[Goose]

It's not just markets that create value for sports media deals. The assets in those markets must have demand. There is a profound difference between markets and the demand for the assets in them.



When you are in the entertainment business - that sports and football in particular is - you entertain and make things a big deal. That's how you ensure you are valued. For both reasons its member schools could and couldn't control, they did not do this and the Pac has outlived its market usefulness as a result.

Actually, I think it may be that college football has outlived its usefulness as a media asset on the West coast. Attempts to make it a "big deal" out here just aren't working. The idea that UCLA is going to fill the Rose Bowl on a regular basis because it has changed conferences is a fantasy. As has been pointed out many times on this board by others attendance has been falling out here for a while. That won't improve and isn't susceptible to treatment by making things a "big deal".

Comparing the admission of USC and UCLA to the admission of Rutgers and Maryland is interesting. In the latter case, the Big-10 needed to generate some hype to counter the SEC hype that clearly had, at that point in time, made the Big-10 look weak and second class. Rutgers clearly needed a place to land, as the Big East dissolution had left them in limbo. The AAC was no answer. Basically, both sides needed each other, and it had to be a pair in order to make it work. It was arguably a weak move but it was better than no move.

Arguably, the U$C and UCLA admission is a reply to Texas Oklahoma. The B1G is in much better shape nationally relative to the SEC than it was in 2014. U$C and UCLA are much bigger names than Rutgers and Maryland. Both U$C and UCLA need a place to land if you believe PAC-12 football was doomed to sinking further on the depth chart, which is an entirely reasonable position to take. Both U$C and UCLA haven't been very good recently, and it is probable they won't be that great in the B1G either. There are many similarities to the Rutgers Maryland situation.

The big difference is that there are no other B1G schools within two time zones of U$C and UCLA. There are also no other B1G schools within 1200 air miles of U$C and UCLA. That is going to be an immense problem. Rutgers and Maryland was a bit of a compromise by the B1G, but it at least didn't introduce any big changes in how things were scheduled or travel requirements. That is emphatically not true of U$C and UCLA. It is clear that the in-person crowd on the West coast is diminishing. The TV ratings are also not up to the "East Coast" standard. I doubt the conference change is going to "fix" that problem. Possibly the B1G believes U$C and UCLA will be a big draw on the West coast once they are B1G members. If U$C suddenly starts winning again, maybe. Given the other teams in the B1G, that is improbable IMHO. I think the B1G will be have plenty of buyer's remorse. We won't know for a few years though, so just sitting around waiting to se what happens is probably not an option.

[Goose]

It's not just markets that create value for sports media deals. The assets in those markets must have demand. There is a profound difference between markets and the demand for the assets in them.



When you are in the entertainment business - that sports and football in particular is - you entertain and make things a big deal. That's how you ensure you are valued. For both reasons its member schools could and couldn't control, they did not do this and the Pac has outlived its market usefulness as a result.

Actually, I think it may be that college football has outlived its usefulness as a media asset on the West coast. Attempts to make it a "big deal" out here just aren't working. The idea that UCLA is going to fill the Rose Bowl on a regular basis because it has changed conferences is a fantasy. As has been pointed out many times on this board by others attendance has been falling out here for a while. That won't improve and isn't susceptible to treatment by making things a "big deal".

Comparing the admission of USC and UCLA to the admission of Rutgers and Maryland is interesting. In the latter case, the Big-10 needed to generate some hype to counter the SEC hype that clearly had, at that point in time, made the Big-10 look weak and second class. Rutgers clearly needed a place to land, as the Big East dissolution had left them in limbo. The AAC was no answer. Basically, both sides needed each other, and it had to be a pair in order to make it work. It was arguably a weak move but it was better than no move.

Arguably, the U$C and UCLA admission is a reply to Texas Oklahoma. The B1G is in much better shape nationally relative to the SEC than it was in 2014. U$C and UCLA are much bigger names than Rutgers and Maryland. Both U$C and UCLA need a place to land if you believe PAC-12 football was doomed to sinking further on the depth chart, which is an entirely reasonable position to take. Both U$C and UCLA haven't been very good recently, and it is probable they won't be that great in the B1G either. There are many similarities to the Rutgers Maryland situation.

The big difference is that there are no other B1G schools within two time zones of U$C and UCLA. There are also no other B1G schools within 1200 air miles of U$C and UCLA. That is going to be an immense problem. Rutgers and Maryland was a bit of a compromise by the B1G, but it at least didn't introduce any big changes in how things were scheduled or travel requirements. That is emphatically not true of U$C and UCLA. It is clear that the in-person crowd on the West coast is diminishing. The TV ratings are also not up to the "East Coast" standard. I doubt the conference change is going to "fix" that problem. Possibly the B1G believes U$C and UCLA will be a big draw on the West coast once they are B1G members. If U$C suddenly starts winning again, maybe. Given the other teams in the B1G, that is improbable IMHO. I think the B1G will be have plenty of buyer's remorse. We won't know for a few years though, so just sitting around waiting to se what happens is probably not an option.