Rumors swirled all weekend that supposedly damning information about the Longhorn Network contract between Texas and ESPN were coming, and the revelations from Texas A&M blog Midnight Yell certainly generated some breathless commentary.
In an unusual twist of events, it would seem the knee-jerk reaction in this case actually might be the right one.
Let me preface all this by noting that I’m no lawyer, so I’m not about to play at the idea that I have the definitive read on any of this. With that said, it looks as though Texas’ TV network lends credence to the idea that the school’s relationship with the rest of the Big 12 conference members is completely untenable.
Last week’s news that the LHN would hold off on broadcasting high school games and offer incentives to schools that agreed to move conference games to the channel may have sparked some optimism about the league’s future. I actually looked at the announcement as a potential point of detente in the escalating Big 12 pissing contest. (Note I said “potential.”)
If ESPN really was to blame for all the angst over what the LHN could and couldn’t show, the rhetoric coming out of the meeting with Big 12 administrators suggested a willingness on Texas’ part to compromise and exert some influence over its broadcasting partner for the good of the league. Furthermore, Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds was saying all the right things about his commitment to keeping the conference together.
However, the paragraph in the contract stating that UT will capture a whopping 70 percent of all adjusted gross revenue generated by the LHN in the life of its 20-year contract beyond $295 million would appear to change the game.
If the agreement between Texas and ESPN was simply that the Worldwide Leader would pay the ‘Horns and partner IMG what amounts to an annual $15 million licensing fee, ultimately the real risk in the LHN was carried by ESPN. UT could plausibly deflect contoversies like the one that arose over high school broadcasts as ESPN overreaching to maximize its investment. Also, Texas could reasonably argue, as such, that it could use its influence to keep ESPN from running wild to the detriment of the conference.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that such a huge performance-based windfall gives Texas a far bigger interest than initially thought in seeing the LHN succeed financially – and doing so as quickly as possible. Soon enough, if all the cards are played right, Texas could have a national television network to broadcast all of its games and generate a substantial revenue stream, all working outside the traditional conference model.
Viewed through that prism, it’s going to be hard to sell anyone on the idea that UT won’t push the boundaries with the LHN. An even harder sell: Texas’ recent play-nice posture is anything besides a stalling tactic to fortify its position for independence.
