THE BIG 12’S POTENTIAL MOVE
Notre Dame’s desire to build a $75 million sports revenue product and the need for ‘shoulder programming’ provide the Big 12 and its new commissioner, Brett Yormark (your younger, hipper and cooler commissioner) a unique opportunity. ESPN and Fox have never asked the Big 12 for complete exclusivity over its TV rights and they are unlikely to do so with so many mouths to feed at the Big Ten and the SEC. But, ESPN still needs the programming. The Big 12 still needs that exposure and revenue.But, what’s to stop the Big 12 from working a deal with NBC and Notre Dame to provide that ‘shoulder programming’ on weeks that the Irish have a home game, and to provide NBC an exclusive single game or doubleheader on the weeks Notre Dame is on the road or off? Because I don’t know what NBC broadcasts on Saturday afternoons when it doesn’t have Notre Dame, but it’s not football.
Honestly? There’s nothing stopping the Big 12 from pursuing this. Heck, the Big East had five simultaneous television contracts for basketball in the late 1980s.
Envision it like this. The Big 12 has three deals with ESPN, Fox and NBC. ESPN and Fox still get the majority of top choice. But, give NBC the right to choose first once when Notre Dame is at home and twice when Notre Dame is on the road.
Then, if you’re the Big 12, you bolster your hand by taking in the four teams you’re courting from the Pac-12 — Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah. That allows you to add more inventory for broadcast and makes it easier to negotiate with all three entities for contracts that drive up revenue for the league’s membership. (Aside — we’re going to ignore that ‘Big 12-Juco conference‘ comment because, as Mundo pointed out, there are plenty of good reasons for the Buffs to come back).
If that works, and Notre Dame and NBC are both interested, then I would do one more thing, and this is probably what will get my hand slapped. I would invite Stanford to join the Big 12.
