Horns247 Board

Whenever someone touts Alexander the Great as an analogue for enduring success, you can be assured that he really didn't think things through.

I tend to agree with this point. They're games not really important enough to get fans really pissed at any of the parties, meaning nobody accomplishes anything in the effort to pick up carriers.

On the other hand, if you're basically not being shown, no matter who the opponent, it does diminish the brand. Maybe not much in one year to mean anything, but it's certainly not helpful if it continued.

You are as entitled to have an opinion and express it here as any of the rest of us. However, the gist of most of your posts on the LHN is that people who are far smarter and in control than any of us are taking care of things, and everything will be fine in the end.

However, there is no real support for that theory on this specific topic. Many of the people on this board are smart, experienced, accomplished, and sport UT degrees. I've negotiated my share of contracts, and I know all about finances. What I think happened is this: The concept of the LHN, as stated publicly, was to enhance the UT brand and to give greater exposure to athletes in non-revenue and Olympic sports. After all, every Texas football game and basketball game was already available to anybody who wanted badly enough to see them, either for free, on PPV, or as part of a package subscription. There was no need, and no way to greatly increase the exposure for these sports. They were maxed out.

ESPN officials walked in, sat down at the table, and said "We want to give you $300 million for the distribution and production rights to LHN." Plonsky, Dodds and Powers didn't hear anything after "$300 million." They completely forgot about exposure for non-revenue sports and athletes, didn't contemplate the possibility of losing exposure for revenue sports, and acted like they had better take the money before somebody at ESPN realized what a mistake they were making and withdrew the offer. They simply did not negotiate. They gave away all control over distribution, and assumed that ESPN could place the LHN anywhere they wanted it. Who knows, maybe that's what ESPN told them. At any rate, worried that they might not get to the bank before the drive-up window closed, they signed the contract and ran out of the room, thinking they had pulled the job of the century.

A year later, it's hard to think of one thing that the LHN has done to enhance the Texas brand. It is easy, however, to find examples of negative impact and negative public perception brought on by LHN. It's been used (conveniently) as an excuse to try to break up the Big 12; it's caused a national controversy about televising HS games and the perceived recruiting advantages associated therewith; and it has resulted in regular negative press about overestimating public appeal and overplaying a modest hand. None of that is good for Texas. If the idea is that we can spend 3-5 years digging a hole, and then 15 more to dig out, that seems myopic.

At any rate, I appreciate your opposing point of view, but wish you could offer more substantive support for that opinion than the continued exhortations to have faith in Dodds, Plonsky and Powers, simply because they have had success in other aspects of their jobs. I sincerely wish that you had inside information to share that there really is an actual strategy in play here, and that it will culminate in greater glory for Texas athletics. I'm just not seeing it so far.

ctc, I actually enjoy most of your posts. You clearly know a lot about football. You are correct though. I don't think that you are very bright.

In other words, you got nothing. Anyone that points out how insanely moronic your view is and you just come back with cheap one-liners. As others have pointed out numerous times already, hope is not a strategy and hope is all you have.

If the LHN does not get even modest distribution by this fall it is a gigantic failure.

Would be funny if Dodds floated that just to torque Bowen.

Most folks seemed to have grasped essentially what has happened. For the first time Texas made a deal with somebody who was the bigger, badder SOB in the room.

$300 million is a nice round number, but for ESPN it is money they dug up under couch pillows.

ESPN's mantra has always been "Everything is available - for a price." They are scared to death about giving something away for free or below market value. They made the deal for the Longhorn Network because they are always on the look for future revenue streams. They understand that more and more people (especially the younger demo) are moving away from cable and satellite to other venues for watching TV (computers, I-pads, I-phones, etc.)

The key for ESPN is "TV everywhere." It's why every athletic venue on campus is wired for live streaming. Want to watch the baseball game on your I-phone? Sure, just as long as you are also paying a cable subscription.

They see the Longhorn Network as a prototype, something they hope to multiply in the future with other schools or conferences. The fight over pricing (40 cents per subscriber in the dominant markets AND on basic cable) is all they care about.

Sports programming, specifically live sports programming, is the holy grail since it seems to be the best available inventory that is DVR proof. And while the LHN (and others to follow) may not have all that many live events, if the programming is available on any and all mobile devices, there is a value to that for the niche market.

Hell, even Time Warner Cable understands the value of regional sports networks. They have gone into partnership with the Los Angeles Lakers over two RSN's (one in English and one in Spanish). They will be on air in October and they are busy selling them to other carriers in the region -- for a nice price.

The LHN deal has made Texas a (very) interested bystander while ESPN fights with Time Warner and Comcast over distribution and price. The fact that Deloss takes the brunt of the anger and phone calls is okay with ESPN -- that's why they paid Texas the big bucks.

I have no idea as to how long this fight will continue (Time Warner still refuses to carry the NFL Network) but I do know that Texas has a minority say in how to resolve the fight.

You don't have to patronize me, man. You can tell me how you feel and it will keep not mattering. You think you are smart and you want us to know it. Hell, you established that need on this board a long time ago.

Even when the LHN is in wide distribution there should never be more than one directional school game on it.

Why would UT willingly want its game to broadcast on a channel that the casual football fan will not tune into and willingly lessen the ratings/potential audience.

It is asinine to even think of doing that. Casual fans are not going to tune into a school centric network IMO.

ctj, if I talk down to you, that is not my intent. I suspect I am not the first.

All that matters is that they subscribe. I subscribe to the BTN and never watch. They seem not to care.

There, there.