ESPN's College Sports Rights Game Plan:
States & Conference & Schools Whose Rights are Majority Owned by ESPN:
Alabama / SEC / Alabama, Auburn
Arkansas / SEC / Arkansas
Florida / SEC, ACC, AAC / Florida, Florida State, Miami, Central Florida, South Florida
Georgia / SEC, ACC / Georgia, Georgia Tech
Kentucky / SEC, ACC / Kentucky, Louisville
Louisiana / SEC, AAC / L.S.U., Tulane
Massachusetts / ACC / Boston College
Mississippi / SEC / Mississippi, Mississippi State
Missouri / SEC / Missouri
North Carolina / ACC, AAC / Duke, North Carolina, N.C. State, Wake Forest, East Carolina
South Carolina / SEC, ACC / South Carolina, Clemson
Tennessee / SEC, AAC / Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Memphis
Virginia / ACC / Virginia, Virginia Tech
States & Conferences & Schools Where ESPN Holds Majority Rights of Some Schools:
Maryland / AAC / Navy
New York / ACC / Syracuse
Oklahoma/ AAC / Tulsa
Pennsylvania / ACC / Pittsburgh
Texas / SEC, AAC / Texas A&M, Southern Methodist, Houston
ESPN owns the Southeast outright. This is the area with the most recruits and the highest level of loyalty to viewing college sports. FOX holds no rights South of Maryland and East of Austin and Waco. This didn't happen by accident.
Outside of the Southeast the Southwest has the most recruits and the highest level of loyalty to viewing college sports.
If there is any region that ESPN would like to control the way they control the Southeast it is the Southwest.
So in a future realignment I would strongly suspect that ESPN will be interested in controlling the majority of rights for the following schools:
Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, T.C.U., and Texas Tech
The ability to monopolize the college sports rights in Texas and Oklahoma is an advertising bonanza which is unparalleled anywhere else in the nation. Look for an all out push by ESPN to more fully land this product.
ESPN will have spent money much more wisely by pursuing the product of the states of Oklahoma and Texas than they would by pursuing schools in any other states or regions of the country.
Realignment as we know it now is Network driven.
People talk about the vulnerability of ESPN but what they don't talk about is ESPN having the Southeast signed up well past the much ballyhooed 2023-5 time frame. That means that ESPN has roughly 70% of the top 30 or so brands under contract while the rest of the competition for college sports rights will be slugging it out for control over a woeful West Coast product and for the large alumni state schools of the Northern Midwest to Northeast. But remember ESPN has roughly 50% of the rights to all of that too.
The great sports rights battle of 2023-5 is really only over the 10 schools of the Big 12, The 12 schools of the PAC, and the 14 schools of the Big 10 (which is the only prize on the auction block outside of the states of Texas and Oklahoma).
I expect ESPN to follow their model of having total control over the healthiest recruiting and most rabid viewing college sports regions. The Mouse will go all out to land either the majority of rights in the Big 12 or to move the product they covet most to conferences that are more completely under ESPN's control.
I also think they will go after the Big 10's contract, at least, at the same level of control they currently have roughly 47% and will probably push for more control there. But the rights of the Big 10 won't be as important as making sure that Texas & Oklahoma and crew are secure.
If FOX is getting out of college sports it is because they were never really in the game. The SECN ranked higher than FS1 and FS2.
Yes our conferences have preferences as to who they would and would not like to add. But clearly ESPN has been working a master plan to dominate the most lucrative college sports markets and to have at least a serious stake in the rest. I see no reason why that plan will not be followed in the next realignment. They've already paid handsomely to hold onto that bell cow named Bevo. I think the next roundup will end with ESPN making sure that their favorite steer is in ESPN's corral, along with the rest of of that herd and the chuck wagon from Oklahoma.
Now that could happen with the wholesale buying of rights from the Big 12 and keeping them together, or from realignment. We'll see.
(This post was last modified: 05-07-2018 01:16 PM by JRsec.)
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