Only problem is TVs, IMO. If they don't grow the TV market, we have little incentive to add them. The only other argument would be stability. And to that end, does having 12 members make this conference any more stable?
The more content there is on the platform, the more likely it is that stuff will fall to Tier 3 that schools like Texas and Oklahoma can monetize and be very, very happy.
What will most likely happen, if we add twelve schools, is that we'd get a little bump from Fox and ESPN to keep us level in Tier 1 and Tier 2, and additional inventory (to the tune of about 18-22 games a year or so) on the TV platform for football. That means some of that is going to fall to Tier 3 because Fox and ESPN simply won't have the capacity to show them. That means more games on LHN, more games on Sooner Sports TV, more games on K-StateHD.tv, Cyclone Vision, JTV, etc.
As I said before, it's the money in Tier 3 that makes the Big 12 cushy for Texas and OU, and it's what gives them more money, annually, than any other conference by at least a few million dollars. Hell, it's what gives us what will be a $4-5 million advantage over Florida State on an annual basis.
Adding two more teams means Fox and ESPN could put Louisville on Saturdays and push KU onto the LHN, Sooner Sports TV, etc. So, they'll get better games, and the big money schools with distribution mechanisms can start pulling the lever on the cash registers because it's another game or two a year they can put on their platform.
Remember, a new provision of the Big 12 TV contract is that whatever Fox and ESPN pass on falls into our hands. You think Texas and ESPN would want to put four games on LHN every year? Of course they would. Do you think that's more likely if we add Louisville and Cincinnati or Rutgers? Uh, yeah.
Now, will Texas ultimately want that? I don't know. I don't know what they ultimately want. But ESPN may have incentive to bring Big East schools they value into our conference (so NBC doesn't get them) and pay them more money because they'll get some of that back on the LHN and other schools they may ultimately partner with on regional distribution deals.
