My sense is that viewers, not markets, is becoming increasingly relevant
In the era where conference realignment was driven by entry into new markets for purposes of getting conference-specific channels onto cable systems, the potential market mattered more than the real market. Thus, schools like Rutgers and Syracuse matter even though there are relatively few people who actually follow those programs.
As time goes on, as consumers get more freedom to choose programming on an a la carte basis rather than having, say, the Big Ten Network forced upon them, I think the number of people who actually follow a given program is going to increasingly matter more. And I think that will continue to grow stronger as we reach that 2023-2025 period when many current television contracts expire.
As that happens, I think that programs that have genuine, passionate fan bases will have increased relevance over programs that happen to be situated in a population center. Schools like WVU and Kentucky and Clemson and Nebraska can be viewed as lacking value if all that matters is the population of the market. But the reality is that way more people will fork over $20/game to watch those teams on television than will watch programs like Pitt.
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In response to this post by WhoopACC Hokie)
Posted: 08/15/2016 at 11:43AM