RM, it is WVU's decision along with another P5 conference. As far as value, WVU brings more than most according to a study quoted on the other board. It also makes sense. Choosing a school to expand with comes down to two things, I thing we can agree.
What does it bring to the conference financially and what does it bring other schools? Very few, if any of the households in W Va. currently subscribe to the ACCN. Add Mountaineer Nation, which is much larger than the state itself to the subscriber list.
Mountaineer Nation consists of displaced Mountaineers, mostly over the Carolinas and Florida. We're talking hundreds of thousands of people. Many thousands in the Charlotte area alone as shown when they have a WVU game at 73,300 seat Bank of America Stadium. Most recently we kicked the hell out of Tennessee there. I was there along with other WVU fans that filled 2/3 of the stadium.
We would substantially increase ACCN subscriptions. There are also the stadium sellouts we create. That is a very substantial chunk of money for our rivals in the ACC. A 60,000 seat stadium generates about $3 million for each sold out game. Probably about $1 million after costs. That is important to at least 4 of the ACC teams. Our ticket sales generate about the same money as the MAC contribution each year.
Projections are just that, ******** predictions based upon bias and what little someone has read. I honestly believe WVU is in for a double digit win year. We are rising back out of mediocrity to a top 20 program in football and basketball. We've been there before, we know what it takes to get there again.
The real issue is knowing exactly what the networks and providers want now. We don't know if they want better brand names for streaming, or if they want media markets for broadcasting purposes. In the last round of expansion it was the latter.
If it is the latter, that's where the problem come in. Currently, subscriptions to the conference networks (CNs) don't work as you are describing. You don't subscribe to the CN individually. It's part of a package with other channels.
The ACCN is already available in the Carolinas and Florida. Point being, most of the West Virginia fans living in those states already get the ACCN, because it's part of their cable/satellite package. That's how these CNs really make their money. They get 80 year old grandma who never watch the network to pay for it, because it's just part of a package.
For that business model to work, you need big markets. That's the issue with West Virginia. The market is very small. Even if every household in the state was subscribed to the network, that's nowhere the amount from markets like New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, etc. Even ticket sales for away games pale in comparison to the money those markets generate.
If it's a different business model, all this goes out the window. I just don't know if the business model has yet changed.