Big East TV Deal

[The Sheriff]

I guess the one nice thing about being on ESPN for football... we are the one team with the chance to be the most known commodity in football from the conference. Don't be surprised to see most of our coverage on ESPN or the ESPN2 when they do decide to televise Big East games. The game of the week will be USF vs (name that C-USA team).

[whiskeyboarder]

I see many Thursday (and Friday) nights in our future. 

[usfvictor]

All we can hope is that we win the conference for the next 6 years lol

[slick1ru2]

Big East and ESPN staying together

                                                                                by Mark

                                                                            

                                                                        

                                                                    

                                                                

                                                                

                                                                                                                                            

    So now it is over. Or continuing. Take your pick.

After a whirlwind round of talks which continued all day Friday into Saturday

morning, the  Big East and ESPN have a deal--subject to approval by the

Big East Presidents which is expected to be a mere formality in the

next few days.

The official announcement came on Saturday afternoon, with details to

follow, which should include a 7-year package in football and basketball

which will bring Big East schools a total of approximately $130

million.

That total of course, is far short of the more than $1.2 billion offer the

Big East turned down 20 months ago, but then again the Boston Globe was a

billion dollar purchase by the New York Times 20 years ago and is now

being shopped on the market for approximately 100 million dollars.

Stuff happens.

For the Big East, it has been mostly bad for the last few years as the league has been plundered and polarized.

Big East commissioner Mike Aresco, who took the job in August, can now

focus on his next crisis--the breakaway by the 7 basketball schools

known as the Catholic 7.

Once that is done, Aresco and the Big East can begin life as a smaller, less

glamorous and less valuable entity of between 10 and 12 teams in

college football and basketball, ostensibly all with a common goal and

bond, which was hardly the case in the Big East for the past 20 years.

Aresco has not commented publicly about the deal with ESPN, which was finally

worked out in the last 24 hours, after the self-proclaimed world-wide

leader matched the offer put on the table to the  Big East by NBC.

The money, as been well documented, was minimal. Only between 20 and 23

million a year, which is not even in the same hemisphere as the $150

million a year package which the Big East turned down less than two

years ago.

What NBC was offering was exposure and a place as the guest of honor for its

NBCSports Network. cable network which still needs more programming.

What ESPN was offering was the comfort of a network  which is still the gold

standard for broadcasts of college athletics, as well as a relationship

with the Big East, which dated back to the creation of both the network

and the conference in 1979.

Familiarity was definitely a factor. But so was the wide variety of outlets ESPN

had. As one source at the Big East said on Saturday, "ESPN over matched

the offer. The deal they offered in terms of exposure is better than the

deal we have now in football. It was more than fair.''

So while there will be less money--much less money--ESPN is going to be

part of making the Big East the "best of the rest'', which means not

quite at the BCS level that the Big East will be part of for one more

year, but a cut above, the other groups of conferences such as the

Mountain West and Conference USA, who are also fighting for a seat at

the main table.

How that will work and how the money is distributed over the next seven

years will be explained in the next few days and weeks. To most of us,

it doesn't mean much. What is important is that if you were used to

watching Big East Big Monday basketball and the Big East tournament on

ESPN, you can still find them there.

If the Big East can produce a pair of Top 10 type teams in football, ESPN

will find a way to not only show the game, but promote it as well.

The Big East's television future is secure for the next seven years. Now

Aresco and Company must make the break up with the Catholic 7 as smooth

as possible. Sources in the Big East say that both sides are very close

to reaching an agreement, perhaps as soon as the next few weeks.

The first major announcement will be the departure date. The consensus

opinion seems to be that will be July of 2014, but on Saturday afternoon

one Big  East source said that a departure by this July is still being

discussed. How that would work that quickly remains to be seen.

After that, the issue of the name "Big East'' also must be resolved. Both the

football and basketball groups want the name, which belongs to the

football group unless the league is dissolved in the next four months.

Once those two issues are settled, the Big East and ESPN can continue their relationship in relative peace.

Or at least until the next conference raid takes place.

[Joe]

For the health and growth of this program, being on a known entity like ESPN > NBC Sports.

I'll

[slick1ru2]

For the health and growth of this program, being on a known entity like ESPN > NBC Sports.

I'll

 

I'd rather USF be on NBC Sports or NBC vs ESPN3. I can't be the only one thinking that way. That being said, according to ajerseyguy, ESPN is going to promote the Big East more than it does now. We'll see.

 

 

As one source at the Big East said on Saturday, "ESPN over matched

the offer. The deal they offered in terms of exposure is better than the

deal we have now in football. It was more than fair.''

[Joe]

Where does everyone get te idea that every Big East game will be regulated online to ESPN3? Nothing being reported suggests that.

[slick1ru2]

Where does everyone get te idea that every Big East game will be regulated online to ESPN3? Nothing being reported suggests that.

Not every game, but most or on the low end, half.

Edited February 23, 2013 by slick1ru2

[Joe]

Where does everyone get te idea that every Big East game will be regulated online to ESPN3? Nothing being reported suggests that.

Not every game, but most or on the low end, half.

The quote from the Big East source,

“ESPN over matched the offer. The deal they offered in terms of exposure is better than the deal we have now in football. It was more than fair.â€

[slick1ru2]

 

Where does everyone get te idea that every Big East game will be regulated online to ESPN3? Nothing being reported suggests that.

Not every game, but most or on the low end, half.

The quote from the Big East source,

“ESPN over matched the offer. The deal they offered in terms of exposure is better than the deal we have now in football. It was more than fair.â€

 

Waiting on specifics. But I am not getting my hopes up. Lots of Big East sports are currently on ESPN3, including football. I wonder if they are going to sell off games to be featured on the new Fox Sports 1 network vs going to ESPN3.