http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2015/07/21/pac-12-networks-att-takeover-of-directv-to-be-approved-reportedly-whats-next/

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Multiple sources have suggested to me that AT&T could ask the conference for a lower in-market subscription price (approx $0.80) than the Pac12Nets are currently charging U-verse, Comcast, Time Warner, etc.
That's when this could get interesting when the league's business model could require a tweak or two.

If the Pac-12 agreed to a price drop in exchange for distribution on DirecTV, then Comcast and DISH and all the other partners would ask for a similar deal (i.e., favored-nation clause).

Commissioner Larry Scott would have to determine whether the lower price for all partners would be offset by the projected increase in distribution.

This barely qualifies as back-of-the-envelope math, but just to illustrate:

The Pac12Nets currently have approx 12 million subscribers, with the vast majority being in-market homes at $0.80 per month.
That's $115 million per year.

Let's say AT&T asks for $0.60 per sub, the league agrees, and then offers that price to its other distributors.

It would take an additional four million subs at $0.60 for the Pac12Nets to retain the $115 million in annual income.

It so happens that there are approximately four million DirecTV customers in the league's footprint, according to SNL Kagan.

More exposure, same revenue.

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Decisions, decisions.

Okay, since no one else is paying attention, I'll take a stab at this.

If the PACN is forced to take a cramdown on rates as a result of this takeover, I think it accelerates expansion plans for Scott. Need new markets, new DirectTV markets to off-set the reduction in in- footprint rates.

Hhmm, who is immediately available, a large public university that is building their research dollars, have newer facilities, with a former Big Ten coaching name, in a major metropolitan area located in a state with a lot (and we are talking a lot) of DirectTV customers??

COUGAR HIGH!! THE PRICE IS RIGHT!! COME ON DOWN!!

Tall about giving the sips something else to worry about! Having the pac12 in Houston and the sec in the eastern half of the state. That would split the pie even further. What would you want to watch on Saturday? SEC, pac12 or Bdf football?

UH joins Pac12 right after Obama joins NRA

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Hhmm, who is immediately available, a large public university that is building their research dollars, have newer facilities, with a former Big Ten coaching name, in a major metropolitan area located in a state with a lot (and we are talking a lot) of DirectTV customers??

COUGAR HIGH!! THE PRICE IS RIGHT!! COME ON DOWN!!

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I was only half-joking. Rutgers and Maryland to the B1G made academic sense, but it was the markets they brought that Delany wanted.

Look at it from Scott's POV. He had a grand plan in 2010. Expand to 16 and expand the footprint for a conference network with OU, OSU, tu, tech, A&M and Colorado. Instead he got Colorado and Utah as in-fill.

His conference network doesn't have a media partner and has had difficulty getting distribution and carriage. It is the least profitable of the conference networks. While the SECN and the BTN are doing well, quite well.

The B1G is getting ready to have a new TV deal next year, at a time when the B1G teams are on top. The money will come.

How long will the PAC universities be content with their status quo?? They grudgingly agreed to accept Utah, out of necessity-they needed a 12th team to get a CCG.

There will be some pressure on Scott to do something. Maybe he sells an equity stake in the PACN to help with distribution, maybe he expands.

Can we please get to the REAL issue here????


Tell us, DirectTV...what does Hannah and her horse think about this???????


We GOTTA know!

My Tech alumni brother lives in Pac 12 country and he says the production values of their network are terrible.

He generally tunes to the SEC Network instead.

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My Tech alumni brother lives in Pac 12 country and he says the production values of their network are terrible.

He generally tunes to the SEC Network instead.

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Not surprising, as the PAC built all of those facilities themselves without expert help. RayCom or FoxSports1 level of production values. Certainly doesn't help with carriage rates to have a crappy product, even if the teams are good.

It is baffling to me why Scott (or to be more precise, the PAC Presidents) eschewed partnering with a media outlet. Just because Hollywood is located in PAC territory doesn't mean they know what they are doing by osmosis.

Weiberg got the hell out of Dodge shortly after launch. Guess he knew it was going to encounter problems pretty quickly.

I feel fairly confident that the standing of the Pac-12 Network(s) is irrelevant to the DirecTV/Uverse deal. 60 cents for in-footprint is exactly why the content providers have expressed nervousness about consolidation: it transfers leverage to the scaled-up "dumb pipes" providers. Of course...they're consolidating because they're getting killed on content costs...

As to production values: the BTN was borderline awful when it first launched. We were in Iowa and got it crammed into our package. I scanned it at various times because of curiosity. It is designed a lot like LHN: to be more of a marketing vehicle telling the story of the conference's non-rev sports. As it produces cash, I'm sure they are receiving more guidance on what to do with programming to make it a much cleaner, direct marketing vehicle: i.e. a lot more football.

Which brings us to the LHN. Wait. No it doesn't.

The SEC Network was a stunning launch and one hopes they find a happy medium between moneymaking programming and perhaps bringing in other sports. As with the BTN, the local production "company" gets a ton of lift in values from the investment in studio, equipment, and uplink. The SEC Network's digital streaming (i.e. network based) is still a bit clunky, but by golly they show and re-stream practically everything.

I don't know how long this setup is sustainable. I have this sensation that it would all be a lot cheaper as a superleague similar to the NFL where conferences kind of look like the NFC and AFC: there primarily for competitive and pseudo-historical reasons, but not inimical to the success of the league.

I have nothing to add other than I'd love to see UH in the PAC. I'd even buy season tickets

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I don't know how long this setup is sustainable. I have this sensation that it would all be a lot cheaper as a superleague similar to the NFL where conferences kind of look like the NFC and AFC: there primarily for competitive and pseudo-historical reasons, but not inimical to the success of the league.

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For the SECN, probably at least 10 years. During which time, the conference and its members will be making big bank. Now how wisely that money is used during that time frame is another question.