Ackerman/Big East Today

[JettFlight5]

I take solace in the fact that I don't care much (and I don't think national audiences will either) about any of those match-ups. Marquette/Creighton is the only good one. The rest are either 2 mediocre teams or 1 good team against a bad team. There are no historical rivalry type games.

Is Fox Sports 1 going to be included in basic cable packages like ESPN or will it require a sports package?

It's the old Speed Network, so I think it's in basic expanded tiers.

[RUBillsFan]

It's the old Speed Network, so I think it's in basic expanded tiers.

I'm guessing cable bills will go up then. I would assume the level of programming they are going to put on FS1 will be a lot more expensive than Speed. Which means charging cable providers a lot more and cable providers passing that cost down to customers.

[Pistol]

The network just hired Bill Raftery, so maybe it's best we're not in the conference, after all.

Regis Philbin and Bill Raftery - apparently FOX Sports is going for the over-80 demographic only.

[JettFlight5]

I'm guessing cable bills will go up then. I would assume the level of programming they are going to put on FS1 will be a lot more expensive than Speed. Which means charging cable providers a lot more and cable providers passing that cost down to customers.

You're probably right there. I know Speed Network's logo in the corner has had Fox Sports 1 on top of it for a little while now.

[RiseAndGrind]

I take solace in the fact that I don't care much (and I don't think national audiences will either) about any of those match-ups. Marquette/Creighton is the only good one. The rest are either 2 mediocre teams or 1 good team against a bad team. There are no historical rivalry type games.

Is Fox Sports 1 going to be included in basic cable packages like ESPN or will it require a sports package?

Really? I'd take that New Years Eve hoops marathon over anything the A10 offers. I can't wait until SLU is playing Rhode Island or Fordham on some obscure channel (CCIN?).

I'll take solace is the fact SLU gets to play VCU twice this year, I guess.

[kshoe]

I'm guessing cable bills will go up then. I would assume the level of programming they are going to put on FS1 will be a lot more expensive than Speed. Which means charging cable providers a lot more and cable providers passing that cost down to customers.

Define "a lot" more. Channels like this hope to get $1 - $3 per subscriber. So this single channel won't kill you but the reality that you have to buy 10-20 of these channels will kill you. The sustainability of the cable tv market is certainly questionable.

If you really want to get people's blood to boil over here, mention that the SEC network will likely be coming to their cable box and they are going to be asking for $2 or more per month. All of the local providers will feel they HAVE to add them because of the one football game Mizzou will play on it a year...

[RUBillsFan]

Define "a lot" more. Channels like this hope to get $1 - $3 per subscriber. So this single channel won't kill you but the reality that you have to buy 10-20 of these channels will kill you. The sustainability of the cable tv market is certainly questionable.

If you really want to get people's blood to boil over here, mention that the SEC network will likely be coming to their cable box and they are going to be asking for $2 or more per month. All of the local providers will feel they HAVE to add them because of the one football game Mizzou will play on it a year...

All I know is that Speed probably didn't have a $500 million contract with any racing league. Someone has to pay for the Big East TV contract (among other programming that FS1 will surely offer) and ultimately it will be the cable subscribers.

Your point about the SEC network is why I don't have cable. I love to watch Cardinals games and ESPN and would love even more to watch SLU on TV, but I can't justify paying so much for cable when I'm really mostly paying for 100+ channels I will never watch. I can go to a restaurant/bar or a friend's house to watch games that are really important to me or find the games online somewhere for free (usually the case with SLU).

[Bay Area Billiken]

Thicks, I agree completely, and not just because I want the league to go to 12. Reason's the Big East should be (and are) interested in 12 includes:

- If the rumored $500mm for 10 or $600mm for 12 t.v. is true they will be no worse off and maybe better off by expanding once fixed costs of running a league are factored in. Throw in the potential to give the 2 new teams less money (at least to start) and now they'd definitely get paid more.

- The Big East seems desperate to fill Madison Square Garden and there is real concern they won't sell enough tickets and MSG will find a way to bring the ACC in and send them to Barclays or somewhere else. 2 more teams can only help ticket sales.

- The bigger you are, the harder you are to ignore. Part of the reason nobody talked about the MWC last year was it was such a small conference.

- Travel actually gets easier with 12 teams and dual games against regional teams.

- Not that this really matters, but not all teams play each non-revenue sport. 12 teams helps fill out the schedules and make sure each sport has enough teams to actually form a league.

My theory re the Big East AD's and coaches wanting 10 teams and the "round-robin" is that ensures that each school gets an annual visit from Georgetown.

Also, 10 teams means an 18 game conference schedule.

When the talk of a 10 team "round robin" surfaced, that was said to be the AD's and coaches, as opposed to the Presidents, who held the real power.

If or when the Big East goes to 12 teams, that likely means either official or de facto divisions, which means 6 of the schools, such as the "Western Division" if you will, will not get that annual visit from Georgetown, rather will get the home game with the Hoyas every other year. At one point I had read somewhere that Marquette could be positioned to play Georgetown at home every year anyway, meaning Marquette could simply be placed in Georgetown's "division."

The preceding assumes a 16 game conference schedule with a 12 team league, playing 5 teams twice and 6 teams once. Of course, the league could try to play a 22 game conference schedule, still maintaining the round-robin, but that is less likely with exempt tournaments, non-conference games including rivals and "buy" games, etc.

There is also room for a hybrid schedule of 18 games, playing 5 teams twice, 2 other "wild card" teams twice, and 4 teams only once. But that still means someone does not get the Hoyas every year.

I suspect Eastern elements of the C7 are less concerned about this because they are more likely to get Georgetown at home every year.

What SLU needs is for Fox to ask (demand) that "inventory" of additional games to put on Fox1 or Fox2. Evidently Fox acquiesced so far in the 10. But how long will that last? For instance, is there much of a market for some of these upcoming Big East matchups? Seton Hall vs. DePaul?

What about the advertisers? There was mention a while back about an unnamed big one in St. Louis trying to influence Fox. Some more such influence would seem to be in order.

[RUBillsFan]

Not sure if it has been mentioned yet, but I saw the Bill Raftery is moving from ESPN to Fox Sports 1 and will team with Gus Johnson to call Big East games.

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/27/report-bill-raftery-to-team-with-gus-johnson-for-fox-big-east-games/

I loves me some Gus Johnson and Raftery is okay, but I do not share the author's enthusiasm about the team. Both are pretty much loud mouths who primarily use the overexcited/yelling thing a lot during their broadcasts. I think they work better with broadcast partners who are more reserved and even keel. Together I envision the broadcasts being pretty obnoxious. Then again maybe I am just being a negative nancy about all things big east right now.

[JettFlight5]

Actually the Atlantic-10's joke of a media deal was signed in October of 2012 and runs through 2020.

So it was McGlade, who received an extension.

[STLfan]

If the Big East really isn't expanding anytime soon then the A10 doesn't have to worry about Dayton and us leaving. I really hope that means the next expansion team or two are more from our neck of the woods.

Bradley

Belmont

Detroit

Loyola

Wichita State

One or two of those or something like that.

[Clock_Tower]

So the new Big East hires their Commission "late", still does not have a staff or office space, is trying to get their act together.... sure seems the last thing they need to worry about now is expansion. All this makes sense - office space and office staff does seem rather important. Also, Andy Katz has been writing this dribble for months... nothing new and not all accurate. Still, I am giving up on or forgetting the reports about SLU and UD being added later, the reports about SLU and UD not being full members in the A10, the A10 has added smaller/Eastern schools instead of trying to placate them... All is still going as expected. My bet is that SLU has received a call saying this invite might be delayed a year.

No, the bus has not left the station. Instead, it's arrival has been delayed due to delays in New York. Sit tight Bills fans. It will soon be time to drive to the bus.

[JettFlight5]

Clock, you're mostly right, but check the locations where the last 2 A-10 schools were added. That part is true.

The Atlantic 10 wouldn't pull a Colonial and tournament ban anyone. That ship sailed with Charlotte/Temple.

The bus is in the shop for the time being. They just hired the driver.

[SLURadioBoy]

For what it's worth, I tweeted Mike DeCourcey from Sporting News if he he was still confident about the Big East going to 12 teams and this is what he said...

"I still expect 12. But why be nervous? You can get to show playing UD and VCU."

[JettFlight5]

For what it's worth, I tweeted Mike DeCourcey from Sporting News if he he was still confident about the Big East going to 12 teams and this is what he said...

"I still expect 12. But why be nervous? You can get to show playing UD and VCU."

I tweeted him as well. His response was "We will see". I think it's cool that he responded at all.

[Old guy]

I have been reading a lot about what Fox will or will not do in regard to its Big East project, and think it is time to bring some degree of fact into this discussion of Fox's possible contribution to it going forward.

Fox is owned by News Corp which is at a point of splitting itself into two separate companies, a new entity to be called "21st Centruy Fox" which will contain all of News Corp TV, cable, and film / movie programming which produce the bulk of the revenue and income of the current corporation. The second split entity will contain the print publishing, news, and educational divisions, this portion generates about a third of the revenue but only about a fifth of the income of the current corporation. This split entails a full split of the governance body and a full split of the board which will take place probably late this year or early next year.

What this means is that until the split is completed, Fox will be involved in a major internal corporate realignment and not able (or interested) to dedicate much time to projects already in motion like the Big East. In other words, until the realignment is done I would very surprised if Fox decides to bear upon Big East to do much of anything in terms of number of teams in the league, etc... This assumes that the launch of the new Big East with 10 teams works smoothly and viewership meets Fox's basic expectations for the initial year.

[cgeldmacher]

I have been reading a lot about what Fox will or will not do in regard to its Big East project, and think it is time to bring some degree of fact into this discussion of Fox's possible contribution to it going forward.

Fox is owned by News Corp which is at a point of splitting itself into two separate companies, a new entity to be called "21st Centruy Fox" which will contain all of News Corp TV, cable, and film / movie programming which produce the bulk of the revenue and income of the current corporation. The second split entity will contain the print publishing, news, and educational divisions, this portion generates about a third of the revenue but only about a fifth of the income of the current corporation. This split entails a full split of the governance body and a full split of the board which will take place probably late this year or early next year.

What this means is that until the split is completed, Fox will be involved in a major internal corporate realignment and not able (or interested) to dedicate much time to projects already in motion like the Big East. In other words, until the realignment is done I would very surprised if Fox decides to bear upon Big East to do much of anything in terms of number of teams in the league, etc... This assumes that the launch of the new Big East with 10 teams works smoothly and viewership meets Fox's basic expectations for the initial year.

I disagree that this is an explanation for why SLU has not yet been invited to the BE. I sincerely doubt that the guys working on splitting Fox into two companies are the same guys who are responsible for content on Fox Sports 1. The whole company does not shut down or, to exagerate less, it doesn't stop taking care of its business, just because there is a shake up at the top.

If the ten teams currently in the BE want to add two teams, it will happen regardless of what is happening with Fox. If they don't want to add two teams, or if they want to take their time to consider whether they want to do so, there will be nothing that Fox or SLU can do about it.

[Old guy]

Of course this is not the explanation as to why SLU was not invited into the Big East, it is the explanation as to why Fox may sit down and watch the 10 team league do their thing for a period of time without expansion.

And believe me, the powers that be at Fox Sports 1 are very interested in what this split will hold in store for them and for Fox Sports 1, not the time to upset the apple cart.

[slu72]

Agree. I've been involved in a spinoff. The day to day workload doesn't stop. I'd think the Beast deal is one of the gems of their winter season and expectations are high. If it meets those expectations,one would think Fox would push for expansion. If results are just so so what would be the reason to shell out more dollars for more teams?

[SLUMedBilliken15]

For what it's worth, I tweeted Mike DeCourcey from Sporting News if he he was still confident about the Big East going to 12 teams and this is what he said...

"I still expect 12. But why be nervous? You can get to show playing UD and VCU."

Great... I assume this implies that he thinks UD and VCU will be invited before us.....

[Box and Won]

Great... I assume this implies that he thinks UD and VCU will be invited before us.....

I took it to mean that we'll still be playing UD and VCU in the A10 - quality opponents that will give us a strong enough schedule to qualify for the big dance.

[JettFlight5]

I took it to mean that we'll still be playing UD and VCU in the A10 - quality opponents that will give us a strong enough schedule to qualify for the big dance.

Yeah, me too. Dayton and VCU are better than some of the alternatives.

[SLURadioBoy]

I agree with Box and Won. In my Twitter conversations with him, DeCourcey has been very confident that SLU will be in the Big East as soon as 2014. I asked Timmerman about it a few months ago and he thought there was a 75% chance we will be there. Of course that's just speculation and there are probably only a dozen or so people who know for sure.

[Clock_Tower]

Of course this is not the explanation as to why SLU was not invited into the Big East, it is the explanation as to why Fox may sit down and watch the 10 team league do their thing for a period of time without expansion.

And believe me, the powers that be at Fox Sports 1 are very interested in what this split will hold in store for them and for Fox Sports 1, not the time to upset the apple cart.

Old Guy.

Appreciate your comments. Quite probably you have been reading more on this topic than I have. With that said, it does not sound like you have read anything, to date, which will shed light on this topic of if there will be expansion and when. Instead, it sounds only like your opinion.

Clearly, there was/is a reason why the Big East went with 10 teams initially instead of 12 teams. Call me skeptic, however, I don't buy the whole Andy Katz benefits of scheduling b.s. Instead, I believe the reason the conference is currently at 10 teams is financial. Also, like you, I have not read the contract between the new Big East and Fox; however, I disagree with you in that I have to believe there is language in that agreement about the number of teams. If I am correct, then possibly the language in this agreement is triggered after a period of time, or is based upon TV ratings or the like but I don't believe that Fox entered into a long-term and lucrative TV deal with the new Big East and did not spell out the terms about expansion and revenue splits.

Unfortunately for SLU, it is very likely that the 2 expansion teams will have to pay a fee to join and might get a reduced amount of the revenue splits. Why else would a conference announce (ESPN leaked) that X, Butler and possibly 1 other (remember that ND may have joined initially if they couldn't have gotten into the ACC a year earlier; ND did and then Creighton invited) to join initially and then SLU and Dayton to join a year later. If so, these details cannot be worked out without a Big East commission in place with a staff and office space. Hence, the bus is delayed in NY and once the new Big East gets on its feet, it will then be able to extract more money from SLU and Dayton.

[Old guy]

Clock tower, I am not directly connected nor do I know the shakers and the movers in the world of college basketball. What I am saying is the way it looks from where I sit, but please bear in mind that my seat in this case is quite distant from the actual action taking place. I do not pretend, nor do I in fact know, who is saying what to whom or what influence they may have in this regard. Sorry about this.