(10-21-2023 03:42 PM)Gitanole Wrote:  Audacity says the top four most desired teams by fans for partners in conference realignment are:

1. Notre Dame
2. Florida State
3. Duke
4. Clemson

The poll included all major-conference schools, like Penn State and Texas.

The three least desired? Vanderbilt, Missouri, and South Carolina.

https://www.audacy.com/thefanupstate/spo...ealignment

The article that they are sourcing that from is interesting

https://oddspedia.com/us/insights/featur...erspective

If the B1G has their way, I think they go to 24: Notre Dame, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida State, Miami, Georgia Tech. If Notre Dame or Florida State doesn't join they may just stop at 22 and not take Georgia Tech.

I think Miami gets in at 20 only if Notre Dame is 19 and Florida State chooses the SEC. I think Virginia follows North Carolina, although if both want to join the Big Ten they are in.

I wonder if Miami's win over Clemson is the "over the hump" game for them and will change the fortunes for the Hurricanes. They needed the win, especially after the Georgia Tech fiasco. Clemson certainly isn't Clemson this year but it's still noteworthy for Miami. Could both schools fortunes have turned last night? Clemson will always argue they are the better football brand than Miami but if Miami is actually better than Clemson the next 5-10 years every conference in America will take Miami over Clemson.

What I think will come to pass is that the SEC will admit the Magnificent 7, plus a 24th, but the tag-along programs will come in at a severely reduced amount for an extended period of time. The future is streaming and a robust consortium of 24 teams provides them a great catalogue of games that can make the streaming platform of whatever media partner they sign with become a must-have for a huge portion of sports fans.

This obviously isn’t great news for the Big 10 because, aside from ND, the other options out there don’t pack the same value that the Magnificent 7 do.

My hope is that Miami chooses to take a different course as the Big 10’s Florida school.

How is SEC gonna take magnificent 7&1
where are they gonna put the games,
ABC, ESPN, SECN only have 9 spots on a Sat.
ESPN has contracts with AAC, ACC, B-12 also.
where they gonna put all the games

(10-22-2023 10:34 AM)templefootballfan Wrote:  How is SEC gonna take magnificent 7&1
where are they gonna put the games,
ABC, ESPN, SECN only have 9 spots on a Sat.
ESPN has contracts with AAC, ACC, B-12 also.
where they gonna put all the games

I'm certainly not in favor of the SEC taking the magnificent 7&1 but if they do the ACC will likely be no more or downgraded.

I doubt any major move is going to happen in the next few years. Once the current Big Ten, SEC, and Big 12 contracts are over, CBS could easily want back in with the SEC, NBC could want in with the SEC, maybe even FOX does. Could Amazon be an option?

(10-22-2023 11:17 AM)schmolik Wrote:  

(10-22-2023 10:34 AM)templefootballfan Wrote:  How is SEC gonna take magnificent 7&1
where are they gonna put the games,
ABC, ESPN, SECN only have 9 spots on a Sat.
ESPN has contracts with AAC, ACC, B-12 also.
where they gonna put all the games

I'm certainly not in favor of the SEC taking the magnificent 7&1 but if they do the ACC will likely be no more or downgraded.

I doubt any major move is going to happen in the next few years. Once the current Big Ten, SEC, and Big 12 contracts are over, CBS could easily want back in with the SEC, NBC could want in with the SEC, maybe even FOX does. Could Amazon be an option?

How do the networks prepare for a future where they only pay top dollar for top brands but can not be certain until the SCOTUS rules on pay for play affirmatively, that a breakaway upper tier is possible and will be beyond the grasp of the NCAA?

You coalesce all of the best brands for sports into two conferences, so that you can reach the markets you wish with games guaranteed to have the highest possible viewership, and you use the financial gap you created as the catalyst for the coalescing. Then if the SCOTUS rules as you anticipated the breakaway is natural the grouping is already defined. If the ruling does not help you disengage from the NCAA you are still fine so long as it is clear that there are only 2 super conferences within the NCAA which have been given freedom for football and can seek freedom for basketball. Either way the networks are fine.

And once you have that if your names are FOX and ESPN, you can do what FOX encouraged the Big 10 to do, broker those games to multiple suitors. ESPN will of necessity come around on this. If they hold the SEC with the magnificent 7 plus a
either Duke, Notre Dame, or Kansas, they have the rights to the conference they want and would be willing to pay more to keep. Will that mean that they have paid more vs what they hold now? No. They will eventually stream the rest of the rights pay it less and use the SEC as FOX and others will use the Big 10 to keep the OTA offerings raking in the ad money. And if they need less overhead, they will broker out the excess games to other networks.

ESPN has been interested in keeping the region where football is the most rabid. What is added to the SEC or not will indicate whether they are sticking to that marketing concept or adapting it. It has little to do with the SEC or Big 10 and everything to do with what ESPN wants to keep.