ESPN was probably the driving force behind the Texas and Oklahoma move to the SEC. That move weakens and most probably kills the Big 12 to force a merger with the AAC. Fox had tv deals with the Big 12, the Big 10, and the Pac 12. By killing the Big 12 you weaken the Fox sports position to just the Big 12 and the Pac 12. ESPN already bought and sold off the Fox sports regional TV distributors which makes it that much tougher for Fox to compete with an enhanced ESPN. With the alliance talk, here is how things stand:
*The Big 10 and the Pac 12 are in a vulnerable position due to the SEC brand power.
*The SEC and AAC are under ESPN for television rights and if the AAC can convince the remaining Big 12 members to join them, would give the SEC a dependable league to beat up on for marketable out-of-conference games under the ESPN umbrella.
This leaves the ACC in an interesting position where they are locked into a lower-paying long-term contract with ESPN but could threaten the balance by striking a deal with the Fox sports leagues the Big 10 and the Pac 12. I wonder if the ACC will continue to push the alliance agenda in an effort to force ESPN to renegotiate their television contract for more money. Being the Swing vote to either help or hurt the SEC's power play for the playoff voting, I hope the ACC makes ESPN cough up some serious dollars to join the SEC to swing the votes back to the ESPN side of the table.
Does anyone else agree or disagree with my assessment?
Panda
*The Big 10 and the Pac 12 are in a vulnerable position due to the SEC brand power.
*The SEC and AAC are under ESPN for television rights and if the AAC can convince the remaining Big 12 members to join them, would give the SEC a dependable league to beat up on for marketable out-of-conference games under the ESPN umbrella.
This leaves the ACC in an interesting position where they are locked into a lower-paying long-term contract with ESPN but could threaten the balance by striking a deal with the Fox sports leagues the Big 10 and the Pac 12. I wonder if the ACC will continue to push the alliance agenda in an effort to force ESPN to renegotiate their television contract for more money. Being the Swing vote to either help or hurt the SEC's power play for the playoff voting, I hope the ACC makes ESPN cough up some serious dollars to join the SEC to swing the votes back to the ESPN side of the table.
Does anyone else agree or disagree with my assessment?
Panda