Monday, April 22, 2013

Does the Grant of Rights finally secure the ACC?

The ACC agreed to a shared Grant of Rights until to 2027. Many are saying this keeps the conference secure for years to come. I still have my doubts. Let me explain:

The Good
The grant means all of the ACC's content is now pooled. BC's local radio deal, online rights for Wake Forest Field Hockey, or a Duke-North Carolina game all have the same owner and manager -- the conference. No more local, or team only deals. It also protects new media/internet rights. Obviously not all team's rights are equal. Florida State's radio network is worth much more than say the rights to BC softball. So it is a good sign that every team was willing to sacrifice control and that potential revenue in order for it to be shared by the group. (Perhaps there is some allocation method so a valuable property -- like a BC hockey or Syracuse Lacrosse -- might get a reward for performance. We will know more in the coming days.) The deal also creates another trigger with ESPN, so I predict we will hear about the new financial terms of the ACC-ESPN agreement shortly. It also puts us in the same financial and content standing as the Big 12, which neutralizes one conference as a predator.

Finally, it moves the ACC one step closer to an ACC Network.

The Bad
Financially this doesn't level the playing field with the Big Ten, Pac 12 or SEC. The ACC remains in a catch up position. It also doesn't include Notre Dame. Without the Irish and in a secondary money position, any of the big 3, but most likely the SEC of Big Ten could poach an ACC team.

While a new conference partner wouldn't get the new (former ACC) school's home games or radio content, the Big Ten or SEC would still get to market to those cable homes in the new markets and would still get all of their conference away games.

One only needs to look towards Maryland to realize what the big conferences are willing to do and pay for. Maryland's content is not worth the $50 million the Big Ten is paying upfront. But the long-term potential is when you factor in Maryland cable homes. And think of how much more valuable other programs are when compared to Maryland.

What's next?
I think this will cool things off for a few months. The next domino is the SEC's new network and if the ACC is finally willing to get our network on cable. I am glad BC is secure, but I know enough about this process to know it won't end soon.


The Sean McMahon said...

Does the ACC really get the rights to BC hockey even though the hockey team is in Hockey East? Or does BC have a loophole there?

Scott said...

BC hockey is not in ACC, so that's carved out. ACC membership applies only to ACC sponsored sports.

Scott said...
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Scott said...

What I found interesting is that on Friday Notre Dame extended it's current NBC del for 14 years at an average payout of 15 million/year. So the NBC/ND deal expires in the same year as when the ACC/ESPN expires.

I'm assuming ND gets $4-$5 mill or year from ACC basketball, giving it tital annual take home of $19-$20 mil/year (not including revenue).

That's near parity with the ACC annual payout of $18 mil/year (not including bowls), and far less than the expected payout the SEC & Big 10 project from their new deals in 2-3 years.

Bottom line, it seems ND no longer outdrawn major conferences.

JBQ said...

In regard to Notre Dame and their tv deal for football: The u was in "deep soup" until they went 12-0. NBC was having real doubts about its payments and a new contract. Now, they have a 14 year deal? Just wait until Alabama sends those tapes around to ND opponents. They let Gunner Kiel hit the road and went with Everett in order to keep the pipeline open to minoirty recruits. The real hero of last year's team was the tight end Tyler Ehfert and not Manti T'eo. Actually, Addazio appears to be building a more solid foundation than Brian Kelly who will be proven to be a "shooting star". He should have kept Kiel and brought in a wide receiver like Tom Gatewood and ran the pro offense. That is where BC has to be careful. Addazio is being tempted to bring in a running quarterback. Jags brought in Dominique Davis and both were soon gone. Running quarterbacks are "the new normal" at least for now and until the defenses adjust.

Knucklehead said...

Is the spring game being rescheduled? Official site says everything was cancelled on that Saturday.

Lenny Sienko said...

Do we know yet if the new setup will make any difference in what we are able to see on TV, cable, Satellite, internet?

It still irks me no end that Northeastern can manage to stream a high quality version of its hockey games for free and BC can't even manage to have a smart-phone capable radio broadcast.