I know, I know...it's another realignment thread. But I've been thinking quite a bit about where OU would go if they left the Big XII (which I maintain is Boren's ultimate goal). I still believe he probably would love the Big Ten, but I don't think the B1G would be too keen on that. Boren (and Stoops) have been highly critical of the SEC which makes me think they're out. The ACC is a possibility and I don't have a great reason to write them off other than it's a conference with a shaky history that has always been more dedicated to basketball than football and is like a step-brother to the SEC where the two footprints overlap. So...I've decided the Pac-12 is the most likely landing spot. I know they turned down ou when they Sooners tried to make the move in the past but I think this time would be different.
First, some background. The Pac-12 decided to go it alone with their tv network (wholly owned by the conference) and they have struggled to get carriage. Cable and satellite providers have very little incentive to pay the Pac-12 to carry their network. There's a variety of reasons for this. First, many Pac-12 schools have tepid fan bases who aren't demanding the network because they don't care to watch Oregon State play Portland State in football or see women's basketball and volleyball. Second, the Pac-12 doesn't have leverage. ESPN owns the LHN and the SEC Network. They can demand those two get on the provider's lineups or else they will charge much more for ESPN (which is an in-demand network).
Now, with those problems in place (and they are big, big problems for the conference right now), the Pac-12 has to figure out how to solve these issues. There's nothing they can do about the first one. The second one has a few solutions. They could sell a stake of the network to a partner (Fox Sports or ESPN). With Fox Sports and ESPN applying pressure, they would surely get more carriage with cable and satellite providers. Another solution would be to skip the cable and satellite providers altogether and begin to sell their network direct to consumers via online streaming. The downside of this is that they wouldn't making any money from carriage companies (that pay cable channels a set fee per subscriber regardless of any ratings). The upside is any money they do make is all profit since they own the network.
For either of those solutions to work, the Pac-12 needs more fan interest. In steps OU which has good ratings and would gin up more interest among fan bases within the Pac-12. OU playing USC would be big ratings. Same with Stanford, Oregon and to lesser extents UCLA and Arizona State. Now these games would likely be on broadcast television...but even that benefits the conference because they would get to renew their tier 1 & 2 tv contracts. OU playing Oregon State, Washington State, Utah, Colorado, etc... could end up on the network which again would create more demand and more demand equals more carriage on cable and satellite providers or via online streaming.
Finally, if OU were to leap to the Pac-12 then that would effectively kill off the Big XII. If there's no Big XII then UT is up for grabs and the Pac-12 would have to like its chances to land Texas...which is the whale in the realignment game.
First, some background. The Pac-12 decided to go it alone with their tv network (wholly owned by the conference) and they have struggled to get carriage. Cable and satellite providers have very little incentive to pay the Pac-12 to carry their network. There's a variety of reasons for this. First, many Pac-12 schools have tepid fan bases who aren't demanding the network because they don't care to watch Oregon State play Portland State in football or see women's basketball and volleyball. Second, the Pac-12 doesn't have leverage. ESPN owns the LHN and the SEC Network. They can demand those two get on the provider's lineups or else they will charge much more for ESPN (which is an in-demand network).
Now, with those problems in place (and they are big, big problems for the conference right now), the Pac-12 has to figure out how to solve these issues. There's nothing they can do about the first one. The second one has a few solutions. They could sell a stake of the network to a partner (Fox Sports or ESPN). With Fox Sports and ESPN applying pressure, they would surely get more carriage with cable and satellite providers. Another solution would be to skip the cable and satellite providers altogether and begin to sell their network direct to consumers via online streaming. The downside of this is that they wouldn't making any money from carriage companies (that pay cable channels a set fee per subscriber regardless of any ratings). The upside is any money they do make is all profit since they own the network.
For either of those solutions to work, the Pac-12 needs more fan interest. In steps OU which has good ratings and would gin up more interest among fan bases within the Pac-12. OU playing USC would be big ratings. Same with Stanford, Oregon and to lesser extents UCLA and Arizona State. Now these games would likely be on broadcast television...but even that benefits the conference because they would get to renew their tier 1 & 2 tv contracts. OU playing Oregon State, Washington State, Utah, Colorado, etc... could end up on the network which again would create more demand and more demand equals more carriage on cable and satellite providers or via online streaming.
Finally, if OU were to leap to the Pac-12 then that would effectively kill off the Big XII. If there's no Big XII then UT is up for grabs and the Pac-12 would have to like its chances to land Texas...which is the whale in the realignment game.
