ESPN vs. The Big Ten

ESPN has been waging war on the Big Ten for a few years now. It’s just about over because the Big Ten was checked and mated with the scandal at Penn State. Check out this article on the deal that the SEC struck with ESPN and CBS: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/mizzou/sec-renegotiates-tv-deal-own-network-possible/article_48ef4585-6021-5c6f-84fd-d37b38d34efe.html. Here’s some good quote from it: 

“SEC schools realized a 50 percent increase in distributions from the league in a two-year period after the TV deal was struck, jumping from an average of $13 million in 2009 to $19.5 million in 2011, according to tax documents….”When we did our (ESPN/CBS) deal, we sort of changed the game,” said Florida president Bernie Machen, a St. Louis native. “Then the Big Ten came along and did a channel. So, we’re looking at how to package things. We think there’s a lot more demand for our stuff than is being accessed. From talking to media people, we think it’s going to happen.”Although the ESPN/CBS deal was for 15 years at more than $3 billion, the league is able to renegotiate because of a provision in the contract that kicked in with expansion….Big Ten schools received about $27 million each from the network from 2008 to 2011 and are expected to pocket $7.2 million this year. The BTN has seen its revenue grow every year, hitting $242 million in 2011 with a profit of $79.2 million, according to figures from SNL Kagan, which does analysis on the media and communications industry.”

 

As you can see the Big Ten has been cleaning up from their new network. Conferences like the SEC had been making cable networks, but not to show all of the football games. You see, although the SEC has their own cable channel, their big football games are still shown on ESPN and CBS. This is where they are getting that $3,000,000,000 from over the next 15 years. They can show all of the volleyball and track meets on their cable channel, but ESPN and CBS get all of their good football games. They were completely ok with this transaction when it occurred. As were the two networks that paid them. Then came the guys from Chicago came up with their own network. The SEC did not need to worry about trying to fight them or compete with them. ESPN would do that for them. 

 

A few years ago, when the Nick Sabans and Urban Meyers fled their sweet jobs in the  SEC take a quick run in the NFL or to rest and relax, the Big Ten started a sports network with the help of Fox Sports Network. Just as the SEC schools were popping bottles and celebrating the huge contracts, the Big Ten changed the game and got a bigger payday for their schools. Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney met with ESPN to hammer out a contract extension back in 2004. It turned ugly quick. Delaney was pretty much insulted by the offer from ESPN executive Mark Shapiro. On top of that he felt other conferences were going to get better offers. Delaney said “what if we just start our own network.” Shapiro damn-near thought that he was joking. No college conference was willing to take such a risk, at least not without them being involved. (Here’s an article on the meeting and its results: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-07-01/sports/ct-spt-0701-big-ten-nebraska–20110701_1_commissioner-jim-delany-john-wildhack-espn-officials). 

 

So they walked away from the table knowing that there would be no new meeting soon. Commissioner Delaney thought that the offer was a joke. It was nothing compared to what the SEC had just gotten from the worldwide leader in sports to show their games. So Delaney had to table the idea with his schools about starting a network. The idea went over well with the schools and it worked. Soon the Big Ten schools were seeing more money than the other conferences were getting from their own network. It drove up the price of television contracts that were negotiated through ESPN. Someone was going to have to pay for this from Shapiro’s stand point. He had been duped. Not only did Delaney get his network, it was a huge success and the envy of other conferences. Sure the professional sports teams had channels. Schools even had channels, but to make the big bucks, Conferences had to do a little business with ESPN. Not anymore. 

 

So ESPN had to get their revenge on them. What do you do to get revenge on a college football conference? How can you make them mad and get even? You take puck shots at their best school. Who was their best school? Ohio State. So after the SEC schools and Pac-10 school coaches went into hiding in the NFL and other places from their sins against the NCAA rule book, ESPN began their witch hunt. They pretended to be the judge, juror, and executioner in the case against Ohio State, their head coach Jim Tressel, and quarterback Terrell Pryor. The mud was slung directly at Columbus for weeks on Sportscenter. It was as though Ohio State had the first students to get free beer, chicken, and smokes for their memorabilia. They weren’t. Other schools had done more. Sure Tressel lied, but he isn’t the first coach to first coach to lie to an NCAA committee or the media (see Nick Saban). Sure Pryor had sold gear to Mike Adams’ “weed man,” and Mike probably got some free bud for his gear and connections. Everyone at Ohio State was wrong. ESPN had spun the story as though they had “slapped someone’s momma.” Read this article to see the back story and court case: (http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8073582/ohio-supreme-court-rules-ohio-state-case-vs-espn).

 

Anyways, the whole thing with Penn State sort of called the dogs from Bristol off the Big Ten for a while because that story hurts the Big Ten more than it hurts anyone else. Kids are transferring out of State College and now it’s just bummer to even think about the Big Ten. Ohio State fired back by hiring Urban Meyer as their new football coach to keep pace with the other top ten football programs in the country, but it’s while they are serving a suspension. Besides the fact that their in the same division of the conference as Penn State this year, setting up for a potentially poor Conference Championship game. So the Big Ten is down for now. Although, they have five teams in the preseason top 25, no one is afraid of any of the teams. Ohio produces the fifth most FBS football players in the nation. So they are sort of the Big Ten’s saving grace for now. They are banned from bowl games this year, but Meyer promises big wins. Let’s see how this thing shakes out after the ban is up next year. Will you be watching them or the SEC channel when it shows up?