Smoke your cigars and enjoy the band while you can....

[MakeItRain]

If I was a network exec, I'd aggressively argue that the big 12 shouldn't expect a dime for their games that end up on espnu/news/3/other, as the network's doing the conference a favor by putting the crap teams on tv so their handful of fans even have the option to watch.

Problem for you is there are other sports networks that need the content and they'd love to have the Big 12 so the conference then walks with their content then you're left with either Conference USA games or fishing while your competitor has West Virginia vs. Oklahoma State. I know it's popular here to crap on everything but within the context of live sports rights in this country, Big 12 football is valuable when it comes to number of televisions reached and the ratings of the games.

This isn't without recent precedent, ESPN didn't take seriously the growth of soccer in this country and they lost the rights to the English Premier League to NBC who's now making a ton of cash playing soccer matches that start at 7AM on the east coast and ESPN has literally nothing to counter.

[ednksu]

If I was a network exec, I'd aggressively argue that the big 12 shouldn't expect a dime for their games that end up on espnu/news/3/other, as the network's doing the conference a favor by putting the crap teams on tv so their handful of fans even have the option to watch.

Problem for you is there are other sports networks that need the content and they'd love to have the Big 12 so the conference then walks with their content then you're left with either Conference USA games or fishing while your competitor has West Virginia vs. Oklahoma State. I know it's popular here to crap on everything but within the context of live sports rights in this country, Big 12 football is valuable when it comes to number of televisions reached and the ratings of the games.

This isn't without recent precedent, ESPN didn't take seriously the growth of soccer in this country and they lost the rights to the English Premier League to NBC who's now making a ton of cash playing soccer matches that start at 7AM on the east coast and ESPN has literally nothing to counter.

I'm curious about how well EPL is doing with their early games.  Do you have a link that I can read on how NBC is doing with their broadcasts?

[KITNfury]

I wouldn't discount advertising entirely though.  I know personally I watch zero shows live except sports.  So I generally have no idea what movies are coming out or who the hot new $20 pitch man is who hasn't yet been bitten in the mouth by a hooker  or cocained his heart to death.

[Skipper44]

And the cfb demo is superior to most (all?) sports

[Trim]

I know that love be sports are valuable because they generally aren't DVR'd (and commercials accordingly not watched) and I know that football is more attractive than fishing and that a power 5 game should be more attractive than a cuss game.

So, in the real world, why don't non-infomercial type brands think that content is attractive enough to pay to advertise during them.  Even if it's just a general thing these days that advertising budgets are smaller and companies are more selective with how they spend the budget, shouldn't the networks/providers that ultimately make money based on people watching and advertisers targeting those people be determining that the content isn't worth what the conferences are seeking?

[Trim]

If I was a network exec, I'd aggressively argue that the big 12 shouldn't expect a dime for their games that end up on espnu/news/3/other, as the network's doing the conference a favor by putting the crap teams on tv so their handful of fans even have the option to watch.

Problem for you is there are other sports networks that need the content and they'd love to have the Big 12 so the conference then walks with their content then you're left with either Conference USA games or fishing while your competitor has West Virginia vs. Oklahoma State. I know it's popular here to crap on everything but within the context of live sports rights in this country, Big 12 football is valuable when it comes to number of televisions reached and the ratings of the games.

This isn't without recent precedent, ESPN didn't take seriously the growth of soccer in this country and they lost the rights to the English Premier League to NBC who's now making a ton of cash playing soccer matches that start at 7AM on the east coast and ESPN has literally nothing to counter.

I'm curious about how well EPL is doing with their early games.  Do you have a link that I can read on how NBC is doing with their broadcasts?

I'm curious about the money. 7am (east) games hitting a desirable target audience? Also, aren't soccer games commercial-free for 45 +(?) minutes at a time.

[star seed 7]

They are "commercial free" but there is plenty of advertising going on.

[MakeItRain]

I'm curious about how well EPL is doing with their early games.  Do you have a link that I can read on how NBC is doing with their broadcasts?

But not curious enough to google the info? It's really easy to find.

shouldn't the networks/providers that ultimately make money based on people watching and advertisers targeting those people be determining that the content isn't worth what the conferences are seeking?

I guess I'm not sure what you're proposing. Its clear they are making lots of money with these college rights deals, so whatever small profits or losses they are taking with the ESPNU games are tolerable because of the money they make off of games on ESPN2, ESPN, and ABC. No league has more shitty ESPNU quality inventory than the ACC and ESPN just signed a new 20 year deal with them at a time when media sentiment seemed to think these deals would get scaled back.

[Trim]

They are "commercial free" but there is plenty of advertising going on.

Such that NBC itself is recouping the money they paid the soccer league?

[Trim]

shouldn't the networks/providers that ultimately make money based on people watching and advertisers targeting those people be determining that the content isn't worth what the conferences are seeking?

I guess I'm not sure what you're proposing. Its clear they are making lots of money with these college rights deals, so whatever small profits or losses they are taking with the ESPNU games are tolerable because of the money they make off of games on ESPN2, ESPN, and ABC. No league has more shitty ESPNU quality inventory than the ACC and ESPN just signed a new 20 year deal with them at a time when media sentiment seemed to think these deals would get scaled back.

Is it clear to you that the networks are making lots of money based on an assumption that they must be given that they keep paying conferences shitloads of money?

[MakeItRain]

They are "commercial free" but there is plenty of advertising going on.

Such that NBC itself is recouping the money they paid the soccer league?

Bigly

[Trim]

Lazarus conceded that the Premier League had not earned a profit through advertising during its current deal and would not in the next, more expensive one.

But he said: “We look at it for what it does for our portfolio from all our revenue streams: advertising, affiliate deals, digital monetization. It’s hard to break out what comes from E.P.L. or hockey or Nascar. It’s in the total offering. This isn’t a deal that’s profitable, but we believe it adds to the profitability of our business.” And he added, “Our sports business is profitable.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/11/sports/soccer/nbc-retains-rights-to-premier-league-in-six-year-deal.html?_r=0

[Trim]

Lazarus said he considers the Premier League package one of the three sports pillars for NBCSN, along with the NHL and motorsports. He would not go into financials regarding how the Premier League package will make money but he did say that he saw plenty of room for growth in viewership and expected high single or double digit growth this year.

“We have always believed that this particular league is the finest in the world and has a growth trajectory,” Lazarus said. “We have every expectation this will pay off for our company.”

http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2015/08/10/nbc-sports-epl-broadcast-rights-sec-food

I guess Lazarus has a handle on it.  Nevermind.

[Panjandrum]

for the epsn/disney guy.  i don't think there is any way disney sells espn.  it is still a giant revenue generator for them and a huge part of their empire.  they just agreed on a purchase not long ago to help ease the way into online streaming.  they're just trying to manage selling espn content online without cannibalizing their subscription revenue any faster than they have to.

I know that Disney is going to do what they need to do to keep it afloat, but their losses with ESPN in Q4 last year were barely offset by Star Wars, and that caused a lot of analysts to wonder about the future of ESPN with Disney.

I completely agree that they are doing what they can to keep it a part of their portfolio, but because the digital future is unknown, will it be as successful?  They still keep paying a ton of money for content, but if forced to go to a la carte, considering they get around $7 for every cable subscriber today, what is the delta from what they can monetize digitally from what they receive today?  Does that outpace what they need to spend to get the content?  If it's not, in 7-10 years, does Disney still keep throwing billions at it to try and keep it afloat?

People will still pay for sports content, but will ESPN/Disney still have the money to keep it consolidated under their umbrella at the current rate of change, or will the overall portfolio of content further diversify in the marketplace as bits and pieces are sold to the highest bidders?

[Panjandrum]

And to expand further, what we're doing with K-StateHD.tv is actually way ahead of the curve.  I know that it's not huge now, but for much bigger schools, programs, professional teams, etc., is the future of the medium, as we move to a streaming future, the distribution of your content directly from the team/organization as opposed to the team/organization selling it through a middle man?

LHN, YES, etc. are kind of the future, but they're just cable channels now.  Does a consumer want to pay 9.99 a month for their team only as opposed to paying 19.99 for sports and teams they don't care about to watch a couple of games a month for a team they care about?  Would they rather have access to Texas, Royals, Chiefs, etc. specific content for less money?

I realize that future is most likely less profitable than the current model, so the incentive to go there isn't high, but as people cut more and more from their entertainment bills, and what you watch becomes more customized to what you want, is that where teams will need to ultimately go to salvage what customers really want?

[ew2x4]

And to expand further, what we're doing with K-StateHD.tv is actually way ahead of the curve.  I know that it's not huge now, but for much bigger schools, programs, professional teams, etc., is the future of the medium, as we move to a streaming future, the distribution of your content directly from the team/organization as opposed to the team/organization selling it through a middle man?

LHN, YES, etc. are kind of the future, but they're just cable channels now.  Does a consumer want to pay 9.99 a month for their team only as opposed to paying 19.99 for sports and teams they don't care about to watch a couple of games a month for a team they care about?  Would they rather have access to Texas, Royals, Chiefs, etc. specific content for less money?

I realize that future is most likely less profitable than the current model, so the incentive to go there isn't high, but as people cut more and more from their entertainment bills, and what you watch becomes more customized to what you want, is that where teams will need to ultimately go to salvage what customers really want?

kstatehd.tv is about 2 years behind the curve in digital content and 2 years ahead of the curve in sport content delivery. It's missing a mobile app, Amazon FireTV/Xbox/PS4 App and things like chromecast abilities.

That said, kstatehdtv can't handle that. There is a gap right now that some app creator/manager could fill by working with a school's third tier/rebroadcast rights to carry on their app ecosystem. If the P5 conferences knew what was best for them, they would start unifying and form this outside of ESPN and Fox. I know they like the guaranteed money in contracts, but there are a ton of possible avenues that they should be exploring.

[MakeItRain]

And to expand further, what we're doing with K-StateHD.tv is actually way ahead of the curve.  I know that it's not huge now, but for much bigger schools, programs, professional teams, etc., is the future of the medium, as we move to a streaming future, the distribution of your content directly from the team/organization as opposed to the team/organization selling it through a middle man?

LHN, YES, etc. are kind of the future, but they're just cable channels now.  Does a consumer want to pay 9.99 a month for their team only as opposed to paying 19.99 for sports and teams they don't care about to watch a couple of games a month for a team they care about?  Would they rather have access to Texas, Royals, Chiefs, etc. specific content for less money?

I realize that future is most likely less profitable than the current model, so the incentive to go there isn't high, but as people cut more and more from their entertainment bills, and what you watch becomes more customized to what you want, is that where teams will need to ultimately go to salvage what customers really want?

kstatehd.tv is about 2 years behind the curve in digital content and 2 years ahead of the curve in sport content delivery. It's missing a mobile app, Amazon FireTV/Xbox/PS4 App and things like chromecast abilities.

That said, kstatehdtv can't handle that. There is a gap right now that some app creator/manager could fill by working with a school's third tier/rebroadcast rights to carry on their app ecosystem. If the P5 conferences knew what was best for them, they would start unifying and form this outside of ESPN and Fox. I know they like the guaranteed money in contracts, but there are a ton of possible avenues that they should be exploring.

What do they have to gain by leaving ESPN and FOX? Both already have all the digital broadcasting possibilities available.

[GoodForAnother]

If kstate.hd/tv would make a Roku or amazon app I would probably pay monthly for it instead of canceling it after one month every year

[sys]

their losses with ESPN in Q4 last year were barely offset by Star Wars

your memory is wrong.  espn made a lot of money for disney in q4 2015, as they do every quarter.  the analyst freakout was over the decline in subscriber numbers, not over profitability.

https://ditm-twdc-us.storage.googleapis.com/q4-fy15-earnings.pdf

[Panjandrum]

And to expand further, what we're doing with K-StateHD.tv is actually way ahead of the curve.  I know that it's not huge now, but for much bigger schools, programs, professional teams, etc., is the future of the medium, as we move to a streaming future, the distribution of your content directly from the team/organization as opposed to the team/organization selling it through a middle man?

LHN, YES, etc. are kind of the future, but they're just cable channels now.  Does a consumer want to pay 9.99 a month for their team only as opposed to paying 19.99 for sports and teams they don't care about to watch a couple of games a month for a team they care about?  Would they rather have access to Texas, Royals, Chiefs, etc. specific content for less money?

I realize that future is most likely less profitable than the current model, so the incentive to go there isn't high, but as people cut more and more from their entertainment bills, and what you watch becomes more customized to what you want, is that where teams will need to ultimately go to salvage what customers really want?

kstatehd.tv is about 2 years behind the curve in digital content and 2 years ahead of the curve in sport content delivery. It's missing a mobile app, Amazon FireTV/Xbox/PS4 App and things like chromecast abilities.

That said, kstatehdtv can't handle that. There is a gap right now that some app creator/manager could fill by working with a school's third tier/rebroadcast rights to carry on their app ecosystem. If the P5 conferences knew what was best for them, they would start unifying and form this outside of ESPN and Fox. I know they like the guaranteed money in contracts, but there are a ton of possible avenues that they should be exploring.

What do they have to gain by leaving ESPN and FOX? Both already have all the digital broadcasting possibilities available.

Nothing right now.  I'm just thinking way, way ahead.

I heard some stat recently that 40%+ of people get all of their news from their Facebook feed.  Basically, you are just picking and choosing what news you want to receive.  If you play that out with a younger generation over time, does all content, not just news delivery, fall into that model if/when we move to a la carte?  Will it become so decentralized that even companies with large portfolios of content be desirable for 14.99 when you can get just the team you care about for 9.99?

I'm thinking less about the current reality and more towards a very "me focused" consumer that only has time or the concern for their team in general. 

Again, I'm thinking way down the road here.

[Panjandrum]

their losses with ESPN in Q4 last year were barely offset by Star Wars

your memory is wrong.  espn made a lot of money for disney in q4 2015, as they do every quarter.  the analyst freakout was over the decline in subscriber numbers, not over profitability.

https://ditm-twdc-us.storage.googleapis.com/q4-fy15-earnings.pdf

That was really informative.  Thanks.

You're right.  I went back and read the old Washington Post article I was thinking of, and it didn't say anything about decreased revenue.  My bad.

[Panjandrum]

If kstate.hd/tv would make a Roku or amazon app I would probably pay monthly for it instead of canceling it after one month every year

It's the main reason my Apple TV is in my living room.  I stream it from my iPad or iPhone through AirPlay.

[ew2x4]

And to expand further, what we're doing with K-StateHD.tv is actually way ahead of the curve.  I know that it's not huge now, but for much bigger schools, programs, professional teams, etc., is the future of the medium, as we move to a streaming future, the distribution of your content directly from the team/organization as opposed to the team/organization selling it through a middle man?

LHN, YES, etc. are kind of the future, but they're just cable channels now.  Does a consumer want to pay 9.99 a month for their team only as opposed to paying 19.99 for sports and teams they don't care about to watch a couple of games a month for a team they care about?  Would they rather have access to Texas, Royals, Chiefs, etc. specific content for less money?

I realize that future is most likely less profitable than the current model, so the incentive to go there isn't high, but as people cut more and more from their entertainment bills, and what you watch becomes more customized to what you want, is that where teams will need to ultimately go to salvage what customers really want?

kstatehd.tv is about 2 years behind the curve in digital content and 2 years ahead of the curve in sport content delivery. It's missing a mobile app, Amazon FireTV/Xbox/PS4 App and things like chromecast abilities.

That said, kstatehdtv can't handle that. There is a gap right now that some app creator/manager could fill by working with a school's third tier/rebroadcast rights to carry on their app ecosystem. If the P5 conferences knew what was best for them, they would start unifying and form this outside of ESPN and Fox. I know they like the guaranteed money in contracts, but there are a ton of possible avenues that they should be exploring.

What do they have to gain by leaving ESPN and FOX? Both already have all the digital broadcasting possibilities available.

Money and power.

65 schools. On demand content. Every single game able to be viewed worldwide from a single source. If a company that Blockbuster turned down can be a media juggernaut, we don't need Fox or ESPN. They would need the P5 schools.

Maybe it's my own personal desire, but if the P5 conferences banded together for broadcasting, standardizing scheduling rules, etc. college football would be better for it.

[tdaver]

http://www.yardbarker.com/mobile/content/article/s1_127_22041061

[Katpappy]

http://www.yardbarker.com/mobile/content/article/s1_127_22041061

I call bullshit on this; there's no way we'll trade OU for the NEBs.