07-01-2022, 09:41 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-01-2022, 09:43 AM by OutsiderFan.)
The numbers don't lie.
The Pac-12 doesn't have the numbers media wants to buy. It's about a combination of market size and interest. The L.A. market is a unique market among all cities in the country, with it being the sports and entertainment capital of the world:
- All the major media companies are there
- It has 2 NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, even MLS teams
- It is the 2nd largest media market in the country
- It has USC and UCLA with winning traditions in visible sports
- On top of that, it also dominates high school sports in the state
And people are going to claim that Larry Scott was somehow suppose to stop a media rights company from offering USCLA up money based on the value they have in their market, and what, take less to allow the Pac-12 to continue?
Larry Scott certainly made missteps, but strategically, and financially, the Pac effectively had its epitaph written when it failed to kill the Big 12 by getting Texas, Oklahoma, etc. Scott knew the only way to survive in the long term was to grow bigger. He made an attempt, but failed, then pursued a Plan B that was never going to work.
People get all upset about the offices, high salary, etc., but none of those things address the underlying and fundamental reasons this day of reckoning for the Pac was coming no matter who was in charge.
The Pac-12 doesn't have the numbers media wants to buy. It's about a combination of market size and interest. The L.A. market is a unique market among all cities in the country, with it being the sports and entertainment capital of the world:
- All the major media companies are there
- It has 2 NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, even MLS teams
- It is the 2nd largest media market in the country
- It has USC and UCLA with winning traditions in visible sports
- On top of that, it also dominates high school sports in the state
And people are going to claim that Larry Scott was somehow suppose to stop a media rights company from offering USCLA up money based on the value they have in their market, and what, take less to allow the Pac-12 to continue?
Larry Scott certainly made missteps, but strategically, and financially, the Pac effectively had its epitaph written when it failed to kill the Big 12 by getting Texas, Oklahoma, etc. Scott knew the only way to survive in the long term was to grow bigger. He made an attempt, but failed, then pursued a Plan B that was never going to work.
People get all upset about the offices, high salary, etc., but none of those things address the underlying and fundamental reasons this day of reckoning for the Pac was coming no matter who was in charge.