It’s hard to believe today, according to reports that ESPN and the Big Ten Conference will break up, but at one time it was suspected that the power of that relationship would decide who won the Heisman Trophy.
Twenty-five years ago, during perhaps the most controversial and contested Heisman race of them all, a large portion of Tennessee fans believed that this was it: ESPN was saying that Michigan pushed back Charles Woodson to win the award. on Volunteers quarterback Peyton Manning.
It looks like there is a concerted effort by ESPN to help Woodson become the first (and only) best defensive player to win the Heisman. But his candidacy with Disney’s ESPN programming provided a warm marriage of convenience in 1997. Six of Michigan’s regular season games were televised by the ESPN platform and the other five were televised by ABC, which bought by Disney in 1996 and started with ESPN. Currently, more than half of Tennessee’s games are broadcast on something other than an ESPN or ABC outlet.
What’s more, eight of Michigan’s games in 1997 started at noon or 12:30 ET – that’s straight from the website’s “GameDay” show. TV Promotion 101 tries to keep the audience as long as possible, so it makes sense to talk a lot about the undefeated Wolverines and Woodson on “GameDay” as a hook for viewers . (“GameDay” carried live coverage of Michigan’s two games that season, the home opener against Colorado and Oct. 25 at Michigan State. Tennessee’s Sept. 20 game at Florida was also also become a “GameDay” site.)
What usually followed all those afternoon games was a 14-hour parade of Michigan’s highlights. The Wolverines won games, won the rookie round, and eventually Woodson won the Heisman.
The ’97 season underscores how deep the relationship between ESPN and the Big Ten was then—and how little it matters now. A dusty exhibit at the Conspiracy Theory Museum. In recent years, critics have revealed that ESPN is in league with the SEC, not the Big Ten, and now those people are the new fodder.
The Big Ten issued a statement Tuesday to emphasize that nothing is final in its media rights negotiations. But multiple reports say the oldest and richest athletic conference will no longer sign with the media outlet that pioneered college sports broadcasting.
No one could see that before 2021, when Texas, Oklahoma, the SEC and ESPN first made the world under everyone’s feet. When the Big Ten and Fox Sports responded by sweeping USC and UCLA less than six weeks ago, new boundaries were drawn.
In the new world format, Fox and the Big Ten vs. ESPN and the Southeastern Conference for the highest level of college athletics and fundraising, and a lot of damage evidence elsewhere. In the past, networks had to coexist with media-rights agreements and conferences. Now many of these joint ventures are reported to have disappeared.
This is where we stand now, in an era where TV dramas make all the decisions. College athletic conferences are more than TV channels, and many of them have chosen sides in an unprecedented fashion.
Hopefully, the major networks aren’t going the way of the local affiliates—the Big Ten Network and SEC Network—and choosing on-air talent based on where they went to school. It is understandable in that sense, but it should not be expanded further.
It looks like ESPN is waving at the Big Ten with a reorganization that will shake up the entire landscape of college sports.
Big Ten alums Kirk Herbstreit (Ohio State) and Desmond Howard (Michigan) are “GameDay” mainstays, and breaking that band to increase the number of SEC alums would damage credibility (although the former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy is more than capable). Likewise, USC and Notre Dame products Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Brady Quinn should stay on Fox Sports’ “Big Noon Kickoff” show without worrying about being replaced by Big Ten guys.
But at this price, who knows how things will turn out. The purpose of communication seems to be more used than ever.
It looks like the Big Ten will be moving toward a multi-part deal with Fox, CBS and NBC that comes with some complications. ESPN may be losing cable subscriptions by the bushel, but it remains the number one viewing option for most sports—walk into a bar of any kind, and that’s for sure. it will be more on TV than any other way. In addition, ESPN built its first name in the college space and remains the place to televise many college events.
Letting go of that 40-year relationship could come with a viewership price, and a reduction in ratings through ESPN.com. (One wonders if Fox Sports will try to improve the college content on its website, which was destroyed several years ago by the infamous “edge of video” and is off to a slow start. then reunite.)
Another effect from the Big Ten’s breakup with ESPN could be beneficial to the Pac-12, which is still trying to survive after being eliminated by USC and UCLA. ESPN now has a new need for programming, and the Pac-12 rights are up for bid, and there are still attractive markets on the West Coast and four Saturday night game window (#Pac12AfterDark) increases.
Discussions are ongoing about a Pac-12 broadcast deal with the ACC that could use ESPN’s ACC Network. It could be nothing – details are scarce and information is being kept under wraps – but it could also offer an increase in revenue to the two Power 5 leagues left in the revenue race. Maybe ESPN will have a new incentive to pursue that, given the Big Ten-sized hole in its portfolio.
Regardless, a cheap and shared season of Big Ten games being broadcast on ESPN appears to be over. That will take some getting used to. The important lines of communication have been fixed for the foreseeable future, and the common ground for cooperation between the power players is disappearing.
