Big 12 in position to poach Pac 12 schools?

[gohornedfrogs]

Help me out here... For the life of me I can't figure out why the Pac would want to invite SMU. Sure, it gets them into the Texas market and Central time zone, but how much of that market does SMU actually deliver? Nobody attends their games. Nobody watches their broadcasts. They have have been increasing their athletic budget investment only incrementally and seem unwilling to commit the major dollars that becoming a Power 5 program requires. So they would be drawing an equal share of the Pac revenue split without contributing much of anything to the conference bottom line. Great deal for SMU, not so good for the Pac.

What am I missing? Is the Pac just that desperate?

That model only works if it guarantees that the PAC12 network will be included in one (or more) of the DFW cable carriers basic plans.

This model is becoming a dinosaur, but if they could pull it off, then it would justify adding SMU. It has nothing to do with SMUs potential or history or how much it "delivers" (think Rutgers), but everything to do with getting a few $ a month from cable subscribers who will never tune into a channel. Are there enough PAC12 alums in DFW for a cable company to justify committing to the expense of adding a channel? That remains to be seen.

This is why the PAC12 is struggling. The conventional cable carriers are not ponying up (pun intended) the $ like they used to. Everything is moving towards more of a streaming platform. If the PAC12 lands on streaming, then it's hard to imagine them selecting SMU.

 

[Froggish]

Can’t say for sure, but if Amazon wants to make a Friday Night showcase happen, but doesn’t want to pay good money for the PAC (inc. ORE and WAS), I really don’t think they’ll pay enough for the Big 12 to be interested in making that package happen with the four corners+existing.

Good point. In this entire saga I think folks are wrongly associating the PACs negotiating issues with the idea that somehow their existing brands have less value than B12 brands. As your pointing out here, that's not the case. There's no appreciative difference in the TV/media value of most B12 schools and most PAC schools. Yormark got to the bar first and drank most the available liquor. With both Fox and ESPN already involved with the B12 it seems like it would be really hard for Amazon to nudge its way in for a top tier showcase game.

 

[Limey Frog]

Good point. In this entire saga I think folks are wrongly associating the PACs negotiating issues with the idea that somehow their existing brands have less value than B12 brands. As your pointing out here, that's not the case. There's no appreciative difference in the TV/media value of most B12 schools and most PAC schools. Yormark got to the bar first and drank most the available liquor. With both Fox and ESPN already involved with the B12 it seems like it would be really hard for Amazon to nudge its way in for a top tier showcase game.

Yeah, the only difference is that Yormark was realistic and aggressive while the Pac believed they could be patient and win by pitting multiple bidders. In fact there aren't multiple bidders; not for them. Basically they thought they were still closer to the Big Ten whereas Yormark and Bowlsby knew how close the Big XII was (and still might be) to becoming the AAC.

 

[Frog DJ]

Actually, it's Earvin, and he has 5 rings.

Drug rings?

Go Frogs!

 

[Hemingway]

Amazon seems to want a Friday night showcase, 7 or 8 EST. Big 12 has already given up its best games so they really couldn’t fill that need, it’d be crap games or some kind of sub license which doesn’t help the league that much overall. No idea what the four corners would be worth, but really the way to think about it is the worst two games per week in conference play… not great. But who knows, Amazon has done crazier things before.

Is this remotely plausible?

 

[Limey Frog]

Is this remotely plausible?

He's saying that a merger doesn't work financially; so, yes. That is obvious, which is why this clown is tweeting it and pretending to have insider info.

 

[Gary's Shirtless Revenge]

Is this remotely plausible?

No idea who that is, I don't really find it plausible BY and GK are meeting about a merger because there really isn't such a thing as a merger. At the end of the day, somebody is buying somebody, and one of those two guys is out of a job. PAC should have enough gas to get this over the finish line and survive another 5-6 years.

 

[One Frog Nation]

Interesting if true

 

[BrewingFrog]

Interesting if true

Ooooh! That's a poisoned dagger!

I still don't understand the thinking: What happens if they accept? And the B1G doesn't call? We're stuck holding a flaming bag of poo, and the 4-corners outfits we actually wanted won't fit with UW and UO in the mix and hogging up more money than TCU (or anybody else).

 

[Hemingway]

Interesting if true

Paying them with the 100 million from UT and OU…. Lol. Bravo BY

 

[Limey Frog]

Interesting if true

That's a joke account.

 

[Hemingway]

No idea who that is, I don't really find it plausible BY and GK are meeting about a merger because there really isn't such a thing as a merger. At the end of the day, somebody is buying somebody, and one of those two guys is out of a job. PAC should have enough gas to get this over the finish line and survive another 5-6 years.

Sounds like we are going to have a Frankenstein Conference of some sort

 

[Deep Purple]

Inventory/location...Once you get beyond the top 1/2 of the P5, location and inventory is much more important than brands. These linear and non linear media companies need a lot of games. They desperately need content to fill out programming and there is only so many "brands" that drive casual traffic. Even marginal branded sports is better than a rerun of some 70's sitcom or the cost of creating original content. Location matters because highly populated areas give the media company a chance to push product in a concentrated way. SMU gives the PAC inventory which they desperately need to sell and they give their future media partner a highly populated place to grow their product. Really has very little to do with SMU. What they personally offer the PAC are all way down the list of things driving their inclusion. Dallas location is driving this 100%

One other thing....The word is SMU would not be taking an even revenue split. Most everyone believes they only get in under an unequal sharing model. A portion of their split would go to keeping Oregon and UW in the fold.

Many thanks for the insight. I was thniking purely in terms of athletics or broadcast revenue, not filling out broadcast inventory toward future growth. Admittedly, I don't know a great deal about the media industry, so I tend to view it pretty simplistically.

 

[Gary's Shirtless Revenge]

Sounds like we are going to have a Frankenstein Conference of some sort

500 followers on Twitter, seems legit.

 

[Gary's Shirtless Revenge]

Sounds like we are going to have a Frankenstein Conference of some sort

I really don't think ESPN and FOX would be OK with allowing the GOR to lapse if a member gets an offer to the BIG or SEC, that's not exactly an optimal business model and opens up a lot of weird hypothetical possibilities that aren't good for lots of parties. And you couldn't just make that offer to ORE and WAS, you'd have to offer that to all Big 12 members.

 

[hiphopfroggy]

The best use of the OUT buyout $$ might be to pay off their share of the comcast debt for any incoming PAC school.

4.16m/each

 

[Eight]

The best use of the OUT buyout $$ might be to pay off their share of the comcast debt for any incoming PAC school.

4.16m/each

think the conference should go homer simpson and buy lottery tickets

 

[BrewingFrog]

I really don't think ESPN and FOX would be OK with allowing the GOR to lapse if a member gets an offer to the BIG or SEC, that's not exactly an optimal business model and opens up a lot of weird hypothetical possibilities that aren't good for lots of parties. And you couldn't just make that offer to ORE and WAS, you'd have to offer that to all Big 12 members.

The GOR is to the Conference, not the Networks. Besides, they are the ones televising the games, regardless of which Conference the program is affiliated with. They will dictate what they will pay if certain circumstances arise, and if this tweet has any legitimacy at all, none of what is alleged would not have been run by the Broadcast Partners before it was floated.

 

[Panther City Frog]

Sounds like we are going to have a Frankenstein Conference of some sort

Yeah but at least……It’s ALIVE!!!!!!!

 

[82 Frog Fever]

It’s now being reported the PAC12 has opened negotiations with a new & potentially huge national media revenue stream.
Gas Pump TV.