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Big East and Pac 10 Networks, be careful what you wish for

Submitted by on June 2, 20106 Comments

While you were grilling steaks and enjoying the weather, UC Berkley’s chancellor Robert Birgeneau spent his Memorial Day with fellow alumni in New England where he brought up the possibility of a Pac 10 Network, which would be a clear and desperate effort by the league to catch up to the financial hegemon that is the Big Ten.

It seems as if the Big East has a similar plan in it’s sights.

Marinatto said a Big East TV network “is definitely on the table,” but the soonest it could begin would be after their current television deals expire after the 2012-13 school year.

But will either television networks become the saving grace both conferences are hoping for, or will it simply become one expensive experiment that confirms the lack of national appeal of either conferences?

A quick look at the past seasons’ Nielsen ratings for bowl games.

Big Ten

Bowl Matchup Rating Change Last year’s matchup Last year’s rating
Rose Ohio St / Oregon 13.2 +1.5 USC / Penn State 11.7
Capital One Penn State / LSU 6.8 +0.4 Georgia / Michigan St 6.4
Orange Iowa / Georgia Tech 6.8 +1.2 Virginia Tech / Cincinnati 5.4
Alamo Texas Tech / Michigan St 4.8 +0.2 Missouri / Northwestern 4.6
Champs Sports Wisconsin / Miami 3.9 -1.3 Florida St / Wisconsin 5.2
Outback Auburn / Northwestern 3.5 +0.4 Iowa / South Carolina 3.1
Insight Iowa St / Minnesota 0.4* NFL Network -0.8 Kansas / Minnesota 1.2

Big East

Bowl Matchup Rating Change Last year’s matchup Last year’s rating
Sugar Florida / Cincinnati 8.5 +0.7 Utah / Alabama 7.8
Gator Florida St / W Virginia 4.0 -0.1 Nebraska / Clemson 4.1
Meineke Pittsburgh / North Carolina 3.9 -0.6 W Virginia / North Carolina 4.5
St Petersburg UCF / Rutgers 1.6 +0.3 South Florida / Memphis 1.3
Papajohns.com S Carolina / Connecticut 1.6 -0.4 Rutgers / N Carolina St 2.0

Pac 10

Bowl Matchup Rating Change Last year’s matchup Last year’s rating
Rose Ohio St / Oregon 13.2 +1.5 USC / Penn State 11.7
Emerald USC / Boston College 4.6 +/- 0 California / Miami (FL) 4.6
Holiday Arizona / Nebraska 3.7 -0.9 Oregon / Oklahoma St 4.6
Sun Oklahoma / Stanford 3.3 +1.1 Oregon St / Pitt 2.2
Poinsettia Utah / California 2.4 -1.3 TCU / Boise St 3.7
Las Vegas BYU / Oregon St 2.2 -0.3 Arizona / BYU 2.5
EagleBank UCLA / Temple 1.9 -0.3 Wake Forest / Navy 2.2

Though it’s just a small sample, it is indicative of the lack of national appeal by both the Pac 10 and Big East. In fact, BCS selections since 2002 pretty much sums it up, 6 current Big East and 8 Pac-10 teams were selected while a whopping 15 Big Ten teams participated in BCS games during the same time span. BCS games involving Big East squads averaged a 7.56 rating compared to the 12.64 averaged by BCS games involving Big Ten squads.

The top 32 rated post season games on record involved 17 Big Ten, 14 Pac 10, and 0 Big East squads. That’s right, 0 Big East squads. So herein lies the big question in regards to creating a network with the looming possibility that not many people would watch.

Side by side comparison of  post season games played in 2009-10 between the Big Ten, Big East and Pac 10.

Would marginal schools like Cincinnati command the entire state of Ohio or just the city of Cincinnati, a legitimate question that can also be asked of Pittsburgh, South Florida, Rutgers, Louisville and Syracuse. Just because they are located in the states of Pennsylvania (vs Penn State), Florida (vs Florida/Florida State/Miami), New Jersey, New York and Kentucky (vs Kentucky), will there actually be demand for the Big East Network throughout the entire footprint or just regionally in those individual cities when there are more prominent and statewide institutions they must compete with within their own states? It makes all the difference when it comes to negotiating prices with cable providers. Other than being able to deliver the entire state of West Virginia, it is hard to make a case for any Big East network  to demand the same subscription fees that the Big Ten earns in it’s respective footprint.

A worrisome proposition when the Big Ten is dangling $13 million a year to prospective expansion candidates just from their network alone. Would the Big East Network even come close to that?

The Pac 10 is more fortunate where it’s institutions have a broader appeal in their respective states (Oregon/Oregon State can deliver Oregon, USC/UCLA/Stanford delivers California, Arizona/Arizona State delivers Arizona and Washington, Washington State will deliver Washington) But their Achilles’s heel lies in the lack of national appeal or specifically, in the East and South. This is evident by the conference’s lackluster television ratings during the regular and post season year after year. Other than USC, few other programs would turn heads in Big Ten or SEC country.

So before the Pac 10 and Big East dive head first into a conference-based network just to keep up with the Big Ten, they should keep in mind such an experiment, should it fail would only confirm the existence of a college football hierarchy that many in the Big Ten and SEC already hold to be true.

Simply, not all conferences were made equal.

Full table of 2009-10 post season games, matchups and Nielsen ratings. Excluding BCS games, 3 matchups involving Big Ten schools top the list before the first game involving a Pac 10 or Big East institution.

Bowl Matchup Rating Change Last year’s matchup Last year’s rating
BCS Title Alabama / Texas 17.2 +1.4 Florida / Oklahoma 15.8
Rose Ohio St / Oregon 13.2 +1.5 USC / Penn State 11.7
Sugar Florida / Cincinnati 8.5 +0.7 Utah / Alabama 7.8
Fiesta Boise St / TCU 8.2 -2.2 Texas / Ohio St 10.4
Capital One Penn State / LSU 6.8 +0.4 Georgia / Michigan St 6.4
Orange Iowa / Georgia Tech 6.8 +1.2 Virginia Tech / Cinncinati 5.4*
Alamo Texas Tech / Michigan St 4.8 +0.2 Missouri / Northwestern 4.6
Emerald USC / Boston College 4.6 +/- 0 California / Miami (FL) 4.6
Cotton Oklahoma St / Ole Miss 4.5 +0.1 Ole Miss / Texas Tech 4.4
Chick-fil-A VA Tech / Tennessee 4.2 +0.3 LSU / Gerogia Tech 3.9
Gator Florida St / W. Virginia 4.0 -0.1 Nebraska / Clemson 4.1
Champs Sports Wisconsin / Miami 3.9 -1.3 Florida St / Wisconsin 5.2
Meineke Pittsburgh / North Carolina 3.9 - 0.6 W. Virginia / North Carolina 4.5
Liberty Arkansas / East Carolina 3.8 +1.1 Kentucky / E Carolina 2.7
Holiday Arizona / Nebraska 3.7 -0.9 Oregon / Oklahoma St 4.6
Outback Auburn / Northwestern 3.5 +0.4 Iowa / South Carolina 3.1
Sun Oklahoma / Stanford 3.3 +1.1 Oregon St / Pitt 2.2
Little Caesars Marshall / Ohio 2.6 -
Poinsettia Utah / California 2.4 -1.3 TCU / Boise St 3.7
New Mexico Fresno St / Wyoming 2.4 -0.2 Colorado St / Fresno St 2.6
GMAC Central Michigan / Troy 2.4 +0.2 Tulsa / Ball St 2.2
Las Vegas BYU / Oregon St 2.2 - 0.3 Arizona / BYU 2.5
Texas Navy / Missouri 2.1 +1.8 Rice / W. Michigan 0.3
Humanitarian Bowling Green / Idaho 2.1 - 0.3 Maryland / Nevada 2.4
Independence Texas A&M / Georgia 2.0 +1.0 La Tech / N. Illinois 1.0
EagleBank UCLA / Temple 1.9 - 0.3 Wake Forest / Navy 2.2
Hawaii Nevada / SMU 1.7 -1.3 Notre Dame / Hawaii 3.0
Music City Kentucky / Clemson 1.7 -1.1 Vanderbilt / Boston College 2.8
St Petersburg UCF / Rutgers 1.6 +0.3 South Florida / Memphis 1.3
Papajohns.com S Carolina / Connecticut 1.6 -0.4 Rutgers / N Carolina St 2.0
Armed Forces Houston / Air Force 1.6 +0.1 Houston / Air Force 1.7
International S Florida / Northern Illinois 1.1 -1.0 U Conn / Buffalo 2.1
New Orleans Middle Tenn / S Miss 0.7 - 0.1 S. Miss / Troy 0.8
Insight Iowa St / Minnesota 0.4 - 0.8 Kansas / Minnesota 1.2
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  • Jeff Sketeris

    Interesting, but one point I think you are missing about the Big East is that its network would have a significant viewer base based on its basketball programs, and less so on its football programs. When you think of the Big East, you usually think of basketball first and that is what they could market first and foremost.

  • Guest

    There must be some mistake. You didn't list the Nielsen ratings for either of Michigan's Bowl games the last 2 years.

  • joe

    lol, nice small minded thinking. google “pac-10 expansion” click the news tab.

    have fun with slow sold weather FB.

  • psudevon

    Never realized it was so warm in Corvallis, Eugene, Pullman, or Seattle in December.

  • RexKramer

    I'm pretty sure the PAC10 in all it's TV network talk has always included a partner. Either the ACC or ideally the Big12 which would giving the network coverage of the nations two most populated states, and 32% of all the televisions in the US.

  • RexKramer

    I'm pretty sure the PAC10 in all it's TV network talk has always included a partner. Either the ACC or ideally the Big12 which would giving the network coverage of the nations two most populated states, and 32% of all the televisions in the US.