Longhorn Network Visibility Improved By ESPN-Fox Content Trading
More people may view this article than those with access to the Longhorn Network. The joke is played out but that doesn’t dim the truth behind it.
According to the Sports Business Journal, there’s hope for the Holy Grail/Loch Ness/Fountain of Youth of college sports channels.
The Big 12 is deep in negotiations with ESPN to extend their television contract to 2025. It will compensate the conference nearly $1.3 billion for broadcast rights. But as the World Wide Leader compromised with the Pac 12, some of those games on basic television will show up on Fox. As part of a push to keep Comcast-NBC away from college television deals, Fox and ESPN agree to share and swap content, keeping both sets of executives and bottom lines happy.
Fox could host games that had been previously slated for ABC slots and the lower-tier matchups that are shown on FX or regional Fox networks land on ESPN or ESPN2 instead.
In theory, a Longhorn game early in the year that’s usually aired by Fox Sports Southwest might find its way to the Longhorn Network and an Oklahoma-Iowa State matchup could appear on ESPN2 in exchange for TCU and West Virginia on the main Fox affiliate, perhaps in prime-time.
Where this helps the Longhorn Network is the distribution angle. The more valuable content, specifically the two Texas football games pegged to run on the mystery channel, the greater push from subscribers to get their cable and satellite carriers to add the station to the basic sports tier.
Is there enough interest, enough frustration, enough selling points for Dish, Comcast and AT&T to comply?
Thus far, the answer is a resounding shoulder shrug. Launched in August and still not widely available in its home state, the Network has been good (the production values are fantastic from what I’ve seen, ESPN broadcasts college well) and not so good (missing the Texas-Rice football game in 2011).
As long as ESPN refuses to budge from their request that cable and satellite companies pony up 40 cents per subscriber per month to place the station on a basic cable platform, finding distribution will be difficult. The size and scope of Texas fans in Texas is vast but with such a niche product, the distributors only need to point the finger at ESPN and ask that they bring the price down.
That’s where the trading of content by Fox and ESPN becomes more valuable. ESPN will gladly accept the backlash from Longhorn fans who miss the opener against Wyoming in September in order to reach their preferred monthly subscriber rate from cable and satellite companies. They are, after all, paying Texas almost $250 million with the difference of the $300 million-20 year deal headed to IMG.
But by promising Fox better and more games on their main affiliate channel, ESPN can pick and choose another Texas matchup to gain some leverage. The Red River Shootout (don’t you dare call it the Rivalry) is an ABC anchor, Thanksgiving night against TCU is ESPN-run but any other game on the schedule is up for grabs.
It’s not an ideal scenario for Longhorn fans who might be left in the dark for a significant conference tilt, but it’s the price of getting in bed with ESPN and finding the most lucrative way to land the station on basic tiers in Texas.
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