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I wonder how many MWC MBB games will be on FS1? Perhaps a late night double header from the Big East to MWC basketball..

https://www.cougarboard.com/board/messa ... d=22856704

An interesting development:
It'll be interesting to see what happens to the MWC's old ESPN windows. They open up.
The MWC went with a much shorter deal than their last 10 year deal.
So its not inconceivable they will be negotiating at the same time as the Big East. Most likely FS1 for both.

Also worth noting is the F5 contracts are opening up in 2024-2025.
The AAC went with the long term deal, so those ESPN windows will be spoken-for for the foreseeable future.

Who will be bidding for content in the middle of the next decade?
Perhaps a new suitor enters the fray.

FOX WINS MOUNTAIN WEST RIGHTS FROM ESPN-
Business Journal

Fox Sports has reached an agreement with the Mountain West to carry a package of the conference’s football and basketball games that formerly was held by ESPN. Separately, CBS Sports Network renewed its package of MWC games. My colleague Michael Smith and I are told that the Fox and CBS deals combined will be worth about $35 million annually -- around $20 million from CBS and $15 million from Fox. The length of the deals is not clear yet, but MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson has said that he wanted shorter terms than the 10-year deals the MWC had previously. The games in the Fox package are expected to run primarily on FS1.

The new Fox and CBS contracts, which will go into effect July 1, provide the conference’s 10 schools -- not including Hawaii and Boise State, which have separate arrangements -- with a significant revenue lift. Under the old contracts, those 10 schools made $1.1 million per year, per school. That per-school figure should jump to about $3 million or more. The league’s media deals are complicated because Boise State’s home games are negotiated separately from the rest of the conference. In the previous arrangement, Boise was paid a $1.8 million annual bonus, a deal negotiated in 2012 when the school jumped to the Big East and then quickly returned. Thompson has said that Boise will continue to receive a bonus above what other MWC schools get as an incentive to keep the Broncos in the league. Hawaii also has a separate deal, as it is a football-only member of the MWC.

Fox is now in business with five FBS conferences -- the MWC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Big East. The network also is believed to be in the running for the SEC’s package of 15 football games that CBS currently has. Even though Fox won the bidding, ESPN will continue to have a bowl relationship with the Mountain West and work with the league on playing in the early-season basketball tournaments. The MWC worked with Wasserman as an adviser on the deal.

Perhaps ESPN telegraphed their break with the MWC when they procured the WCC through 26-27 in September.



ESPN, West Coast Conference Reach Multiyear Deal Through 2026-27
By SVG Staff
Thursday, September 19, 2019 - 2:13 pm
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ESPN has reached a new multiyear deal with the West Coast Conference (WCC) through 2026-27, beginning with the upcoming college basketball season. The new agreement is part of a long-standing relationship with the WCC, which began in 2006.
As the primary national rightsholder, ESPN will televise 17 regular season men’s basketball games across its networks, including a number of games during conference play. Selections will be made prior to any other WCC media partner.
In addition to regular season coverage, ESPN will also air the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game of the men’s basketball tournament, as well as the women’s championship title game. Those games will be a part of ESPN’s industry-leading conference championships slate during Champ Week.



https://www.sportsvideo.org/2019/09/19/ ... h-2026-27/

These numbers are unsustainable for second tier conferences. The eyeballs just aren’t there for a weekday 10p tip-off featuring Boise State and New Mexico. I’d watch it as a diehard basketball nerd, but casual fans bring the money.

butlerguy03 wrote:These numbers are unsustainable for second tier conferences. The eyeballs just aren’t there for a weekday 10p tip-off featuring Boise State and New Mexico. I’d watch it as a diehard basketball nerd, but casual fans bring the money.

The MWC hasn’t had a great record OOC vs the F5+BE+AAC. I would imagine Fox will promote them similarly to the BE. (graphics packages, same announcers, etc).

SamElliott wrote:

butlerguy03 wrote:These numbers are unsustainable for second tier conferences. The eyeballs just aren’t there for a weekday 10p tip-off featuring Boise State and New Mexico. I’d watch it as a diehard basketball nerd, but casual fans bring the money.

The MWC hasn’t had a great record OOC vs the F5+BE+AAC. I would imagine Fox will promote them similarly to the BE. (graphics packages, same announcers, etc).

A Mountain West deal is likely almost entirely based on football. Basketball content would mostly be about filling later time slots unless they trend sharply up in the near future.

Understandable because this is a basketball board. Yet, these dollars are mostly because of football. MWC will be very interesting in where Fox/FS1 slots these games.

Regular Season MWC vs other conferences

Power 5 Conferences
ACC 1–1
Big Ten 1–2
Big 12 0–0
Pac-12 4–4
BYU/Notre Dame 1–3
SEC 3–2
Power 5 Total 10–12

Other FBS Conferences
American 0–3
C-USA 2–1
Independents (Excluding BYU and Notre Dame) 6–1
MAC 0–1
Sun Belt 1–1
Other FBS Total 9–7

It’s a smart play for MW football and BB by FS1. They were buried on ESPN and will get great exposure now. Of course I’d watch Boise State on that blue smurf turf or SDSU playing UNLV in basketball. Great deal for both sides. And they won’t disappear like the AaCk behind a paywall that will be dirt money in 2029