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I doubt either of those conferences would want to be stuck behind a paywall that is neither on terrestrial television or cable networks. Dealing with ESPN is d

I doubt either of those conferences would want to be stuck behind a paywall that is neither on terrestrial television or cable networks. Dealing with ESPN is dealing with ABC, which is a gigantic advantage. The SEC remains the power conference of power conferences, and whatever they decide is ultimately the way college football will trend. Their recent agreements with Oklahoma and the University of Texas are just a start into deraveling the top tier athletic institutions from other conferences.

ericmay 4y ago
> The SEC remains the power conference of power conferences, and whatever they decide is ultimately the way college football will trend. Not so fast my friend! :p The Big Ten in particular is a peer with the SEC in football viewership and revenue, but dwarfs the SEC in overall academic revenue and power. Texas and Oklahoma’s move to the SEC is a big deal, but these seismic shifts cause other seismic shifts and conferences such as the PAC-12 will look to form deeper relationships with the Big Ten so that they are not at a permanent disadvantage. The Big Ten itself continues to eye schools such as Duke, North Carolina, Virginia, and Virginia Tech as potential new members. This isn’t the end of the story there. In addition, money from a company such as Apple gives them a significant bulwark against the SEC dictating how football goes. You may recall the Big Ten, ACC, and PAC-12 formed a scheduling “alliance” in response to Texas and Oklahoma moving to the SEC. It may end up being a pony show, but the intent is there. Apple perhaps purchasing the rights to stream the games may not necessarily preclude local broadcasts either. Otherwise you’d make the exact same argument about ESPN and the SEC. But SEC games are routinely broadcast on other networks. Now, that’s not to say with recent NIL deals and Texas and Oklahoma moving to the SEC that something seismic won’t occur. But I think what is more likely to happen is a separate league separate from any conference in football only which would include top tier brand name programs, versus a world where the SEC and ESPN dictates how things go. I do think ESPN’s likely long-term goal is to break off the marquee SEC programs (Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, etc.) alongside the marquee other conference programs (Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn St, Oregon, USC, etc.) and form a league, but so long as the other conferences don’t care for it, the risk of losing billions in academic funding (which makes football revenue look like a lemonade stand) will keep this from happening.
- MisterBastahrd 4y ago
  Well, it's sorta my point that the inevitable direction of college sports is a consolidation of power schools into a federation where they can manage their own interests without worrying about arbitrary NCAA limitations, and it's likely to include more than just the FBS. UNC, Kansas, Duke, and Clemson are likely the next schools to make moves.
reaperducer 4y ago
I doubt either of those conferences would want to be stuck behind a paywall that is neither on terrestrial television or cable networks. All they care about is the money. And Apple is one of the few companies that can write a check with enough zeros to make it happen.

ericmay 4y ago

> The SEC remains the power conference of power conferences, and whatever they decide is ultimately the way college football will trend. Not so fast my friend! :p The Big Ten in particular is a peer with the SEC in football viewership and revenue, but dwarfs the SEC in overall academic revenue and power. Texas and Oklahoma’s move to the SEC is a big deal, but these seismic shifts cause other seismic shifts and conferences such as the PAC-12 will look to form deeper relationships with the Big Ten so that they are not at a permanent disadvantage. The Big Ten itself continues to eye schools such as Duke, North Carolina, Virginia, and Virginia Tech as potential new members. This isn’t the end of the story there. In addition, money from a company such as Apple gives them a significant bulwark against the SEC dictating how football goes. You may recall the Big Ten, ACC, and PAC-12 formed a scheduling “alliance” in response to Texas and Oklahoma moving to the SEC. It may end up being a pony show, but the intent is there. Apple perhaps purchasing the rights to stream the games may not necessarily preclude local broadcasts either. Otherwise you’d make the exact same argument about ESPN and the SEC. But SEC games are routinely broadcast on other networks. Now, that’s not to say with recent NIL deals and Texas and Oklahoma moving to the SEC that something seismic won’t occur. But I think what is more likely to happen is a separate league separate from any conference in football only which would include top tier brand name programs, versus a world where the SEC and ESPN dictates how things go. I do think ESPN’s likely long-term goal is to break off the marquee SEC programs (Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, etc.) alongside the marquee other conference programs (Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn St, Oregon, USC, etc.) and form a league, but so long as the other conferences don’t care for it, the risk of losing billions in academic funding (which makes football revenue look like a lemonade stand) will keep this from happening.

MisterBastahrd 4y ago
Well, it's sorta my point that the inevitable direction of college sports is a consolidation of power schools into a federation where they can manage their own interests without worrying about arbitrary NCAA limitations, and it's likely to include more than just the FBS. UNC, Kansas, Duke, and Clemson are likely the next schools to make moves.

reaperducer 4y ago

I doubt either of those conferences would want to be stuck behind a paywall that is neither on terrestrial television or cable networks. All they care about is the money. And Apple is one of the few companies that can write a check with enough zeros to make it happen.