What network package do you want for the Pac-12 conference tv deal?

[Buffnik]

Let's assume a couple things:

A) A Pac-12 Network will be started and this will pick up any games not taken by the primary network partners.

B) Larry Scott is committed to making sure that every single football and basketball game (men's and women's) is televised in its local Pac-12 market as part of the media package.

There are really only 4 platforms that could handle this:

1) The ABC/ESPN package. This is where just about everyone has moved. Tons of exposure and it's the top dog. But do you get lost in all its other programming? If you don't go with them, do you get shorted in its studio coverage? Not a lot to explain here.

2) The FOX package. FOX has yet to commit to college football on its core network, but that could change as it has been a leader in NFL coverage for years. Its FOX Sports Net is already very regional in its coverage, unlike ESPN, so is probably better positioned to televise all local games. FOX also bought the rights to the 2011 Pac-12 Championship game and has been involved in bowl games. Finally, FOX is based in Los Angeles, which puts the Pac-12 squarely in its wheelhouse.

3) The Comcast/NBC/Versus package. NBC does Notre Dame, which leaves it without a game about 5 or 6 weekends every season. Plus, a Saturday Night prime time game featuring a Pac-12 team would be big for them. Since Notre Dame plays 1 roadie at either USC or Stanford every year, that also give the network an additional marque ND game on its slate. Versus is the main home of the Mountain West, so the Pac-12 could push them out in a strategic move. Also, Versus has been sub-licensing about 10 Pac-12 games a year for the past few years so there's an existing relationship. Finally, Comcast is the dominant cable provider in the Mountain and Western time zones so a partnership here would likely be beneficial for getting a Pac-12 Network placed in a basic cable tier within the main geographic markets.

4) CBS/College Sports Network package. CBS does several bowl games and is still king of college basketball coverage. However, it lost its SEC football deal to ESPN this year. If they're going to stay in the game, they need to replace and the Pac-12 is available. CBS could be the surprise entrant into the bidding war. Its CBS College Sports Network recently launched and covers a variety of college sports, including football. CBS may be the player that would allow the most content onto a Pac-12 Network while also being able to step up with top broadcast teams, a lucrative contract, and a major network. Plus, it's not like being on CBS has been hurting the SEC the past decade.

Which one sounds best to you?

 

[CUFan]

I think the most critical concern is that the PAC 12 network be included on a basic tier.

 

[wsp4820]

I voted ABC/ESPN only because ESPN as the cable network has so much more to offer in comparison to the others. However, I'm intrigued by NBC and CBS if they committed whole heartedly to the P12. Especially CBS, they do a good broadcast of the SEC, and if they decided to use the P12 to build the secondary channel, it could be great.

Though Fox Sports makes sense as a secondary network, I just dislike everything Fox (the network) has done with college sports. They seem to think they can make it like NFL minor league, and it ends up sucking every time.

 

[Mick Ronson]

seems like if ESPN wanted to get into the West, they would have already done so. all the Pac 10 fans i know hate ESPN violently for it's east of Chicago bias.....to the point of extreme, unjustifiable statements about lack of respect. now, i despise ESPN but it's for a whole set of other reasons.

a reconfigured, newly updated CBS bid would be interesting. FOX, meh....but better than nothing. Comcast/Versus/NBC seems like a player with a future. Versus sucks though.

 

[NashBuff]

Versus is going to be rebranded as NBC Sports. I did pick ESPN due to ESPN3 but if NBC Sports offers a similar package, I'm for that thing.

 

[Daaah]

No to NBC as I can't get it from my place for some reason. I'd go with ESPN for it's espn3.com feature. That makes all the games available and is really great.

 

[BuffNut99]

CBS does one bowl game, the Sun Bowl.

But I went with CBS, they could (assuming no SEC anymore) have a double header every Saturday (triple for big weekends) and put one or two mid tier games on their CBSC channel.

Plus, Verne Lundquist... "Oh my goodness!"

 

[Junction]

Hate ESPiN, but I went with the ABC/ESPiN combo. For the "featured" games, it just seems to me that even the $EC games on CBS got a bit lost up against the ABC regional package. ABC just has the established ownership of the broadcast channel CFB coverage. And what I really want out of the package (along with sweet, sweet money) is exposure. And of the cable packages for the secondary games, none of them can even come close to ESPiNs reach. Plus, ESPiN has a gaping hole on Saturday evening once their early evening games end. The 12-Package would be perfect to put a west coast late start on ESPiN2 with basically no competition for any other games.

Second choice would probably be the Fox/Fox package, just to get access to the Fox Regional sports channels. Next best thing to ESPiN for the non-broadcast channels...

 

[Buffarino]

Any would be good. I'm going to go with the one that gives the conference the most money, so long as assumptions A and B remain intact.

 

[Daaah]

Hate ESPiN, but I went with the ABC/ESPiN combo. For the "featured" games, it just seems to me that even the $EC games on CBS got a bit lost up against the ABC regional package. ABC just has the established ownership of the broadcast channel CFB coverage. And what I really want out of the package (along with sweet, sweet money) is exposure. And of the cable packages for the secondary games, none of them can even come close to ESPiNs reach. Plus, ESPiN has a gaping hole on Saturday evening once their early evening games end. The 12-Package would be perfect to put a west coast late start on ESPiN2 with basically no competition for any other games.

Second choice would probably be the Fox/Fox package, just to get access to the Fox Regional sports channels. Next best thing to ESPiN for the non-broadcast channels...

Also, if ESPN has it's money in the Pac 12, you can bet the pac 12 is going to featured on sportscenter/espn radio/etc. which will definitely increase exposure nationwide.

 

[sackman]

I didn't know that CBS had lost the SEC. They did a great job with the SEC, and I would love to see them so something like that for the Pac 12. If we can manage to get a major network to carry conference games exclusively, that would be HUGE.

 

[Darth Snow]

I love these options. I go with ESPN. Gotta get the hype machine geared westwards.

 

[BehindEnemyLines]

Went with CBS. If they want to stay in the game, they may be willing to overspend (initially) to get the rights to P12 games.

 

[somebody]

My cable went dark early last year (I was just paying way too much for tv), and I found few CU games on ESPN3 last season. Maybe a new deal would change that, maybe not. So after the obvious $$$ considerations, I'd go with whoever puts the most games on overall, to give me the best chance of seeing CU games. It's not clear to me who that would be of these options, but likely ABC/ESPN. FWIW, Cox is the provider in Arizona, so Comcast may not be the best choice for those here with cable.

 

[Deleted member 807]

Any would be good. I'm going to go with the one that gives the conference the most money, so long as assumptions A and B remain intact.

Right. Show me the Money! More>Less.

That said, Comcast taking over NBC has the potential to screw things up for the satellite and non-Comcast cable providers.

And Fox sports doesn't do as well on College Game Day.

ESPN might be biased, but they are in front on web broadcasting, which is where this is going.

 

[96 Buff]

**** no to ****cast/nbc. They ****ing suck. I think CBS would be the good one here, since I liked their coverage of SEC games.

 

[GregInArlington]

CBS does one bowl game, the Sun Bowl.

But I went with CBS, they could (assuming no SEC anymore) have a double header every Saturday (triple for big weekends) and put one or two mid tier games on their CBSC channel.

Plus, Verne Lundquist... "Oh my goodness!"

I voted Fox, because they have 8000 channels with regional coverage of everything. However after reading this, I vote CBS - only because of GUS JOHNSON!

 

[sackman]

Verne Lundquist is a college football legend. Dude is nails. I love hearing him call a game. I enjoyed CBS' coverage of the SEC. They did a fantastic job. It would be a shame if CBS lost out on doing college football. They have talent.

 

[EastCoastBuff]

ABC/ESPN is the word -- that is, for reaching out of their local markets. Just try getting Fox Sports broadcasts on Comcast or other cable providers anywhere frome Maine to Florida; it's a crapshoot. And you want to reach recruits? There is one way -- ESPN. When you're 17, it's the only game in town.

 

[Darian3Hagan]

I love these options. I go with ESPN. Gotta get the hype machine geared westwards.

This.

Wouldnt Gameday at CU be more likely with an ESPN partnership?

 

[BinaryBuff]

Went with ESPN for the built in hype machine. But, I would like something like the Big10 has, where every game is available for me to watch in HD on one of the many ESPN channels or the various Big10 channels as part of my current DirecTV package. I don't really want to have to pay a bunch extra to watch the Pac games through a Fox sports pack or ESPN's college gameplan.

 

[Shldr2Shldr]

ESPN only because of ESPN 3. All games not broadcast on TV would be on there. Add in a P12 network and thats all you need. ESPN Gameday, increased exposure, maybe a stop to the SEC bias (at least maybe a reduction). I hate the announcers and analysts but you can not replace the viewership that ESPN allows.

 

[Hugegroove]

Right. Show me the Money! More>Less.

That said, Comcast taking over NBC has the potential to screw things up for the satellite and non-Comcast cable providers.

And Fox sports doesn't do as well on College Game Day.

ESPN might be biased, but they are in front on web broadcasting, which is where this is going.

Skid is right, the network that CU stands to make the most cash from,

 

[Darth Snow]

Skid is right, the network that CU stands to make the most cash from,

up front cash is good, but a heavy promotion package needs to be part of the deal. WIthout Hype, CU will lose a lot of $$ on merchandise, donations, etc on the back end. This will be especially important towards the back end of the deal when the $ is no longer so astronomical, relatively.

 

[Mick Ronson]

i think most posters have taken the more cheese, mo' better approach...and then opine.

 

[ScottyBuff]

CBS did not "lose" all of the SEC games. They still have an exclusive time slot and first pick of games (14 regular season and championship game) through the year 2024 which they paid $55 million per year to get.

ESPN acts as the "conference network" and gets to pick their games after that while sublicensing others to regional carriers like Raycom. This is how ESPN is able to invest so heavily in college football. They can "hype" the product and create more demand and then sell excess games to the highest bidder, thus recouping a large portion of their investment.

There still could be room on CBS' plate for a Pac-12 contract as the primary contract, backed up with a Pac-12 Network similar to the Big Ten; but we would be missing that crucial "second layer" of national exposure.

Fox has committed to "major events" in sport before they go full steam ahead into college football. They landed the Big Ten championship game and the Pac-12 championship game. I'm sure that they will bid heavily on the Pac-12 deal (like they did the ACC) but I would really hope they make changes to the FSN regionals if they are successful in the bid. Fox already has a business "tie-in" with DirectTV (Newscorp) and many previous dealings which is how the BTN was able to launch successfully; so that is a big positive in having Fox as a business partner (at least for the conference network).

Comcast/NBC/Versus is the real darkhorse. The distribution via satellite is especially dicey considering all the problems that Comcast-DirecTV-Dish Network have had in the past. Versus is a solid platform for NBC Sports to be built upon but still not an ideal network.

So....to make a long story short...I say "all of the above"

We ink a national deal with CBS for the Pac-12 Game of the Week. They get first pick of games for 14 games during the regular season in a primetime slot after their SEC game. Based on prior contracts the conference could get around $50-60 million on that deal.

Next, we sign a deal with ESPN who gets their pick of the rest of the games and the ability to sublicense a certain number to regional carriers. Due to FSN and Versus (NBC Sports) needing content there would be interest which would translate into a higher premium on the TV rights. I don't expect we would get $150 million like the SEC for this deal, but $100 million is not unreasonable.

Fox extends their deal for the Conference Championship game at an increase to $20 million per season.

We then partner with Fox Cable to distribute and operate a Pac-12 Network, reserving one football game a week from the above games prior to sublicensing and airing other sports, coaches shows, etc. This would be an equity interest for the conference and the TV broadcaster (51% Pac-12/49% Fox Cable). It would take 3-5 years to receive any returns on the investment, but it could be expected to reach $50-100 million at that point with strong advertising rates and a majority of carriage in the Pac-12 television footprint. This is where the overseas markets, especially SE Asia could be a crucial advantage for the Pac-12 and many of the "non-revenue" sports in the U.S. as partnerships with broadcast networks in Australia, China, and Japan could be a potential goldmine.

ok, so that story got even longer. sorry for the ramble.

 

[buff4bcs1985]

CBS did not "lose" all of the SEC games. They still have an exclusive time slot and first pick of games (14 regular season and championship game) through the year 2024 which they paid $55 million per year to get.

ESPN acts as the "conference network" and gets to pick their games after that while sublicensing others to regional carriers like Raycom. This is how ESPN is able to invest so heavily in college football. They can "hype" the product and create more demand and then sell excess games to the highest bidder, thus recouping a large portion of their investment.

There still could be room on CBS' plate for a Pac-12 contract as the primary contract, backed up with a Pac-12 Network similar to the Big Ten; but we would be missing that crucial "second layer" of national exposure.

Fox has committed to "major events" in sport before they go full steam ahead into college football. They landed the Big Ten championship game and the Pac-12 championship game. I'm sure that they will bid heavily on the Pac-12 deal (like they did the ACC) but I would really hope they make changes to the FSN regionals if they are successful in the bid. Fox already has a business "tie-in" with DirectTV (Newscorp) and many previous dealings which is how the BTN was able to launch successfully; so that is a big positive in having Fox as a business partner (at least for the conference network).

Comcast/NBC/Versus is the real darkhorse. The distribution via satellite is especially dicey considering all the problems that Comcast-DirecTV-Dish Network have had in the past. Versus is a solid platform for NBC Sports to be built upon but still not an ideal network.

So....to make a long story short...I say "all of the above"

We ink a national deal with CBS for the Pac-12 Game of the Week. They get first pick of games for 14 games during the regular season in a primetime slot after their SEC game. Based on prior contracts the conference could get around $50-60 million on that deal.

Next, we sign a deal with ESPN who gets their pick of the rest of the games and the ability to sublicense a certain number to regional carriers. Due to FSN and Versus (NBC Sports) needing content there would be interest which would translate into a higher premium on the TV rights. I don't expect we would get $150 million like the SEC for this deal, but $100 million is not unreasonable.

Fox extends their deal for the Conference Championship game at an increase to $20 million per season.

We then partner with Fox Cable to distribute and operate a Pac-12 Network, reserving one football game a week from the above games prior to sublicensing and airing other sports, coaches shows, etc. This would be an equity interest for the conference and the TV broadcaster (51% Pac-12/49% Fox Cable). It would take 3-5 years to receive any returns on the investment, but it could be expected to reach $50-100 million at that point with strong advertising rates and a majority of carriage in the Pac-12 television footprint. This is where the overseas markets, especially SE Asia could be a crucial advantage for the Pac-12 and many of the "non-revenue" sports in the U.S. as partnerships with broadcast networks in Australia, China, and Japan could be a potential goldmine.

ok, so that story got even longer. sorry for the ramble.

how the hell could we do that?

 

[ScottyBuff]

how the hell could we do that?

Hire one smart and savvy commissioner and a former-conference commissioner who has helped to build a conference owned network, leverage the large and previously under-priced TV markets of the western U.S. with a competitive group of interested TV partners.

 

[Del]

CBS did not "lose" all of the SEC games. They still have an exclusive time slot and first pick of games (14 regular season and championship game) through the year 2024 which they paid $55 million per year to get.

ESPN acts as the "conference network" and gets to pick their games after that while sublicensing others to regional carriers like Raycom. This is how ESPN is able to invest so heavily in college football. They can "hype" the product and create more demand and then sell excess games to the highest bidder, thus recouping a large portion of their investment.

There still could be room on CBS' plate for a Pac-12 contract as the primary contract, backed up with a Pac-12 Network similar to the Big Ten; but we would be missing that crucial "second layer" of national exposure.

Fox has committed to "major events" in sport before they go full steam ahead into college football. They landed the Big Ten championship game and the Pac-12 championship game. I'm sure that they will bid heavily on the Pac-12 deal (like they did the ACC) but I would really hope they make changes to the FSN regionals if they are successful in the bid. Fox already has a business "tie-in" with DirectTV (Newscorp) and many previous dealings which is how the BTN was able to launch successfully; so that is a big positive in having Fox as a business partner (at least for the conference network).

Comcast/NBC/Versus is the real darkhorse. The distribution via satellite is especially dicey considering all the problems that Comcast-DirecTV-Dish Network have had in the past. Versus is a solid platform for NBC Sports to be built upon but still not an ideal network.

So....to make a long story short...I say "all of the above"

We ink a national deal with CBS for the Pac-12 Game of the Week. They get first pick of games for 14 games during the regular season in a primetime slot after their SEC game. Based on prior contracts the conference could get around $50-60 million on that deal.

Next, we sign a deal with ESPN who gets their pick of the rest of the games and the ability to sublicense a certain number to regional carriers. Due to FSN and Versus (NBC Sports) needing content there would be interest which would translate into a higher premium on the TV rights. I don't expect we would get $150 million like the SEC for this deal, but $100 million is not unreasonable.

Fox extends their deal for the Conference Championship game at an increase to $20 million per season.

We then partner with Fox Cable to distribute and operate a Pac-12 Network, reserving one football game a week from the above games prior to sublicensing and airing other sports, coaches shows, etc. This would be an equity interest for the conference and the TV broadcaster (51% Pac-12/49% Fox Cable). It would take 3-5 years to receive any returns on the investment, but it could be expected to reach $50-100 million at that point with strong advertising rates and a majority of carriage in the Pac-12 television footprint. This is where the overseas markets, especially SE Asia could be a crucial advantage for the Pac-12 and many of the "non-revenue" sports in the U.S. as partnerships with broadcast networks in Australia, China, and Japan could be a potential goldmine.

ok, so that story got even longer. sorry for the ramble.

Scotty really seems to know a lot about this stuff and I've enjoyed reading his posts on it since realignment last year - Do you work in television?

 

[ScottyBuff]

Scotty really seems to know a lot about this stuff and I've enjoyed reading his posts on it since realignment last year - Do you work in television?

nope not at all.

Being an accountant I love to research the business deals and have a pretty large library of articles on conference expansion and television rights. At the outset of this last round of expansion I was doing consulting work and had more free time than I ever had before so I was able to indulge that hobby by doing lots of research.

Reading books like "The Fifty-Year Seduction: How Television Manipulated College Football, from the Birth of the Modern NCAA to the Creation of the BCS" are really helpful to gaining insight into how this stuff comes together.

I really think we hit the jackpot with the Pac-12 and Larry Scott, and am looking forward to seeing the growth of the conference into "Top Three" status of collegiate athletics.