It's all about the footprint. The BIG had to "defend" Penn St, or they could be cut out/overwhelmed in the area. It's all about the TV areas you can claim. Rutgers may not have 10 mill fans, but having them in the BIG gets some attention from casual fans who might have otherwise had ZERO interest. Did you see the "small sliver of east Texas" that viewed the A&M/Alabama game? That's why the SEC was happy to get the Aggies. The BIG is hoping for a similar effect in NJ/NY when Rutgers plays the big name schools. Same for MD in the capital region. And... as BuckT and Don have mentioned, they are perfect fits as big state research schools.
Scott, exactly correct....not only expands the footprint for the BTN but also the conferences share of households in those markets on other networks, ESPN, ABC, etc... Here is another nugget that will have a material impact on the BTN in terms of market penetration efforts....News Corp is 51% owner of the BTN http://www.marketwatch.com/story/news-corp-buys-49-stake-in-yes-network-2012-11-20-11913720?siteid=yhoof2 There is a clear strategy for News Corp here as it relates to the BTN http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323353204578129430974702190.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
My guess is that they will negotiate it down...I've heard talk of a number closer to $20 million or so...in any event, the incremental revenue they anticipate from joining the B1G can be pledged as collateral against any credit facility they may need to fund the outlay
I see that it's being reported that San Diego State, Boise State and BYU have contacted the Mountain West about rejoining that conference. Direct result of the Big East being lumped into the same group with the Mtn West, C-USA, MAC and Sun Belt for 1 guaranteed slot in the BCS.
Interesting that adding 2 mediocre football programs without big followings but strategically located can have such a positive $$$ effect on the BTN and thus the B1G members. Article on ESPN says this starts the ball rolling again, with the ACC being raided by the B12 for Clemson/FSU and the SEC going for NCState and VaTech. Plus speculation that the B1G is not done and that UNC and Ga.Tech will be next to move to the B1G. Leaving the ACC as shell of it's former self. Louisville and Cincy to the B12 as well. Voila 4 Super Conferences with 16 teams.
Interesting stuff. Terry, did you see anything about who the PAC would try to grab as their final 2??
OK I think I finally get it, the BTN gets .x dollars for each household outside the BTN footprint but .x +.y dollars for each household inside the BTN footprint. So by extending the BTN foot print they increase their revenue significantly, doesn't really make any difference if MD has few or many fans same for RU it's all about households. Of course if Nielsen numbers go up in those markets that's a plus in terms of the per household dollars that they get but the main thing is to increase the number of households. Nothing about football, just about money....not that there is anything wrong with that! Did I get it right?
Guess I am not cut out for the big brave new world. Becoming a devoted fan of a sport is usually a product of time-- something that is passed down from father to son. College football, out of all of the major sports, possessed the most illustrious traditions with rivalries dating back over a hundred years. Conferences played a key part of that and added to the mystique of college football. Each conference had it unique culture: the Big 10 and Big 8-the inate conservatism of the sattes of the Midwest and Great Plains and power football; the SEC and SWC- rabid fans, insane rivalries,arger than life coaches and players who became icons of college football; the PAC 10-creative, wide open offenses that reflected the Pacific Coast sense of freedom and risk, beach-blond California cheerleaders, and great teams that usually made the life of a Big 10 fan miserable on New Year’s Day. Each conference possessed the characteristics of the people who lived in that region and made the experience of inter conference games seem like a Marco Polo journey to lands inhabited by people much different that you. These regional differences are reflected by the opinions on this board which is why this site can be so fascinating, infuriating, and educational. The move to mega conference will likely homogenize the culture of college football. Hopefully, the process will not turn college football into the mind numbing blandness that constitutes the present day NFL . As far as economic footprints and cable TV arguments made here, I appreciate the points made by Scott and BT but it seems that in ten years, technology may turn cable and dish companies into dinosaurs with ordering programs a la carte via internet streaming replacing purchasing packages. Thus, monetary predictions based on present technology may not be all that worthwhile. The 800 or so Maryland football fans in this universe can order the game and eveyone else in the area will not be compelled to buy a package that includes networks they do not want ( such as the BTN) in order to see the progams they have to have.
There is also the part about using the leverage from News Corp/YES to get the BTN into basic cable package instead of the premium tier....then you get (x+y) * z to factor in the increased household penetration of the basic package in the country's largest and most affluent market.....hey and we also get Maryland Lacrosse! Only kidding, but Maryland hoops is not too shabby.... That said, I know it might not be meaningful to some, but the addition of Rutgers and Maryland will have CIC member institutions now making up fully half of the top 25 research schools in the entire country with a combined research budget of more than 2X that of even the Ivy League schools in aggregate.....the benefits of which cannot be insignificant
Bob, Kesley and I were just discussing how changes in tech and content delivery will alter the revenue models of future deals. It is my guess, that the conferences are in a hurry to "lock in" their deals, so that they max out their potential before the networks have solid data and can say they aren't worth it.
No doubt the dynamics will change....it makes you consider exactly what are the sources of value in the chain and the vulnerability of each to technological advances. In this regard, and to Bobda's point as well, I have to believe that the least vulnerable are the content owners....the conferences and the producers of the content,,in this case BTN. Those most vulnerable would seem to be the distributors as technology opens up a host of alternatives and it is here that the game changes most dramatically. Indeed one could argue that the content owners are in the sweet spot - as distribution alternatives proliferate for the rights to distribute the content, dynamics would seem to place a premium on having and controlling the content to distribute....