What's even more amazing right now is the loudmouth from Navy who got a preferential TV deal from Aresco and who's school is a FB only is shit talking Uconn:
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AAC - ESPN Media Deal - officially Garbage (er, um DOESN'T Matter ! )
- Thread starter the Blades
- Start date
I don’t know the answer to that question.....it depends on the language of all of these agreements. I do not understand why the SNY deal UConn had was an issue in all of this. There are too many unknowns to be able to answer this question.
Breach of fiduciary duties is an interesting legal concept but it's usually used in the context of duties to a partnership by a partner, or to a corporation by a corporate officer. Shareholders of a corporation can bring what is called a shareholders derivative lawsuit. There are actually state statutes that create a right of action for breach of fiduciary duties.
I am not exactly sure how the concept fits with a Commissioner of an Athletic conference and whether the fiduciary duties owed are to the conference as a whole rather than one school.
Some years ago I defended a guy who was a partner in a legal partnership accused by other partners of breach of fiduciary duties. My client was managing some of the partnership properties and essentially they accused him of self dealing in some of the decisions he made, such as hiring buddies as contractors and overpaying them, hiring his own family members to do work on the property (nepotism) etc. A lot of it was, I felt, to scare him into selling his partnership interest to them at a more favorable price than he wished to. Litigation like this is all about starting a negotiation. Attorneys - guys like me - are hired to sort out what the actual facts are and to see who is full of kaka and who is less full of kaka. When the smoke cleared on that partnership dispute none of the claims the other partners made against my client were really substantiated. There were decisions made that were open to being second guessed, but lot's of things can be second guessed.
In the context of Aresco, the biggest question is who does he owe a fiduciary duty to? I think its the conference as a whole, not just UConn. He may have felt that his decisions, while not benefitting UConn, benefitted other schools. If so, how is the breach proven? Again, it's not normal to apply the legal concept of breach of fiduciary duties in this context, so I do not know the answer.
I am not exactly sure how the concept fits with a Commissioner of an Athletic conference and whether the fiduciary duties owed are to the conference as a whole rather than one school.
Some years ago I defended a guy who was a partner in a legal partnership accused by other partners of breach of fiduciary duties. My client was managing some of the partnership properties and essentially they accused him of self dealing in some of the decisions he made, such as hiring buddies as contractors and overpaying them, hiring his own family members to do work on the property (nepotism) etc. A lot of it was, I felt, to scare him into selling his partnership interest to them at a more favorable price than he wished to. Litigation like this is all about starting a negotiation. Attorneys - guys like me - are hired to sort out what the actual facts are and to see who is full of kaka and who is less full of kaka. When the smoke cleared on that partnership dispute none of the claims the other partners made against my client were really substantiated. There were decisions made that were open to being second guessed, but lot's of things can be second guessed.
In the context of Aresco, the biggest question is who does he owe a fiduciary duty to? I think its the conference as a whole, not just UConn. He may have felt that his decisions, while not benefitting UConn, benefitted other schools. If so, how is the breach proven? Again, it's not normal to apply the legal concept of breach of fiduciary duties in this context, so I do not know the answer.
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I don't see that as being a "loudmouth" or at all disrespectful. He's simply stating that the contract was football-driven, and the loss of one team won't seriously impact that. Given the nature of the schools in the conference, the same could be said for pretty much anyone in the AAC - not just UConn. Let's face it - is there any one school in the AAC that is so valuable that their loss would void the crappy deal the conference has? It's not like when Miami and VA Tech left the Big East.
Well here's the quote below that I'm referring to that maybe you cant see behind the articles paywall. As I said & so did others, pretty hollow from an AD who got special treatment on his CBS TV deal and wants the Notre Dame treatment for his 3-10 FB team as a half ass member of the AAC, when it benefits his program. But he's but hurt when Uconn expects not to get sold down the road by the AAC and loses millions from the loss of SNY. If he wants schools that want to be "all in" with the AAC then why doesn't he bring in the rest of his weak sports programs ?
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I hear ya, the reason I asked is because of your post earlier in this thread that said: " I see no reason for it ( the SNY deal) not to continue because it doesn’t compete with the AAC regionally except where it concerns UConn, and it benefits the AAC to benefit UConn by maximizing its coverage. It’s really more of an issue for ESPN it would seem and this in my mind goes to antitrust issues. Competition is good and monopolies are not allowed except in certain circumstances. "
Yeah but that doesn’t have anything to do with Aresco’s fiduciary duties. It has more to do with the conference business model and cable TV revenue as it is currently structured.
It’s a little weird that the AAC would just surrender the NYC metro area to another conference, but as we saw the local fans are not interested in watching AAC basketball teams. Maybe UConn’s home attendance was as telling to the AAC as it was to UConn in this decision.
Regarding hoops attendance in general. No more playing in high school arenas (Tulane) or half empty buildings. I was just checking the Big East ATT #'s. The only BE teams that drew under 8,400 last year was Georgetown (7212) and Depaul.
4 UConn - 8,978
5 SMU - 6,093
6 Houston - 5,507
7 UCF - 5,276
8 Temple- 4,944
9 Tulsa - 4,228
10 USF - 4,208
11 ECU- 3,960
12 Tulane- 1,551
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One more thought.....the more I think about FB and Navy's preferential treatment and Wichita St. too, as far as being allowed in the AAC as partial members. My first response to the AAC after getting the Big East equation out of the way would be to tell Aresco we are leaving for all sports except FB. I'm sure him and the rest of AAC will go ballistic and want to stick it to Uconn. But I would point out the Navy exception and as a founding member of this conference seeing Notre Dame getting a special deal too. So why should Uconn who's done nothing for 40 years but elevate this conference as a solid member with NC's ....not be allowed the same treatment as a partial member ? (and don't forget Temple has been a FB only in this conference too)
There has been talk about Army as a FB only for the AAC, but historically Army can't carry Uconn's water since it's been in the FBS. Uconn is 5-1 vs. the Black Knights and outscored them 199 to 96 in points, so I'd say Uconn is a better FB only. Who other than BYU would be this huge upgrade for AAC FB, if Uconn FB gets it turned around ?
Sure Uconn FB sucked lately because of Diaco's recruiting and Pasqaloni, but should the AAC really boot Uconn FB when sports are cyclical and Uconn averaged over 37,000 fans for 11 years before those 2 clowns nosed dived it in 2013/14 ? Uconn FB attendance historically would blow away all but 2 AAC FB members in 2018. Obviously the rest of the conference is not happy with Uconn BB leaving, but for my money (and SNY's) that's where I would start with Aresco if he wants to kick out Uconn FB . Then let the negotiations (or legal battle) begin !! ....
2018 FB AAC att.-
ECU: 32,908
Navy: 31,464
Cincinnati: 30,519
Memphis: 30,178
Houston: 29,838
Temple: 28,470
SMU: 19,383
Tulane: 18,015
Tulsa: 17,098
There has been talk about Army as a FB only for the AAC, but historically Army can't carry Uconn's water since it's been in the FBS. Uconn is 5-1 vs. the Black Knights and outscored them 199 to 96 in points, so I'd say Uconn is a better FB only. Who other than BYU would be this huge upgrade for AAC FB, if Uconn FB gets it turned around ?
Sure Uconn FB sucked lately because of Diaco's recruiting and Pasqaloni, but should the AAC really boot Uconn FB when sports are cyclical and Uconn averaged over 37,000 fans for 11 years before those 2 clowns nosed dived it in 2013/14 ? Uconn FB attendance historically would blow away all but 2 AAC FB members in 2018. Obviously the rest of the conference is not happy with Uconn BB leaving, but for my money (and SNY's) that's where I would start with Aresco if he wants to kick out Uconn FB . Then let the negotiations (or legal battle) begin !! ....
2018 FB AAC att.-
ECU: 32,908
Navy: 31,464
Cincinnati: 30,519
Memphis: 30,178
Houston: 29,838
Temple: 28,470
SMU: 19,383
Tulane: 18,015
Tulsa: 17,098
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If UConn FB stays in the AAC does the exit fee get waived? Because it wouldn’t be a full exit just partial.
Sounds like Benedict and council may have a lot of legalese/ negotiating to do.
Also maybe use the Temple model for a certain amount of years, if Uconn FB doesn't get it done they get the boot. Also Uconn BB can throw in OOC games vs. AAC teams who want them along the way and obviously any TV money they'd get from AAC FB could be greatly reduced unless they improve. If I recall scheduling rights vs. some ACC teams were part of the deal when the ACC raid 1.0 was settled.
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Blades-
I like those ideas. At this point UConn FB can fairly be asked to shape up or ship out. Give them a 2 or 3 year window to show improvement from the last 2 debacle seasons. If they don’t, maybe the plug should be pulled. I wasn’t crazy about the Randy Edsall hire although I think he is competent and a good man- it’s just that Maryland was a tire fire at the end of his reign there and he was fired there. And things haven’t gone well in his second UConn stint, although he is being asked to clean up the mess of Bobby Diaco. And last year they had no upperclassmen playing on D. It’s completely fair to expect them to show improvement this year and if they don’t, the AAC should be able to show them the door.
I like those ideas. At this point UConn FB can fairly be asked to shape up or ship out. Give them a 2 or 3 year window to show improvement from the last 2 debacle seasons. If they don’t, maybe the plug should be pulled. I wasn’t crazy about the Randy Edsall hire although I think he is competent and a good man- it’s just that Maryland was a tire fire at the end of his reign there and he was fired there. And things haven’t gone well in his second UConn stint, although he is being asked to clean up the mess of Bobby Diaco. And last year they had no upperclassmen playing on D. It’s completely fair to expect them to show improvement this year and if they don’t, the AAC should be able to show them the door.
edit on one more thought regarding TV: ESPN might not be thrilled but they'd still love to rummage the pockets of Uconn FB fans with a bunch of games on ESPN+ .....and the ESPiN'ers can make money on any OOC road BB games Uconn plays/negotiates vs. the AAC too.. In other words does ESPN really care about who's team has a better FB record .......or how many monthly subscriptions to ESPN+ they can sell a fan base? I'll take a leap and say ESPN can sell alot more to the entire State of CT who are Uconn fans , than to Tulsa, Tulane, SMU, etc. or even Army.....
And if ESPN thinks not, there is another interested TV partner who sounds happy to step up and make a deal for Uconn content, FB and otherwise ( now available from the BE TV deal) as I posted in the BE thread :
SNY president optimistic about UConn BB relationship, open to broadcasting Huskies football
And if ESPN thinks not, there is another interested TV partner who sounds happy to step up and make a deal for Uconn content, FB and otherwise ( now available from the BE TV deal) as I posted in the BE thread :
SNY president optimistic about UConn BB relationship, open to broadcasting Huskies football
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When you add this news release by Uconn right before the AAC announced this crap TV deal to cut out SNY for the Huskies...maybe this is all starting to come together :
UConn Basketball Scores Big on SNY
NEW YORK - For seven seasons, UConn Basketball has scored on SNY, television home of the Huskies. For the 2018-2019 season, SNY televised more than 300 hours of exclusive UConn basketball programming including 15 women's games and seven men's games - bringing the Huskies into more than 11 million households across the country........ SNY also says.....UConn WBB alone averages better TV ratings in Hartford/New Haven than Red Sox, Bruins or Thursday Night Football.
UConn Basketball Scores Big on SNY
NEW YORK - For seven seasons, UConn Basketball has scored on SNY, television home of the Huskies. For the 2018-2019 season, SNY televised more than 300 hours of exclusive UConn basketball programming including 15 women's games and seven men's games - bringing the Huskies into more than 11 million households across the country........ SNY also says.....UConn WBB alone averages better TV ratings in Hartford/New Haven than Red Sox, Bruins or Thursday Night Football.
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The posturing has begun, lol !:
Aresco..." I hate you, I told you to eat sh#t and like it.... then you go and do this to my conference"
Benedict.... " Mike calm down, there is still a path to keep ESPN happy, make them some money and we'll throw in 4-5 OOC hoops games a year from Geno and Danny, since you like our "main sport" so much"
Courant- UConn 'committed' to football but keeping program in the AAC...
Actual quotes-
“It is not a possibility,” Aresco told The Courant in an interview hours after UConn and Big East officials celebrated the school’s entry to the conference at Madison Square Garden. “We have no interest in keeping UConn in football if they’re not going to play in our league in their main sport, basketball.”
Benedict spoke, hopeful of remaining in AAC FB after a discussion with Aresco. “That’s where it’s gotta start,” Benedict said. "There are gonna be a lot of things that happen after that, but that’s where it has to start. And based on what comes of that conversation, we’ll know what the next steps are.”
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Remember this quote from Aresco after he signed the AAC TV deal that sold Uconn down the road ?..... yep you got that right you arrogant %#CK..... it's time to move-on...
" His advice for UConn fans holding the current AAC up against the old Big East and lamenting the drop in revenue, rivalries and prestige: It's time to move on." "But I do think at some point, in life and everything, you have to move on and you have to accept what you have, and you have to see the possibilities inherent in what you have."
" His advice for UConn fans holding the current AAC up against the old Big East and lamenting the drop in revenue, rivalries and prestige: It's time to move on." "But I do think at some point, in life and everything, you have to move on and you have to accept what you have, and you have to see the possibilities inherent in what you have."
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Aresco doing his "all is well " tour:
“Connecticut has expressed a desire of going back to a romanticized past that was the former Big East,” Aresco said. “It would typically be very rare for a large state university to do that based off basketball. If you are in college athletics at the highest level, you need to be all in with football.” Connecticut has long-standing separate arrangement that allows New York-region sports channel SNY to broadcast multiple men’s and women’s basketball games each year.
Benedict bemoaned the potential loss of “linear TV exposure” along with the likely end of the school’s “successful relationship with SNY” when discussing Connecticut’s “disappointment” with that aspect of the ESPN contract. “We are embracing the ESPN vision of the digital future. That was obviously a sticking point for Connecticut based off public comments,” Aresco said.
There is a provision in the new media rights contract that allows ESPN to renegotiate because of Connecticut’s departure. Naturally, Aresco was not eager to discuss any potential changes to the deal. Also mentioned prior : “We’re going to sit down with ESPN fairly soon,” Aresco said. “Obviously we hope that the impact is minimal, but I really don’t want to get into it. I don’t want to do anything that would put them on the spot.” Is “renegotiate” the right word? “We don’t know yet,” Aresco said. “I think we should leave it at that.” Aresco indicated the AAC does not intend to seek a replacement at this time and is learning toward remaining at 11 schools for the near future.
“Connecticut has expressed a desire of going back to a romanticized past that was the former Big East,” Aresco said. “It would typically be very rare for a large state university to do that based off basketball. If you are in college athletics at the highest level, you need to be all in with football.” Connecticut has long-standing separate arrangement that allows New York-region sports channel SNY to broadcast multiple men’s and women’s basketball games each year.
Benedict bemoaned the potential loss of “linear TV exposure” along with the likely end of the school’s “successful relationship with SNY” when discussing Connecticut’s “disappointment” with that aspect of the ESPN contract. “We are embracing the ESPN vision of the digital future. That was obviously a sticking point for Connecticut based off public comments,” Aresco said.
There is a provision in the new media rights contract that allows ESPN to renegotiate because of Connecticut’s departure. Naturally, Aresco was not eager to discuss any potential changes to the deal. Also mentioned prior : “We’re going to sit down with ESPN fairly soon,” Aresco said. “Obviously we hope that the impact is minimal, but I really don’t want to get into it. I don’t want to do anything that would put them on the spot.” Is “renegotiate” the right word? “We don’t know yet,” Aresco said. “I think we should leave it at that.” Aresco indicated the AAC does not intend to seek a replacement at this time and is learning toward remaining at 11 schools for the near future.
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From San Diego U-Tribune:
The American Athletic Conference, with the best football and men’s basketball outside the power conferences, also has its media rights expiring after next year and recently finalized a $1 billion package with ESPN that sounds promising for its mid-major brethren until you start peeling back layers.......At first glance: Each school will get just under $7 million per year starting in 2020-21....The fine print: Most games will be on ESPN+, a pay web service ($4.99 per month) with only 2 million subscribers, rather than linear or “real” TV; schools are responsible for on-campus production costs, which some estimate could lower their net annual take by as much as $2 million; and the deal is for 12 years, when technology may change and media rights might be worth more and Div. I athletic budgets will undoubtedly have soared......“That’s what blew me away,” SDSU’s Wicker says, “that 13 years from now they’re still going to be getting $7 million per school, knowing what things cost today and what they might cost in 13 years. I would be surprised if we got locked into something like that. I think that’s too long.”
The American Athletic Conference, with the best football and men’s basketball outside the power conferences, also has its media rights expiring after next year and recently finalized a $1 billion package with ESPN that sounds promising for its mid-major brethren until you start peeling back layers.......At first glance: Each school will get just under $7 million per year starting in 2020-21....The fine print: Most games will be on ESPN+, a pay web service ($4.99 per month) with only 2 million subscribers, rather than linear or “real” TV; schools are responsible for on-campus production costs, which some estimate could lower their net annual take by as much as $2 million; and the deal is for 12 years, when technology may change and media rights might be worth more and Div. I athletic budgets will undoubtedly have soared......“That’s what blew me away,” SDSU’s Wicker says, “that 13 years from now they’re still going to be getting $7 million per school, knowing what things cost today and what they might cost in 13 years. I would be surprised if we got locked into something like that. I think that’s too long.”
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Nice breakdown on the homepage:
The bottom line
An extremely approximated breakdown of what to expect over the next few years, both in a Big East reality and a hypothetical situation where UConn stayed in the AAC. This does not take into account a potential bump in attendance:
Big East:
Value of Big East deal with FOX: $4.2 million per year, per team
Value of current deal with SNY: About $1 million per year
Expected value of football deal with SNY: About $1 million per year
Potential football buy game: $1 million per year +
Bowl game payout: $310,000, based on 2019
Men’s Basketball Fund: $1.6 million
AAC exit fee: $1 million per year, after 2020
TOTAL: $8.1 million
AAC:
Value of new AAC deal: About $7 million per year, per team
Bowl Game Payout: $2.05 million per team in 2019
Men’s Basketball Fund: $725,000
ESPN+ Production costs: About $1 million per year
Additional travel: About $2 million per year
TOTAL: $6.75 million
The bottom line
An extremely approximated breakdown of what to expect over the next few years, both in a Big East reality and a hypothetical situation where UConn stayed in the AAC. This does not take into account a potential bump in attendance:
Big East:
Value of Big East deal with FOX: $4.2 million per year, per team
Value of current deal with SNY: About $1 million per year
Expected value of football deal with SNY: About $1 million per year
Potential football buy game: $1 million per year +
Bowl game payout: $310,000, based on 2019
Men’s Basketball Fund: $1.6 million
AAC exit fee: $1 million per year, after 2020
TOTAL: $8.1 million
AAC:
Value of new AAC deal: About $7 million per year, per team
Bowl Game Payout: $2.05 million per team in 2019
Men’s Basketball Fund: $725,000
ESPN+ Production costs: About $1 million per year
Additional travel: About $2 million per year
TOTAL: $6.75 million
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DEC, 12, 2019 update:
Aresco... all is well, all is well......ESPN not so much.....hmmm. but isn't it amazing that they never wanted to pay Uconn as a bluechip asset and used CR and this shit AAC to buy Uconn's content on the cheap.
" Nick Dawson, vice president of programming and acquisitions at ESPN, said the network is working with AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco and his team to address UConn’s looming exit................“Obviously for us, we did the deal with UConn as part of the conference. That was our preference — that UConn would be there,” Dawson said ...........Sports Business Journal in June reported the presence of a “composition clause” in the AAC-ESPN deal, but it was unclear at the time whether ESPN would exercise its right to renegotiate the deal if UConn decided to leave."
“We’re still very powerful,” Aresco said at the forum......He added, “We’re not worried at all about the value we’re providing to ESPN, even with 11 schools.”
ESPN, however, considered UConn basketball — particularly the historically dominant women’s program — a blue-chip asset. In fact, a person with knowledge of the talks said ESPN had actually negotiated to increase the number of UConn women’s games it could air in 2020 prior to news of the school’s departure. The network’s history as a rights holder for UConn dates back to the school’s previous stint in the Big East."
Aresco... all is well, all is well......ESPN not so much.....hmmm. but isn't it amazing that they never wanted to pay Uconn as a bluechip asset and used CR and this shit AAC to buy Uconn's content on the cheap.
" Nick Dawson, vice president of programming and acquisitions at ESPN, said the network is working with AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco and his team to address UConn’s looming exit................“Obviously for us, we did the deal with UConn as part of the conference. That was our preference — that UConn would be there,” Dawson said ...........Sports Business Journal in June reported the presence of a “composition clause” in the AAC-ESPN deal, but it was unclear at the time whether ESPN would exercise its right to renegotiate the deal if UConn decided to leave."
“We’re still very powerful,” Aresco said at the forum......He added, “We’re not worried at all about the value we’re providing to ESPN, even with 11 schools.”
ESPN, however, considered UConn basketball — particularly the historically dominant women’s program — a blue-chip asset. In fact, a person with knowledge of the talks said ESPN had actually negotiated to increase the number of UConn women’s games it could air in 2020 prior to news of the school’s departure. The network’s history as a rights holder for UConn dates back to the school’s previous stint in the Big East."
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The possibility of UConn leaving the AAC for the Big East had been discussed for years.......if the attorneys for ESPN did not think about this possibility when they negotiated the deal with the AAC, they are idiots.
I think ESPN and Aresco, thought they had Uconn buried in a hole. Which they mostly did financially when all the schools left but 3 after realignment. So Aresco and ESPN figured it was more of the same and told Uconn to eat shit & made the new TV deal anyway, even though Herbst and Benedict yelled foul. But the x-factor was I don't think Aresco saw the Uconn FB independence move coming and thought they need a conference for that reason. ( like most of the national media "experts" who thought Uconn FB would want to join C-USA or the MAC after the Big East announcement .......NOT ! )
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New report from ECU ( are they just figuring this out ?) says they'll have to spend $1 mil start up costs and put together a production team and all other production costs for the ESPN3/ ESPN+ games in the new AAC TV deal with ESPN...
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Also more from the SBNation Chicago writer on Uconn:
"Now an independent, UConn found that the schedule assembly business, even on short notice, wasn’t so tough a challenge. Thanks to a bevy of local opponents, a potentially growing number of fellow independents, and plenty of teams looking for a bodybag game, finding games to play wasn’t too bad. In 2020, UConn faces five P5 opponents, two local opponents, and only one FCS team. They’re off to decent starts in 2021 and 2022 as well.....All the other stuff? Well, that’s harder. Like having a good football coach, for example." ( OUCH !)
"One thing that will probably help UConn is figuring out what their TV situation is going to be. Benedict said UConn had not yet reached an agreement on a football television deal. “Still working on it," Benedict said. "Nothing to announce at this point in time. But I’m very confident we’ll wind up in a place where we’ll have linear TV.” ... Folks who follow UConn closely have told me they expect the school to eventually reach an agreement with SNY, which would probably be an improvement (both financially, and in terms of product quality) over Flosports, which UMass uses. But I imagine the school, and the fans, will feel a little better once such an arrangement is official, along with a bowl agreement. Given where UConn football is right now, is a bowl agreement probably just an intellectual exercise? Yeah, probably. But it’s good to not have to think about those little details."
"Now an independent, UConn found that the schedule assembly business, even on short notice, wasn’t so tough a challenge. Thanks to a bevy of local opponents, a potentially growing number of fellow independents, and plenty of teams looking for a bodybag game, finding games to play wasn’t too bad. In 2020, UConn faces five P5 opponents, two local opponents, and only one FCS team. They’re off to decent starts in 2021 and 2022 as well.....All the other stuff? Well, that’s harder. Like having a good football coach, for example." ( OUCH !)
"One thing that will probably help UConn is figuring out what their TV situation is going to be. Benedict said UConn had not yet reached an agreement on a football television deal. “Still working on it," Benedict said. "Nothing to announce at this point in time. But I’m very confident we’ll wind up in a place where we’ll have linear TV.” ... Folks who follow UConn closely have told me they expect the school to eventually reach an agreement with SNY, which would probably be an improvement (both financially, and in terms of product quality) over Flosports, which UMass uses. But I imagine the school, and the fans, will feel a little better once such an arrangement is official, along with a bowl agreement. Given where UConn football is right now, is a bowl agreement probably just an intellectual exercise? Yeah, probably. But it’s good to not have to think about those little details."
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Did UConn Screw The American?
The Story: UConn is leaving the AAC this summer, and that move is going to have an effect on the grand $1 billion media rights deal the league has with ESPN.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The AAC's deal with ESPN called it to pay the conference $1 billion over 12 years. UConn was not happy with that deal — specifically the streaming package, which would push a significant number of men's and women's basketball games onto ESPN+ — and bolted to the Big East for all sports but football. By leaving the AAC, however, the Huskies triggered a renegotiation clause. AAC commissioner Mike Aresco downplayed the impact of UConn leaving the conference, citing its poor football performance, but behind the scenes, it seems there is a tangible impact on that deal with ESPN.
WHAT DID ARESCO SAY? "We've got a great relationship with ESPN so we'll work on some adjustment, but I can't go into more than that."
ESPN, AAC RENEGOTATING: We aren't going to see $1 billion for the AAC anymore. That's the crux of the matter, per the sports-based business website The Morning Consult. Nick Dawson, VP of programming for ESPN, said that the deal was negotiated with UConn in mind, specifically its blue-chip basketball programs. There is a composition clause in the AAC-ESPN deal and it appears the Bristol-based network will exercise it. That means the 11-team conference will see less money. ESPN had big plans, it appears, for the women's basketball program, and now all home rights for the basketball teams are owned by Fox Sports.
Delivered early each morning to your email inbox!
Did UConn Screw The American?
The Story: UConn is leaving the AAC this summer, and that move is going to have an effect on the grand $1 billion media rights deal the league has with ESPN.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The AAC's deal with ESPN called it to pay the conference $1 billion over 12 years. UConn was not happy with that deal — specifically the streaming package, which would push a significant number of men's and women's basketball games onto ESPN+ — and bolted to the Big East for all sports but football. By leaving the AAC, however, the Huskies triggered a renegotiation clause. AAC commissioner Mike Aresco downplayed the impact of UConn leaving the conference, citing its poor football performance, but behind the scenes, it seems there is a tangible impact on that deal with ESPN.
WHAT DID ARESCO SAY? "We've got a great relationship with ESPN so we'll work on some adjustment, but I can't go into more than that."
ESPN, AAC RENEGOTATING: We aren't going to see $1 billion for the AAC anymore. That's the crux of the matter, per the sports-based business website The Morning Consult. Nick Dawson, VP of programming for ESPN, said that the deal was negotiated with UConn in mind, specifically its blue-chip basketball programs. There is a composition clause in the AAC-ESPN deal and it appears the Bristol-based network will exercise it. That means the 11-team conference will see less money. ESPN had big plans, it appears, for the women's basketball program, and now all home rights for the basketball teams are owned by Fox Sports.
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SNY reaches deal with Fox Sports, will continue carrying UConn women’s basketball games
Raab has expressed interest in SNY carrying UConn football games as well, but the sides have not yet announced an agreement.
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