Just found this article about the struggles the Pac-12 Network is facing. Cliff Notes version: their already small viewer base is shrinking, their per school payouts are worse then even the gloomiest projections, and they're falling behind the Big Ten and SEC networks. So why is the Pac-12 Network struggling so badly? And can anything turn it around?
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
The Pac-12 network is struggling
- Thread starter installLSC
- Start date
Pretty simple:
1) Pac-12 was a Johnny Come Lately to the cable industry, an industry that began its decline around the same time Pac-12 Networks was formed.
2) They are too aggressive with their content production. With 14 members, the Big Ten Network produces less games a week than Pac-12 Networks.
3) Big Ten Network was partnered with Fox Sports, which permitted them to use other Fox properties like YES and the various Fox Sports RSNs as leverage to get onto basic tiers of cable. This is where the real revenue is; had this gambit failed Big Ten Network would also have failed.
4) The article fails to mention The Longhorn Network, which is broadly regarded as a failure despite backing from ESPN. Reports are the Longhorn Network has cost ESPN $48 million more than its revenues in its first 5 years.
1) Pac-12 was a Johnny Come Lately to the cable industry, an industry that began its decline around the same time Pac-12 Networks was formed.
2) They are too aggressive with their content production. With 14 members, the Big Ten Network produces less games a week than Pac-12 Networks.
3) Big Ten Network was partnered with Fox Sports, which permitted them to use other Fox properties like YES and the various Fox Sports RSNs as leverage to get onto basic tiers of cable. This is where the real revenue is; had this gambit failed Big Ten Network would also have failed.
4) The article fails to mention The Longhorn Network, which is broadly regarded as a failure despite backing from ESPN. Reports are the Longhorn Network has cost ESPN $48 million more than its revenues in its first 5 years.
West Coast sports fans are band wagoners, they don't even care about the Rams, the big games don't appear on the regional networks,and sports doesn't appeal to stoners in CO or WA, ESPN over estimated the demand for Bevo volleyball
Important Big Ten games are on Fox, ESPN, or CBS (basketball only). BTN covers the rest very well.
Unlike the Pac-12, the Big Ten, SEC, and ACC have national interest. Other than the two LA schools, with a few bones thrown to Oregon, Washington, and Arizona (basketball only), there is no other school in the Pac-12 that will attract a nationwide audience.
UT doesn't need the Longhorn Network. Like the Big Ten, their major games will be aired on one of the national networks.
Keep in mind there is an overall decline in the live sports audience all around the country. It is most obvious with Pac 12 because they're all on the west coast. But this is a problem that isn't going away.
My only thought is finding a way to spread the cost out by combining networks with other conferences.
My only thought is finding a way to spread the cost out by combining networks with other conferences.
Is ESPN going to regret the ACC Network?
Oh I wouldn't compare the ACC to the Pac 12. The ACC has 15 teams with several pretty consistently in the NCAA finals, and one (Clemson) that won the National Championship.
But some other conferences might do well to find partners.
I have the Longhorn Network in my sports package.
I live in Pennsylvania.
I tune in for replays of the 2007 Texas-Oklahoma game and interviews with the Womens' Gymnastics Coach
NEVER.
Yet I am forced to take it in order to get the sports channels I want.
That, in a nutshell, is the problem.
This is so true. The network has been overpriced from the beginning.
- Status