amercer said:
As much as ESPN has tried to become the center of the sports universe and concentrate all content on its cable channels, it looks like the Big10 deal actually gets its football in front of more eyeballs.
I hated when our games were on crappy fox sports regional affiliates, but if Fox NBC and CBS are going to give the Big10 the same production value as their NFL slate then the SEC on ESPN isn't going to look good by comparison.
I don't know about more eyes per se, but if what is listed is what is implied -- i.e. 3 games a day -- that's a huge cut from what the Big 10 is used to. They've been on multiple ESPN channels at 11 for at least 2 decades. Remember, the Big 10 has always pretty much been the noon/3 slot game for decades. Its only recently, and for TV, that they've played at night. The SEC and others have been doing that for far longer.
I'm sure its way more than 3 games a day -- multiple networks and streaming. But my point is that if you're assuming that the Big 10 going network is going to get them more viewers, the off-networks (if you will) and the streaming stations carrying the second-hand games will not. Its the big 3 games of that day and that's it. Meanwhile, ESPN still have ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ABC, etc., not to mention ESPN News or the other one for overflow. And just about everyone in the country who cares about college football or would watch has at least ESPN/ESPN2.