Big East TV Deal

[Quo Vadis]

 

Hate ESPN, but I gotta agree with Joe. I just can't comprehend how the Catholic 7 is getting more...

The Catholic 7 is getting more because those schools have the coin of the realm in today's media world: Brand-name recognition. Sure, Bulls fans like us know that USF has been much better on the basketball court in recent years than say DePaul, but to the average college basketball fan, the kind likely to tune in for a game, DePaul is a name they have been aware of all their lives whereas USF doesn't ring a bell. All of the C7, even the bottom of the list, are brand names that have long college basketball histories. No, none of them save arguably Georgetown is in the true ultra-elite with the likes of Duke and Kentucky, but Duke and Kentucky fans know all about Georgetown. They know about Villanova, St Johns, DePaul and Marquette too. They are all "in the club", so to speak.

And because ALL of the C7 have at least some name recognition, there are lots of airable matchups. Georgetown - Villanova is a good game, so is Villanova-St Johns, St Johns - Marquette, Marquette-Providence, etc. Kentucky and Duke fans will casually watch those games.

But, the same is true for only 3-4 Big East teams (going forward). Basically, the only Big East programs with any value are UConn, Memphis, and Cincy basketball, and Temple as well. That's what NBC is paying for. And that value is diluted by lots of matchups with no-names. UConn-Cincy is worth broadcasting. But UConn - UCF or UConn - ECU? Not so much.

And in football, NONE of the teams that will be in the Big East from 2014 forward move the brand-recognition needle at all. Thus, our football "inventory" is largely worthless. There is virtually no audience for UCF - Memphis football games.

That's just where we stand right now.

----------------------------------------------------------------

1. The Carltholic 7 get more respect than we do. Obviously, Georgetown is well-known, although much of their fame came with the help of Syracuse. St. John's and Villanova have great locations, and Marquette is playing very well. But, I am not so sure seven are big national brands.

Marquette-Providence is a national rivalry? I doubt big Kentucky and Duke fans really care about small private schools they have no connection to; they would probably only watch like most other college basketball games outside of their conference of interest. Normally, probably if it is on and no other significant games are on.

2. Navy has a brand with some name recognition. UConn has one of the 50 largest college football fanbases.

 

I would not call all 7 of the C7 schools "big" national brands.  But, they all have some reasonable degree of national name recognition as basketball programs. The same is just not true of many of the new Big East schools. Marquette-Providence is not a national rivalrly, but both names do resonate with college basketball fans and the game is thus likely to draw a decent audience. Tulane vs ECU will just not draw nearly as many viewers, and going forward  the Big East has a LOT of matchups like that.

 

As for football, Navy is of interest  to the casual football fan on two occasions - when they play Notre Dame and when they play Army. There is little to no benefit to the Big East in that. UConn, I am sorry, but while they are a big basketball brand, virtually nobody outside of Connecticut cares about their football.

 

Pains me to say it, but the typical C7 basketball game is more valuable to a media company than the typical new Big East basketball or football game, which is why they are going to get paid more.

[Quo Vadis]

I haven't seen this posted.

 

http://articles.courant.com/2013-02-19/sports/hc-big-east-tv-deal-0220-20130219_1_big-east-syracuse-and-pittsburgh-commissioner-mike-aresco

 

A couple of things that caught my eye:

 

NBC will show Big East football and basketball games on both its primary network and its new cable network, NBC Sports Network.

 

Aresco emphasized that the conference will have multiple TV partners. It's possible the Big East will have deals with NBC and CBS along with a lesser agreement with another network, perhaps ESPN.

 

I hadn't heard that NBC will show BE games on NBC, or that ESPN was a possible partner  in addition to NBC and CBS.

Put me in the category of those who have very little faith in anything Aresco says, simply because he has been absolutely unable to deliver on anything. Defenders can say "well, what could he have done?" all they want, but if there's nothing a man can do to help the conference, then why hire him to begin with? I mean, sure, Rutgers wasn't going to turn down the Big 10 even if God was our commissioner, but was it really inevitable that we lose two programs to the Mountain West Conference? Please.

 

Aresco is drawing a nice salary, but in the 6 months he has been in charge we have suffered one disaster after another. And his alleged trump card, his connections to media companies and thus knowledge of how to negotiate a lucrative media deal, has turned out to be a deuce. It is hard to imagine how anyone, including your or I, could have produced worse results.

[Carolina_Bull]

Can't wait to see each school's press release when the "good news" is announced that we have a TV deal.

It'll be a good sign of what schools have emerging options and what schools are hopelessly tied to the BE. I fear Doug and Judy are going to try to sell this bill of goods as a program elevating event.

[charsibb]

Can't wait to see each school's press release when the "good news" is announced that we have a TV deal.

It'll be a good sign of what schools have emerging options and what schools are hopelessly tied to the BE. I fear Doug and Judy are going to try to sell this bill of goods as a program elevating event.

 

 

Umm. Duh.

 

Of course that will be the public position. Until 5 seconds before we sign with the ACC.

 

SEE: Lemons into lemonade.

[inTransit]

 

 

Hate ESPN, but I gotta agree with Joe. I just can't comprehend how the Catholic 7 is getting more...

The Catholic 7 is getting more because those schools have the coin of the realm in today's media world: Brand-name recognition. Sure, Bulls fans like us know that USF has been much better on the basketball court in recent years than say DePaul, but to the average college basketball fan, the kind likely to tune in for a game, DePaul is a name they have been aware of all their lives whereas USF doesn't ring a bell. All of the C7, even the bottom of the list, are brand names that have long college basketball histories. No, none of them save arguably Georgetown is in the true ultra-elite with the likes of Duke and Kentucky, but Duke and Kentucky fans know all about Georgetown. They know about Villanova, St Johns, DePaul and Marquette too. They are all "in the club", so to speak.

And because ALL of the C7 have at least some name recognition, there are lots of airable matchups. Georgetown - Villanova is a good game, so is Villanova-St Johns, St Johns - Marquette, Marquette-Providence, etc. Kentucky and Duke fans will casually watch those games.

But, the same is true for only 3-4 Big East teams (going forward). Basically, the only Big East programs with any value are UConn, Memphis, and Cincy basketball, and Temple as well. That's what NBC is paying for. And that value is diluted by lots of matchups with no-names. UConn-Cincy is worth broadcasting. But UConn - UCF or UConn - ECU? Not so much.

And in football, NONE of the teams that will be in the Big East from 2014 forward move the brand-recognition needle at all. Thus, our football "inventory" is largely worthless. There is virtually no audience for UCF - Memphis football games.

That's just where we stand right now.

----------------------------------------------------------------

1. The Carltholic 7 get more respect than we do. Obviously, Georgetown is well-known, although much of their fame came with the help of Syracuse. St. John's and Villanova have great locations, and Marquette is playing very well. But, I am not so sure seven are big national brands.

Marquette-Providence is a national rivalry? I doubt big Kentucky and Duke fans really care about small private schools they have no connection to; they would probably only watch like most other college basketball games outside of their conference of interest. Normally, probably if it is on and no other significant games are on.

2. Navy has a brand with some name recognition. UConn has one of the 50 largest college football fanbases.

 

I would not call all 7 of the C7 schools "big" national brands.  But, they all have some reasonable degree of national name recognition as basketball programs. The same is just not true of many of the new Big East schools. Marquette-Providence is not a national rivalrly, but both names do resonate with college basketball fans and the game is thus likely to draw a decent audience. Tulane vs ECU will just not draw nearly as many viewers, and going forward  the Big East has a LOT of matchups like that.

 

As for football, Navy is of interest  to the casual football fan on two occasions - when they play Notre Dame and when they play Army. There is little to no benefit to the Big East in that. UConn, I am sorry, but while they are a big basketball brand, virtually nobody outside of Connecticut cares about their football.

 

Pains me to say it, but the typical C7 basketball game is more valuable to a media company than the typical new Big East basketball or football game, which is why they are going to get paid more.

 

UConn, I am sorry, but while they are a big basketball brand, virtually nobody outside of Connecticut cares about their football.

 

This true for any non-Big 5 conference team not named Boise State.  UCONN hoops (men and women) are powerhouses and by default the school itself has recognition that could bleed into other sports.  For instance, if you saw one of UCONN 3 men's BB championships in the last 20 years and jumped on the bandwagon, its more likely you could be a fan of their football team.  Believe it or not women hoops has a following and 'football fans' could be driven from there as well.  

 

Pains me to say it, but the typical C7 basketball game is more valuable to a media company than the typical new Big East basketball or football game, which is why they are going to get paid more.

 

Its already basically been established they are getting paid more because FOX needs basketball inventory and a premium had to be paid to get them motivated to make the split from the BE.  I do think the $$ involved are ridiculous comparatively.

Edited February 21, 2013 by inTransit

[Skingraft]

It's Thursday

[Quo Vadis]

 

 

 

Hate ESPN, but I gotta agree with Joe. I just can't comprehend how the Catholic 7 is getting more...

The Catholic 7 is getting more because those schools have the coin of the realm in today's media world: Brand-name recognition. Sure, Bulls fans like us know that USF has been much better on the basketball court in recent years than say DePaul, but to the average college basketball fan, the kind likely to tune in for a game, DePaul is a name they have been aware of all their lives whereas USF doesn't ring a bell. All of the C7, even the bottom of the list, are brand names that have long college basketball histories. No, none of them save arguably Georgetown is in the true ultra-elite with the likes of Duke and Kentucky, but Duke and Kentucky fans know all about Georgetown. They know about Villanova, St Johns, DePaul and Marquette too. They are all "in the club", so to speak.

And because ALL of the C7 have at least some name recognition, there are lots of airable matchups. Georgetown - Villanova is a good game, so is Villanova-St Johns, St Johns - Marquette, Marquette-Providence, etc. Kentucky and Duke fans will casually watch those games.

But, the same is true for only 3-4 Big East teams (going forward). Basically, the only Big East programs with any value are UConn, Memphis, and Cincy basketball, and Temple as well. That's what NBC is paying for. And that value is diluted by lots of matchups with no-names. UConn-Cincy is worth broadcasting. But UConn - UCF or UConn - ECU? Not so much.

And in football, NONE of the teams that will be in the Big East from 2014 forward move the brand-recognition needle at all. Thus, our football "inventory" is largely worthless. There is virtually no audience for UCF - Memphis football games.

That's just where we stand right now.

----------------------------------------------------------------

1. The Carltholic 7 get more respect than we do. Obviously, Georgetown is well-known, although much of their fame came with the help of Syracuse. St. John's and Villanova have great locations, and Marquette is playing very well. But, I am not so sure seven are big national brands.

Marquette-Providence is a national rivalry? I doubt big Kentucky and Duke fans really care about small private schools they have no connection to; they would probably only watch like most other college basketball games outside of their conference of interest. Normally, probably if it is on and no other significant games are on.

2. Navy has a brand with some name recognition. UConn has one of the 50 largest college football fanbases.

 

I would not call all 7 of the C7 schools "big" national brands.  But, they all have some reasonable degree of national name recognition as basketball programs. The same is just not true of many of the new Big East schools. Marquette-Providence is not a national rivalrly, but both names do resonate with college basketball fans and the game is thus likely to draw a decent audience. Tulane vs ECU will just not draw nearly as many viewers, and going forward  the Big East has a LOT of matchups like that.

 

As for football, Navy is of interest  to the casual football fan on two occasions - when they play Notre Dame and when they play Army. There is little to no benefit to the Big East in that. UConn, I am sorry, but while they are a big basketball brand, virtually nobody outside of Connecticut cares about their football.

 

Pains me to say it, but the typical C7 basketball game is more valuable to a media company than the typical new Big East basketball or football game, which is why they are going to get paid more.

 

UConn, I am sorry, but while they are a big basketball brand, virtually nobody outside of Connecticut cares about their football.

 

This true for any non-Big 5 conference team not named Boise State.  UCONN hoops (men and women) are powerhouses and by default the school itself has recognition that could bleed into other sports.  For instance, if you saw one of UCONN 3 men's BB championships in the last 20 years and jumped on the bandwagon, its more likely you could be a fan of their football team.  Believe it or not women hoops has a following and 'football fans' could be driven from there as well.  

 

Pains me to say it, but the typical C7 basketball game is more valuable to a media company than the typical new Big East basketball or football game, which is why they are going to get paid more.

 

Its already basically been established they are getting paid more because FOX needs basketball inventory and a premium had to be paid to get them motivated to make the split from the BE.  I do think the $$ involved are ridiculous comparatively.

I agree that what i said is true of any non-Big 5 conference team not named Boise, which is one reason losing Boise to the MWC was such a big blow. Essentially, the new Big East went from being very likely every year to get the one reserved BCS bowl slot for the "Other Five" in the new playoff system to probably losing out on it to the MWC more years than not. We can say "well, the MWC sold its soul by cutting Boise a special deal to do it" and we may be correct. But that doesn't mean they weren't smart to do it. We can only hope that the BCS bowl money allocated to the Other Five is essentially the same for each conference regardless of which team plays in the game.

 

I recognize that UConn is a big national basketball brand in both men's and women's hoops. But, i do not think there is any significant bleed-over in fan interest to their football, certainly none outside of the UConn community. It just doesn't seem to work that way - has the tremendous interest in Duke basketball done anything for Duke football over the years?

 

As for FOX and the C7, i am of the view that TV networks are not stupid, they are not going to sign a money-losing contract just to acquire "inventory" to fill time slots. IIRC, wasn't it the alleged need by NBC, FOX, and maybe CBS for football "inventory" that was going to make the new Big East rich? Didn't work out that way, and that's because inventory is only valuable if somebody wants to buy it, which from a media POV means somebody is willing to watch it. . Lots and lots of companies have gone bankrupt because of warehouses full of inventory that they were unable to move and media firms are aware of this. I expect that whatever money FOX pays the C7, they expect to be able to sell advertising for the games that is worth more than that.

Edited February 21, 2013 by BatonRougeBull87

[WoolyBully]

I can speak from personal experience that I have never, am not now, nor do I believe that I will ever be a fan of Duke or UNC football, although I grew up in Charlotte and followed their basketball programs since I was in high school (mid seventies). I really honestly don't believe that being a fan of a school YOU DID NOT ATTEND in x-sport necessarily generates fandom for y-sport. If anything, I would be inclined to say that football probably gens more basketball interest, because for a lot of people, the only basketball they care about kicks off in March. 

[South_Florida_Flip]

if ESPN matches can NBC raise? Or is it a one shot deal?

My understanding is that we agreed to this deal. It's done. If ESPN wants to match the terms (or go higher) they can.

I understood it the same way.

[Hem]

So is today the day then? When will we know?