You should read this article in its entirety, but, the tl;dr version is expressed in these two graphs:
Two things: It may be an understatement to call Disney the 800-pound gorilla in the room and it’s not so hard to understand ESPN’s relentlessness in converting college football into a game where national focus replaces regional appeal. It’s where the money is.
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Mickey is the 800-pound Mouse in the room. He has to be slobbering over the $151m CBS gets in ad revenue for broadcasting 1 game a week. I really do dread listening to Fowler and Herbstreit (or two other talking heads) talking about the upcoming ABC prime time Iowa/Michigan State game and how Ohio State controls its own destiny in the CFP during the 3:30 SEC slot.
For all of Gary Danielson’s faults (of which there are many), he and Uncle Verne or Brad Nessler have generally kept the conversation about the SEC even when a game has gotten out of hand.
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Seems to me that CBS (and the SEC) get a darn good return on one game a week. I think both parties are going to lament walking away from that.
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I totally agree.
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It also includes other games including Army-Navy.
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I believe it’s Army-Navy and one bowl game (Sun Bowl). Of course, they have some other deals with smaller conferences on CBSSN.
The biggest cut of that $151m by far is the SEC game.
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Your post got me thinking. You know, if we assume all of the ad revenue from CBS was generated by the SEC games ($151M), it really makes me scratch my head as to why Disney would bid $300M for the same rights CBS had. All I can say is when 2023 hits (assuming Disney is still in business), expect 8 minute TV time outs.
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CBS is free over the air broadcast supported by ad revenue. Uncle Disney has cable fees. They can bid whatever they want…guess who pays?
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Not exactly free but I know what you mean. CBS affiliates arent free.
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Theyll have to be careful of their overlap actually.
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Understanding bottom line profit is the motivational driver here, just curious what programming cbs has in store for that day/time slot that will produce that profit %….bull riding, thumb wrestlin’…..nude female volley ball…?
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If it’s the beach variety, it probably would beat college football 😉
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The white sand sure makes a tan look nice….
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I wont miss 4 hr games. It was out of control.
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Chuck, ESPN is just as bad.
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I’ve actually times it and I usually watch 5 or 6 games on Saturday, every Saturday, for decades, minus deployments. The normal day time ESPN games are not as long as CBS. The night time ABC game might be.
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Seems like one company shouldn’t control that much of the market…
CBS has its flaws but it is big time SEC football and I will miss it when the Mouse takes over. Brad Nessler is the best. Wish they could have held onto Todd Blackledge.
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