More on UConn

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Just the Sunday columnist an opinion piece from the New Haven Register, but the championship stats were interesting.  And yes I know the Rutgers to the Big10 move was simply a matter of physically more people in NJ than CT (more subscribers to charge more) and the AAU thing.  And a funny comment on the Cowboys.



http://www.nhregister.com/sports/20140412/sunday-gravy-big-ten-choosing-rutgers-over-uconn-just-gets-more-perplexing

Sunday Gravy: Big Ten choosing Rutgers over UConn just gets more perplexing

By Chip Malafronte, New Haven Register
Posted: 04/12/14, 6:16 PM EDT |

• If you're keeping score at home, UConn's double trophy grab this week makes it 15 national championships in the past 20 seasons. In addition to those 13 basketball titles, there was also one in men's soccer in 2000; field hockey in 2013. By comparison, Rutgers is going on 65 years since its last NCAA championship. To be fair, that men's fencing title in 1949 was one for the ages.

It all makes you wonder if the Big Ten Conference is kicking itself over its head-scratching decision to extend membership privileges to Rutgers rather than a UConn program that's enjoyed success in the post-Truman era. And one that actually creates an impact in the desired New York City market.

• Since we're counting titles...between hoops and hockey, our tiny state has nabbed four national championships and one runner-up in just under a year's time. Not too shabby.

Sure, a national championship in his first postseason appearance is quite an accomplishment for Kevin Ollie. But did you know he was voted the nation's best-dressed coach? The Tie Society held its inaugural "Suit Sixteen" bracket, and, after four rounds of public voting, Ollie KO'd Fred Hoiberg, Tony Bennett, Johnny Dawkins and Rick Pitino for the title.

"Kevin understands matching his patterns better than most guys in your office," proclaimed the Tie Society. "For a big guy, his suits are well tailored. (And) note his Gucci belt."

My last suit was purchased at Sears, so we'll take their word as expert commentary. Even if we have no clue what The Tie Society is. In case you'd like to wager next year, Ollie could be favored to repeat. The coach earned himself $167,000 in tournament bonuses. And we suspect UConn is in the process of presenting him with a hefty pay raise, too. Sounds like a Brooks Brothers shopping spree is in the cards.

• Auriemma's bonus for winning a ninth national title is $208,000. Should be more than enough to cover his membership dues in The Tie Society.

• Interesting tweet from @ESPN_Numbers: "UConn has more postseason wins at AT&T Stadium (2) than the Dallas Cowboys (1)."

[Tugg Speedman]

Just the Sunday columnist an opinion piece from the New Haven Register, but the championship stats were interesting.  And yes I know the Rutgers to the Big10 move was simply a matter of physically more people in NJ than CT (more subscribers to charge more) and the AAU thing.  And a funny comment on the Cowboys.

I see you understand but let me explain to all ... this is what matters, not wins and losses

The NYC area has 10 to 15 million cable subscribers among all carriers (depending on how you define "NYC Area"), the largest TV market in the country.  The Big 10 Network (BTN) wants its network on BASIC CABLE in this area.  If it can, that is 80 cents a month for EVERYONE of those 10 to 15 million subscribers, it does not matter if you watch it, as long as it is offered on basic, they have to pay for every subscriber they have.  Or $8 to $12 million a month for the conference!

The cable operators do not want to add channels to the BASIC tier as it eats into their profits (they will not hike rates 80 cents).  It may not should like a lot money but remember that every station on BASIC gets money every month from the cable operators, from a few pennies for networks to over $3 for the most expensive channel, ESPN.

Why is ESPN the most expensive?  Because Live Television is the most coveted of all programming. this means sports.  Normally people do not record live sporting events only to watch them later and and skip the commercials, like is the case with scripted TV.  Additionally, fans of live TV (read: sports) are very loyal.  They will switch cable operators (or go to satellite) if they do not offer the stations that offers LIVE TV (sports) that they like.

This is why ESPN is the most expensive channel and why the Big 10 picked Rutgers.  Rutgers undergrad enrollment is 60,000, one of the largest universities in the country.  This means they produce 15,000 alumni a year.  Most of these Alumni will wind up living in the NYC area after graduation.

Rutgers Alumni, which probably number 200,000+ in the NYC area alone are fans of Rutgers Football and Basketball.  They will be able to see all the games on the BTN.  However, the BTN is not in the NYC area and not on BASIC (it is probably part of a high priced Premium offering).  The Big 10 is hoping these 200,000+ Alumni will call their cable operators and demand the BTN, and demand it on BASIC.  Yes, the cable operators will offer it as a premium channel, but somewhere along the line some cable operator will relent and offer it on BASIC.  Waves of subscribers will then cancel their existing operator and move to the operator with BTN on BASIC and the rest will be compelled to also offer it on BASIC to compete.

Notice none of this has to do with wins/loss, tradition or history.  It does not matter.  It's all about cable subscribers and since Rutgers is in the largest TV market in the country, they COULD become the most important member of the Big 10 in short order.

Chicos, can correct this.

PS Change "NYC Area" to "Washington DC Area" and change "Rutgers" to "Maryland" (another huge state university that, in this case, pumps tens of thousands Alumni into Washington DC Cable TV market) and this is why Maryland was chosen.

Welcome to the economics of college sports.  This is what matters.

[Coleman]

Stupid question, but why can't they have both? They could always still add uconn.

Between Rutgers and the huskies, the NYC market would want the big ten network on basic cable even more

Is Connecticut in the NYC media market? I'd assume Hartford had its own stations

[Tugg Speedman]

Stupid question, but why can't they have both? They could always still add uconn.

Between Rutgers and the huskies, the NYC market would want the big ten network on basic cable even more

Is Connecticut in the NYC media market? I'd assume Hartford had its own stations

The Big 10 was 12 schools.  By adding Rutgers and Maryland, it goes to 14 schools.  So the Big 10 agreed to dilute itself from a 1/12 split to a 1/14th split.

It agreed to dilute its self because it believes Rutgers can deliver the NYC market and Maryland can deliver Washington DC to the extent that they "pay for themselves" if not more.   If they add Uconn they dilute themselves even further (1/15th) for what benefit?  The Hartford TV market and the fringes of the NYC market?  The Big 10 loses money adding Uconn.  Ditto Louisville.  They were not interested in them either because the Louisville TV market is not large enough for them to pay for themselves.

My guess is "The U" (Miami) is high on their list.  Decent football and the Miami TV market for the BTN.  They can "pay for themselves."  Another possibility (repeat possibility) is Georgia Tech because they are in the Atlanta TV market as they too can pay for themselves.  The point is this is how you have to think about these things.

If you understand the idea here then you'll understand that some believe the Big 10 will go to a 30 team conference poaching from the ACC, B12 and Pac-12 to create a national coast-to-coast conference with a network that has a reach that can rival ESPN.  The Big 10 is intent on world domination.

Side note:  Why did they add Nebraska and Penn State?  That was the pre-historic days before the BTN.  The economics are completely different now.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Stupid question, but why can't they have both? They could always still add uconn.

Between Rutgers and the huskies, the NYC market would want the big ten network on basic cable even more

Is Connecticut in the NYC media market? I'd assume Hartford had its own stations

Fairfield County Connecticut is part of the NYC TV market and the rest of Connecticut falls into Hartford-New Haven.  Living in the "Hartford TV market" but very close to NYC means I get both stations.  I get the Hartford & NYC affiliate stations for CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, PBS & the CW.  They usually show the same programming except in football season where you usually will see a different game.

[Tugg Speedman]

Fairfield County Connecticut is part of the NYC TV market and the rest of Connecticut falls into Hartford-New Haven.  Living in the "Hartford TV market" but very close to NYC means I get both stations.  I get the Hartford & NYC affiliate stations for CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, PBS & the CW.  They usually show the same programming except in football season where you usually will see a different game.

Uconn undergrad enrollment is 30,000 vs 59,000 for Rutgers.

Numbers game

[Eldon]

Uconn undergrad enrollment is 30,000 vs 59,000 for Rutgers.

Numbers game

That seems awfully high.  You sure that's not the entire Rutgers system?  Rutgers-New Brunswick is the flagship.

[ChicosBailBonds]

A few things

1) Big Ten Network is huge on this and the way the contracts work right now, anyone carrying it must open up the entire state.  NY = much larger numbers than CT.  The automatic subscriber kick in = a ton of dough for the conference.  It will be interesting to see the deals in the next two years as they come up for some huge providers.  Keep an eye on it.

2)  UCONN isn't part of the AAU...Big Ten isn't going to let them in until they reach that status.

[Tugg Speedman]

That seems awfully high.  You sure that's not the entire Rutgers system?  Rutgers-New Brunswick is the flagship.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutgers_University

Students            58,788[3]
Undergraduates    43,967[3]
Postgraduates    14,821[3]

[Eldon]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutgers_University

Students            58,788[3]
Undergraduates    43,967[3]
Postgraduates    14,821[3]

Yea man, that's the entire system.  That would be like counting all the UW@ schools as part of UW-Madison's student population.

Rutgers-New Brunswick: 37,366
Rutgers-Camden: 5,781
Rutgers-Newark: 11,501

http://classifications.carnegiefoundation.org/lookup_listings/srp.php?limit=0%2C50&clq=&start_page=institution.php&backurl=institution.php&search_string=rutgers+university&submit=FIND

The New Brunswick campus is the flagship (like UW-Madison).  This is the school that is home to the scarlet knights.  The other two (Camden, Newark) are analogous to UW-Green Bay and UW-Milwaukee. 

[77ncaachamps]

UCONN FB alums in the NFL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_Huskies_football#Current_NFL_players.5B25.5D

RUTGERS FB alums in the NFL:
http://espn.go.com/nfl/college/_/letter/r

[ChicosBailBonds]

The Big 10 was 12 schools.  By adding Rutgers and Maryland, it goes to 14 schools.  So the Big 10 agreed to dilute itself from a 1/12 split to a 1/14th split.

It agreed to dilute its self because it believes Rutgers can deliver the NYC market and Maryland can deliver Washington DC to the extent that they "pay for themselves" if not more.   If they add Uconn they dilute themselves even further (1/15th) for what benefit?  The Hartford TV market and the fringes of the NYC market?  The Big 10 loses money adding Uconn.  Ditto Louisville.  They were not interested in them either because the Louisville TV market is not large enough for them to pay for themselves.

Though I don't disagree, I would add an important note to this.  The revenue increased as well.  So the dilution, at least for the BTN, isn't quite as sharp.  Basically by expanding into Maryland and New York, those that carry BTN have to pay BTN more money now, so the pie grows.  That isn't the case with many other contracts, but with that one it is.  Now, any MSO could actually refuse to carry the channel in the wider distribution in those two states which is a protection they have. 

[Tugg Speedman]

Though I don't disagree, I would add an important note to this.  The revenue increased as well.  So the dilution, at least for the BTN, isn't quite as sharp.  Basically by expanding into Maryland and New York, those that carry BTN have to pay BTN more money now, so the pie grows.  That isn't the case with many other contracts, but with that one it is.  Now, any MSO could actually refuse to carry the channel in the wider distribution in those two states which is a protection they have. 

Chicos

You but the rumors that the Big 10 has a long-term plan that has them looking to be a national coast-to-coast conference with something like 30 schools (in several divisions, Midwest, east, south, west). 

This will not happen this year or next, and yes the ACC has a poison pill.   How about a "merger" with all the Pac-12 or the Big 12 schools?

I've also heard Delaney's goal is to make the BTN as a nationwide network and even bidding on non-Big 10 sports (MLB?  NFL?) and eventually trying to turn the BTN into another ESPN or FS1.  Someday will we be watching the world series or Monday night Football on the BTN?

The BTN has 3 channels. BTN, BTN1 and BTN2.  Most of the time all three run the same program so they have prime real estate on Chicago Cable, with these three channels literally sandwiched between the ESPN offerings and FS1 and FS2.  They really need more programming for this prime spot.

How much of this do you buy?

[ChicosBailBonds]

Chicos

You but the rumors that the Big 10 has a long-term plan that has them looking to be a national coast-to-coast conference with something like 30 schools (in several divisions, Midwest, east, south, west). 

This will not happen this year or next, and yes the ACC has a poison pill.   How about a "merger" with all the Pac-12 or the Big 12 schools?

I've also heard Delaney's goal is to make the BTN as a nationwide network and even bidding on non-Big 10 sports (MLB?  NFL?) and eventually trying to turn the BTN into another ESPN or FS1.  Someday will we be watching the world series or Monday night Football on the BTN?

The BTN has 3 channels. BTN, BTN1 and BTN2.  Most of the time all three run the same program so they have prime real estate on Chicago Cable, with these three channels literally sandwiched between the ESPN offerings and FS1 and FS2.  They really need more programming for this prime spot.

How much of this do you buy?

I have never heard of such a rumor about 30 schools or national coast to coast.  Nothing of any credibility at least. 

BTN has one channel, but several overflow channels which is what you are talking about.  Most providers do not carry the overflow channels except as needed.  They are a waste of precious capacity.  So on a Saturday afternoon, the overflow channels will carry different games and thus be carried.  That's the only time they are presently needed.  If Chicago cable is using multiple channels (viewer channels) that show up in an on screen guide, they aren't actually setting aside capacity for each of those.  I'm 99.99999% sure they are merely mapping the same content to different channel numbers.  If they aren't doing that, they should have their heads examined because they would be wasting bandwidth that could be monetized elsewhere.

BTN doesn't have the distribution or the dollars to bid on those kinds of sports presently using its own resources.  They have a long long way to go if that is their desire.  Don't forget the network is 51% owned by Fox, not the Big Ten....Fox has the voting power and of course the much deeper pockets.  However, I would question their strategy to do this when FOX has their own properties that they fully own in which to monetize major events like that.  Why put the WS on BTN when they can put it on Fox National, or FS1, or FX, etc. 

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Though I don't disagree, I would add an important note to this.  The revenue increased as well.  So the dilution, at least for the BTN, isn't quite as sharp.  Basically by expanding into Maryland and New York, those that carry BTN have to pay BTN more money now, so the pie grows.  That isn't the case with many other contracts, but with that one it is.  Now, any MSO could actually refuse to carry the channel in the wider distribution in those two states which is a protection they have. 

Except they haven't expanded into New York state.  They are in the NYC TV market, and I can see cable operators in New Jersey moving the BTN to basic for Rutgers, but I have a hard time seeing the New York cable companies doing such a thing.  On Cablevision, you have to purchase the sport's package to get the BTN and I don't see that changing.  SNY, the home of the Mets, has a TV deal to be the home of UConn sports with the weekly coach's shows and showing all games not on national TV.  Heck, they have a separate deal with the UConn women's team for $1.15mil/year to broadcast all the women's games.  None of the other NYC regional sports networks ever made a similar deal for Rutgers.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Except they haven't expanded into New York state.  They are in the NYC TV market, and I can see cable operators in New Jersey moving the BTN to basic for Rutgers, but I have a hard time seeing the New York cable companies doing such a thing.  On Cablevision, you have to purchase the sport's package to get the BTN and I don't see that changing.  SNY, the home of the Mets, has a TV deal to be the home of UConn sports with the weekly coach's shows and showing all games not on national TV.  Heck, they have a separate deal with the UConn women's team for $1.15mil/year to broadcast all the women's games.  None of the other NYC regional sports networks ever made a similar deal for Rutgers.

What I'm saying is by the start of this school year, in August, the distribution agreements will require statewide payments by subscriber to the BTN.

Think of it this way.  Today, DISH or DIRECTV or COMCAST, etc would have to pay a certain rate for every subscriber they have in the state of Wisconsin...the highest rate possible.  But today, the would pay a much much lower rate for a subscriber with BTN that lived in California, New York or Idaho, for example.  Basically the Big Ten states get the higher rates.

Once Rutgers and Maryland are officially part of the conference, the states of New Jersey, New York, Maryland now get charged to the television provider at a much higher rate.  Meaning that any subscriber those companies have that are receiving BTN in those states, now must pay the higher rate to BTN rather than the lower rate.  If the provider opts not to do this, which they can, it means that BTN would be blacked out in those new states.  So, yes, Cablevision can say no.  FIOS in New York can say no, that is their right.  Just as DISH, DIRECTV, etc can opt not to expand the territory.