Michigan A Leader In TV Ratings, Which Are Steering Realignment Discussions
Money makes the college football world go 'round.
That's evident now more than ever, with conference realignment being one of the main topics of conversations surrounding the sport over the last month, ever since rumors — which have subsequently come into fruition — of Texas and Oklahoma leaving the Big 12 for the SEC surfaced.
The Longhorns and Sooners departing their conference doesn't just have major implications for the Big 12 (and positive ones for the SEC) ... it has served, and will continue to serve, as a catalyst for realignment, and possible expansion, throughout the college football landscape. The Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 — the three other Power Five leagues — don't want to be left behind.
In turn, dollars made from television ratings — an area in which Michigan has long been a leader — are as important as ever.
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Rumors, such as the Big Ten poaching a few ACC schools or forming a scheduling alliance with the Pac-12, have since come about, with the latest one being a report from The Athletic, which detailed over the weekend that the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC are in discussions about forming alliances.
It's too early to tell, reports say, exactly to what extent the three leagues would be aligned. But, The Athletic's Andy Staples wrote in his column examining the latest discussions, "if the plan includes a scheduling alliance to create more games in the Four Million Club for each league, then it could be a valuable partnership for all of them. It also could benefit the viewers by giving us more interesting games to watch."
The 'Four Million Club' Staples refers to is the group of college football games that garner more than four million viewers.
If this were a real club, Michigan would be a founding member and have a huge say in board meetings.
According to Medium, the Wolverines averaged 4.18 million viewers per game from 2015-19, a number that checks in third nationally, behind Ohio State (5.19 million) and Alabama (5.09 million), the only two other schools to average over four million viewers on a per game basis during that time span. In addition, Michigan has been a participant in five of the 15 most-watched regular-season games in that timeframe.
Michigan also slots third when it comes to games in the 'four million club' from 2015-19, with 26 (out of 65 contests played). Alabama (35) and Ohio State (31) are the only two programs with more, and there's a steep drop off after the Wolverines — Auburn and Notre Dame are next, and each have 17 contests that qualify for being in the club.
Thirteen schools have 10 or more games that have drawn four million or more viewers during that span, including two more from the Big Ten in Penn State (12) and Michigan State (11). Ten of those 13 programs are from the SEC or Big Ten, leading one to question why the Big Ten would potentially be willing to partner with the ACC and Pac-12.
Explained Staples: "Because the SEC is about to generate a lot more of those games. And by creating a few more with the help of some friends, the Big Ten could stay relatively even and continue to distribute as much or more to each school as the SEC will once Oklahoma and Texas join and a new ESPN deal replaces the below-market deal CBS enjoys for the best SEC game each week."
The Big Ten's television deals with Fox and ESPN expire after next football season, meaning the conference has a prime opportunity to favorably position itself ahead of those negotiations.
"With suddenly SEC-less CBS and a curious NBC also sniffing around, the Big Ten’s rights could fetch a huge premium, especially if the league can guarantee even more Four Million Club games," Staples wrote.
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