Conference TV Contracts and Revenue

[DudeAnon]

FS1 ratings in general are bad. Compare to the PAC 12 games that air there every week. Is this that complicated to understand?

[Hoya Hoya Hoya]

FS1 ratings in general are bad. Compare to the PAC 12 games that air there every week. Is this that complicated to understand?

TRUE which makes it even more LOL funny when Dayton, WSU, Gonaga fan boys act like they will increase the ratings by 30%

[Bill Marsh]

Good points, GW.

I won't get into issues with individual members or past members, but with regard to Fox, I have fears on this issue. First, it's now been 4 seasons that FS has been up and running. That's a lot of time for viewers to have found out about them. NASCAR fans haven't had any trouble finding them. Second, we had the defending national champions playing in the conference tournament championship game this year and ratings for that game dropped from last year's tournament championship game! That's not a good omen.

[GoldenWarrior11]

Good points, GW.

I won't get into issues with individual members or past members, but with regard to Fox, I have fears on this issue. First, it's now been 4 seasons that FS has been up and running. That's a lot of time for viewers to have found out about them. NASCAR fans haven't had any trouble finding them. Second, we had the defending national champions playing in the conference tournament championship game this year and ratings for that game dropped from last year's tournament championship game! That's not a good omen.

Do you know how long it took Fox to become a legit competitor to CBS, NBC and ABC? It wasn't until it took the partial NFL package from CBS (which had had exclusive rights dating back to the 50's) in 1993 where it became recognized and a top outlet.

FS1 is on the same steady plan as Fox was. It doesn't occur overnight. It is a process. Fox bet on us big to be part of that process, and we have delivered the results on the court and in the stands. We are steadily growing in viewership, a trend that will absolutely continue into next year and beyond. This wasn't going to be an overnight change. Anyone that truly believed that was either being unrealistic or stubborn. It will be years before FS1 is the established competitor to ESPN, and I wholeheartedly expect FS1 to do exactly that. Our current TV deal is unparalleled. No other major conference has ever gotten such a lucrative TV deal for basketball alone. We even, by total amount, got more than all the other G5 football conferences combined. We started on a brand new channel, one that is still growing its audience nationwide. Fox bet on us, and we bet on Fox. In the long-run, it will be an investment that both sides gain value from.

[Savannah Jay]

I won't get into issues with individual members or past members, but with regard to Fox, I have fears on this issue. First, it's now been 4 seasons that FS has been up and running. That's a lot of time for viewers to have found out about them. NASCAR fans haven't had any trouble finding them. Second, we had the defending national champions playing in the conference tournament championship game this year and ratings for that game dropped from last year's tournament championship game! That's not a good omen.

One game is not a trend and I doubt too many folks at Fox are overly concerned. The conference championship game was about as competitive as most folks thought is was going to be (regrettably, as a Bluejay fan). I am pretty sure that had a lot to do with the ratings. Had Watson not gotten hurt and it was a game between two top ten teams (which would have been a distinct possibility) and the ratings were down, that would have been bad.

It's funny that folks view the sky is falling with FS1 and keep talking about ESPN as if they are some unsinkable juggernaut. I would be willing to bet there is more concern about "trends" at ESPN than there is at Fox. ESPN subscribers fell below 90 million for the first time in over a decade. On top of that, about half of those subscribers pay 6.60 a month for ESPN but DO NOT even watch it. That doesn't seem sustainable. Meanwhile, ESPN has about $6 billion a year committed to their various broadcast rights partners. There is a point (I've heard it's 65-70 million subscribers) that ESPN will hit the crossroads where broadcast rights expenses outpace subscription fees.. It's pretty hard to envision that they will continue to get $6.60 from every subscriber in the long haul. It's also hard to envision the cord cutting slowing down too much in the next couple years.

$6 billion a year committed for the next ten years and subscribers running away at record pace. Maybe ACC should get VCU and/or Dayton in the fold. That'll fix it.

[BEXU]

Budgets;

How does X go to the Dance every year and get in those Sweet 16's and Elite Eights all the time? We have the same budget as DEPAUL!

https://www.facebook.com/enthusiadams/p ... 9948769556

[Toronto Rapture]

Good points, GW.

I won't get into issues with individual members or past members, but with regard to Fox, I have fears on this issue. First, it's now been 4 seasons that FS has been up and running. That's a lot of time for viewers to have found out about them. NASCAR fans haven't had any trouble finding them. Second, we had the defending national champions playing in the conference tournament championship game this year and ratings for that game dropped from last year's tournament championship game! That's not a good omen.

But I thought NASCAR's ratings have been declining while the BE ratings have steadily increased (although modestly)? Even with a decline, NASCAR's ratings are still likely considerably higher than the BE's. Still, I think that if the BE ratings continue to grow, even modestly, up until the expiry of the current contract, it could display to FOX that the BE is a valuable commodity. However, the conference should be exploring ways in which to enhance that growth, including considering expansion.

I also think that FS still has room to grow as well. Does anyone know if FS is available internationally? If so, how widely? On how many cable/satellite/etc. providers? I can only speak for myself and my satellite provider, but FS is not available to me. Maybe it is something I can ask the company next time I have to call them up (rarely). I don't even know if it is something I would switch over to another provider for except for BE basketball. Unfortunately, most of the college ball that airs up here is through TSN (Canadian ESPN), so it is a glut of F5 stuff (a lot of ACC specifically). The only time I get to watch BE basketball is on Fox on Saturdays.

I think it is not possible for the BE to have a network like the B1G for instance due to not having enough year-round content, but if it offered a package similar to NFL Sunday Ticket through the BE digital network or through providers where I can make a lump payment to watch all BE games, that is something I would jump on.

[paulxu]

Budgets;

How does X go to the Dance every year and get in those Sweet 16's and Elite Eights all the time? We have the same budget as DEPAUL!

https://www.facebook.com/enthusiadams/p ... 9948769556

How is it possible that Georgetown and Marquette spend 3 million more a year than UNC?

[scoscox]

Budgets;

How does X go to the Dance every year and get in those Sweet 16's and Elite Eights all the time? We have the same budget as DEPAUL!

https://www.facebook.com/enthusiadams/p ... 9948769556

How is it possible that Georgetown and Marquette spend 3 million more a year than UNC?

Roy Williams' official salary from the school is only around $500,000.

[gtmoBlue]

Toronto,

Fox, Fox News, Fox Sports, 20th/21st Century Fox, etc., etc. are worldwide. The Murdoch's are from Australia, remember. It's not Pespi trying to catch Coke. (Fox is The equivalent of Coca Cola in this scenario). Pepsi (ESPN) has an advantage only in the US market.

In Latam only we get up to 16 Fox channels on cable or satellite (forgot FX). 11 are movies & tv, 2 news, includes Big Fox, FS2, FS3, for sports. Digital pkgs have more. Also get 3 ESPN, TBS, and a couple others. A bit of NBA, baseball reruns, no NFL (thank God) or NCAA hoops. Lots of Futbol (Soccer), FIFA, FIBA basketball, local pro league soccer, National team soccer, F1, auto rally (extreme) racing, a bit of NASCAR, the Golf Channel, international sports - cricket, rugby, horse racing, sailing, etc.

DirecTV has a sports pkg above & beyond that has NCAA hoops. Neither Fox nor ESPN here carry any US football or College hoops. Real Futbol (soccer) is everywhere...all the time.

If the Longhorn Network is a guide, then cable-based conf networks will die! They will die with cable as the primary platform. The Big East is on the growth side of direction media is taking - we have our online BEDN. The Beast has plenty of content - much of it is already on the BEDN...need to do much more / Grow the BEDN as we are on the "right side" of media growth online. Go "all-in" with the BEDN and it too will become a BEast...quite possibly our greatest income stream in 3-5 years.