ESPN really opened a can of worms...

#1
armchair

armchair

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#1
by doing the deal with the univ. of texas to create the longhorn network. Good grief--this is another example of corporate greed and short-sightedness trumping the integrity (what's left of it) of the college system. Nebraska quit the big 12 because it didn't like being the tail wagged by texas, and now a&m has done the same--the final straw being the longhorn network. And who can blame them?

Espn originally wanted to show high-school football highlights in texas on the longhorn network, but the ncaa put its foot down on that, with good reason, as it would have given texas an even bigger advantage than it does now. What's weird is that the network can only show one texas conference football game--if the conference opponent approves. If i were a big 12 team, I wouldn't approved of my team's game against texas being broadcast on the longhorn network unless I got a major payoff. A lot of the content, apparently, will be texas sports other than football--which is a bit odd, but apparently espn still thinks it will make money--and if nbc can make money showing crappy notre dame game for more than a decade, maybe they can.

My opinion is that no single university should be signing deals for TV networks. The Big 10 conference has a TV network--and that makes sense, but not one school. It creates too many problems. What if espn decides to create a gator network with florida--very possible, IMO. Great for florida, which is already got a lot going for it--and bad news for everybody else.
 
#3
#3
Completely agree. Eventually there will only be 3 or 4 super conferences and all the independents will have no choice but to join or else they will miss out on an automatic qualifying bid to the BCS, playoff system, or whatever format college football will be using.
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#4
#4
The worst thing about it is that for the most part, anyone who isn't at the game tomorrow that lives in Austin won't be able to watch it because the only providers right now are FiOS and a bunch of small local ones. Time Warner hasn't signed on yet nor has Charter, IIRC. Those are the two biggest providers there.
 
#5
#5
I'm sure we can expect completely unbiased coverage from ESPN on the Longhorns from now on.

/sarcasm
 
#6
#6
I don't really get the problem with this. TX is a big state with a lot of pull. They are pulling the weight of the ratings so they get the most payoff - seems fine by me

They also get every top TX player they want every year so not sure how they could have more of an advantage in recruiting - I think this aspect of the deal has gotten way overblown
 
#7
#7
ESPN is going to hate it if Texas pulls another 5-7 season.Money well spent.
 
#8
#8
The conference should have done more to have it's own with a network like the SEC & take care of all the schools. No wonder they all wanna jump ship. Maybe we will see if Texas gets as entitled as Notre Dame.
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#9
#9
SCvol333 said:
I don't really get the problem with this. TX is a big state with a lot of pull. They are pulling the weight of the ratings so they get the most payoff - seems fine by me

They also get every top TX player they want every year so not sure how they could have more of an advantage in recruiting - I think this aspect of the deal has gotten way overblown
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I was going to say something , but nevermind. The folks that think like this will never understand the notion of fair play. NEVER.:ermm:
 
#10
#10
What would happen to the Longhorn Network should the Big12 collapse and TU moves to the Pac? I assume there would be some sort of negotiation before the Pac would accept them in?
 
#11
#11
Abou your UF comment:

The SEC won't let its member schools create their own networks (one of the reasons Texas would have just laughed at the conference had it offered an invite)

You have to also remember that the reason theyre doing this is not because they're "oh so good right now" (like how UF draws attention at the moment) but because they have an immense/huge fanbase, not only through their own state but nationwide


Plus had it not been ESPN, someone else was going to end up picking it up anyways. They were in contract talks with the turner networks earlier in the process
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#12
#12
Part of the issue of why the big 12 schools put up with so much shenanigans from Texas is that, unfortunately, they all realize that were Texas to leave the conference, they'd all (or at the very least most of them) be pretty f----d

They are that much of the conference (as opposed to the SEC's case where were say Alabama or Florida or any single school to decide to leave, the conference would still be able to stand)
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#13
#13
The larger debate here is whether college football should adhere to capitalism or socialism. The capitalist side says Texas has the right to pursue every potential dollar out there, and the LHN could be a stroke of genius. If A&M and Nebraska can't keep up...that's their problem.

The socialist side says revenue (and the competitive advantages it brings) ought to be redistributed as evenly as possible, so that things like TV market-share and athletic dept. budgets don't decide which team puts more points on the scoreboard. This has worked pretty well for the NFL.

It's an interesting debate.
 
#15
#15
Going to help bring down what is left of the Big 12. Oklahoma looking around now too. Texas will probably become a independent before long.
 
#16
#16
armchair said:
by doing the deal with the univ. of texas to create the longhorn network. Good grief--this is another example of corporate greed and short-sightedness trumping the integrity (what's left of it) of the college system. Nebraska quit the big 12 because it didn't like being the tail wagged by texas, and now a&m has done the same--the final straw being the longhorn network. And who can blame them?

Espn originally wanted to show high-school football highlights in texas on the longhorn network, but the ncaa put its foot down on that, with good reason, as it would have given texas an even bigger advantage than it does now. What's weird is that the network can only show one texas conference football game--if the conference opponent approves. If i were a big 12 team, I wouldn't approved of my team's game against texas being broadcast on the longhorn network unless I got a major payoff. A lot of the content, apparently, will be texas sports other than football--which is a bit odd, but apparently espn still thinks it will make money--and if nbc can make money showing crappy notre dame game for more than a decade, maybe they can.

My opinion is that no single university should be signing deals for TV networks. The Big 10 conference has a TV network--and that makes sense, but not one school. It creates too many problems. What if espn decides to create a gator network with florida--very possible, IMO. Great for florida, which is already got a lot going for it--and bad news for everybody else.
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You cant blame ESPN or Texas. The Big 12 allows schools to have their own network; apparently it's in the contract that EVERY Big 12 school signed when they decided to join the conference. So Texas signed up to have their own network. I don't see why any other school in the Big 12 is complaining. They should sign up for their own network as well. All Big 12 schools need to find extra income especially since there is no conference championship game anymore. Even when the TV money is divided equal to all schools in one conference, there is still going to be a big discrepancy between conferences. Is it fair that Vandy makes millions more than it's neighbor MTSU just because the conference Vandy is in signed a contract with ESPN, yet MTSU probably a better team.
 
#19
#19
No-Darth_Vader.jpg

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#20
#20
Big Slick said:
The larger debate here is whether college football should adhere to capitalism or socialism. The capitalist side says Texas has the right to pursue every potential dollar out there, and the LHN could be a stroke of genius. If A&M and Nebraska can't keep up...that's their problem.

The socialist side says revenue (and the competitive advantages it brings) ought to be redistributed as evenly as possible, so that things like TV market-share and athletic dept. budgets don't decide which team puts more points on the scoreboard. This has worked pretty well for the NFL.

It's an interesting debate.
Click to expand...

I see where you're getting that idea and though it looks similar it's not the same as socialism. Firstly, socialism requires government ownership and/or control over the means of production. Secondly, the looser definition is where an individual or group doesn't own individual property -- that's not the case with revenue sharing or having a controlling body that negotiates television deals. Each school still has private property, private (or public for land grants/public schools) funds, and private resources separate from the SEC. If the SEC controlled everything -- from campus property to sponsorship deals to the football programs themselves then it would be closer to socialism.

This is more like the various systems of capitalism based profit sharing we see all the time where workers (in this case schools are closer to franchise owners) share in the profits of the larger company (conference). The workers (schools/franchise companies) still own and maintain control of the schools, marketing, sales etc. and the SEC acts a larger body/CEO of the SEC for the benefit of the schools (franchisees). Just like McDonald's or Starbucks doesn't allow franchises to be too close to other franchises unless there's a big enough population the SEC acts in the interest of all schools. It's better for the conference to keep things as even as possible without interfering with things like private funds, sales from merchandise, or trying to own everything.

It's different than what we typically think of as capitalism which involves a single company without franchises but it's capitalism nonetheless. Just capitalism with more complexity built into it.
 
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