ESPN was essentially gifted the rights to ND content (its road football games and almost all of its remaining content) when ND joined the ACC. ESPN gave up NOTHING. NBC gave up NOTHING. It was up to the ACC and ND to negotiate with ESPN on the enhanced revenue, and for ND and the ACC to determine revenue distribution fractions.

Conversely, Texas' top tier football content is owned by Fox and ESPN thru the end of the Big 12 GoR. ESPN owns its basketball games for the same term. ESPN also owns Texas' bottom tier content thru 2031, independent of Texas' conference affiliation. Fox owns 51% of the BTN and the B1G conference football championship game. CBS just bought the B1G basketball tournament beginning in 2017 or 18 (I don't remember the start date).

If Texas goes to the B1G, then in addition to the conference distribution discussions, Fox, ESPN, and CBS would also all be involved in the negotiations. ESPN and Fox would BOTH have losses and none of us has any clue as to whether a deal could be successfully negotiated.

This is not as simple as the B1G simply saying that Texas can keep the LHN and a single media partner absorbing the rest. It is almost NOTHING like what ND did.

The only way Texas goes semi-smoothly to the B1G is if it is AFTER the recently negotiated TV deals expire. Then Fox could decide if and how much of the BTN it is willing to literally "give" to ESPN.
[Post edited by daveinop at 08/21/2016 08:49AM]