ADVERTISEMENT

AAC Reveals New Strategic Plan

Thanks for the link KSTW, just saw the AAC extended Aresco's contract through 2022 ...

I also just listened to his interview on ESPN radio- Memphis about the " P-6 Plan " ( starts at about the 27:30 mark)
ESPN Radio interview with AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco ...

Seems to me he's got to leverage away from ESPN and not let them control his entire conference for peanuts compared to the P-5's.... especially Uconn's
women's BB games which should not even be sold to ESPN as part of the same AAC package that Men's FB & BB are. That should be a separate contract sold
by Uconn (Ex. Notre Dame FB & NBC) as a different deal because there is the Uconn womens game---- then everyone else. And he should also try to maximize revenue bidding by engaging the new players in the game that are part of the new dynamic of cord cutting & streaming as that technology advances such as Netflix, Amazon, Twitter, Youtube etc. ....which he touches on in the interview.

The bottom line is the P-6 label is a nice marketing start but this is all about TV revenue now, not exposure on ESPN. They had a nice run creating this feeding frenzy
of TV money and building the original Big East. But allowing ESPi'N to control his whole conferences package and then letting them farm it out to the competitors
( after they take em' out of the bidding) like CBS.... Or ESPN then using the 5-6 different other stations( or web streaming) they have, does nothing for the exposure he was claiming when he first sold it to them for 10 cent on the dollar....

ESPN isn't as powerful as they used to be as we know from everything we've seen lately and they pretty much stole control the last time around as they devalued and destroyed what was left of the conference he represents.. So never forget that... Aresco needs to cut the umbilical cord with his former employer, or at least limit it and not let them continue on as the puppet master, ( others layers in Tier 2/3 deals ?) unless they want to pay through the ass for what they did the last time.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Shaggydog84
If ESPN has lost power and new media conglomerates are bidding for their place in the market, this marketing initiative, while seemingly bullshit, may bait someone into offering the AAC better deals and packages. Sometimes spin does become perception and perception becomes reality. We live in an age where we are bombarded with spin and hyperbole by the mainstream media, which in my view has become increasingly politicized and agenda driven. These trends may also be dipping into sports media as well. The old days of reporting details and facts and letting the reader have two sides to a story are over. 24/7 news cycle deadlines require stories be churned and not researched. Can't tell you how many news reports I read the last two years where "------ could not be reached for comment on this story." In the old days the story didn't get printed until you got some comment or a no comment. Now it's routine to make a call but it's more of an obligatory nature than actually caring if someone responds. This is the world we have inherited fellas.
 
  • Like
Reactions: the Blades
Here's a couple of quick hits at what going on away from the ESP'iNer's

Amazon and Twitter Are Streaming Sports. Will Netflix Follow?
"Amazon recently announced it will stream 10 Thursday night NFL games for a reported $50 million. "

Amazon Wants Live-Streaming Sports Rights for Prime Video
Another story : "Sports leagues are interested in boosting their digital reach, but they don’t want to destroy their existing lucrative TV deals in the process."
Well since the AAC doesn't have a lucrative deal with anyone, it might be a good time to be a free agent.

May 1, 2017....Here are the new live streaming sports deals Twitter announced today ...
" Twitter is doubling down on sports.
The tech company today at its first-ever Digital Content NewFronts presentation announced more than a dozen new live streaming content deals, including several sports-related partnerships that continue to add to Twitter’s growing catalog. "

A 24 hour sports station was a hard sell when ESPN started. I had friends who worked there selling it to cable providers across the country when it started and played hockey with the younger Rasmussen( ESPN founder) who was a goalie. .....So will tech companies become the new pioneer in the game ? It's Aresco job to make sure he's in.... if they are.



 
There is money to be made by streaming content. I recently bought a 65" Sony Smart Ultra HD TV. After starting the Netflix streaming plan I stopped the disc plan. In addition to this I can access Spotify online and use my cellphone as a remote control device to play music saved in my Spotify personalized music library.

For sports, I get all the channels that broadcast UConn in HD including SNY and CBS Sports Network.

It's basically the wave of the future now. With the smart TV everything on the internet is on your TV.
 
Who do you have for the streaming of SNY, do they do it theirself on the internet ? or for CBS Sportsnet ?
 
My internet service provider is Frontier. It's all through them but the streaming is from Netflix and the other channels are actually Broadcast in HD. For HD channels you add 1000. Example: I get regular ESPN on 602 so HD ESPN is channel 1602. If I switch channels to the regular ESPN it will show it in a smaller screen or wide screen format. By switching to the HD channels I view the content in full screen format. Therefore there can be no mistaking whether you are tuned in to an HD channel.

If a service is streamed on the Internet I can get it. For example the Netflix unlimited streaming costs me $11.99 a month. I love it. Although their library is somewhat limited on older films and TV shows it is very full of recent films and TV shows. It's unlimited meaning I can binge watch all the seasons of a TV show if I so choose. Right now I am on season 5 of 7 of Sons of Anarchy which is a really great TV show.

For sports I get Yankees baseball on YES in HD and the hockey playoffs on NBCSN also in HD. Basically all the major channels broadcast in HD, all the ones I watch anyway.

I also have the free version of Spotify so I can access it through my phone and then play music on the TV using my phone as a remote control device. This enables the Bose Soundbar and Subwoofer that I bought to do their jobs which they do very well. All of this content comes from the Internet. So if I use Netflix or Spotify I must connect to the Frontier wireless network after I turn on the TV. The service is very good.
 
  • Like
Reactions: the Blades
More from Aresco on, the Big 12 scare, P-6, the future AAC TV deal ( mentions how ESPN underpaid 5 years ago...expects alot more with it's ratings strength now) and rights which will be in the open market in a few years. How a future contract could look with ESPN, CBS, along with the "on-line Co's" that should fit in and possibly down to even a 4 Tier deal( with even local TV stuff ). Also does a little Uconn talk at the end ( but not much, even when he's asked directly about Uconn by the interviewer, he always seems like he doesn't want to slight anyone and goes right on to talking about other schools) :
 
Last edited:
I guess I can throw this here, IMHO what this really means is Aresco has allowed them to collude with each other to keep the price down. Can't allow this the next time around with TV rights negotiation. If a network feels that the AAC is valuable enough to carry them Aresco should do separate deals with each of them like the P-5's do. No more puppet master ( controlling the whole thing on the cheap) and then farming games out.


"The games, which will air Selection Sunday weekend, are through a sublicense agreement with ESPN. The semifinals will be played Saturday, March 10 (1:00 and 3:30 p.m. ET) with the championship game broadcast on Sunday, March 11 (3:00 p.m. ET). “We are extremely pleased to have our semifinal and championship games on CBS, the home of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship and a long-time leader in televising NCAA Basketball,” said American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco. “This arrangement is another reflection of the growth and attractiveness of our men’s basketball. We thank both ESPN and CBS for working to facilitate this move, and we greatly value the relationship we have with these two college basketball television leaders.”

"ESPN will continue to carry the first two days of the championship, which will expand from seven to eight games with the addition of Wichita State for the 2017-18 season on their networks. ESPN will resume coverage of the entire American Athletic Men’s Basketball Championship in 2019. "
 
Last edited:
From the AAC meetings, Aresco will prop up any other school in this conference( who've done nothing in hoops since it started) but, still hates to mention Uconn

Also from Aresco regarding future media rights:
"I also think there are other networks too with their own issues that will have an interest in our product. The online companies are changing the game and I think in a year or year and a half when we negotiate, they may be ready to jump in and start paying real rights fees with the live sports product because really that’s the most valuable live product out there.”
 
Last edited:
Here's a little more on this topic from the AAC FB media days in Newport:


Also from the Daily Campus:
AAC Media Day: Aresco, conference doubling down on 'Power Six' moniker
"The commissioner moved onto the topic of football specifically, citing “two major New Year’s bowl wins” and “19 P6/Notre Dame wins in football over the past two years” as notches in the conference’s belt. Outside of football, Aresco also cited “a men’s basketball championship in 2014” and “three women’s basketball championships” as accomplishments that sit on the American’s “Power 6 résumé." .......(Thank you, UCONN)
 
Last edited:
It's nothing more than a clever marketing initiative, it still needs to be proven on the field and on the court over time.
 
It's nothing more than a clever marketing initiative, it still needs to be proven on the field and on the court over time.
I was more interested in Aman's tweet, which means F%CK... ESPiN'.....Aresco's gotta cut the umbilical cord from that company or find new resources from streaming, syndication etc (if Uconn is still stuck in this conference)...Can't give them the entire conference package again for chump change....The ESPi'n'ers are the main player in demoting Uconn, USF and Cincy out of the BCS while they destroyed the Big East and low balled these schools..... anything but ESPN......but beware as soon as the AAC is about to get a better "media" deal, ESPN will try to poach a few teams out like they did the last time......

.....which I wouldn't care as long as one of the teams was Uconn.
 
Last edited:
ADVERTISEMENT