[oldalum]

yes, retaining 100% ownership was a long-term gamble that could pay off big as on-demand viewing supplants cable subscriptions (the Pac-12 network would make a lot more money off me if it charged me per view rather than through Comcast), but that depends on how long is long-term and whether the network can support the conference adequately enough until then. I would guess that the Pac-12 has less non-Pac-12 national viewership than some other conferences, so we might be better off selling just to our own fans and keeping 100% while the SEC may be better off selling football to the nation and keeping 50%. Scott and the universities (he's not a free agent) might well have made the wrong decision, but I find it hard to say it was obviously a poor decision at the time, or that a better negotiator would have done better, especially when I know essentially nothing of the facts at the time. When complex decisions don't turn out well, it's easy to find fault and cast blame, but I don't think it's usually so straightforward.

[oldalum]

yes, retaining 100% ownership was a long-term gamble that could pay off big as on-demand viewing supplants cable subscriptions (the Pac-12 network would make a lot more money off me if it charged me per view rather than through Comcast), but that depends on how long is long-term and whether the network can support the conference adequately enough until then. I would guess that the Pac-12 has less non-Pac-12 national viewership than some other conferences, so we might be better off selling just to our own fans and keeping 100% while the SEC may be better off selling football to the nation and keeping 50%. Scott and the universities (he's not a free agent) might well have made the wrong decision, but I find it hard to say it was obviously a poor decision at the time, or that a better negotiator would have done better, especially when I know essentially nothing of the facts at the time. When complex decisions don't turn out well, it's easy to find fault and cast blame, but I don't think it's usually so straightforward.