David Boren would like to end The Longhorn Network

[Wild Turkey]

Big 12 distributed about 250 million last year so divided by 10 that is 25 million a

The SECN is probably the ONLY conference network that will make money. This isn't some huge surprise.

Not sure what the point of this discussion is.

All of the conference networks are making money even the PAC with limited distribution paid out approximately 1 million per school last year but they own their network 100% and don't have guarantees in place.

The Big 10 paid out to it's member schools over 30 million last year which is on par with what the SEC did. This year the gap should widen once the final numbers are in and the SEC Network has a full year under its belt with startup costs paid.

Claiming the conference networks don't make money is ridiculous and false. Now you can claim that Texas has the better deal because the LHN is losing money yet they still get a 15 million payout and they aren't sharing it with the member schools which is a big competitive advantage.

The future definitively isn't clear but college football is too large for these networks not to make money the question is will they be able to sustain the kinda dollars they are making now if cable goes away. Right now we don't know but they will remain profitably through alternate distribution channels.

 

[Lance Armstrong]

I think OU gets 7mil a year from tier 3, West Virginia gets 9mil. OU would have to give up all that money and agree to the 1 mil a yr the Pac 12 network gets, or go to the SEC and break even. Big ten might be their best bet, but then recruiting dies.

 

[fordman84]

Serious. The numbers quoted aren't correct and we don't know what the SEC network is going to add to the take this year.

"up from" doesn't mean "increase of"

 

[fordman84]

I think OU gets 7mil a year from tier 3, West Virginia gets 9mil. OU would have to give up all that money and agree to the 1 mil a yr the Pac 12 network gets, or go to the SEC and break even. Big ten might be their best bet, but then recruiting dies.

assuming OU in the SEC wouldn't raise the average income of everyone.

 

[Wild Turkey]

"up from" doesn't mean "increase of"

I misread the post... I got it.

 

[Lance Armstrong]

assuming OU in the SEC wouldn't raise the average income of everyone.

very true, not sure what adding the state of oklahoma would do for a cable network. I know the big ten seems to have something in their network contract that they automatically get a bump by adding any new state. That's why they added crappy schools like Rutgers and Maryland, sports suck but sit in very populated states.

 

[TexasExes98]

I think OU gets 7mil a year from tier 3, West Virginia gets 9mil. OU would have to give up all that money and agree to the 1 mil a yr the Pac 12 network gets, or go to the SEC and break even. Big ten might be their best bet, but then recruiting dies.

Don't forget KU's $8M, KSU's $4M and Okie Jr's 3rd tier deal. There are Big 12 schools who are making more than SEC schools due to their 3rd tier rights deals. Not sure why Boren would want to end everybody's 3rd tier rights deals. Doesn't make sense and a conference network is not the way to go for the Big 12. Minimal TV markets in this conference.

 

[outofyourmind]

Not sure why Boren would want to end everybody's 3rd tier rights deals. Doesn't make sense and a conference network is not the way to go for the Big 12. Minimal TV markets in this conference.

Probably because Boren is a goofy ass liberal that thinks it's necessary to give cover to the University and make it look like someone else's fault when Oklahoma bolts to another conference, instead of just saying sayonara mother fuckers it's been fun but we gotta go.

Looks bad and shit

 

[Lance Armstrong]

Probably because Boren is a goofy ass liberal that thinks it's necessary to give cover to the University and make it look like someone else's fault when Oklahoma bolts to another conference, instead of just saying sayonara mother fuckers it's been fun but we gotta go.

Looks bad and shit

So he's using the Tom Obsorne playbook.

 

[4down20]

Oklahoma is trying to distance itself from ElTexan.

 

[Tin Man]

Frankly, Boren needs to be looking forward to the future state of "television." It will not be streaming channels as it is today. TV/video consolidators will build subscribers based on convenient access to content (one vs many). Conference generated content will be available on demand or via live streaming sports apps. The interface for TVs will more closely resemble that for tablets and smartphones, allowing the viewer to switch from tiles to lists and search and sort by multiple variables. DVRs will be replaced by "watch lists," "favorites," "app configurations," and cloud storage. AT&T/Comcast/Charter/et al will more closely resemble Netflix and Hulu.

 

[Wild Turkey]

Clay Travis had a pretty good take on conference expansion and why it won't happen in the near future:

What Happens To Conference Networks If Cord Cutting Accelerates?

I think he is correct in that we are done and expansion in this environment doesn't make sense. The only move I could see is Oklahoma and Texas to the PAC as they would bring enough value and new time zones to make the move financially successful.

The only Big 12 might be able to take Cincy and a Florida team but the numbers are dicey. The real surprise was that a OU move to the SEC doesn't make sense financially on paper when you take into account cable subscribers in the state of Oklahoma.

If ND wanted to join a conference the value would be there but that conference would still have to find another team to balance and finding one that would be financially feasible would be difficult. I guess the ACC could add ND and Cincy and make it work.

For the SEC to expand it would take a break up of the ACC and then only UNC and Virginia Tech make sense as adds.

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

The real surprise was that a OU move to the SEC doesn't make sense financially on paper when you take into account cable subscribers in the state of Oklahoma.

That is the truth that some Sooner fans have to deal with.
A move to the SEC is impossible and would cost the SEC a lot of money.

The only option for the Sooners is to head West, but they have to do it as a combo deal with the Texas market.
TCU, Baylor, Tech, Houston, or whomever wont bring that Texas market, plus the PAC-12 doesn't want them.

A&M is a longshot.
I guess Oklahoma could ask poor aggie...but it seems highly impossible.

Leaving only UT in play.
But, the Longhorn Network is the issue.

That is the whole purpose of Boren wanting to get rid of it.
He doesn't want a Big 12 Network. He could give a rats ass about the Big 12 teams.

He wants the LHN gone, so there is nothing preventing Texas from heading West with the Sooners.

 

[Goldbug]

That is the truth that some Sooner fans have to deal with.
A move to the SEC is impossible and would cost the SEC a lot of money.

The only option for the Sooners is to head West, but they have to do it as a combo deal with the Texas market.
TCU, Baylor, Tech, Houston, or whomever wont bring that Texas market, plus the PAC-12 doesn't want them.

A&M is a longshot.
I guess Oklahoma could ask poor aggie...but it seems highly impossible.

Leaving only UT in play.
But, the Longhorn Network is the issue.

That is the whole purpose of Boren wanting to get rid of it.
He doesn't want a Big 12 Network. He could give a rats ass about the Big 12 teams.

He wants the LHN gone, so there is nothing preventing Texas from heading West with the Sooners.

If that is his ulterior motive in all of this, he has my full support. No more Zombie Conference headaches and we would get to play against programs like USC, UCLA, Oregon, Stanford, etc. plus we would get to keep the Red River Shootout. What's not to like? The time zones? Who cares? I fly to Asia and Europe frequently and it hasn't killed me yet.

 

[GoldRusher]

Mailbag: Why a Big 12 expansion wouldn't solve the conference's woes

 

[Lance Armstrong]

Clay Travis had a pretty good take on conference expansion and why it won't happen in the near future:

What Happens To Conference Networks If Cord Cutting Accelerates?

I think he is correct in that we are done and expansion in this environment doesn't make sense. The only move I could see is Oklahoma and Texas to the PAC as they would bring enough value and new time zones to make the move financially successful.

The only Big 12 might be able to take Cincy and a Florida team but the numbers are dicey. The real surprise was that a OU move to the SEC doesn't make sense financially on paper when you take into account cable subscribers in the state of Oklahoma.

If ND wanted to join a conference the value would be there but that conference would still have to find another team to balance and finding one that would be financially feasible would be difficult. I guess the ACC could add ND and Cincy and make it work.

For the SEC to expand it would take a break up of the ACC and then only UNC and Virginia Tech make sense as adds.

BAM, i've been saying this all week. The SEC will be gunning for the the ACC, IF they even want to expand.

The pac 12 needs to redirect their network as a streaming site, since they own it they can do it easily.

Big 12 has no reason to expand, and this crying over not having a network is dumb. Each school needs to shoot for direct to consumer avenues, since cord cutting is killing cable anyway.

SEC and Texas are married to ESPN, and since they will live and die with cable, we as longhorns and Team SEC have to pray cord cutting doesn't happen too soon. As clay mentioned, ESPN would have to charge over $30 a month if they wanted to make a profit with a steaming service. I'd pay it, if I got all the espn networks, but how many people would pay?

 

[Wild Turkey]

BAM, i've been saying this all week. The SEC will be gunning for the the ACC, IF they even want to expand.

The pac 12 needs to redirect their network as a streaming site, since they own it they can do it easily.

Big 12 has no reason to expand, and this crying over not having a network is dumb. Each school needs to shoot for direct to consumer avenues, since cord cutting is killing cable anyway.

SEC and Texas are married to ESPN, and since they will live and die with cable, we as longhorns and Team SEC have to pray cord cutting doesn't happen too soon. As clay mentioned, ESPN would have to charge over $30 a month if they wanted to make a profit with a steaming service. I'd pay it, if I got all the espn networks, but how many people would pay?

You have a lot going on in this post so I will try to knock them out in order:

1. Agree on SEC expansion but do not see the ACC folding so that is a non-starter the SEC will remain at 14 teams going forward unless there is some "game changing event" that we can't predict right now.

2. The PAC is already experimenting with streaming so the rest of us have time and let them work out a system and then just clone it. Cheaper on the other conferences to let the PAC do the R&D.

3. ESPN will have to pay out their contractual obligations and since their parent company is Disney there is very little risk of that not happening. Even if they spun ESPN off it's not going to die just evolve.

4. If cable goes away pricing will be interesting because people will most likely go to a pay on demand model. I have no idea how this will work but I watch a tremendous amount of college football on Saturdays and if I am paying for each individual game I have no idea what that will cost and it will really suck because you will not be able to switch back and forth between games. For that capability I will pay $30 a month in a heartbeat.

The good news is we have at least 5 years and maybe 10 to figure it out. This "new world" of cutting the cord is going to be very interesting in how it impacts sports. College football has no all in package like the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL so there is an untapped pay model out there to replace revenue. As for the professional sports if they lose the network money from cable it could actually be more devastating to them.

There is no way this doesn't get figured out and if I don't have to pay for cable then I've got money to spend to on a new model without additional cost really. I can live without HBO but I cannot do without CFB.

 

[Lance Armstrong]

I think you're right on all counts, accept for ESPN paying out their contractual obligations. The big 12, SEC, NBA, etc are their contractual obligations and without them they don't have content. Hopefully Boren reads this, and understands a Big 12 network is suicide. I'm very curious what the pac 12 network does to try and become successful.

 

[Tin Man]

If the Big 12-2 isn't going to expand back to 12 teams, should it rename itself?
What names would you suggest?

 

[Lance Armstrong]

If the Big 12-2 isn't going to expand back to 12 teams, should it rename itself?
What names would you suggest?

Big ten