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Will UT's new cable network help tip the Big 12 balance of power?Jul 05, 2011 (The Dallas Morning News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The Longhorn Network has already targeted a debut and slated programming heavy on football. The biggest significance of Aug. 26 and beyond will be the impact of an unprecedented cable network devoted to just one college and its powerhouse athletic program. With ESPN's backing, the network could be an omnipresent 24/7 juggernaut on extended cable, broadcasting all things burnt orange across the state, the Big 12 footprint and the nation. But it will offer only one football game and a handful of men's basketball games. How much Mack Brown can go around? Daily Oklahoman columnist Berry Tramel suggested that "it is about nothing much." No one knows the implications for the competitive balance in the Big 12 and future media rights deals. Already, other conference schools are planning counter-strategies. "I think it's huge and I think it's going to be in time bigger for the university than it is for athletics," Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds said. "It's going to be a great branding tool for the university. I don't think we can fathom what it can be." Oklahoma has considered starting its own network and a possible cable arms race with its Red River rival. Or the Sooners may join eight other Big 12 teams that have discussed combining their third-tier rights (after broadcast and cable rights) into one programming package. "My hat's off to UT-Austin," Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin said. "I think this is an extraordinary thing." A&M hasn't decided its next move, he said, having hired a consultant for "the best way to utilize our local rights." While Texas had made no secret of its desire to pursue its own network, ESPN's willingness to pay $300 million over 20 years sent shockwaves across athletic departments. Dodds said he was "pleasantly surprised." A&M athletic director Bill Byrne double-checked his math and sense of reality. "We have pencils and calculators, too," said Byrne, who suggested that ESPN paid at least six to seven times more than anticipated network revenue. Byrne suggested that reporters "ask the folks from Bristol [ESPN's Connecticut headquarters] how they're going to make a profit on this." The dominoes have just begun to fall. Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick indicated that the Irish are likely to pursue their own network. New football independent BYU plans more athletic programming on its school cable network. Competitive impact Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe said the Longhorn Network's impact could be muted. He noted Texas' athletic and financial success, which reportedly generated NCAA-leading revenue of $143,555,354 for 2009-10. "I think certainly the other institutions have concerns," Beebe said. "On the other hand, how much more can you do? You're already paying the coaches at the highest level. You're already funding facilities at the highest level. "I don't know if it translates into victories." Asked about snarky media predictions that the new 10-team Big 12 could quickly morph into Texas, Oklahoma and "eight dwarfs," Dodds pointed to the 2010 football season. "I think we were 5-7," he said. "Dwarfs don't kick you like that. I think it's a pretty level field." For now. Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne saw his school join the Big Ten on July 1. He sees the Big 12 as having the same model as Major League Baseball, which lets individual teams keep a fairly large percentage of their media rights. "Of course, you have the Yankees ... and some small-market teams. Many people feel that has led to some competitive imbalance," Osborne said. "In the NFL model, you have most all resources pooled, and that's enabled a team like Green Bay to survive in a relatively small media market. The contrast I'm drawing is that the Big Ten is the NFL model, and that bodes better long term for all of the institutions involved, giving them a greater chance to survive on fairly equal footing." Osborne declined to speculate about the Big 12's balance of power. "I'll let somebody else decide that," he said. Texas held the right under conference by-laws to form a network. The option was one reason the Longhorns spurned the Pac-10, where all broadcast rights are held by the conference and a school network wasn't an option. No Longhorn Network? Maybe no Big 12 as we know it. Fellow schools are fully aware of Texas' linchpin status. "I don't spend a lot of time thinking how we're going to out-resource Texas. That's not a realistic goal," said Baylor's Ian McCaw, athletic director of a private school in a smallish media market. "I worry about Baylor and what we can do." After trailing Texas earlier this century, A&M has closed the gap and enjoyed more success than the Longhorns across the board over the 2010-11 school year. The Aggies were eighth in the Director's Cup all-sports standings, Texas 12th. Byrne believes he has the resources to compete now and in the future. "I think there are some teams in the conference capable of winning every time they take the field, and we're one of them," Byrne said. "I know the fans have concerns. We've improved a lot over the last five years and we're getting better still. I relish the competition." Priceless exposure The biggest advantage for Texas may not be the financial payoff -- half of which will initially go to academics -- but the constant presence. Potential recruits will grow up with the Longhorn Network in their living room, on their laptop and as a smartphone app. The Longhorn Network could become the nation's first regional college sports network. Think of it as Fox Sports Southwest, except with just one school as the focus and a limited inventory of high-interest products. Consultant Len DeLuca, a former ESPN and CBS executive, suggested that the Longhorn Network represented a natural evolution. It began in the 1990s with Notre Dame signing a football broadcast deal with NBC and continued with the formation of the Big Ten Network. "It's a reflection of reality," DeLuca said. "The only thing Texas has done is taken advantage of that reality. "Texas didn't leave the Big 12. All Texas said was that it was going to take advantage of its national and regional power. College sports weren't meant to be socialistic." ALL ABOUT THE NETWORK Debut date:Aug. 26 Based in:Austin Running the show:UT, marketing partner IMG and ESPN, which paid the university $300 million over 20 years for the opportunity to operate and distribute the network. Programming:Live broadcasts will include one football game each season, a handful of men's basketball games and live coverage of virtually all home events in other sports, including baseball, volleyball and women's basketball. The network also plans to broadcast select high school football games. A nightly highlights show titled Longhorn Extra has been announced along with two weekly shows hosted by football coach Mack Brown. Campus programming will be included. On-air personnel:To be announced soon. Carriage agreements:None confirmed so far. Deals with in-state providers Time-Warner, Comcast, Charter, Verizon and AT&T as well as DirectTV and Dish will be key for the channel's success. To see more of The Dallas Morning News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dallasnews.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Dallas Morning News Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 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