CBS Sportsline Observations on Missouri and Big 12

[Wingback]

While perusing college football articles this evening, I came on another interesting ready by Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports. Dodd's article entitled "Expansion Lessons" listed ten observations (or lessons as he calls them) relative to the recent conference realignment activity. I found many of them interesting, particularly "Lesson Number 10" where he talks about how a press release nearly demolished the Big 12 Conference.

10. It's possible to break up a conference by press release: A compelling case can be made for Missouri nearly becoming the assassin that killed the Big 12.
Remember Dec. 15, when Missouri chancellor Brady Deaton put out this press release declaring his school's interest in joining the Big Ten. Those words came on the same day the Big Ten said it would explore expansion.

A few days later Missouri Gov. (and Mizzou alum) Jay Nixon dropped another bomb:
"I'm not going to say anything bad about the Big 12, but when you compare Oklahoma State to Northwestern, when you compare Texas Tech to Wisconsin, I mean, you begin looking at educational possibilities that are worth looking at."
It's one thing to think those things, it's another for two powerful state officials to talk about them -- boldly and arrogantly -- in public. Deaton and Nixon couldn't have stated more clearly how dissatisfied Missouri was with the Big 12. From there all the rancor and bitterness grew, leading the league to the brink of dissolution. Big 12 presidents and ADs started looking seriously at safe havens and started reacting angrily to Missouri.

The final disgrace for Mizzou was that it was wrong about the Big Ten. Nebraska's name brand trumped Missouri's markets (Kansas City and St. Louis).

Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville was right in stating publicly Tuesday what a lot of us are thinking.

"I just don't think this conference will last long because there's just too much disparity between all the teams here," he said.

Here is a link to Part 2 of his "Expansion Lessons" article:

Expansion lessons Part II: Dividing the Big Ten, Notre Dame's break - NCAA Football - CBSSports.com

 

[GoShow97]

And yet there are peeps on here who still think that the reason the Big 10 took Nebraska had nothing to do with them winning. As if to think 5? National Championships along with one of the historically best football programs in history had no effect.

Make no mistake if ISU had even half the football success that Nebraska has achieved, ISU would be in a much greater position towards controlling their own destiny. You can talk all you want about TV contracts and population and being in a small state with another major Div.1 program all you want. In the end it all boils down to ISU winning. If ISU wins they become more viable to the greater football society and everything else falls into place.

Wining is the answer.

With this being said, Husk the Fuskers

 

[Rhoadhoused]

And yet there are peeps on here who still think that the reason the Big 10 took Nebraska had nothing to do with them winning. As if to think 5? National Championships along with one of the historically best football programs in history had no effect.

Make no mistake if ISU had even half the football success that Nebraska has achieved, ISU would be in a much greater position towards controlling their own destiny. You can talk all you want about TV contracts and population and being in a small state with another major Div.1 program all you want. In the end it all boils down to ISU winning. If ISU wins they become more viable to the greater football society and everything else falls into place.

Wining is the answer.

With this being said, Husk the Fuskers

Wins=championships=more fans= more money= attractiveness

 

[jpete24]

Cash money millionaire. That's what matters.

 

[Tre4ISU]

And yet there are peeps on here who still think that the reason the Big 10 took Nebraska had nothing to do with them winning. As if to think 5? National Championships along with one of the historically best football programs in history had no effect.

Make no mistake if ISU had even half the football success that Nebraska has achieved, ISU would be in a much greater position towards controlling their own destiny. You can talk all you want about TV contracts and population and being in a small state with another major Div.1 program all you want. In the end it all boils down to ISU winning. If ISU wins they become more viable to the greater football society and everything else falls into place.

Wining is the answer.

With this being said, Husk the Fuskers

As Tiger Woods always says, "Just win and everything else takes care of itself."

 

[GoShow97]

Cash money millionaire. That's what matters.

Really? I disagree. One only has to look at some of todays pro athletes who are paid millions but never make the transition of converting cash to net worth. At the end of the day net worth trumps all.

 

[simesclone]

As Tiger Woods always says, "Just win and everything else takes care of itself."

I do'nt know if he's the best example of that theory.

 

[AlumNi]

Wins=championships=more fans= more money= attractiveness

Bingo!

After the Conference Realignment Maelstrom FRANK THE TANK’S SLANT

National Brand Value Trumps Local Markets
For all the talk about TV markets and cable subscriber rates, expansion decisions really came down to a pretty basic calculation: which schools do Average Joe Sports Fan in Anytown USA want to watch? After Notre Dame and Texas, the consensus has long been that Nebraska fit that bill better than anyone.

I've received a lot of questions about how Nebraska could add financial value to the Big Ten compared to schools like Missouri and Rutgers that could bring in more households on paper. There are several factors at play here. First, even though a lot of focus has been on the Big Ten Network, the Big Ten still receives more TV money from its national ABC/ESPN contract than any other source. The Big Ten Network is really just a very strong supplement to that national TV income as opposed to a replacement, which is something that a lot of people have missed. Therefore, a school like Nebraska that brings in national TV viewers does much more for the ABC/ESPN side of the equation and seeing how the ACC and Big 12 are in line for larger paydays in their own contracts, Jim Delany must be salivating at the potential increase to the Big Ten's deals by adding such a strong national brand name AND a conference championship game.

Second, there is the advertising argument that Patrick set forth on this blog a few months ago. The higher the ratings, the higher the advertising rates can be charged.

Now, there have been a number of questions about that analysis, but it needs to be coupled with the final point, which is that the oft-quoted $0.70 per subscriber per month rate for the Big Ten Network in the Big Ten states is an average as opposed to an across-the-board rate. Cable providers in markets where there is extremely strong demand for the channel, such as Columbus, pay a higher rate than markets where there is weaker demand (i.e. Philadelphia). So, a lot of fans have made the mistake in assuming that the Big Ten Network could just automatically charge $0.70 per subscriber in places like New Jersey, New York and Missouri simply by adding a school in those respective states. Fan intensity matters, and in the case of Nebraska, the Big Ten will likely be able to charge a higher subscriber rate in the Huskers' home market than anywhere else. So, Nebraska's 700,000 households might be much smaller in number compared to Missouri or New Jersey, but the flip side is that the Big Ten Network can effectively name its price there (i.e. an ESPN-level subscriber rate, which is the highest rate in the cable industry) and it will receive it. At the same time, since Nebraska games will draw more interest within the Big Ten footprint and nationally on DirecTV (where it is on the national basic tier), that positions the Big Ten Network to charge higher rates to its current households in its next round of negotiations.

Please note that there were two schools in the soon-to-be-defunct Big 12 that looked seriously at starting their own networks: Texas and Nebraska. The former obviously has the households, but the latter's fan base is so intense that they will pay any price to watch every Husker event. I've seen figures that Nebraska cleared about $2 million for every single pay-per-view game that it has offered, which is an insanely high number for any college football team regardless of the population base along with providing evidence that the Big Ten Network will get a massive subscriber fee in the state of Nebraska. Therefore, the Big Ten Network isn't passing up on subscriber revenue in the manner that a lot of people who are just looking at population figures believe. Besides, Notre Dame is widely assumed to be an automatic money-maker for the Big Ten, but the Irish are also completely about national name brand value as opposed to adding actual markets. What's good nationally for the Big Ten is good for the Big Ten Network.

 

[Madclone1]

Bingo!

After the Conference Realignment Maelstrom FRANK THE TANK’S SLANT

National Brand Value Trumps Local Markets
For all the talk about TV markets and cable subscriber rates, expansion decisions really came down to a pretty basic calculation: which schools do Average Joe Sports Fan in Anytown USA want to watch? After Notre Dame and Texas, the consensus has long been that Nebraska fit that bill better than anyone.

I've received a lot of questions about how Nebraska could add financial value to the Big Ten compared to schools like Missouri and Rutgers that could bring in more households on paper. There are several factors at play here. First, even though a lot of focus has been on the Big Ten Network, the Big Ten still receives more TV money from its national ABC/ESPN contract than any other source. The Big Ten Network is really just a very strong supplement to that national TV income as opposed to a replacement, which is something that a lot of people have missed. Therefore, a school like Nebraska that brings in national TV viewers does much more for the ABC/ESPN side of the equation and seeing how the ACC and Big 12 are in line for larger paydays in their own contracts, Jim Delany must be salivating at the potential increase to the Big Ten's deals by adding such a strong national brand name AND a conference championship game.

Second, there is the advertising argument that Patrick set forth on this blog a few months ago. The higher the ratings, the higher the advertising rates can be charged.

Now, there have been a number of questions about that analysis, but it needs to be coupled with the final point, which is that the oft-quoted $0.70 per subscriber per month rate for the Big Ten Network in the Big Ten states is an average as opposed to an across-the-board rate. Cable providers in markets where there is extremely strong demand for the channel, such as Columbus, pay a higher rate than markets where there is weaker demand (i.e. Philadelphia). So, a lot of fans have made the mistake in assuming that the Big Ten Network could just automatically charge $0.70 per subscriber in places like New Jersey, New York and Missouri simply by adding a school in those respective states. Fan intensity matters, and in the case of Nebraska, the Big Ten will likely be able to charge a higher subscriber rate in the Huskers' home market than anywhere else. So, Nebraska's 700,000 households might be much smaller in number compared to Missouri or New Jersey, but the flip side is that the Big Ten Network can effectively name its price there (i.e. an ESPN-level subscriber rate, which is the highest rate in the cable industry) and it will receive it. At the same time, since Nebraska games will draw more interest within the Big Ten footprint and nationally on DirecTV (where it is on the national basic tier), that positions the Big Ten Network to charge higher rates to its current households in its next round of negotiations.

Please note that there were two schools in the soon-to-be-defunct Big 12 that looked seriously at starting their own networks: Texas and Nebraska. The former obviously has the households, but the latter's fan base is so intense that they will pay any price to watch every Husker event. I've seen figures that Nebraska cleared about $2 million for every single pay-per-view game that it has offered, which is an insanely high number for any college football team regardless of the population base along with providing evidence that the Big Ten Network will get a massive subscriber fee in the state of Nebraska. Therefore, the Big Ten Network isn't passing up on subscriber revenue in the manner that a lot of people who are just looking at population figures believe. Besides, Notre Dame is widely assumed to be an automatic money-maker for the Big Ten, but the Irish are also completely about national name brand value as opposed to adding actual markets. What's good nationally for the Big Ten is good for the Big Ten Network.

Yawn . . did you just say something or did I miss something about ISU? But I do look forward to seeing NU get shafted by the XII this season. But cudos to Saint Ossie for showing his real colors!:biggrin:

 

[huKSer]

As Tiger Woods always says, "Just win and everything else takes care of itself."

More accurately: As Tiger Woods always says, "Just win and every ho takes care of my _____."