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Surprise, surprise - Longhorn Network taking more football than advertised

At some point this is going to kick OU in the ass. They tied themselves to UT, so f'em, but once Stoops retires I doubt they keep their on-field performance. Expect more games to be on that network sooner than later, imo. I wonder what it would take for OU to let go of the RRSO if they *had* to.
 
pabuff said:
Riveting. A Texas/ISU matchup played in Austin. This has "blockbuster" written all over it.
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I hope ISU can some how figure out what UCLA eats before they play texas. Would love to see the cyclones be as big a pain in the ass to the whorns as they were to us.
 
NMBuff said:
At some point this is going to kick OU in the ass. They tied themselves to UT, so f'em, but once Stoops retires I doubt they keep their on-field performance. Expect more games to be on that network sooner than later, imo. I wonder what it would take for OU to let go of the RRSO if they *had* to.
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I agree, but I think of all other teams in the Big 12 they will be picked up by another conference first. The Red River Shootout is OU's recruiting link to Texas, so it would kill them to get rid of this game - it just will not happen. 44 players, out of 99, on their current roster are from Texas, it would be a major blow.
 
GregInAustin said:
I agree, but I think of all other teams in the Big 12 they will be picked up by another conference first. The Red River Shootout is OU's recruiting link to Texas, so it would kill them to get rid of this game - it just will not happen. 44 players, out of 99, on their current roster are from Texas, it would be a major blow.
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I keep seeing this argument. Doesn't make sense. OU has only been with Texass in conference since the Big 12 formed, and they were doing just fine before then. The RRS can continue without conference affiliation. OU is big enough on their own to recruit Texas. The sooner(bad pun, I know) they figure that out, the better off they will be.
 
Do you guys up north have the pleasure of seeing commercials for the Longhorn network (with narration by one of the most annoying voices out there - Mack Brown), suggesting that you contact your cable company so that you can get this POS network? If not, you are really missing out.....
 
Lt.Col.FrankSlade said:
Why is more televised football a bad thing?
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It's not - the point is that first the network was supposed to run one game, now its already up to two, how many will it be next year and on and on until the fiefdom is bigger than the conference. Give these Texas bastards an inch...
 
BuffNut99 said:
It's not - the point is that first the network was supposed to run one game, now its already up to two, how many will it be next year and on and on until the fiefdom is bigger than the conference. Give these Texas bastards an inch...
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Exactly! Man I would be pissed if I was a fan of either of those teams. You can see that they are going to try to force other people from the Big XII footprint to buy the network. This year it will be 2 games, next year 3 and before you know it, the other members won't have any 3rd tier rights left to sell to anybody. Modern day feudalism.
 
GregInAustin said:
I agree, but I think of all other teams in the Big 12 they will be picked up by another conference first. The Red River Shootout is OU's recruiting link to Texas, so it would kill them to get rid of this game - it just will not happen. 44 players, out of 99, on their current roster are from Texas, it would be a major blow.
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They are able to recruit Texas so heavily because they are very close, proximity wise, to the state and because not everyone can be on UTs roster. Dallas has a huge OU fanbase and not just because of the RRSO. Both universities are tied to the hip, but much like OU vs NU back in the Big 8 sometimes rivalries die. If UT starts pushing OU around (even more than they are now) then at some point you have to stand up for yourself. There is talk of a Sooner network, but I just can't buy the Sooners even approaching Texas' deal. This won't be a problem in the short term, but I'm wondering if the new Big 12 will become what the old Pac10 was like with USC over the past 10 years.
 
NMBuff said:
They are able to recruit Texas so heavily because they are very close, proximity wise, to the state and because not everyone can be on UTs roster. Dallas has a huge OU fanbase and not just because of the RRSO. Both universities are tied to the hip, but much like OU vs NU back in the Big 8 sometimes rivalries die. If UT starts pushing OU around (even more than they are now) then at some point you have to stand up for yourself. There is talk of a Sooner network, but I just can't buy the Sooners even approaching Texas' deal. This won't be a problem in the short term, but I'm wondering if the new Big 12 will become what the old Pac10 was like with USC over the past 10 years.
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The problem with the sooner network is that most OU fans still don't have TV's. Most of their trailers are just now getting radio.

And, on a serious note, I thing OU would be just fine in a conference without Texas, but if that happened they would still want to keep the game because it helps them for recruiting - and because it is so damn fun to be a part of.
 
An the conference killer goes right to work...the whorns are wasting no time. I give the B12-2 three years tops. Somewhere the Mizzou crowd is cowering in a corner, praying for B10+2 to come and save them before it is too late. Aside from everyone not named aTm, OU and Okie lite, it is too late.
 
I think the Big 12(10) will only survive as long as the members don't get a better offer. Mizzou, aTm, OU, and possibly KU with a Big East invite are the likely targets. Just depends on when the next BCS conference gets hungry.
 
I am pretty sure the longhorn network is the LAST pick when it comes to selecting games for TV.

First pick goes to ABC, then the ESPN networks, then FSN/FX/Fox networks -- THEN Texas. And the contract language re: the Longhorn network said that UT would have the rights to AT LEAST one game. They already knew about the Rice game. Now they are going to get one more -- a game which would not otherwise be televised.

Again, why is this a bad thing? There was a time when CU had a similar arrangement and it's games which weren't selected for national broadcast were aired on local Denver television. Nobody bitched then.
 
Lt.Col.FrankSlade said:
I am pretty sure the longhorn network is the LAST pick when it comes to selecting games for TV.

First pick goes to ABC, then the ESPN networks, then FSN/FX/Fox networks -- THEN Texas. And the contract language re: the Longhorn network said that UT would have the rights to AT LEAST one game. They already knew about the Rice game. Now they are going to get one more -- a game which would not otherwise be televised.

Again, why is this a bad thing? There was a time when CU had a similar arrangement and it's games which weren't selected for national broadcast were aired on local Denver television. Nobody bitched then.
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Wasn't last years UT vs ISU game on tv? I swore it was on here.
 
Lt.Col.FrankSlade said:
I am pretty sure the longhorn network is the LAST pick when it comes to selecting games for TV.

First pick goes to ABC, then the ESPN networks, then FSN/FX/Fox networks -- THEN Texas. And the contract language re: the Longhorn network said that UT would have the rights to AT LEAST one game. They already knew about the Rice game. Now they are going to get one more -- a game which would not otherwise be televised.

Again, why is this a bad thing? There was a time when CU had a similar arrangement and it's games which weren't selected for national broadcast were aired on local Denver television. Nobody bitched then.
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It's not a bad thing - if you're a Longhorn fan. The more cable systems they can get to take the network, the stronger UT becomes. This is a step toward independence, not a move to strengthen the conference or UT trying to do something nice for the good folks in Ames.

UT's dream scenario, imo, is to get the Longhorn Network national and on a basic cable tier throughout Texas. Then, go independent with a schedule that includes A&M, Oklahoma and Arkansas every year, and leave the remains of the Big 12 in the dust.
 
Buffnik said:
It's not a bad thing - if you're a Longhorn fan. The more cable systems they can get to take the network, the stronger UT becomes. This is a step toward independence, not a move to strengthen the conference or UT trying to do something nice for the good folks in Ames.

UT's dream scenario, imo, is to get the Longhorn Network national and on a basic cable tier throughout Texas. Then, go independent with a schedule that includes A&M, Oklahoma and Arkansas every year, and leave the remains of the Big 12 in the dust.
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That very well could be their intention re: independence - but I am not sure they need to go independent to get all that.

They already have their own television network - and they have all the money that comes from the Big 12. Not sure why you need to go independent when you get all that, with the conference affiliation.
 
Lt.Col.FrankSlade said:
That very well could be their intention re: independence - but I am not sure they need to go independent to get all that.

They already have their own television network - and they have all the money that comes from the Big 12. Not sure why you need to go independent when you get all that, with the conference affiliation.
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It would be about the numbers. Even if they take a larger share of the conference revenue split, UT will always feel like they bring more to the party than they're taking home. So if, say, the 10 teams in the conference generate $150 million a year in dispersal and UT takes $25 million of it, they will feel like they could get $30-$40 on their own.

As far as having their own network, there's a huge gap between having one and having a successful one. To be successful, they need to create leverage to get operators to carry it, advertisers to invest in it, and people to subscribe to it. The only way to create leverage is through content. Football programming is the best way to get there. If not independence, then I could see UT forcing the other conference members to accept the Longhorn Network for all 2nd tier broadcast rights and they'd end up being like the Pac-12 Network for the Big 12... only owned by a single program.
 
Never underestimate the size of the Texas ego...before long they will be wanting to broadcast more games and will be arguing they should have the ability to cherry pick some of the games at the expense of the B12 contract. This is just the first salvo, soon UT will be asking for more...they always do. The B12 was doomed the day they conceded UT was due a larger share of the pie.
 
Lt.Col.FrankSlade said:
Why is more televised football a bad thing?
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It is not about the game being televised, it is that the game is NOT televised (as it should be) on FSN or versus or whatever channel has a deal with the Big XII.

The Big XII shares tv revenue earned from their contracts with ESPN, FSN, etc. Any game taken from the regular Big XII contract and moved to the Longhorn Network is money taken from the Non-Texas B12 members and moved directly to Texas' wallet.

I guess we now know why Texas was OK with distributing TV revenue equally amonst B12 members. There will be less and less to share "equally" and more and more games going onto the Longhorn Network, which is not shared equally. Texas is ruthless.
 
leftybuff said:
Never underestimate the size of the Texas ego...before long they will be wanting to broadcast more games and will be arguing they should have the ability to cherry pick some of the games at the expense of the B12 contract. This is just the first salvo, soon UT will be asking for more...they always do. The B12 was doomed the day they conceded UT was due a larger share of the pie.
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/thread
 
NMBuff said:
Wasn't last years UT vs ISU game on tv? I swore it was on here.
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It was a national FSN broadcast because I saw it here in Denver. Baylor game too. If they play more 5-7 football it will probably get easier for them to get more of their non-marquee games on that network which will be a shame for me to miss the "upsets" I was accustomed to enjoying last year.

Conference killers.
 
Lt.Col.FrankSlade said:
I am pretty sure the longhorn network is the LAST pick when it comes to selecting games for TV.

First pick goes to ABC, then the ESPN networks, then FSN/FX/Fox networks -- THEN Texas. And the contract language re: the Longhorn network said that UT would have the rights to AT LEAST one game. They already knew about the Rice game. Now they are going to get one more -- a game which would not otherwise be televised.

Again, why is this a bad thing? There was a time when CU had a similar arrangement and it's games which weren't selected for national broadcast were aired on local Denver television. Nobody bitched then.
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Except the way things are set up with ESPN being the Longhorns network partner they can game the system to a certain extent. Say they want to build demand to get carriage for the Longhorn network. They can use their option to pick up or sell game rights to pick up extra games and sell them to a network that they already own. That right there has got to have the potential to provide a screw job to the rest of the conference compared to what they could get via a Big 12 network. Particularly if they end up doing it with say a UT Missouri or UT Tech game (they wouldn't dare do it to OU or TAMU, at least not right away). I would presume the other conference team only gets the standard away game rights payoff rather than a share of the total network profits that it would rightly get as part of a conference network.

You could argue...hey maybe the game wouldn't be televised...but I thought the Big 12 was just trumpeting that all their games are supposedly going to televised with their expanded T2 rights deal. So basically isn't the team that gets relegated to the Longhorn network taking a significant haircut, at least relative to what Texas is getting?

Also, one of the major things that a lot of the Big 12 team fans didn't get when they were crowing about their new Fox deal, Fox got a significantly expanded inventory of games for their money, whereas under the Pac 12 deal they still retained something like 30% or more of the football inventory and a ton of b-ball as well.
 
SuperD said:
Except the way things are set up with ESPN being the Longhorns network partner they can game the system to a certain extent. Say they want to build demand to get carriage for the Longhorn network. They can use their option to pick up or sell game rights to pick up extra games and sell them to a network that they already own. That right there has got to have the potential to provide a screw job to the rest of the conference compared to what they could get via a Big 12 network. Particularly if they end up doing it with say a UT Missouri or UT Tech game (they wouldn't dare do it to OU or TAMU, at least not right away). I would presume the other conference team only gets the standard away game rights payoff rather than a share of the total network profits that it would rightly get as part of a conference network.

You could argue...hey maybe the game wouldn't be televised...but I thought the Big 12 was just trumpeting that all their games are supposedly going to televised with their expanded T2 rights deal. So basically isn't the team that gets relegated to the Longhorn network taking a significant haircut, at least relative to what Texas is getting?

Also, one of the major things that a lot of the Big 12 team fans didn't get when they were crowing about their new Fox deal, Fox got a significantly expanded inventory of games for their money, whereas under the Pac 12 deal they still retained something like 30% or more of the football inventory and a ton of b-ball as well.
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I know that the conference television package pays out on the basis of appearances - but is there a difference in who gets paid, home team v. away team? In other words, say OU hosts KSU and the game is televised on ABC. Do OU and KSU get the same payday for the ABC broadcast? Or does OU, as the home team, receive a bigger payday than KSU?

That is where I could see the Longhorn network getting really screwy, if there is any "gaming" as you describe. If an OSU/UT game, for example, got picked up by the Longhorn network, and that game would otherwise be on ESPN - that could be a significant loss for OSU.
 
Lt.Col.FrankSlade said:
I know that the conference television package pays out on the basis of appearances - but is there a difference in who gets paid, home team v. away team? In other words, say OU hosts KSU and the game is televised on ABC. Do OU and KSU get the same payday for the ABC broadcast? Or does OU, as the home team, receive a bigger payday than KSU?

That is where I could see the Longhorn network getting really screwy, if there is any "gaming" as you describe. If an OSU/UT game, for example, got picked up by the Longhorn network, and that game would otherwise be on ESPN - that could be a significant loss for OSU.
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Home/Away does not not matter tv-wise. The Big XII adds up all the money they receive from their TV contracts, divides 76% of that up equally, then the rest gets divvied up based on number of TV appearances.

The Longhorn Network, of course, is exempt from all of this. All that money goes to UT with no sharing.

So if FSN grants the Longhorn Network a waiver, for example, to show the ISU game, money is being taken directly out of Big XII Member's pockets and being placed into Texas' wallet. Normally conference members would freak out, even sue over something like this. But we all know nobody will want to anger Texas and UT will get away with it. The B12's 9 other teams do not want to mess with Texas.

If they show the ISU game on the Longhorn Network, ISU fans are screwed as well. Most won't have the Longhorn Network so they won't get to watch the game. Those ISU fans who do have the Longhorn Network will have to listen to UT's announcers. Man I am glad to be out of that conference. NU and CU fans might not have gotten along very well over the years, but we can both be thankful our schools had the guts to get out of that mess.
 
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Corn_Fan said:
Home/Away does not not matter tv-wise. The Big XII adds up all the money they receive from their TV contracts, divides 76% of that up equally, then the rest gets divvied up based on number of TV appearances.

The Longhorn Network, of course, is exempt from all of this. All that money goes to UT with no sharing.

So if FSN grants the Longhorn Network a waiver, for example, to show the ISU game, money is being taken directly out of Big XII Member's pockets and being placed into Texas' wallet. Normally conference members would freak out, even sue over something like this. But we all know nobody will want to anger Texas and UT will get away with it. The B12's 9 other teams do not want to mess with Texas.

If they show the ISU game on the Longhorn Network, ISU fans are screwed as well. Most won't have the Longhorn Network so they won't get to watch the game. Those ISU fans who do have the Longhorn Network will have to listen to UT's announcers. Man I am glad to be out of that conference. NU and CU fans might not have gotten along very well over the years, but we can both be thankful our schools had the guts to get out of that mess.
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Unfortunately - for a school like Baylor or Texas Tech or Iowa State or Kansas State - getting their 76% share of a $150 million television contract is worth being Texas' bitch. Those schools just saw revenues increase from $7-$8 million to $13-$14 million per year. The alternative is being left high and dry with no conference whatsoever - or being stranded in Conference USA or the MWC where the television contract only pays out about $1 million per year.
 
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