than ABC does.

Right now BYU is the major possibility.  After the CBS exclusive window passes in April without a new agreement, then the MW's media rights situation will be on the open market.  Ideally BYU gets a big check from Fox now that they have all that Disney money to spend.

I am of the opinion that ESPN has many reasons to pursue the MW and the positive resolution of the AAC's contract situation indicates that the MW will also reach an agreement with ESPN.

Right now the only people I have a disagreement with are AAC partisans who believe that the MW and BYU won't also see comparable increases in their upcoming media rights negotiations.

The WCC just finalized a new deal with ESPN.  They are not an option for Fox.  BYU loves its ESPN partnership and will stay with them - almost guaranteed.

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long podcast interview with the guy who broke the story and has the sources. its detailed but he goes over a few things that people have mentioned that i want to highlight

- likely same amount of espn, espn2, espnu, and cbs games, slightly more abc...just gave up espnnews, cbsports and espn3 games to espn+

- says we could have potentially gotten 10mil if the schools signed a GOR and there was serious talks between members before ultimately passing

- ESPN unlikely to do major deal going forward without ESPN+ likely being involved (including upcoming big 12)

- ESPN+ wasnt seen as a negative but a positive to the presidents, its as close to a conference network as we can get, all our content in 1 place and we will have extra content on there produced by the schools like on the SEC network (tv shows, documentaries, etc.)

https://www.blackandgoldbanneret.com/podcast/2019/3/21/18275981/podcast-152-ucf-knights-march-madness-ncaa-tournament-basketball-preview-aac-tv-deal-espn

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50 minutes ago, pesik said:

long podcast interview with the guy who broke the story and has the sources. its detailed but he goes over a few things that people have mentioned that i want to highlight

- likely same amount of espn, espn2, espnu, and cbs games, slightly more abc...just gave up espnnews, cbsports and espn3 games to espn+

- says we could have potentially gotten 10mil if the schools signed a GOR and there was serious talks between members before ultimately passing

- ESPN unlikely to do major deal going forward without ESPN+ likely being involved (including upcoming big 12)

- ESPN+ wasnt seen as a negative but a positive to the presidents, its as close to a conference network as we can get, all our content in 1 place and we will have extra content on there produced by the schools like on the SEC network (tv shows, documentaries, etc.)

https://www.blackandgoldbanneret.com/podcast/2019/3/21/18275981/podcast-152-ucf-knights-march-madness-ncaa-tournament-basketball-preview-aac-tv-deal-espn

Yea, I don’t get the hate for ESPN+. I mean you have to be blind to not see the direction sports broadcasting is heading. The only reason the major conferences aren’t on there at all right now is because they haven’t negotiated their deals since it debuted. I mean I have it and, crappy user interface aside, I love it just for the UFC content. I am probably in the minority, but I am really hoping the MWC gets some games on there as a part of a new deal.

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4 hours ago, NorCalCoug said:

The WCC just finalized a new deal with ESPN.  They are not an option for Fox.  BYU loves its ESPN partnership and will stay with them - almost guaranteed.

Just like BYU is IN to the Big 12, right?   There is NO link or newspaper article supporting your claim. 

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I don't subscribe to ESPN+ right now but I would be happy for MWC fans if that was the case.

100% streaming would be awesome if it had to come to that and you'd have control of your kickoff times.  I'm hoping the Pac-12 does that with their next media rights deal too.

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33 minutes ago, Bruininthebay said:

Just like BYU is IN to the Big 12, right?   There is NO link or newspaper article supporting your claim. 

OK, think what you want.  In fact, hold your breath for the WCC and/or BYU’s pending move to Fox.  I’m sure it’s going to happen any day now.

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4 minutes ago, Bruininthebay said:

Just like BYU is IN to the Big 12, right?   There is NO link or newspaper article supporting your claim. 

Something has changed with you, Bitb.  Usually it takes you several paragraphs to make it through your terrible takes.  Stunner has linked the WCC-ESPN deal news to this site at least 2-3 different times.

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1 hour ago, Pelado said:

Something has changed with you, Bitb.  Usually it takes you several paragraphs to make it through your terrible takes.  Stunner has linked the WCC-ESPN deal news to this site at least 2-3 different times.

I don't think you clicked on the link that Stunner posted about this but it was from the end of January 2019 and basically had the same quote from June 2018 about 'discussions' occurring.

I would guess that Stunner and I would both be happy to find some reports about the WCC's post 2020 TV deal.

When IS Notre Dame visiting Provo?  After playing twice in south bend you would think they would be courteous enough to play in Utah.

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9 minutes ago, Bruininthebay said:

I don't think you clicked on the link that Stunner posted about this but it was from the end of January 2019 and basically had the same quote from June 2018 about 'discussions' occurring.

I would guess that Stunner and I would both be happy to find some reports about the WCC's post 2020 TV deal.

When IS Notre Dame visiting Provo?  After playing twice in south bend you would think they would be courteous enough to play in Utah.

Is this from January?

https://twitter.com/johncanzanobft/status/1105571107556331522

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4 minutes ago, Pelado said:

They announced the logo change,and an extension to the deal to hold the conference tourney in LV, but not a TV deal.

 

 

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/mar/12/west-coast-conference-agrees-to-three-year-extensi/

 

 

In the beginning the Universe was created.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.

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I'm optimistic about the WCC's new contract just like I am the Mountain West's.  The Pac 12's struggles create an opportunity for other west coast D1 conferences to rise in national prominence.  The opportunity to get paid for collegiate athletic accomplishment is few and far between but when it happens, a rising tide lifts all boats.

I am skeptical that an actual deal has been made and announced today.  I still think it's more likely the WCC signs a deal in the near future and likely before the MW due to the CBS contract have an exclusive window in April.

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