Jon Wilner put together a comprehensive estimate of revenue the new Pac-12 will generate. Here's a skeletal look at his numbers. If you want to see his reasoning behind the numbers, read his surprisingly well researched article. He ends on an interesting note questioning just how much (or little?) value the conference gained by adding Utah and Colorado.
So there’s our start in the revenue calculation: $45-50 million in annual rights fees from the "Pac-12 Network."
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Given that the Pac-10 has five of the top-16 TV markets in the country, and based on other conference TV deals and elements such as population, reach, households, etc, industry sources believe the Pac-12 could command at least $90-100 million annually from ESPN or Fox.
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But sources said $10 million for the title game is a reasonable figure when you include broadcast rights, sponsorship deals and ticket sales.
...*** So that’s $150-160 million, or about $13 million per school — and the figures do not include BCS payouts and NCAA Tournament money.
(By the way, Navigate Marketing’s revenue models for the Pac-12 peg the per-school total even higher: $14.5 million.)
Yes, yes, yes: That’s a monumental increase over the Pac-10’s current per-team annual payout, which is $8-9 million for football and basketball TV, bowls and March Madness units.
After the jump the Utes announce their move to the Pac-10 in 2011, Larry Scott denies the North-South division of the Pac-12, ESPN picks out the winners and losers of conference realignment, and the Big 12 tries to prevent expansion for another ten years.
Pac-10 Expansion
- Utah has officially accepted invitation into the Pac-10. Utah will join the conference in 2011.
- Larry Scott says no decision has been made regarding splitting the conference into divisions. They also have not yet decided on a name for the new conference.
- ESPN ranks the conference realignment's biggest winners. Among them are Utah and Colorado, but no one is happier than Texas A+M. Pat Forde ranks Colorado among the losers in expansion, as they have to pay the hefty exit fee without enjoying the revenue that Pac-16 would have provided.
- Larry Scott's vision of a Pac-16 may not have come to fruition, but it is clear that he will have a tremendous impact on the conference during his tenure. And his goal for conference expansion is merely dormant, not dead. He might have to wait a while, though, as the new Big 12 signed an agreement to stay together for ten years.