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Winston-Salem Journal, N.C., Lenox Rawlings column: BIG BUCKS: ACC gets 12-year deal from ESPNJul 09, 2010 (Winston-Salem Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Amid the quicksand of modern college sports, the ACC poured a cement island yesterday. Even the thickest cement can sink, but this slab should last 12 years. That's the length of the conference's new TV deal with ESPN, the cable behemoth that operates as ABC's partner under the Walt Disney umbrella. The contract, which starts in 2011-12, is so rich that only an absurdly richer offer would tempt Florida State or another football franchise to leave in any realignment scenario. How rich? When the negotiations approached fruition in May, the Sports Business Journal cited industry sources who estimated the value at $1.86 billion, a figure since repeated in various news stories. That's $155 million each year, compared to the current take of about $70 million from assorted networks. The schools share the money equally. Commissioner John Swofford didn't release specific figures, but he came close to whispering $1.86 billion during a teleconference. "I cannot confirm that, other than to tell you I've read some things that have been written that have been quite accurate," he said. Other sources concurred. "I'll tell you candidly that our schools will all be receiving more than double the television revenue that they have been receiving in the past," Swofford said, "and certainly that's very significant for any college athletic program in today's world." Money pays bills. Money builds stadiums from steel and concrete, and money erects invisible fortresses against intruders. Quieter climate Expansion fever has subsided for the moment. The Big Ten added Nebraska, raising its membership to 12. The Pac-10's aggressive campaign for a 16-team superconference turned to dust in an Austin stockyard. When the Texas Longhorns accepted a sweetheart conference deal to keep the Big 12 mostly intact as a 10-team league, the Pac-10 stopped its growth spurt at 12, adding Colorado and Utah. Notre Dame, a football independent, turned down the Big Ten, which might not pop any more Irish questions or pursue further expansion in the short term. The SEC dabbled in expansion politics, protecting its future if the 16-team plague devoured the landscape. But the SEC enjoys greater advantages in the status quo, mainly through its stature as perennial national football champions and its possession of an even larger TV deal ($3 billion over 15 years from CBS and ESPN). Expansion politics included a dose of expansion TV, with every major conference envious of the Big Ten. That league supplements national contracts with its own TV network, worth about $70 million in revenues in 2008-09. The hint that the ACC would investigate a similar endeavor undoubtedly strengthened its negotiating hand, although the eventual reality might have fallen way short of the fantasy. "The Big Ten Network may turn out to be an anomaly," Swofford said. The ACC contract gives ESPN rights to both Duke-Carolina basketball games, the rest of the men's basketball schedule and football, which are the major programs capable of attracting large audiences and high advertising fees. ESPN plans to move the Sunday night basketball package, now on Fox Sports, to ESPNU. "Those games on the Sunday package now will be played sometimes starting at 2 and no later than 6 p.m., which is a little earlier than we have been starting those games," Swofford said. Although ESPNU originally seemed available only in the Ukraine and a few other selected markets, Swofford said that 73 million homes get the cable station today. The ACC will benefit from wider exposure for lower-profile sports through national telecasts of baseball, softball, soccer and lacrosse. ESPN will put many events online or on mobile devices such as smart phones. Raycom Sports will remain a syndicator and carry regional games, occasionally duplicating ESPN coverage. Swofford characterized the deal as an anchor for stability, dismissing the recently popular claim that major colleges will cluster in four superconferences. "I do not agree that they're inevitable," he said. John Skipper, an ESPN vice president who graduated from Carolina, cheered the revised status quo. "It's clear," he said, "that the ACC is a very sound conference, not likely to change." It's also clear that the ACC is guaranteed to get richer, as measured by treasury deposits. To see more of the Winston-Salem Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.journalnow.com/. Copyright (c) 2010, Winston-Salem Journal, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544). |