ESPN had a lot more inventory available for games to be picked up this year because of the addition of the ACC Network. All those games that got selected filled spots that normally would have been taken by ACC games.

(12-13-2019 01:53 PM)_x_ Wrote:  App had at least two.

USA and GSU, right? Also, even though it's not a conference game, was the South Carolina game originally set for ESPN2? Or was it flexed there?

As far as conference games:
App at USA
App at GSU
ULM at A-State
ULM at Louisiana (was a game gonna be flexed this weekend regardless? Like did they know in the preseason a SBC game would be flexed in week 14 due to fewer games and it was just a matter of picking one?)

Don't remember ULM at A-State. Wonder what the appeal was there. But I have to imagine those two App games (3 if you count USC) were mostly flexed due to App's ranking.

It was StAte @ ULM, not the other way around. As for why our games got picked up, I'm guessing it was because our games were always high-scoring due to great offense and terrible defense.

(12-13-2019 10:25 AM)CardinalBlackTrojan Wrote:  

(12-13-2019 10:11 AM)Yosef Himself Wrote:  Well, the new TV deal (that starts in August 2020) has already been signed. However, if there's any change to the conference makeup then it would have to be renegotiated and the higher ratings would be part of a better deal.

What higher ratings WILL do (instead of relying on the pipe dream of realignment) shows to ESPN that the Sun Belt draws in viewers. Starting next year we are guaranteed 10 conference games on linear ESPN channels (ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU) but with ratings like the conference has gotten, we'll probably see another year with 15ish or more games on linear ESPN channels.

But wait... how is that possible?

I thought all of our small market schools were supposed to be left in the cold to die (even though we had better football)? I thought FIU, UNT, FAU, MTSU, ODU, UTSA, and UNCC were going to bring a big market presence into their TV viewership?

What happened?

In a few years when Big Tech takes over TV market won’t count at all. Big Tech will not even negotiate with conferences directly but most likely will pursue individual deals with each school based on online metrics such as viewerships, IG and Twitter followers, clicks, views, etc. YouTube, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, etc will then change the whole CFB landscape. Maybe this will eventually lead to the formation of Super-conferences involving lesser programs, but most national brands will try to negotiate ND/NBC type of deals with the FAANGs + Disney, directly.

(12-13-2019 03:10 PM)T2003 Wrote:  

(12-13-2019 10:25 AM)CardinalBlackTrojan Wrote:  

(12-13-2019 10:11 AM)Yosef Himself Wrote:  Well, the new TV deal (that starts in August 2020) has already been signed. However, if there's any change to the conference makeup then it would have to be renegotiated and the higher ratings would be part of a better deal.

What higher ratings WILL do (instead of relying on the pipe dream of realignment) shows to ESPN that the Sun Belt draws in viewers. Starting next year we are guaranteed 10 conference games on linear ESPN channels (ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU) but with ratings like the conference has gotten, we'll probably see another year with 15ish or more games on linear ESPN channels.

But wait... how is that possible?

I thought all of our small market schools were supposed to be left in the cold to die (even though we had better football)? I thought FIU, UNT, FAU, MTSU, ODU, UTSA, and UNCC were going to bring a big market presence into their TV viewership?

What happened?

In a few years when Big Tech takes over TV market won’t count at all. Big Tech will not even negotiate with conferences directly but most likely will pursue individual deals with each school based on online metrics such as viewerships, IG and Twitter followers, clicks, views, etc. YouTube, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, etc will then change the whole CFB landscape. Maybe this will eventually lead to the formation of Super-conferences involving lesser programs, but most national brands will try to negotiate ND/NBC type of deals with the FAANGs + Disney, directly.

I don't understand why TV Market matters now, honestly. I understand that success is likely a better predictor of eye balls, but predicting success is infinitely more difficult than predicting cash flow based on market size. I'd think a ranked App State's numbers would be 2 million playing a ranked Memphis on TV the same way Memphis was with Cincinnati. I'd also be willing to bet that App would capture TV markets in the Triad, Charlotte, and the Triangle, rather than just one or the other.

But how do you quantify that when the school, itself, isn't located in one of those markets?

But i'm not in marketing or cable.