A look at the BCS’ TV contact compared to other similar entities.by Trevor Freeman
I know, I know. The BCS is here to stay and we will never get a playoff system. Stop arguing an argument that you will not win.
I’ve heard this already. However, I need to ask one question of the proponents of the BCS. Do they realize that they are leaving money on the table? Lots of it.
Yesterday, Fox and the BCS announced a four-year deal worth $320 million that gives Fox the broadcast rights to the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar bowls from 2007-10 and the national title game from 2007-09. $320 million is a lot you say. How could college football and the BCS be squandering money? Let’s take a look at the television contracts for the NCAA Tournament and the recently extended television contract for the NFL on Fox.
The NCAA Tournament currently has an 11-year; $6 billion deal with CBS that includes rights to handle NCAA tournament sponsorship, licensing, publishing, radio coverage and its online presence. $320 million over four years is a lot of cheese, but $6 billion over 11 years is a lot more. Do I think significantly more people watch NCAA basketball than NCAA football? Not enough to account for this kind of disparity in television contracts. In fact you could argue that while there are more big-time hoops programs (and hence more alumni following what happens) that college basketball does not have the regional base like college football has below the Mason-Dixon line. Travel down to states like Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana and you will find that college football is king. I would argue that if you went a tournament style playoff system in college football a bigger television contract would follow.
Now let’s keep comparing apples to apples and compare the NFL’s deal with Fox for the rights to broadcast NFC games. The NFL has extended this a couple months back and is receiving $4.3 billion for the rights to show these games through 2011. Again, money wise there is no comparison to what the BCS is drawing and what the NFL is drawing. Football is football. The comparison between the NFL and NCAA in terms of followers is much like the Bush-Kerry presidential race. The NFL dominates in urban areas and the NCAA dominates in more Middle America settings.
So why does the BCS continue to exist. Because the BCS conferences have been splitting the pot every year since inception. That is going to change with the inclusion of Utah (and possibly Boise State) this season and less stringent standards starting next season. So now with these big schools not hoarding the money, you have to wonder if the BCS will be broken. Why haggle over $320 million when there is $6 billion out there waiting to be touched? The deck would still be stacked against the mid-majors just like it is in the NCAA Tournament. Most at-large bids would always go to the Big 12, SEC, Big 10, Pac 10 and ACC.
All we can hope is that since I just thought of this, somebody in a higher place also has done the math. Right now money is being left on the table because of the BCS and I think the almighty dollar will eventually lead us to the playoff system we so desire.
One reply on “Is the BCS leaving money on the table?”
My take A playoff of lets say 16 teams would pay maybe $250,000,000 a year lets say. That is 1,000,000,000 for 4 years.
Now, lets take away the fact that there $15,000,000 a year SEC and ACC and Big XII title games will become $3,000,000 a year. That is $36,000,000 a year less already. Down to $214,000,000 (as compared to about $100,000,000 a year including Rose Bowl). Now, the annual ACC, SEC, Big XII, PAC-10, and Big Ten contracts will depriciate because not every game matters any more. Let us say that $5,000,000 a year will be lost from each conference. We are now down to $189,000,000 a year, or a net gain of $89,000,000 a year. Insurance costs will go through the roof because of the 3 possible extra games each team could play. That is millions of dollars right there FOR EVERY SCHOOL. Let us say the profit drops only to $70,000,000. I don’t know much about insurance prices for schools. Now, each of the 24 non-BCS bowls will become obsolete or valueless. That is millions upon millions of dollars in revenue lost. Going by the average of $1,100,000 per team payout for non-BCS bowls, that is $50,000,000 lost in revenue. The other bowls would lose the capital to function because nobody would care. Profit now only $20,000,000. Figure in increased travel expenses ($450,000 per game per team), that drops the profit to only about $7,000,000. Other minor things and the loss of television interest will make the profit absolete and turn it way into the red in 2011.
I’ll vote for your article, but I disagree (as most already know).