Poor Larry Scott. A couple of years ago, the man was lauded as a genius for moving the Pac-12 into the modern era, leapfrogging its peers by forming its own conference network, completely controlled by a bunch of folks who’d never done anything like that before. Now, with the news that the SEC Network has cut a deal with DirecTV, something that’s eluded Scott, reality has begun to step in.
“We’ve been disappointed that DirecTV has been willing to negotiate with ESPN for the SEC Network but not Pac-12,” Scott said. “It is certainly not consistent with them saying they care about what the consumer wants.”
Scott is miffed that the SEC Network will be available to DirecTV’s Southern California subscribers while the Pac-12 channels won’t be. He thinks the fact that Walt Disney Co. is behind the new network played a part in the satellite service’s willingness to get a deal done.
Earth to Larry: well, duh. What did you expect?
“It appears this is an example of DirecTV being willing only to deal with big conglomerates who have muscle and leverage beyond the interest of consumers,” Scott said.
Or that a behemoth like ESPN finds it easier to command the subscription dollars than you do. The market is a beyotch, buddy.
Get The Picture 
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Larry needs to smarten up and realize … Gee AT&T is buying DirecTV & AT&T carries the Pac12 network … Maybe I should be more PR savvy & say something like,
“We look forward to extending the Pac12 brand across the family of AT&T offerings after their acquisition of DirecTV so that all Pac12 fans can enjoy blah blah blah …”
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True, I feel he picked too public a fight in the beginning. You can understand the frustration with having other conferences’ networks available in his markets while being shut out but he didn’t have the ammo to take them on the way he did. You are right though, AT&T has a lot of other business goals to accomplish in densely populated markets and will look at this differently when they gain control. And there is a lot of entertainment heavyweights that live on the West Coast that he should be aligning himself with.
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It’s not just this issue – a lot of the same people act oblivious to the fact that they operate in a market – or even that there is a market – when they discuss the concept of paying players. It’s like they are oblivious to basic market principles. Not even in the sense that they feel the world of college athletics should have higher ideals than market considerations, but in the sense that they are unaware that there are market considerations. For some of them, this ignorance seems feigned. But sometimes, as here with Larry Scott, it seems like true ignorance. How is that?
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Consider the fact that they work in the world of academia where the concept of free markets does not exist … except for a few textbooks in the school of management
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I am sure it has more to do with privileged rich white guys dont ever understand why things dont go their way.
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The “little boy ” chip is so far to the extreme left of your shoulder that you cannot see reality from there. If I thought you were old enough I would swear you were the inspiration for the movie “Clueless”.
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I am not sure what point you are trying to make.
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Someone should tell Ol’ Larry that this is how the non Power 5 conferences feel. All the time. In every monetary-related way.
Life’s tough being a well liquor cause people only want you when you’re cheap.
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I’m sure consumers wanted a portion of their games to be relegated to a special Pac-12 network too.
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Tough enchiladas Larry. You’re in the Pacific time zone.
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I’ll never watch the Pac 12, Longhorn, or Big 10 networks. I may watch some basketball on an ACC network if they can get something organized. The country wants the SEC Network for the quality of the play and the passion that comes with it. It sounds like Smith is blaming Slive for repeating the same mistake the Pac 12 made instead of looking for a delivery partner that can provide leverage with the carriers. The SEC’s decision to focus on the content and work with the WWL/Mickey Mouse to deliver the content and subscription fees was pure genius (and simple).
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Living out west, the favorite thing to do is play up the PAC 12 and down the SEC. They love to talk about how the P12 doesn’t get it’s due because of the shitty television contract and the SEC is just overrated. But, I will say that these Pac12 games are frequently unwatchable. They are like watching a Canadian Football League game. Fun to watch for about 10 minutes, but they are all kind of gimmicke, too high scoring with no defense. There are a few fun teams to watch, Stanford being one, but I can’t turn on a Oregon State/Washington game and be excited. So, it’s hard to blame DTV for not wanting to sign these guys up.
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Easy solution for folks, if you want the Pac 12 Net, use a different provider than Direct TV….
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