An article on how ESPN could be in control of all this realignment.

https://www-mercurynews-com.cdn.ampproje...aster-plan

I've got several different posts in different threads but I worked out the Sun Belt's ESPN viewership numbers (with sources). The conference advertised over 26 million viewers of Sun Belt controlled games. Over 17 million were on their linear channels averaging about 750k per event. The left over non-rated and streaming games averaged about 250k viewers. That's FS1/MWC viewership numbers on ESPN+

No doubt ESPN is in control, they have been in control a long time.

I’ve been saying this for years.

(07-25-2021 03:58 PM)Yosef Himself Wrote:  I've got several different posts in different threads but I worked out the Sun Belt's ESPN viewership numbers (with sources). The conference advertised over 26 million viewers of Sun Belt controlled games. Over 17 million were on their linear channels averaging about 750k per event. The left over non-rated and streaming games averaged about 250k viewers. That's FS1/MWC viewership numbers on ESPN+

If that’s true then that would mean the SBC’s fair market value today should be $270m over 6 years. That is the value of the MWC contract with the FS1. That would give the SBC programs $4.5m per year off of a TV deal. Using that info, wouldn’t the SBC be in a position of strength during expansion? Why not be aggressive and poach CUSA then renegotiate our TV deal with ESPN?

The conference did just increase their TV #s by 7 games per season. MWC has like 30 games on TV. So you should scale your numbers back accordingly.

I am excited to eventually learn the new details of the ESPN deal

Yep, I posted about this over on the CUSA board. I keep seeing people make remarks about CUSA and Sun Belt reshuffling to regionalize. Ummmm no, that is not going to happen. ESPN would never have reworked or extended their deal with the SBC if the conference was going to see massive changes (they refused to negotiate BIG12 deal last year hmm).

The only thing that may happen, is ESPN telling the SBC to add certain teams. The mouse knows what it wants, and will eventually get what it wants.

The mouse also bought the SEC a few months ago, away from CBS. About the time all these talks were allegedly starting. Now they have extended the SBC, ESPN knows what it’s doing, and it’s positioning everyone where they want it. If ESPN wants us to expand, we are expanding, and they will tell us who.

So ESPN owns the SEC, ACC, part of the B1G, the AAC, SBC, MAC, and a tiny bit of CUSA.

A crazy hypothetical college football world domination scenario is:

Talking the top PAC, MWC, and CUSA programs into joining the other leagues to then control nearly all of FBS. The west coast market is slowly fading outside of a few programs so there's no need to court more than a handful there. Imagine USC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Oregon, and Washington being a western arm of the B1G. The ACC and SEC pickoff whatever Big 12 leftovers they want. Add Boise, Air Force, SDSU and CSU to the AAC. Also find BYU a home and then the west is locked up.

CUSA gets picked apart with the SBC getting UAB, USM, La Tech, and FAU. The MAC is rewarded for being loyal to the mouse and it gets Marshall, WKU, and perhaps NDSU and JMU.

That would put basically every team that's been ranked in the past 5 years under the ESPN umbrella with all but the B1G being 100% under their control contractually.

It is definitely crazy, but who knows what Disney really has in mind???

Once ESPN controls the large majority of D1 college sports, they should **** around and implement relegation a la European soccer

(07-25-2021 08:44 PM)TrueBlueDrew Wrote:  Once ESPN controls the large majority of D1 college sports, they should **** around and implement relegation a la European soccer

Relegation would e a wonderful thing, and I think American fans would get behind it if they understood it, or even knew it existed. You want to be on the top line, earn it.

(07-25-2021 08:53 PM)Usajags Wrote:  

(07-25-2021 08:44 PM)TrueBlueDrew Wrote:  Once ESPN controls the large majority of D1 college sports, they should **** around and implement relegation a la European soccer

Relegation would e a wonderful thing, and I think American fans would get behind it if they understood it, or even knew it existed. You want to be on the top line, earn it.

As American as promotion/relegation sounds it would just never work or be accepted. Imagine how it would affect other sports or even the academic side of things as well. It would be a huge mess

(07-25-2021 03:58 PM)Yosef Himself Wrote:  I've got several different posts in different threads but I worked out the Sun Belt's ESPN viewership numbers (with sources). The conference advertised over 26 million viewers of Sun Belt controlled games. Over 17 million were on their linear channels averaging about 750k per event. The left over non-rated and streaming games averaged about 250k viewers. That's FS1/MWC viewership numbers on ESPN+

A piece you might want to consider is that streaming the “broadcast” ESPN “channels” is hidden in those numbers. If anything, the growing amount of SBC games on the “main ESPN channels” is a testament to the growing popularity of the league’s games. In other words: that streaming number in your post reflects the viewership of non-featured matches only available on ESPN’s streaming platforms not the actual number of viewers that stream content vs. watching on cable or satellite.

(07-25-2021 08:15 PM)JTApps1 Wrote:  So ESPN owns the SEC, ACC, part of the B1G, the AAC, SBC, MAC, and a tiny bit of CUSA.

A crazy hypothetical college football world domination scenario is:

Talking the top PAC, MWC, and CUSA programs into joining the other leagues to then control nearly all of FBS. The west coast market is slowly fading outside of a few programs so there's no need to court more than a handful there. Imagine USC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Oregon, and Washington being a western arm of the B1G. The ACC and SEC pickoff whatever Big 12 leftovers they want. Add Boise, Air Force, SDSU and CSU to the AAC. Also find BYU a home and then the west is locked up.

CUSA gets picked apart with the SBC getting UAB, USM, La Tech, and FAU. The MAC is rewarded for being loyal to the mouse and it gets Marshall, WKU, and perhaps NDSU and JMU.

That would put basically every team that's been ranked in the past 5 years under the ESPN umbrella with all but the B1G being 100% under their control contractually.

It is definitely crazy, but who knows what Disney really has in mind???

sounds like a lawsuit in the making. Doesn't Fox want to remain in the CFB game? I think the foil in ESPN plan will be the changing streaming market. Amazon is already playing in the MLB and NFL world, maybe they'd be interested in taking a high level G5 or low P5 contract as a test. Ditto for Google, apple or even Netflix.

(07-26-2021 07:46 AM)ballantyneapp Wrote:  

(07-25-2021 08:15 PM)JTApps1 Wrote:  So ESPN owns the SEC, ACC, part of the B1G, the AAC, SBC, MAC, and a tiny bit of CUSA.

A crazy hypothetical college football world domination scenario is:

Talking the top PAC, MWC, and CUSA programs into joining the other leagues to then control nearly all of FBS. The west coast market is slowly fading outside of a few programs so there's no need to court more than a handful there. Imagine USC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Oregon, and Washington being a western arm of the B1G. The ACC and SEC pickoff whatever Big 12 leftovers they want. Add Boise, Air Force, SDSU and CSU to the AAC. Also find BYU a home and then the west is locked up.

CUSA gets picked apart with the SBC getting UAB, USM, La Tech, and FAU. The MAC is rewarded for being loyal to the mouse and it gets Marshall, WKU, and perhaps NDSU and JMU.

That would put basically every team that's been ranked in the past 5 years under the ESPN umbrella with all but the B1G being 100% under their control contractually.

It is definitely crazy, but who knows what Disney really has in mind???

sounds like a lawsuit in the making. Doesn't Fox want to remain in the CFB game? I think the foil in ESPN plan will be the changing streaming market. Amazon is already playing in the MLB and NFL world, maybe they'd be interested in taking a high level G5 or low P5 contract as a test. Ditto for Google, apple or even Netflix.

Signing deals with experimental streaming services is what got CUSA in their mess. I’d much rather bow down to Mickey Mouse and get a head pat every now and then than deal with that.

(07-26-2021 09:08 AM)TrueBlueDrew Wrote:  

(07-26-2021 07:46 AM)ballantyneapp Wrote:  sounds like a lawsuit in the making. Doesn't Fox want to remain in the CFB game? I think the foil in ESPN plan will be the changing streaming market. Amazon is already playing in the MLB and NFL world, maybe they'd be interested in taking a high level G5 or low P5 contract as a test. Ditto for Google, apple or even Netflix.

Signing deals with experimental streaming services is what got CUSA in their mess. I’d much rather bow down to Mickey Mouse and get a head pat every now and then than deal with that.

You're not wrong. CUSA tried this out... going with Stadium, Facebook, CUSA-TV, BeIn Sports, Twitter, and Pluto TV... and it has obviously not been well for them.

I think another issue with doing this is that you're leaving a void within ESPN's programming by pursuing other routes. ESPN or any other media outlet will simply move on and make a 5 or 10 year deal with another conference.

That's CUSA's issue right now. After they snubbed ESPN a few years back, ESPN moved on and made new deals. Now, ESPN has the SEC, ACC, Pac-12, American, SBC, MAC, and recently the Big Sky in their regular season football inventory. ESPN really has no need to pursue CUSA or give them a lucrative deal at the moment.

(07-26-2021 09:08 AM)TrueBlueDrew Wrote:  

(07-26-2021 07:46 AM)ballantyneapp Wrote:  

(07-25-2021 08:15 PM)JTApps1 Wrote:  So ESPN owns the SEC, ACC, part of the B1G, the AAC, SBC, MAC, and a tiny bit of CUSA.

A crazy hypothetical college football world domination scenario is:

Talking the top PAC, MWC, and CUSA programs into joining the other leagues to then control nearly all of FBS. The west coast market is slowly fading outside of a few programs so there's no need to court more than a handful there. Imagine USC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Oregon, and Washington being a western arm of the B1G. The ACC and SEC pickoff whatever Big 12 leftovers they want. Add Boise, Air Force, SDSU and CSU to the AAC. Also find BYU a home and then the west is locked up.

CUSA gets picked apart with the SBC getting UAB, USM, La Tech, and FAU. The MAC is rewarded for being loyal to the mouse and it gets Marshall, WKU, and perhaps NDSU and JMU.

That would put basically every team that's been ranked in the past 5 years under the ESPN umbrella with all but the B1G being 100% under their control contractually.

It is definitely crazy, but who knows what Disney really has in mind???

sounds like a lawsuit in the making. Doesn't Fox want to remain in the CFB game? I think the foil in ESPN plan will be the changing streaming market. Amazon is already playing in the MLB and NFL world, maybe they'd be interested in taking a high level G5 or low P5 contract as a test. Ditto for Google, apple or even Netflix.

Signing deals with experimental streaming services is what got CUSA in their mess. I’d much rather bow down to Mickey Mouse and get a head pat every now and then than deal with that.

yeah facebook is bad a bad deal, but I think its a combination of factors- poor teams with no fan bases, facebooks core business, etc. CUSA brought too little to the table and signed the deal before the technology and usage was mainstream. That is changing

Youtube TV, Netflix, Prime TV and Apple TV are no longer experimental, they are stand alone profitable businesses that are looking for content. It may or may not work, but I don't think they would blink at signing a contract at a premium to what ESPN would offer to give it a go. This is exactly what the mouse is trying to counteract by monopolizing the CFB contracts for all the major teams.