SBJ Media: Pac-12 deal rumors
www.sportsbusinessjournal.com
Nice summary on all 3 of these deals. To summarize:
- ESPN made sure that the Big XII/Pac 12 payouts per school will not exceed the ACC during anytime of the new deals. That was a big part of the negotiations. WIth the ACC network, it is difficult to get a firm number on ACC money, but all are comfortable it will keep the ACC schools ahead of those two conferences.
- The whole "tier 3" mumbo jumbo that the Big XII twitter verse likes to push on is all wrapped up in this deal as well, so there are no Tier 3 gazillions Big XII teams are making
- The big question will come down to price. Media companies believe the Big 12 deal set the market. The Pac-12 still is aiming higher. Keep in mind, the Pac-12 will have fewer schools -- 10 instead of 12 -- after USC and UCLA depart for the Big Ten. That’s two fewer mouths to feed. ESPN took pains to make sure that its Big 12 deal would not result in a bigger per-school payout than the ACC. Because of the ACC Network, it’s difficult to determine how much ACC schools make from its ESPN deal. But I was told that the Big 12 will not eclipse the ACC on that front at any point in its deal, which runs through 2030-31. ESPN is likely to approach Pac-12 negotiations in a similar way.
- I keep seeing one aspect of the Big 12 deal that is creating confusion among fans on social media. Historically, the Big 12 had what it called "Tier Three" rights, which are the rights schools retained and sold to local broadcasters. These are the rights, for example, that Texas used to create the Longhorn Network with ESPN. ESPN now controls all of those rights as part of its deal; there are no more institutional-controlled games and no more Tier Three rights.
So those that are worried the ACC is falling behind these two conferences or pushing out the Tier 3 money not being included, relax. It's the BIG and SEC that are only running away.
