And the addition of UCLA and USC in 2024 will help?
Well, they’ll likely make a lot of money off of it. They can pretend the Rose Bowl is still a thing: Have Ohio State or Michigan meet UCLA or USC for the conference finals! But I do hate such over-expansion. Can you imagine if they had gotten Texas?
Yes, because it brings in the Los Angelas TV market. The reason Rutgers and Maryland came in is to get the DC and NY TV markets. Kevin Plank of Under Armour fame negotiated Maryland getting in and paid off a significant athletic program debt in order to get them accepted.
The B1G Ten Network is starting a new TV deal that will bring in $1 billion per year for 7 years and that is about an 80% increase over the previous contract.
Whether people like it or not, those TV deals pay all the bills for the minor sports at the schools and gives the kids playing those minor sports far more TV coverage than they were getting.
And the addition of UCLA and USC in 2024 will help?
It benefitted Fox and the Big Tennish conference by having their joint venture, the Big 10 Network paid for by every cable viewer in the Washington and New York areas. Now LA viewers can pay too.