Questions:

Is there a breakdown listed somewhere for TV ratings for the first weekend of March Madness and the second weekend of March Madness? (I have a hypothesis that 65 teams spread throughout the country creates interest the first weekend, but I want numbers to bear that out)

I'm also looking for comparisons of college basketball TV ratings (OUTSIDE the tournament) for the last 10-20 years. My suspicion (partially based on the fact that the NCAA did compose a committee to take a look at major problems with basketball, and this was addressed) is that things aren't as good as they used to be. That might be something to keep in mind as the Big East seeks basketball TV contract money.

Pounder, I have no idea where to get that information outside of an industry journal, but I do know that absolutely nothing gets the ratings it did 20 years ago. With the proliferation of channels, increased access to cable, alternatives like DirecTV, satellite dishes, etc., DVD players . . . Well, let me just say that everything is now a niche market. There are just too many alternatives & too many opportunities for viewers to tune into their absolute favorite type of entertainment 24/7. And I haven't even mentioned computers & the internet as an alternative form of entertainment & time consumption. Problems/challenges are out there but not because the game has changed. Media outlets have changed.

Friar, while I'm aware of that, I don't want to jump past the numbers to arrive at the conclusion I suspect... which is that BE basketball cannot get the TV contract they likely forecasted when going to 16.

I'll repeat that. I have a suspicion, not a conclusion.

Mind you (and, yes, I generally can't get unglued from the poker shows when I run across them), sometimes you have to gamble. Part of my suspicion is that the BE may have had little choice when it came to attempting to sustain TV revenue.

Pounder,

All the BE would have to do is to get $15 million to make it 'worthwhile'. The BE only got $10 million in the last TV contract. IT went down to $7 million when VT and Miami left (and BC?).

You are getting better teams entering than the teams that left but who knows? The ACC got $30 million for their BB contract.

Panther, are you referring to the BE's football contract, bb contract, or combined?

Friar,

BE FB got $15 million before the raid. They just got $8 for FB.

The BB deal has been signed for a while. It was reportedly $10 million and then reduced to $7 million.
Compare that to the $30 million the ACC has for BB.

I think BG has posted some links that could give more specific details elsewhere here on both the BE and ACC.

I think someone many have wanted to know about the BB money distribution from the NCAA?

Anyway, this talks about the NCAA revenue and expenditures - a little anyway.

https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/hschein/www/readings/athletics/BigMoneyToTheFew.htm

Thanks, Panther.

Friar,

A slight correction to the BB contract. Omnicarrier (another poster on many boards but well knowledgeable) said the the BE BB also gets an addition 1.5 million from MSG and 3.5 from CBS. That would put the total BB contract to be around $13-$15 million.

This seems to be about right because the total TV and radio rights for the BE (FB and BB) was about $28 million in 2003 (before the raid).

FB: $14-15 million
BB: $13-14 million

Even so, before the raid the ACC got about $25 million for FB and BB TV rights.

http://www.avca.org/newsletter/MVPHarper12-10-03.asp

Here's a link for total TV revenue in 2003 (pre-raid)