Canzano’s reporting based on reactions to the Iger interview:>
I heard that interview and wondered how the shifting sands in the TV industry might dovetail with the Pac-12 Conference’s ongoing media-rights negotiation. Is it fair to say that the pivot has affected the pace of the Pac-12’s negotiation?
Or is that a reach?
One member of the conference’s CEO Group told me on Thursday: “Not a reach. Disney and others going through serious shifts in last months.” The Pac-12 CEO member said it was “eventually good.” That the shift at Disney and other places definitely caused a short-term delay, “but will be worth the wait.”
Iger said his company will be “expansive” in its thinking when it comes to traditional TV business. It’s not unthinkable that ESPN could end up in partnership with Apple, Amazon or Google, companies with deep resources that are already streaming live-sports programming.
I think this is starting to explain why we’ve been in a long wait, and why the PAC has been (sometimes frustratingly) sanguine.
This is interesting because MLBAM (Major League Baseball Advanced Media) operated the back end streaming technology for a fair amount of time for ESPN3 and ESPN+ along with NHL Network and its streaming platform, HBO’s streaming and also ran WWE’s platform.
MLBAM then spun off part of the company and called it BAMtech which held all the streaming technology and Disney, over time has been purchasing pieces of BAMtech, including the final pieces and now calls it Disney Streaming and it runs the back end streaming for all of its properties.
Since they own this fairly robust platform already, not sure what they need an outside company for. They have spent billions to basically acquire the streaming technology that made MLB streaming first in class. The NHL and HBO had tried it on their own but realized they could do it cheaper and better just by hiring MLBAM.
Does DIsney / ESPN streaming own the hardware or just buy capacity when they need it? I have no idea and don’t really have an opinion, just noting other parts of the big world are going to operationalizing budget items instead of becoming owners. Cloud storage, compute capacity, “wet leasing” jets in the airline business, etc.
Does ESPN move toward mostly marketing, in that kind of world? “The PAC games are taken care of, we pay X dollars per game for production, onboarding the stream, the broadcast… everything. Just need the studio folks to have a few words to say at halftime”.
The only things we know for sure:
ESPN needs to shed costs in a big way
BYU is picked 11th in their new league, so maybe they’ll get some student-produced re-runs replayed on Channel 11 at 11p… just like in the glory years.
That would be a fitting outcome considering the hallucinogenic mass vomit they’ve given the world the past 9 months.
I’m finding it harder and harder to care about any of this. Doesn’t seem like there’s any consideration by any party about what is actually best for the fans or for the sport, only about how much $$ they can squeeze out of it.
I mean, I get that’s how the world works, but the end result is that I simply no longer care.
Well, from what I understand from the news I follow on media company investments, they own the thing outright. If they are looking for help, then obviously there is something going on that I don’t know.
I remember when MLBAM spun off BAMtech to Disney originally and that money MLB received was distributed to owners of franchises and propped up some of the player spending we have seen over the last few year.
Lots of rumors flying around tonight on social media (so take it with the appropriate truckload of salt) that the P12 media deal is only around $20mil per school. Ouch.
If so, it’s the final nail in the P12’s coffin and the league is is officially dead (if it’s not already). Bumpy times ahead, I fear.
Was just reading what I could before the paywall kicked in. He’s the one who called CU to the Big XII last week. As much as I hate to admit it, he (Thamel) seems to know his stuff, at least well enough to make decent guesses.
IMO looks like the PAC is DOA, and it was fun while it lasted. I hope, as I’ve stated before, that Utah has a contingency plan in place. If that means joining the Big XII, then so be it. If it means getting the PAC to join with the ACC, even better, at least then there’s a chance to see our Utes once in awhile.
Bob Thompson is saying there’s no way the $20M rumor has any legs - that they know they’d immediately get laughed out of the room if they tried to present something like that.
Who knows at this point. I’m absolutely nauseous at the thought of B12 or some other G5 type scenario. But just want this all to be over.
Same here. I was thinking back to those exciting days in 2010-11 when we thought we had reached the mountaintop and would settle in for decades as PAC-12 members. Like most of us, I’ve accepted the new reality–which is that nothing will ever be that way again. I believe we’ll all adjust and will find ways to enjoy college sports. I certainly hope so.
We will see what today brings. I like to remind myself, there was a point when the BIG 12 fell to 8 teams before rebounding to 10. Though “reports” call losing U$C and fUCLA huge, losing Texas and Oklahoma was a bigger loss for the BIG 12.
Yes, the PAC 12 has been mismanaged for a while now. Protecting the product was set aside for satisfying an ego. As a result, we find the negotiations for media rights being negotiated on shifting ground. Hopefully today’s announcement will clear up a number of issues.
FWIW, I still believe in the old adage “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.” As such the first attempt at a Super Conference failed miserably (the WAC), and it had everything to do with logistics. Yes, the money is vastly larger in these new behemoths, but the costs of operation are equally huge. As there is no economy of scale to be created here, it should be expected financially weak programs will founder quickly, even with the extra money. Just like the WAC, it won’t take too long before the financially stable programs decide to cut and run and make their own conference.
I will be hoping for the better angels today. I hope some of you will too.
If this ends up being within 10% or even or more than the B12 deal, the steam dissipates, IMO. (Look at the schools the B12 added to replace UT and OU. Case closed.)
In this kind of scenario, the Buffs either panicked or wanted a reset. Arizona would be foolish to follow, but I could see them wanting a chance to re-brand themselves. Hoops may steer the Bear Down ship. (Does anyone else wince at that slogan?)
The reality is there needs to be uneven revenue sharing. SDSU can’t get the same amount as UW or UO or Utah, for example. That ship sailed when the LA schools left.
Then we can start to speculate where the chips fall 5 years from now, when Yormark will have become a Billionaire by toppling the Red Cross for Elon Musk, or whatever.
I can’t help but think that if the numbers were actually that good, they would have been made public. Or at least leaked.
It would be a very strange strategy to hide excellent news, especially with the absolute beating the P12 has taken over the past week. But it’s the P12 so…¯_(ツ)_/¯