We may be at the crossroads of

[bbradley]

One of our problems now is The ACC still doesn't have a new TV contract, I think it's up in 2011 and The SEC signed before the market crashed. Now we are searching for a good deal for our conference and no one has the money the SEC got on thier contract, I mean they turned the JP game of the week to SEC network!

 

[bbradley]

Greensboro, N.C.—The ACC expanded in 2004 to add Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech for one very important reason: The league wanted to go to 12 teams in order to make sure it didn’t lose its seat at the table—both competitively and financially–with the big boys of college football.
In most aspects, expansion has been a success for ACC football. No, the league has not been in the national championship discussion lately, but it has done very well at the bank. In 2005 it signed a new seven-year television contract with ABC and ESPN for a reported $258 million. Simply because of expansion, the ACC went from making about $21 million per year on televised football to about $37.6 million per year. Last year the ACC sent a record 10 teams to bowl games. So from a purely financial standpoint, expansion has worked.
But that was then and this is now. And right now the SEC has changed the entire landscape of college sports with its staggering 15-year, $3 billion agreements with ESPN and CBS.
“The SEC deal is certainly huge in terms of the dollars and the length of the agreement,” Swofford said when I met with him at the ACC Football Kickoff. “There is usually a separation of some kind that is inevitable when new deals are struck. But I will admit that this separation is larger than most.”
The SEC deal impacts everything and everybody. Conservatively, SEC schools expect to see their annual shared revenue jump from about $11 million per school to over $16 million per school per year. That is a game changer in a competitive market. While other conferences like the ACC are cutting costs (the ACC cut its budget by 6 percent for the coming year) the SEC is suddenly flush with cash. There is more money to attract the best coaches. There is more money for recruiting. The increased exposure gives the SEC an edge in recruiting.
The ACC’s television deals expire after the 2011 season and Swofford made it clear that his league must find a way to close that gap in the next television contract.
Here is the problem. The SEC agreed to its deal in the summer of 2008, right before the bottom dropped out of the economy. The ACC is trying to negotiate its new deal in a lousy economy.
And in order to maximize its dollars in the next television contract, the ACC may have to get creative—and a little bold. It is only a concept right now, but the ACC could eventually join forces with another conference–say the Pac-10–to give greater negotiating power with the networks.
By design, the ACC’s lucrative men’s basketball contracts are up for renewal at the same time as football. In the past, these contracts have been negotiated separately because basketball carried so much weight. Swofford said that the two sports may be joined into one contract next time around. So basketball could be used to as leverage to maximize football revenue.
Swofford made it clear that his first choice in these negotiations is to stick with the ACC’s current television partners: ABC, ESPN, and Raycom. But the SEC said goodbye to some of its TV partners when it sold everything to ESPN and CBS. Because of what the SEC has done, the ACC is going to face some tough choices in the next two years.
“We just have to see how this plays out, but yes, these are important negotiations for us. What it’s about is doing the best with what you have, whether it’s a lot or a little,” said Swofford. “With all that said, I’d rather have a lot than a little.”

 

[cajunjacket]

So since the SEC took up so much of the ESPN coverage, is it a possibility that the ACC goes with an entirely different network such as Fox and Fox Sports Network? NBC has a deal with Notre Dame, correct? So we probably wouldn't be able to go with them I suppose.

 

[gth816f]

So since the SEC took up so much of the ESPN coverage, is it a possibility that the ACC goes with an entirely different network such as Fox and Fox Sports Network? NBC has a deal with Notre Dame, correct? So we probably wouldn't be able to go with them I suppose.

Notre Dame only takes up 7 or 8 timeslots on NBC a year. They wouldn't be a factor if the ACC wanted to go to NBC. I wouldn't mind that either...I think NBC would do a better job than ABC/ESPN. I'm a big fan of their NFL coverage.

 

[cajunjacket]

Notre Dame only takes up 7 or 8 timeslots on NBC a year. They wouldn't be a factor if the ACC wanted to go to NBC. I wouldn't mind that either...I think NBC would do a better job than ABC/ESPN. I'm a big fan of their NFL coverage.

Yeah me too. I hope that could be a potential network for us.

 

[gt_white_gold]

Notre Dame only takes up 7 or 8 timeslots on NBC a year. They wouldn't be a factor if the ACC wanted to go to NBC. I wouldn't mind that either...I think NBC would do a better job than ABC/ESPN. I'm a big fan of their NFL coverage.

I honestly do not care who covers the ACC, but I really want a contract that gets GT on more televised games every year. Only game I expect to miss each year is one against a FCS opponent.

 

[Enuratique]

So since the SEC took up so much of the ESPN coverage, is it a possibility that the ACC goes with an entirely different network such as Fox and Fox Sports Network? NBC has a deal with Notre Dame, correct? So we probably wouldn't be able to go with them I suppose.

Don't you think they'd take the Big 12 before the ACC? Or does the Big 12 have its own network a la Big Televen? I'd think they'd even take the Pac-10 over us.

 

[gt_white_gold]

Don't you think they'd take the Big 12 before the ACC? Or does the Big 12 have its own network a la Big Televen? I'd think they'd even take the Pac-10 over us.

Well, the Pac-10 and the big 12 will be in later time slots for most of the time, so having multiple contracts would not be a bad thing necessarily. You have to figure that an 8 pm game here would end around the same time an 8 pm game in California would start.

 

[cajunjacket]

Well, the Pac-10 and the big 12 will be in later time slots for most of the time, so having multiple contracts would not be a bad thing necessarily. You have to figure that an 8 pm game here would end around the same time an 8 pm game in California would start.

Exactly. I know Fox has deals with the Western conferences, but the time zones would help us out with getting the early time slots. Plus, I don't even think Fox (the network station) covers regular season college football. I know FSN does, but does Fox? If not, and they were willing, we could get some great coverage, being the only conference on that OTA (over the air) station.

 

[midatlantech]

The ACC and the Big 12 are competing head to head for the rest of the ESPN/ABC money. One will win, one will lose.

If the ACC "wins", then we'll continue to find us on Thursday nites, big games early in the season, etc.

If we change we could actually "win" by being the primary player in whatever network took us. We'd have more night and 3:30 games and less Thursday games. THANK GOD!

The ACC has to decide if it wants to go alone, as the Big Ten did, combine with another conference (PAC 10, Big 12) and go to a new network (or alone on their own cable), or take the scraps from SECSPN.

It amazes me how much money baseball teams make on their cable stations. It does suggest that by creating your own cable station, that there is lots of money to be had. The Big Ten chose this route.

Every baseball game would be on cable, every volleyball game, etc. The question would be if ACC basketball got hurt or not.

This is scary ground. Personally I think SECSPN has already decided to stick it to us, either permanently or for negotiations purposes. IT sure seems that way.

But we have other opportunities. And we all have to remember that when schools broke away from the NCAA football deals in the late 70's, and when ND got it's huge NBC contract, we allthought we were doomed.

We found a way.

 

[cajunjacket]

The ACC and the Big 12 are competing head to head for the rest of the ESPN/ABC money. One will win, one will lose.

If the ACC "wins", then we'll continue to find us on Thursday nites, big games early in the season, etc.

If we change we could actually "win" by being the primary player in whatever network took us. We'd have more night and 3:30 games and less Thursday games. THANK GOD!

The ACC has to decide if it wants to go alone, as the Big Ten did, combine with another conference (PAC 10, Big 12) and go to a new network (or alone on their own cable), or take the scraps from SECSPN.

It amazes me how much money baseball teams make on their cable stations. It does suggest that by creating your own cable station, that there is lots of money to be had. The Big Ten chose this route.

Every baseball game would be on cable, every volleyball game, etc. The question would be if ACC basketball got hurt or not.

This is scary ground. Personally I think SECSPN has already decided to stick it to us, either permanently or for negotiations purposes. IT sure seems that way.

But we have other opportunities. And we all have to remember that when schools broke away from the NCAA football deals in the late 70's, and when ND got it's huge NBC contract, we allthought we were doomed.

We found a way.

I think Fox or NBC is the way to go for the ACC. I'm sick of ESPN and ABC. Announcers talk about the SEC during our games, I've had enough of it.

 

[bbradley]

I think one thing that helps us (ACC and GT) is the East coast thing. I think more people are watching the East Coast due to times. That's why the Big East is still shown on TV and we only get the marque Big 12 match-ups and Fox and TBS show the late games.
I think one station out there is going to take it just because the conference is so copelling.
I would like to think that the basketball rights would come with this so ESPN would really hurt when they lost ACC BBall.
They'll get it done, they have smart folks in charge.