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Texas and Oklahoma may be jumping to SEC

C

CTListener

www.espn.com

Source: Oklahoma Sooners, Texas Longhorns on the verge of making SEC move

Texas and Oklahoma could make their move to the SEC official in a matter of weeks, ESPN has confirmed.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

The TV question left unanswered in the ESPN story is the fate of the Longhorn Network, set up by UT some years back in cooperation with ESPN and carried on ESPN's internet service, ESPN+. It's hard to see the SEC accepting a deal that would leave it unable to carry one of its now-marquee schools on its own cable/streaming network; the Big 12 had to suffer under those conditions this past season when its online-only (so far) Big XII Network finally launched. Losing Oklahoma as well would leave it sorely lacking during football season. Note that the story also mentions reports that Texas A&M may be looking to return to the Big 12 from the SEC should the Horns and Sooners jump-- presumable seeking easier pickings on the field -- so that would help somewhat.
 
CTListener said:
The TV question left unanswered in the ESPN story is the fate of the Longhorn Network,
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I heard today on my local sports talk station that Texas is willing to shut it down. The $15 million they make from that pales to the potential $60 million they could make from the SEC. But of course the Texas deal with the SEC wouldn't start until after the 2025 season. So it's a long way off.

In fact, here's the story they quoted:

barrettsportsmedia.com

Texas ‘Would Scrap’ Longhorn Network To Join SEC

A move to the SEC could mean more money for the incoming schools and the conference.
barrettsportsmedia.com barrettsportsmedia.com

ESPN could very well be on board with all of this. The network lost $48 million on Longhorn Network during the first five years of the deal. Longhorn Network has been on the air since 2011.
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nickp said:
The Longhorn Network was an epic fail
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agree, the Longhorn Network was the Big XII's downfall, and it lead to The Horns getting cursed.


CTListener said:
Its debut, IIRC, coincided with UT's fall from national prominence in the sports that mattered.
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agree, again, the network was a curse on the UT athletics, they chose their own channel over the wellbeing of the team's winning ways and rivals like A&M, pretty much drove A&M to the SEC.

anyway, with this, this may be the death blow to a already dying Big XII conference, and i figure, where will the other teams move to if it disbands, like it's predecessors Big 8 and Southwestern Conference. well my prediction is this.

to SEC with Texas & Oklahoma:
Baylor, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and maybe Texas Christian University (the other colleges in the Big XII that is based in Texas & Oklahoma), which would make it a even 20.

to the Big Ten (aka B1G):
Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State and West Virginia, (all the non-Texas/Oklahoma teams in the Big XII), which would equal to 18 teams for the Big Ten which isn't a 10 team conference anymore and hasn't been since 2011 when Nebraska joined the conference

basically, we might be closer to seeing conferences give way to regional divisions of NCAA.
 
The Big Ten hasn't had ten schools in it since 1991, when Penn State joined.
 
Don CT said:
Unless it changed recently it's on the digital tier of most providers.
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Really? Comcast/Xfinity never had it in the Boston area or up in the Lebanon, NH, area. Did it (or does it) have LHN here in Connecticut? Does Cox? I've been a cord cutter since 2010 so only watch cable when visiting other homes. On my most recent trip to New Hampshire, Xfinity had the SEC and Big 10 networks, but not LHN -- or ACC, for that matter.
 
CTListener said:
Really? Comcast/Xfinity never had it in the Boston area or up in the Lebanon, NH, area. Did it (or does it) have LHN here in Connecticut? Does Cox? I've been a cord cutter since 2010 so only watch cable when visiting other homes. On my most recent trip to New Hampshire, Xfinity had the SEC and Big 10 networks, but not LHN -- or ACC, for that matter.
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Cox has it, but you have to pay extra for it.
 
CTListener said:
Is it even made available to cable systems? I thought LHN was strictly streaming via ESPN.
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More importantly, outside of the state of Texas, and UT alumni, does anyone care? LHN does not have the stature of BTN, and the ACC and SEC Networks, conferences with true national followings.
 
KeithE4 said:
More importantly, outside of the state of Texas, and UT alumni, does anyone care? LHN does not have the stature of BTN, and the ACC and SEC Networks, conferences with true national followings.
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Exactly. That's why I was surprised by Don's post. LHN doesn't even show UT's games that have national appeal. Those go to ESPN or an OTA network. Of course, SEC, Big 10, Pac 12 and ACC have the same problem, but at least they carry games from multiple schools, not just one, increasing the possibility that there might be alumni or transplanted natives of those schools' states in any given market.
 
Big Ego Network that is what I called Longhorn Network Spectrum never added it to the lineup go to sports they do Longhorn Network OnDemand thou. LHN was only in The Little 12 markets. The Little 12 is DOA now it's on life support.
 
Regarding Longhorn Network... IIRC, several of the big program providers, including DirecTV, balked on carrying it at first. Then they backed down when contract renewal time came up & ESPN held it over their heads. But even now, it’s mostly in premium digital tiers outside of Texas.


Will_H_69_9 said:
anyway, with this, this may be the death blow to a already dying Big XII conference, and i figure, where will the other teams move to if it disbands, like it's predecessors Big 8 and Southwestern Conference. well my prediction is this.

to SEC with Texas & Oklahoma:
Baylor, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and maybe Texas Christian University (the other colleges in the Big XII that is based in Texas & Oklahoma), which would make it a even 20.

to the Big Ten (aka B1G):
Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State and West Virginia, (all the non-Texas/Oklahoma teams in the Big XII), which would equal to 18 teams for the Big Ten which isn't a 10 team conference anymore and hasn't been since 2011 when Nebraska joined the conference

basically, we might be closer to seeing conferences give way to regional divisions of NCAA.
Click to expand...

I don’t know. Some of the remaining Power 5s may take a team or two, but I’m not really thinking they’re going to want to take in too many refugees. The SEC gets the teams they want with Texas & Oklahoma, and the good ol’ boys there probably aren’t going to want to take in additional schools perceived as second-tier. The Big Ten may get some resistance from its member schools (i.e. Iowa, maybe Nebraska to some extent) if they think the Big 12 refugees are stepping in on their recruiting turf. (Keep in mind, Texas A&M is not happy about the current developments in the SEC.) The ACC is pretty maxed already & may not feel like they have room for a bunch of refugee schools. The Pac-12 is dealing with issues of its own.

I’m thinking that if the Big 12 disintegrates (which I agree is likely), the bulk of those schools will end up in the American and Mountain West conferences—not of choice but because there are no better offers.

(FWIW, there are already reports that the American is going to make a big push for the Big 12 remnant schools. And to be honest, an effective Big 12/American merger would make for a pretty decent league in either football or basketball.)
 
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