Kansas quietly monetizes the last valuable piece of college sports TV



Though it's only six basketball games (four non-conference, two exhibitions) and one football game, those are six very valuable basketball games. We're talking Kansas. Think if Kentucky did this how many fans would switch services to catch a meaningless non-conference game. Lots, but Kentucky can't do it. Like the rest of the SEC schools, it sold its third-tier rights to the conference. That's pretty much the same situation in each of the other four BCS conferences.


And although much is being made of carrying at least 70 Kansas games in multiple sports, these sorts of ventures are only as successful as the number of men's basketball and football games being shown. (As of now, LHN is scheduled to show two non-conference football games in 2013.)

This KU deal is similar to the Longhorn Network except, in this case, there is no mewling about availability, distribution or clearance. It can be argued at this moment that those six Kansas men's basketball games and one football game are the most valuable pieces of college programming available until the Big Ten's current contract runs out in 2016.

That's the year the Big Ten probably sets a new bar and becomes No. 1 in revenue. Until then, everyone else's TV rights are basically spoken for. Schools in the Pac-12, ACC, SEC and Big Ten have turned over those third-tier rights to their conferences in part to provide content for conference networks. (The ACC is still considering a network.)



Outside the footprint of Kansas City and state of Kansas, KU's non-game programming will be available to Time Warner subscribers via video on demand. Within the footprint, Metro Sports of Kansas City will televise the games and produce “shoulder” content -- pre- and postgame shows.

Will you have to pay more? Somewhere down the line on your cable bill, of course. That's kind of the point. But the partners are figuring those rabid KU fans will pay to see those precious six games that otherwise would have been available elsewhere.

“I live in Olathe with DirecTV,” Booker said, referring to a Kansas City suburb. “I called yesterday and switched to Comcast. One of the things I've heard is that it is a huge inconvenience. It took me 28 minutes on the phone, and I saved $60 per month.”


Time Warner has another 12 million subscribers, which means, “We're going to be in more households in Austin than the Longhorn programming with all our shoulder programming,” according to Booker.






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