Some Big 12 Schools And Fans Feel Slighted By League's TV Deal

Alden Hopes TV Deal Can Be Renegotiated

The Big 12’s TV package is an “unpopular thing for fans, as well as some coaches and administrators,” according to Dave Matter of the COLUMBIA DAILY TRIBUNE. Some believe that the conference’s TV arrangement “divides the Big 12’s haves from the have-nots and causes teams to broadcast home games” on PPV. Missouri AD Mike Alden said, “Our hope would be that we could renegotiate our television package to provide us with more exposure, more revenue for the league and we could share all those revenues equally. ... If as a league we want to continue to be competitive, which we are at the national level, I think it’s crucial those things take place.” Missouri on Saturday played its second straight game offered exclusively on PPV, and Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas this season will play a total of seven nonconference games on PPV. Alden: “It’s the only option if you’re not picked by ABC, ESPN or Fox for home games.” FSN charges $29.95 for each of Missouri’s PPV games this season. Alden noted that from the gross revenue, FSN “takes back what it spent on production,” about $50,000 per game, while 50% of “what’s left is distributed to the cable and satellite providers.” Alden said that Missouri earned just $33,000 for televising last year’s game against Southeast Missouri State on PPV, compared to the $250,000 minimum the school earns for a game carried on ABC, ESPN of FSN. Alden: “Pay-per-view is not a cash cow for any of us.” TV revenue is “split evenly among teams in the SEC and Big Ten but doled out based on TV appearances” in the Big 12, and Alden said that there “wasn’t strong enough consensus among conference schools, especially in regard to equal revenue-sharing,” to change the current package (COLUMBIA DAILY TRIBUNE, 9/18).

LOOKING TO GROW FOOTPRINT: In St. Louis, Tom Timmermann noted the Big 12 has two TV deals -- one with ABC/ESPN through '15-16 and one with FSN through '11-12 -- and "until the FSN deal ends, the league's hands are tied" regarding expanding their television footprint. The conference has until April '11, when negotiations on the new deal will begin, to "figure out what the best step is, and that question is very unclear." Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe: "What we're doing is studying the landscape to determine which model works best for us. ... We're not sitting back and waiting for the negotiating window. We want to set ourselves in the best position possible." Beebe acknowledged that the Big 12 has "looked into forming a network of its own in conjunction" with the Pac-10 and ACC, "which would give it a coast-to-coast footprint, with teams in every time zone, and allow for games from noon to midnight on Saturdays." Timmermann noted the ACC's current TV deals "run out in 2010-11 and the Pac-10's in 2011-12" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 9/18).

TRYING TO GET 'EM HOOKED: ABC's broadcast of Texas Tech-Texas earned a 4.3 overnight Nielsen rating on Saturday night, down 47.6% from an 8.2 overnight for the comparable USC-Ohio State. The same matchup last year aired in November, with both teams still undefeated at the time, earning an 8.2 overnight (THE DAILY). In Dallas, Chuck Carlton noted Saturday's game was "moved to September from November to accommodate ABC's national broadcast," but "don't look for early-season Big 12 conference games ... to become the norm." Big 12 Associate Commissioner for Communications Bob Burda said that the conference "remains open to moving conference games earlier in the schedule to 'increase the value to our TV partners.'" But he added, "It will pretty much be on a case-by-case basis" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/20).