Source: sportsday.dallasnews.com --- Monday, August 01, 2016
The Big 12 is ready to expand, commissioner Bob Bowlsby has said. Reports this week even suggest the conference may make expansion decisions before college Football kicks off Sept. 2. But networks may not be on board with the influx of schools vying to join. In fact, ESPN and Fox Sports think expansion - contrary to Bowlsby and the Big 12's rhetoric - will weaken the conference, sources told Sports Business Daily . But are their claims self-interested? With cable losing subscribers and both Fox and ESPN laying off folks, the networks don't want to pay big bucks for so-so expansion candidates. That may not matter. The contract clearly spells out the pro rata increases in rights fees as new members join. Right now, the 10 schools receive about $20 million/year from TV deals. The two or four additions to the conference would receive less than that in initial years - bumping up current members' paychecks by an estimated $7 million per established member per year. The network's options at the end aren't great. It can try to argue that 'lower-quality' schools deserve lower-quality contracts, and thus it shouldn't have to pay the full $20 million a member per new kid on the block. In other words: more teams means more games but not necessarily better programming, so giving each school $20 million isn't in line with the spirit of the contract. Spirit of the contract is usually a hard sell in court, though. Another possibility: Networks c ...
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