My apologies for the lack of updates on Wednesday. I was away from a computer for most of the day and unable to update the site as much as I would have liked. I hope Thursday won’t be as crazy as I have a few things to post for you.
I do have some sports media thoughts for you. As usual, they’re in bullet form.
- With Wednesday’s news that ESPN expanded and extended its rights deal with the Atlantic Coast Conference, it means that the Alleged Worlwide Leader has a virtual lock on most of the so-called “FBS” or Football Bowl Subdivision conferences. If ESPN signs the Big East later this year, it will have made a clean sweep in the category. While ESPN does a good job in airing college sports, the fact that it controls so much inventory is disturbing.
Yes, CBS has a piece of the SEC, Conference USA and most of the Mountain West. Fox has the Big 12, Conference USA, Pac-12 and part of the Big Ten through its partnership with the Big Ten Network. NBC has Notre Dame, the CAA, Ivy League and Mountain West.
But if you’re a college conference, you need to do business with ESPN. It’s all about exposure and money and not particularly in that order. While ESPN doesn’t have a monopoly in college sports, it certainly has a majority.
And while it can be argued that no one put a gun to the conference presidents and commissioners, the fact that ESPN has so much influence through its long-term contracts has to be scrutinized. ESPN has a lot of control in college sports and it’s to the point where it can influence matchups and tell conferences when and where to play. While TV has always had a hand in scheduling, ESPN’s control has gone beyond that.
- Why was #greenythedance such a big deal and why did ESPN show highlights of this overblown bet from Mike and Mike in the Morning all over the place? Didn’t care and did want to help the network promote it. A big non-story.
- Haven’t been too impressed with Jenny Dell on NESN. The new Red Sox field reporter is trying to fill the shoes of Heidi Watney. In her live spots, Jenny has not really stood out. It’s early and she still has time to improve.
We’re done.
