Conference Realignment

[RonJohn]

The B1G makes money from the cable companies for carrying the B1G. They make about $0.25/box in areas where they don't have a school in the market and about $1.25/box in areas where they do. By being in the LA market, they automatically get an increased share of the cable market. They in partnership with Fox (49/51), they don't sell them games. The ACC/SEC relationship with ESPN is about eyeballs on games because the ACC/SEC sell the broadcast rights to ESPN and get a dispersement. B1G works differently. At least that's the way it's been explained to me by a B1G person.

The SEC Network and the ACC Network operate the same. Subscriber fees inside areas covered by the conference are much higher than fees in the rest of the country. None of those contracts has been made public that I am aware of, and none of the Fox/ESPN contracts with distribution companies are public. However, the ACCN payout increased simply by having Comcast add the ACC Network. That tells me that subscriber fees have a large part to do with the ACCN.

 

[stech81]

Who gives a rat's backend about USC and UCLA, this is a Tech board .

 

[bikeseat]

The constant off topic arguing/quibbling over minutiae is really tiresome when I want to track the developments in realignment and how it affects GT. Turning off notifications on this one

 

[CEB]

The constant off topic arguing/quibbling over minutiae is really tiresome when I want to track the developments in realignment and how it affects GT. Turning off notifications on this one

Ever heard of a concept called precedent? It’s all pertinent. When it’s unique to GT it’ll be on the 6:00 news.

 

[CEB]

There are a lot of people on the internet saying lots of things about GOR. I have not seen the GOR contract online, but have seen the previous one posted online. I included a quote from that document below which is said to resemble the current contract. This basically says that the conference owns the games that are covered by the ESPN agreement. (Which I haven't seen available anywhere) It says that the schools are obligated to allow ESPN access to the facilities and are required to assist ESPN to satisfy the obligations of the contract. It does not say that a school is obligated to pay money received from outside subscriber fees, or media money that other schools in a different conference generate. However, if a company like Fox were to pay additional money for adding an additional school, they would probably only include the additional revenue that the school actually generated. If the school opened a new market to raise subscriber fees, but didn't include any additional content they would probably only pay based on the additional subscriber fees, not as a ratio of the current contract which includes content.

EDIT: This is the old ACC GOR contract, not a PAC12 contract.

This is interesting. Thanks for posting. One thing strikes me... the rights granted are all defined by the ESPN agreement. So.... if the ESPN agreement does not exist, the rights granted are not clearly defined. I initially thought grant of rights would survive the ESPN deal but perhaps I was wrong.
I know this is just an excerpt and it isnt even the current agreement so maybe there are better definitions elsewhere in it but interesting none the less....

 

[bikeseat]

Ever heard of a concept called precedent? It’s all pertinent. When it’s unique to GT it’ll be on the 6:00 news.

Woah, take a sip of water!

 

[slugboy]

The B1G makes money from the cable companies for carrying the B1G. They make about $0.25/box in areas where they don't have a school in the market and about $1.25/box in areas where they do. By being in the LA market, they automatically get an increased share of the cable market. They in partnership with Fox (49/51), they don't sell them games. The ACC/SEC relationship with ESPN is about eyeballs on games because the ACC/SEC sell the broadcast rights to ESPN and get a dispersement. B1G works differently. At least that's the way it's been explained to me by a B1G person.

Are they actually "in the market" if they can't show local games?

 

[UgaBlows]

I'm not sure why the SEC would want to take any of the big-name east coast schools, ie Clemson, FSU, Miami etc. These teams do not open any new markets for television money. The SEC doesn't need them for competition on the field, I don't think the matchups against those schools would move the needle in viewership any more than the teams currently in the SEC. It would be smarter in the long run to ignore those teams in realignment and let them wither once the two mega-conferences are in place.

The BIG could look at one of the FL schools or Clemson but they don't fit the academic profile, except for maybe Miami in a stretch. We would be a perfect choice for the BIG from an academic’s standpoint and would not be a danger currently in football to scare the main schools.

It makes more sense to pick-up smaller schools with the last few slots for the 2 main conferences and kill the better sports schools in the process.

The theory is that the SEC is more interested in promoting high quality big fb-factory matchups- Clemson, FSU, UM bring that. They can use that firepower to negotiate bigger contracts. Big games that draw national attention.

 

[bensaysitathome]

The theory is that the SEC is more interested in promoting high quality big fb-factory matchups- Clemson, FSU, UM bring that. They can use that firepower to negotiate bigger contracts. Big games that draw national attention.

You're absolutely right. The athletic ran an article last year about the '4-million-club' identifying the big time matchups that bring in big numbers of eyes. They want more of those games.

 

[chewybaka]

My biggest thought right now is what exactly are we headed to and is it something that is even interesting to follow.

If we are looking at 2 super conferences with 20+ teams each, that means that you will not play even half the teams in your conference and may not see some of them for many years. Is that really a conference?

Unfortunately GT is in a place where i'm not sure it has many chips it can play. More likely we have to see how everything falls out over the next 2-4 years (which is how long all of this is likely to take) and then see where GT lands. If GT were to land in one of the SEC or B10 it would almost certainly be the B10 - I don't see the SEC having any interest at all in GT, GT brings absolutely nothing to them.

GT at least brings a Southern based school to the B10 and also as an AAU member adds to their collection of research universities that bring billions of dollars in grant money into the conference.
I'm not convinced that is really likely either, but that is really GT's best hope.

We also know from reporting overnight that it was USC and UCLA that reached out to the B10 and not the reverse. So it looks like it sort of fell into the B10's lap and they weren't going to turn away a gift like that.

Probably prompted by the former Oklahoma coach wanting his cake and eating it too!

 

[CEB]

Woah, take a sip of water!

Water? We’re going to need something a little stronger!
We are juggling invitations from the BIG and the SEC, extending invitations to the PAC and Notre Dame... half of us are working on getting out of GOR, and the other half are making sure no one can get out of GOR. We need to appoint a special envoy to the Notre Dame ladies pinochle team to make sure they aren’t headed back to the Big East or this whole darned thing could unravel. Sorry if my reply seems terse to you, but we are dealing with a lot of $#!%! You are welcome to be part of the process but please don’t question the manner in which we go about it!

 

[TooTall]

Only thing I'm dealing with is the 54 day wait until toe meets leather. Let the folks in charge worry about what conference we're in. Cause they ain't gonna listen to a message board, because, honestly, what do we know aside our fickle emotions?

 

[stech81]

Only thing I'm dealing with is the 54 day wait until toe meets leather. Let the folks in charge worry about what conference we're in. Cause they ain't gonna listen to a message board, because, honestly, what do we know aside our fickle emotions?

You are right they won't listen to a message board, but I found out they will listen if you write a 100 million dollar check, which i guess is the reason they don't listen to me.
Now I can write a check for 100,million but they couldn't cash it.
I could get my wife to talk to them and they would do what she wants , it's the only way to get her to shut up.

 

[CuseJacket]

Taking a step back, it's fascinating that we as GT fans don't know whether the ACC GOR is an anchor or a lifeboat.

Makes for a more interesting discussion.

 

[bobongo]

Taking a step back, it's fascinating that we as GT fans don't know whether the ACC GOR is an anchor or a lifeboat.

Makes for a more interesting discussion.

Is it an anchor that sinks us, or an anchor that holds our place in still a P-? conference? No one knows for sure...

 

[g0lftime]

Taking a step back, it's fascinating that we as GT fans don't know whether the ACC GOR is an anchor or a lifeboat.

Makes for a more interesting discussion.

The bigger anchor may be the length of the ACC TV contract.
Can the ACC office renegotiate the TV deal without destroying the GOR and ND agreement to only join the ACC if they join a conference? The new ACC commissioner has his work cut out for him.

 

[TooTall]

You are right they won't listen to a message board, but I found out they will listen if you write a 100 million dollar check, which i guess is the reason they don't listen to me.
Now I can write a check for 100,million but they couldn't cash it.
I could get my wife to talk to them and they would do what she wants , it's the only way to get her to shut up.

Fully agree. And anyone who can write a check for $100,000,000.00 and it be good, is not on a message board.

 

[CEB]

Taking a step back, it's fascinating that we as GT fans don't know whether the ACC GOR is an anchor or a lifeboat.

Makes for a more interesting discussion.

Precisely!

I think GT is one of only a couple schools in this spot. Ironically, I think we could also be one of the pieces that holds it all together or blows it all apart. Power brokers!

I have a feeling that ND and UNC want to stay put. They will hold on to ACC (ND with just a pinky finger) as long as its viable. I have a feeling that FSU is gone at the first opportunity and to the first offer (SEC maybe but i don’t know what they bring to the SEC, and I believe they have been pursuing AAU status, so who knows). Someone will likely have to go with them. So UNC and ND are going to look to schools like GT, Miami and Clemson to see if the bleeding is going to stop there or if another shoe will drop.

 

[BilldGopher]

Taking a step back, it's fascinating that we as GT fans don't know whether the ACC GOR is an anchor or a lifeboat.

Makes for a more interesting discussion.

Minnesota calls dibs on oars...RTB!

As an aside this is a very informative back-and-forth and is a credit to the forum. The ACC teams are in a unique position both individually and collectively. ND's choice is relatively straightforward compared to the multi-dimensional chess facing GT and similar-level schools.

 

[rfjeff9]

Precisely!

I think GT is one of only a couple schools in this spot. Ironically, I think we could also be one of the pieces that holds it all together or blows it all apart. Power brokers!

I have a feeling that ND and UNC want to stay put. They will hold on to ACC (ND with just a pinky finger) as long as its viable. I have a feeling that FSU is gone at the first opportunity and to the first offer (SEC maybe but i don’t know what they bring to the SEC, and I believe they have been pursuing AAU status, so who knows). Someone will likely have to go with them. So UNC and ND are going to look to schools like GT, Miami and Clemson to see if the bleeding is going to stop there or if another shoe will drop.

I don't think Clemson or FSU can ever get in to SEC. They don't bring anything (or enough) to the table that SEC needs. Tiny markets that are already covered by other teams in their geographical region. And by the time GOR becomes manageable to get out of then it will be that many years these ACC teams are having to make less than half of what their SEC counterparts will enjoy each year. The gap between the ACC and SEC teams in the same region is just going to get wider at the detriment to the ACC teams.

For these teams, GOR is an albatross. And team strength will wax and wan over the years, so adding a team for no other reason than they are good now is a stupid move. And SEC and B1G aren't stupid.