Why all the piling-on? Chuck holds a minority opinion and he doesn't need to be converted to the homer orthodoxy. His contrarian view of the current situaton has stimulated a lot of discussion. If so many of you think it has no merit, why the need to shout him down?
Chuck, I got your back.
Do we seriously think ESPN would have ever built the ACCN before the SECN? Not very likely, but I wonder if Fox would have considered the ACCN a golden opportunity to take a big swing at ESPN. All of our discussions seem to be based on what ESPN's wants and needs and capabilities may be. It frustrates me that, somewhere along the line, the ACC bosses (not necessarily JS) became enamored of ESPN and handed them the keys to our kingdom. My heart sank when the new contract was announced: TWENTY YEARS more with ESPN before we get a chance to actually find out what our content is worth on the open market. How would ESPN have reacted in 2009 if the ACC had publicly opened discussions with Fox? I know, pure speculation. But think about it.
Have the ACC leaders noticed that The B1G has leapfrogged the mighty SEC with their new media deal? Do they understand the reason for that? It was a competitive bidding process. And the B1G gets to repeat it six years from now. Twice, ESPN has tried to lowball the B1G. The first time marked the birth of the BTN. The most recent time ESPN wisely caved.
As for the added schools that were so necessary to bolster our feeble conference, there is no reason that the ACCN (with Fox) couldn't proceed coincident with the realignment. Maybe Fox would have suggested Rutgers as an expansion candidate for the ACC. Lousy athletic department but a cable carriage gold mine. I know, pure speculation. But think about it.
I concede that the ACCN announcement is good news, and news I wasn't sure I would ever hear. But, so far, it only exists on paper. Chuck's complaint that it will arrive a decade late is not outlandish. There is no guarantee that Fox or another partner could have put a network in-place a few years back, but by placing our entire media inventory in the hands of one media company for a seeming endless term, we are fated to accept whatever limits, delays, and payouts they dictate to us.
The sterling gentlemen who run this conference did not achieve their positions by being stupid or lazy. They are wise and deliberate. Maybe they just need to grow a pair and take a risk now nd then.