First seemingly unrelated items:

1. The ABC/ESPN/Disney block is trying to buy out the CBS contract for years 2021, 2022, and 2023.

2. There have been some suspicions that the reason the details of the new Media Deal are slow in coming out is that they may be reworking the entire contract instead of just purchasing the T1 rights and the Conference Championship Game.

3. Paul Finebaum is rumored to be shopping his talents elsewhere to TV, possibly FOX etc. and his present contract with the SECN expires at the end of the 2020 season.

4. It has been rumored that the SEC may have some product set aside for ESPN+ when the details of the new deal are announced.

5. The SEC announced and celebrated record revenues which resulted in a per school payout of 44.6 million this year. Last year it was 43.7 million, and the year before that it was 41 million. Our built in escalators should be giving us a 2 million dollar boost per year so what the heck gives here?

Individually you could have a discussion thread about any of these items, but taken collectively they seem to dovetail.

What if the SECN minus the overhead of the studio and studio programming coupled with cord cutting is the actual drain on the T1 and T2 escalators that is keeping us from seeing an annual increase of revenue of over 2 million per school? And what if the length of time it is taking to work out the details on this contract are centered around how to obtain the level of exposure that the SECN has given us, without it and to figure out how much more we might make with product on ESPN+ as opposed to the SECN and its current subscription model? And what if Paul Finebaum knows that the 2020 season is the last for the SECN and is out shopping his services because he wants to remain active at some level in broadcasting without having to retire? And what if the reason ABC/ESPN wanted to buy out the last 3 years of the CBS contract is because they weren't ready for all of the product in 2020 and that would give CBS a year to transition and ABC/ESPN a year to figure out how to market the SEC in a viable way through a streaming platform? Especially if that platform is part of Disney+ and part of a much larger marketing plan?

Overarching explanations for a variety of smaller rumors and press releases don't always pan out to be the explanation, but you have to admit there are intersecting points for each of these.

Enter, Vince Thompson saying that the new contract when all the details were in might NET each school closer to 40 million in additional per school revenue than 20 million, and consider he handles promotions for Disney and voila I think we have more than just some smoke.

We'll see but if I'm in the ballpark look for T!, T2, and T3 rights deals to all either be new or revalued, the SECN to be gone by the start of 2021 football season, and likely with it the fledgling ACCN, and LHN, for Texas to be a part of either the SEC or ACC by 2025, and for a package of ESPN+, Disney+, and a form of conference specific programming on them to be available in 2021 as an exclusive paid by subscription fees thereby cutting out the cable channel. By cutting out the cable provider share Disney will be able to pay the SEC and ACC much more for the games on ESPN+ and by offering a discounted premier package for Disney+ inclusive of ESPN+ they make these offerings much more widely marketable.

Paying well for T1 and renegotiating T2 provides a big enough payoff to be the incentive for the move. And bringing in the LHN and any key product from the Big 12 becomes a way of sewing up the 2 most viewed conferences and the 2 of the 3 largest conference markets.

I don't think we are going to just see some change within the next 2 years with realignment in 4, I think we are going to see some massive changes and that without addressing paying players or permitting them revenue from their image.

I think the question of whether they would discontinue the SEC Network is based on whether they can make more money by shifting that content to ESPN+.

The SEC Network is a good resource for our conference, but the actual viewership might not be impressive. Given that reality and the cord-cutting trend, perhaps there are cable companies completely uninterested in continuing in that sort of arrangement.

If ESPN continues to move content to ESPN+ then that potentially opens up doors. The ACC Network would follow and the LHN would too. Brand everything differently if need be, that's basically what they do anyway. It doesn't matter as long as it's on the same platform.

(02-12-2020 07:19 PM)AllTideUp Wrote:  I think the question of whether they would discontinue the SEC Network is based on whether they can make more money by shifting that content to ESPN+.

The SEC Network is a good resource for our conference, but the actual viewership might not be impressive. Given that reality and the cord-cutting trend, perhaps there are cable companies completely uninterested in continuing in that sort of arrangement.

If ESPN continues to move content to ESPN+ then that potentially opens up doors. The ACC Network would follow and the LHN would too. Brand everything differently if need be, that's basically what they do anyway. It doesn't matter as long as it's on the same platform.

I think it's all baked in. If the new contract does indeed include an earlier than expected reevaluation of T2 and T3 material then it is probably a done deal as we speak.

Finebaum might not like loosing that national audience, but are a few callers from Ohio and California really worth the production costs?

I would be interested to see if somebody like Tony Barnhardt might not be a really viable replacement.

Basically could the whole SECN package move to ESPN+ as is.
Studio programming, if it a drain on bottom line, could fall under marketing expense.
As far as Finebaum is concerned, he show is boring.

Texas decides to stay in B-12, networks will pay them to stay there

(02-13-2020 04:09 AM)templefootballfan Wrote:  Basically could the whole SECN package move to ESPN+ as is.
Studio programming, if it a drain on bottom line, could fall under marketing expense.
As far as Finebaum is concerned, he show is boring.

Texas decides to stay in B-12, networks will pay them to stay there

Sure that's possible, and possibly even likely. I realized that later that what I said needed a qualifier. What I meant was that the SECN would cease to exist on a channel. I'm sure they will retain the branding somehow so that it attracts its followers to the new format. But a dedicated cable channel will go away. The same for the ACCN and LHN would be likely as well.

And sure ESPN which has already signed 8 of the Big 12 to ESPN+ contracts for their T3 inventory might just offer Texas and Oklahoma a special deal and keep them together, but that would not be the most profitable things to do with those brands so I still expect movement.

(02-13-2020 12:06 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(02-13-2020 04:09 AM)templefootballfan Wrote:  Basically could the whole SECN package move to ESPN+ as is.
Studio programming, if it a drain on bottom line, could fall under marketing expense.
As far as Finebaum is concerned, he show is boring.

Texas decides to stay in B-12, networks will pay them to stay there

Sure that's possible, and possibly even likely. I realized that later that what I said needed a qualifier. What I meant was that the SECN would cease to exist on a channel. I'm sure they will retain the branding somehow so that it attracts its followers to the new format. But a dedicated cable channel will go away. The same for the ACCN and LHN would be likely as well.

And sure ESPN which has already signed 8 of the Big 12 to ESPN+ contracts for their T3 inventory might just offer Texas and Oklahoma a special deal and keep them together, but that would be the most profitable things to do with those brands so I still expect movement.

Don't mean to put words in your mouth but wondered if you left out a "not" in the last sentence between the words "would" and "be".

RE: Texas

ESPN and other networks look at schools as assets.
There might be a level of discussion about Texas at the corporate level that we may not understand or at least may have not thought about.

Does ESPN need any more inventory from the SEC? Not really.
Does ESPN have to worry about inventory from the ACC? No.

Concerns would be paying Big 12 schools a premium for ratings that are good, but not spread out over the entire country and securing B1G inventory for football and basketball.

Would ESPN place Texas in the B1G for long term inventory access to the Big Ten?
The SEC could add Oklahoma and ESPN would be guaranteed at least one RRR game every two years for ESPN.

For Christmas, my wife gave me a year of "streaming service of my choice." At first I thought that would be Disney+ with the bundle (we already have Hulu) so I could ESPN+, but then I saw the actual content on ESPN+ (for now) and was sorely disappointed. I am happily using CBS All Access which let me watch my Chiefs as well as Star Trek: Picard. The other day, I realized I could watch KY vs. TN on All Access (though I chose to watch something else).

If the issue is the cable version of the SEC Network, I would think the easiest "rebranding" would not be to put it all on ESPN+, but to create the SEC Network+ as a streaming service. Charge say 5.99 for it (the price of ESPN+ as it currently stands).It would be easier for people to decide to stream a channel they already watch than to figure out if their game is on ESPN+.

(CBS has CBS All Access, NBC is going to have the Peacock, ABC/Disney has Disney+/ESPN+/Hulu, I am just waiting for Fox to get into it too).

(02-13-2020 03:10 PM)Soobahk40050 Wrote:  For Christmas, my wife gave me a year of "streaming service of my choice." At first I thought that would be Disney+ with the bundle (we already have Hulu) so I could ESPN+, but then I saw the actual content on ESPN+ (for now) and was sorely disappointed. I am happily using CBS All Access which let me watch my Chiefs as well as Star Trek: Picard. The other day, I realized I could watch KY vs. TN on All Access (though I chose to watch something else).

If the issue is the cable version of the SEC Network, I would think the easiest "rebranding" would not be to put it all on ESPN+, but to create the SEC Network+ as a streaming service. Charge say 5.99 for it (the price of ESPN+ as it currently stands).It would be easier for people to decide to stream a channel they already watch than to figure out if their game is on ESPN+.

(CBS has CBS All Access, NBC is going to have the Peacock, ABC/Disney has Disney+/ESPN+/Hulu, I am just waiting for Fox to get into it too).

They would roll everything into ESPN+ because they want to increase the content value and open up the potential audience size.

That's actually the advantage of a streaming service. You can bundle everything for one cost and reach a wider audience. With the traditional cable model, you are limited to whatever the sub fees are for the individual channels. That means cable companies offer different packages and you have to pay a lot extra in order to get whatever channel you might like. In other words, you get a ton of extra channels you don't want thrown in.

With streaming, you'll still get content you're not interested in, but your cost is significantly lower.

It would be a lot harder to have an SEC Network+ as its own streaming service. The only people who would subscribe would be the avid SEC viewers. No one else would be motivated to join in.

(02-12-2020 06:40 PM)JRsec Wrote:  First seemingly unrelated items:

1. The ABC/ESPN/Disney block is trying to buy out the CBS contract for years 2021, 2022, and 2023.

2. There have been some suspicions that the reason the details of the new Media Deal are slow in coming out is that they may be reworking the entire contract instead of just purchasing the T1 rights and the Conference Championship Game.

3. Paul Finebaum is rumored to be shopping his talents elsewhere to TV, possibly FOX etc. and his present contract with the SECN expires at the end of the 2020 season.

4. It has been rumored that the SEC may have some product set aside for ESPN+ when the details of the new deal are announced.

5. The SEC announced and celebrated record revenues which resulted in a per school payout of 44.6 million this year. Last year it was 43.7 million, and the year before that it was 41 million. Our built in escalators should be giving us a 2 million dollar boost per year so what the heck gives here?

Individually you could have a discussion thread about any of these items, but taken collectively they seem to dovetail.

What if the SECN minus the overhead of the studio and studio programming coupled with cord cutting is the actual drain on the T1 and T2 escalators that is keeping us from seeing an annual increase of revenue of over 2 million per school? And what if the length of time it is taking to work out the details on this contract are centered around how to obtain the level of exposure that the SECN has given us, without it and to figure out how much more we might make with product on ESPN+ as opposed to the SECN and its current subscription model? And what if Paul Finebaum knows that the 2020 season is the last for the SECN and is out shopping his services because he wants to remain active at some level in broadcasting without having to retire? And what if the reason ABC/ESPN wanted to buy out the last 3 years of the CBS contract is because they weren't ready for all of the product in 2020 and that would give CBS a year to transition and ABC/ESPN a year to figure out how to market the SEC in a viable way through a streaming platform? Especially if that platform is part of Disney+ and part of a much larger marketing plan?

Overarching explanations for a variety of smaller rumors and press releases don't always pan out to be the explanation, but you have to admit there are intersecting points for each of these.

Enter, Vince Thompson saying that the new contract when all the details were in might NET each school closer to 40 million in additional per school revenue than 20 million, and consider he handles promotions for Disney and voila I think we have more than just some smoke.

We'll see but if I'm in the ballpark look for T!, T2, and T3 rights deals to all either be new or revalued, the SECN to be gone by the start of 2021 football season, and likely with it the fledgling ACCN, and LHN, for Texas to be a part of either the SEC or ACC by 2025, and for a package of ESPN+, Disney+, and a form of conference specific programming on them to be available in 2021 as an exclusive paid by subscription fees thereby cutting out the cable channel. By cutting out the cable provider share Disney will be able to pay the SEC and ACC much more for the games on ESPN+ and by offering a discounted premier package for Disney+ inclusive of ESPN+ they make these offerings much more widely marketable.

Paying well for T1 and renegotiating T2 provides a big enough payoff to be the incentive for the move. And bringing in the LHN and any key product from the Big 12 becomes a way of sewing up the 2 most viewed conferences and the 2 of the 3 largest conference markets.

I don't think we are going to just see some change within the next 2 years with realignment in 4, I think we are going to see some massive changes and that without addressing paying players or permitting them revenue from their image.

#3....Paul Finebaum has talent?

(02-13-2020 04:33 PM)XLance Wrote:  

(02-12-2020 06:40 PM)JRsec Wrote:  First seemingly unrelated items:

1. The ABC/ESPN/Disney block is trying to buy out the CBS contract for years 2021, 2022, and 2023.

2. There have been some suspicions that the reason the details of the new Media Deal are slow in coming out is that they may be reworking the entire contract instead of just purchasing the T1 rights and the Conference Championship Game.

3. Paul Finebaum is rumored to be shopping his talents elsewhere to TV, possibly FOX etc. and his present contract with the SECN expires at the end of the 2020 season.

4. It has been rumored that the SEC may have some product set aside for ESPN+ when the details of the new deal are announced.

5. The SEC announced and celebrated record revenues which resulted in a per school payout of 44.6 million this year. Last year it was 43.7 million, and the year before that it was 41 million. Our built in escalators should be giving us a 2 million dollar boost per year so what the heck gives here?

Individually you could have a discussion thread about any of these items, but taken collectively they seem to dovetail.

What if the SECN minus the overhead of the studio and studio programming coupled with cord cutting is the actual drain on the T1 and T2 escalators that is keeping us from seeing an annual increase of revenue of over 2 million per school? And what if the length of time it is taking to work out the details on this contract are centered around how to obtain the level of exposure that the SECN has given us, without it and to figure out how much more we might make with product on ESPN+ as opposed to the SECN and its current subscription model? And what if Paul Finebaum knows that the 2020 season is the last for the SECN and is out shopping his services because he wants to remain active at some level in broadcasting without having to retire? And what if the reason ABC/ESPN wanted to buy out the last 3 years of the CBS contract is because they weren't ready for all of the product in 2020 and that would give CBS a year to transition and ABC/ESPN a year to figure out how to market the SEC in a viable way through a streaming platform? Especially if that platform is part of Disney+ and part of a much larger marketing plan?

Overarching explanations for a variety of smaller rumors and press releases don't always pan out to be the explanation, but you have to admit there are intersecting points for each of these.

Enter, Vince Thompson saying that the new contract when all the details were in might NET each school closer to 40 million in additional per school revenue than 20 million, and consider he handles promotions for Disney and voila I think we have more than just some smoke.

We'll see but if I'm in the ballpark look for T!, T2, and T3 rights deals to all either be new or revalued, the SECN to be gone by the start of 2021 football season, and likely with it the fledgling ACCN, and LHN, for Texas to be a part of either the SEC or ACC by 2025, and for a package of ESPN+, Disney+, and a form of conference specific programming on them to be available in 2021 as an exclusive paid by subscription fees thereby cutting out the cable channel. By cutting out the cable provider share Disney will be able to pay the SEC and ACC much more for the games on ESPN+ and by offering a discounted premier package for Disney+ inclusive of ESPN+ they make these offerings much more widely marketable.

Paying well for T1 and renegotiating T2 provides a big enough payoff to be the incentive for the move. And bringing in the LHN and any key product from the Big 12 becomes a way of sewing up the 2 most viewed conferences and the 2 of the 3 largest conference markets.

I don't think we are going to just see some change within the next 2 years with realignment in 4, I think we are going to see some massive changes and that without addressing paying players or permitting them revenue from their image.

#3....Paul Finebaum has talent?

That's wholly irrelevant to what is going on. But the next few months should reveal the SEC's contract particulars and that should confirm or deny any of this. We'll see.

(02-13-2020 04:40 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(02-13-2020 04:33 PM)XLance Wrote:  

(02-12-2020 06:40 PM)JRsec Wrote:  First seemingly unrelated items:

1. The ABC/ESPN/Disney block is trying to buy out the CBS contract for years 2021, 2022, and 2023.

2. There have been some suspicions that the reason the details of the new Media Deal are slow in coming out is that they may be reworking the entire contract instead of just purchasing the T1 rights and the Conference Championship Game.

3. Paul Finebaum is rumored to be shopping his talents elsewhere to TV, possibly FOX etc. and his present contract with the SECN expires at the end of the 2020 season.

4. It has been rumored that the SEC may have some product set aside for ESPN+ when the details of the new deal are announced.

5. The SEC announced and celebrated record revenues which resulted in a per school payout of 44.6 million this year. Last year it was 43.7 million, and the year before that it was 41 million. Our built in escalators should be giving us a 2 million dollar boost per year so what the heck gives here?

Individually you could have a discussion thread about any of these items, but taken collectively they seem to dovetail.

What if the SECN minus the overhead of the studio and studio programming coupled with cord cutting is the actual drain on the T1 and T2 escalators that is keeping us from seeing an annual increase of revenue of over 2 million per school? And what if the length of time it is taking to work out the details on this contract are centered around how to obtain the level of exposure that the SECN has given us, without it and to figure out how much more we might make with product on ESPN+ as opposed to the SECN and its current subscription model? And what if Paul Finebaum knows that the 2020 season is the last for the SECN and is out shopping his services because he wants to remain active at some level in broadcasting without having to retire? And what if the reason ABC/ESPN wanted to buy out the last 3 years of the CBS contract is because they weren't ready for all of the product in 2020 and that would give CBS a year to transition and ABC/ESPN a year to figure out how to market the SEC in a viable way through a streaming platform? Especially if that platform is part of Disney+ and part of a much larger marketing plan?

Overarching explanations for a variety of smaller rumors and press releases don't always pan out to be the explanation, but you have to admit there are intersecting points for each of these.

Enter, Vince Thompson saying that the new contract when all the details were in might NET each school closer to 40 million in additional per school revenue than 20 million, and consider he handles promotions for Disney and voila I think we have more than just some smoke.

We'll see but if I'm in the ballpark look for T!, T2, and T3 rights deals to all either be new or revalued, the SECN to be gone by the start of 2021 football season, and likely with it the fledgling ACCN, and LHN, for Texas to be a part of either the SEC or ACC by 2025, and for a package of ESPN+, Disney+, and a form of conference specific programming on them to be available in 2021 as an exclusive paid by subscription fees thereby cutting out the cable channel. By cutting out the cable provider share Disney will be able to pay the SEC and ACC much more for the games on ESPN+ and by offering a discounted premier package for Disney+ inclusive of ESPN+ they make these offerings much more widely marketable.

Paying well for T1 and renegotiating T2 provides a big enough payoff to be the incentive for the move. And bringing in the LHN and any key product from the Big 12 becomes a way of sewing up the 2 most viewed conferences and the 2 of the 3 largest conference markets.

I don't think we are going to just see some change within the next 2 years with realignment in 4, I think we are going to see some massive changes and that without addressing paying players or permitting them revenue from their image.

#3....Paul Finebaum has talent?

That's wholly irrelevant to what is going on. But the next few months should reveal the SEC's contract particulars and that should confirm or deny any of this. We'll see.

You had it listed as item #3.

(02-12-2020 06:40 PM)JRsec Wrote:  First seemingly unrelated items:

1. The ABC/ESPN/Disney block is trying to buy out the CBS contract for years 2021, 2022, and 2023.

2. There have been some suspicions that the reason the details of the new Media Deal are slow in coming out is that they may be reworking the entire contract instead of just purchasing the T1 rights and the Conference Championship Game.

3. Paul Finebaum is rumored to be shopping his talents elsewhere to TV, possibly FOX etc. and his present contract with the SECN expires at the end of the 2020 season.

4. It has been rumored that the SEC may have some product set aside for ESPN+ when the details of the new deal are announced.

5. The SEC announced and celebrated record revenues which resulted in a per school payout of 44.6 million this year. Last year it was 43.7 million, and the year before that it was 41 million. Our built in escalators should be giving us a 2 million dollar boost per year so what the heck gives here?

Individually you could have a discussion thread about any of these items, but taken collectively they seem to dovetail.

What if the SECN minus the overhead of the studio and studio programming coupled with cord cutting is the actual drain on the T1 and T2 escalators that is keeping us from seeing an annual increase of revenue of over 2 million per school? And what if the length of time it is taking to work out the details on this contract are centered around how to obtain the level of exposure that the SECN has given us, without it and to figure out how much more we might make with product on ESPN+ as opposed to the SECN and its current subscription model? And what if Paul Finebaum knows that the 2020 season is the last for the SECN and is out shopping his services because he wants to remain active at some level in broadcasting without having to retire? And what if the reason ABC/ESPN wanted to buy out the last 3 years of the CBS contract is because they weren't ready for all of the product in 2020 and that would give CBS a year to transition and ABC/ESPN a year to figure out how to market the SEC in a viable way through a streaming platform? Especially if that platform is part of Disney+ and part of a much larger marketing plan?

Overarching explanations for a variety of smaller rumors and press releases don't always pan out to be the explanation, but you have to admit there are intersecting points for each of these.

Enter, Vince Thompson saying that the new contract when all the details were in might NET each school closer to 40 million in additional per school revenue than 20 million, and consider he handles promotions for Disney and voila I think we have more than just some smoke.

We'll see but if I'm in the ballpark look for T!, T2, and T3 rights deals to all either be new or revalued, the SECN to be gone by the start of 2021 football season, and likely with it the fledgling ACCN, and LHN, for Texas to be a part of either the SEC or ACC by 2025, and for a package of ESPN+, Disney+, and a form of conference specific programming on them to be available in 2021 as an exclusive paid by subscription fees thereby cutting out the cable channel. By cutting out the cable provider share Disney will be able to pay the SEC and ACC much more for the games on ESPN+ and by offering a discounted premier package for Disney+ inclusive of ESPN+ they make these offerings much more widely marketable.

Paying well for T1 and renegotiating T2 provides a big enough payoff to be the incentive for the move. And bringing in the LHN and any key product from the Big 12 becomes a way of sewing up the 2 most viewed conferences and the 2 of the 3 largest conference markets.

I don't think we are going to just see some change within the next 2 years with realignment in 4, I think we are going to see some massive changes and that without addressing paying players or permitting them revenue from their image.

ESPN is not giving up the sub rates for the SECN just yet. ESPN+ is nice, but more needs to be added to it before more subscribers add that service. Heck, just this past week a Senator from West Virginia called Bowlsby before the senate to ask why his state’s citizens had to pay $5 a month to watch ‘eer games now?

(02-15-2020 04:30 AM)murrdcu Wrote:  

(02-12-2020 06:40 PM)JRsec Wrote:  First seemingly unrelated items:

1. The ABC/ESPN/Disney block is trying to buy out the CBS contract for years 2021, 2022, and 2023.

2. There have been some suspicions that the reason the details of the new Media Deal are slow in coming out is that they may be reworking the entire contract instead of just purchasing the T1 rights and the Conference Championship Game.

3. Paul Finebaum is rumored to be shopping his talents elsewhere to TV, possibly FOX etc. and his present contract with the SECN expires at the end of the 2020 season.

4. It has been rumored that the SEC may have some product set aside for ESPN+ when the details of the new deal are announced.

5. The SEC announced and celebrated record revenues which resulted in a per school payout of 44.6 million this year. Last year it was 43.7 million, and the year before that it was 41 million. Our built in escalators should be giving us a 2 million dollar boost per year so what the heck gives here?

Individually you could have a discussion thread about any of these items, but taken collectively they seem to dovetail.

What if the SECN minus the overhead of the studio and studio programming coupled with cord cutting is the actual drain on the T1 and T2 escalators that is keeping us from seeing an annual increase of revenue of over 2 million per school? And what if the length of time it is taking to work out the details on this contract are centered around how to obtain the level of exposure that the SECN has given us, without it and to figure out how much more we might make with product on ESPN+ as opposed to the SECN and its current subscription model? And what if Paul Finebaum knows that the 2020 season is the last for the SECN and is out shopping his services because he wants to remain active at some level in broadcasting without having to retire? And what if the reason ABC/ESPN wanted to buy out the last 3 years of the CBS contract is because they weren't ready for all of the product in 2020 and that would give CBS a year to transition and ABC/ESPN a year to figure out how to market the SEC in a viable way through a streaming platform? Especially if that platform is part of Disney+ and part of a much larger marketing plan?

Overarching explanations for a variety of smaller rumors and press releases don't always pan out to be the explanation, but you have to admit there are intersecting points for each of these.

Enter, Vince Thompson saying that the new contract when all the details were in might NET each school closer to 40 million in additional per school revenue than 20 million, and consider he handles promotions for Disney and voila I think we have more than just some smoke.

We'll see but if I'm in the ballpark look for T!, T2, and T3 rights deals to all either be new or revalued, the SECN to be gone by the start of 2021 football season, and likely with it the fledgling ACCN, and LHN, for Texas to be a part of either the SEC or ACC by 2025, and for a package of ESPN+, Disney+, and a form of conference specific programming on them to be available in 2021 as an exclusive paid by subscription fees thereby cutting out the cable channel. By cutting out the cable provider share Disney will be able to pay the SEC and ACC much more for the games on ESPN+ and by offering a discounted premier package for Disney+ inclusive of ESPN+ they make these offerings much more widely marketable.

Paying well for T1 and renegotiating T2 provides a big enough payoff to be the incentive for the move. And bringing in the LHN and any key product from the Big 12 becomes a way of sewing up the 2 most viewed conferences and the 2 of the 3 largest conference markets.

I don't think we are going to just see some change within the next 2 years with realignment in 4, I think we are going to see some massive changes and that without addressing paying players or permitting them revenue from their image.

ESPN is not giving up the sub rates for the SECN just yet. ESPN+ is nice, but more needs to be added to it before more subscribers add that service. Heck, just this past week a Senator from West Virginia called Bowlsby before the senate to ask why his state’s citizens had to pay $5 a month to watch ‘eer games now?

And that's why ESPN wants to put more on the +.

(02-15-2020 04:30 AM)murrdcu Wrote:  

(02-12-2020 06:40 PM)JRsec Wrote:  First seemingly unrelated items:

1. The ABC/ESPN/Disney block is trying to buy out the CBS contract for years 2021, 2022, and 2023.

2. There have been some suspicions that the reason the details of the new Media Deal are slow in coming out is that they may be reworking the entire contract instead of just purchasing the T1 rights and the Conference Championship Game.

3. Paul Finebaum is rumored to be shopping his talents elsewhere to TV, possibly FOX etc. and his present contract with the SECN expires at the end of the 2020 season.

4. It has been rumored that the SEC may have some product set aside for ESPN+ when the details of the new deal are announced.

5. The SEC announced and celebrated record revenues which resulted in a per school payout of 44.6 million this year. Last year it was 43.7 million, and the year before that it was 41 million. Our built in escalators should be giving us a 2 million dollar boost per year so what the heck gives here?

Individually you could have a discussion thread about any of these items, but taken collectively they seem to dovetail.

What if the SECN minus the overhead of the studio and studio programming coupled with cord cutting is the actual drain on the T1 and T2 escalators that is keeping us from seeing an annual increase of revenue of over 2 million per school? And what if the length of time it is taking to work out the details on this contract are centered around how to obtain the level of exposure that the SECN has given us, without it and to figure out how much more we might make with product on ESPN+ as opposed to the SECN and its current subscription model? And what if Paul Finebaum knows that the 2020 season is the last for the SECN and is out shopping his services because he wants to remain active at some level in broadcasting without having to retire? And what if the reason ABC/ESPN wanted to buy out the last 3 years of the CBS contract is because they weren't ready for all of the product in 2020 and that would give CBS a year to transition and ABC/ESPN a year to figure out how to market the SEC in a viable way through a streaming platform? Especially if that platform is part of Disney+ and part of a much larger marketing plan?

Overarching explanations for a variety of smaller rumors and press releases don't always pan out to be the explanation, but you have to admit there are intersecting points for each of these.

Enter, Vince Thompson saying that the new contract when all the details were in might NET each school closer to 40 million in additional per school revenue than 20 million, and consider he handles promotions for Disney and voila I think we have more than just some smoke.

We'll see but if I'm in the ballpark look for T!, T2, and T3 rights deals to all either be new or revalued, the SECN to be gone by the start of 2021 football season, and likely with it the fledgling ACCN, and LHN, for Texas to be a part of either the SEC or ACC by 2025, and for a package of ESPN+, Disney+, and a form of conference specific programming on them to be available in 2021 as an exclusive paid by subscription fees thereby cutting out the cable channel. By cutting out the cable provider share Disney will be able to pay the SEC and ACC much more for the games on ESPN+ and by offering a discounted premier package for Disney+ inclusive of ESPN+ they make these offerings much more widely marketable.

Paying well for T1 and renegotiating T2 provides a big enough payoff to be the incentive for the move. And bringing in the LHN and any key product from the Big 12 becomes a way of sewing up the 2 most viewed conferences and the 2 of the 3 largest conference markets.

I don't think we are going to just see some change within the next 2 years with realignment in 4, I think we are going to see some massive changes and that without addressing paying players or permitting them revenue from their image.

ESPN is not giving up the sub rates for the SECN just yet. ESPN+ is nice, but more needs to be added to it before more subscribers add that service. Heck, just this past week a Senator from West Virginia called Bowlsby before the senate to ask why his state’s citizens had to pay $5 a month to watch ‘eer games now?

My pet theory, but I think ESPN might be willing to drop certain channels so that they can get a sweetheart deal from certain cable companies.

ESPN+ will be very important for them going forward so receiving aid from the cable companies in the way of faster connections and whatnot...would be invaluable to them especially as it concerns live broadcasts.