Topic: Gazette: Legal battle between ESPN, C-USA worth monitoring

[ZackUSAF82]

By Mitch Vingle

WHEN THE NEWS leaked that ESPN was suing Conference USA, it had to take some by surprise.

The Worldwide Leader in Sports, ruler of all it surveys, taking on little C-USA, one of its heretofore partners?

Doesn't appear to be an even match, does it? Not exactly Grendel versus Beowulf.

In case you missed it, though, ESPN did file a lawsuit in New York federal court asking for damages of at least $21 million or for C-USA to honor an extension the network claims was agreed upon. Conference USA instead announced in January a five-year deal with Fox's networks.

It's not something fans of C-USA schools can simply shrug off. Marshall University's entire athletic budget is $21 million.

"Could this affect us? Yes," said MU athletic director Mike Hamrick. "That said, our conference hasn't sent us any of the details."

The most important detail probably centers on what is known in the biz as an FNFR. That's a first right to negotiate and first refusal.

Link: http://wvgazette.com/Sports/Marshall/201103311445

[Johnnyherd]

I think Vingle is close on this one, ESPN wants to keep small conferences under contract so other networks won't have any programing to put on the air and compete against them.  They'd pay the C-USA 20 million not to play football on TV, just so FOX doesn't have option to air college football. 

I can't believe some herd fans want ESPN to win this lawsuit.  ESPn doesn't give a rats butt about the C-USA, they certainly don't want the C-USA to grow.  They want to the C-USA in a corner and "say there little buddy, we've got the SEC (our billion baby) to take care of, we'll talk to you in 2016)

I believe Mike Hamrick when he says that losing 20 million will really hurt the conference. 

[greenskeeper]

When your about the lose your full control of the kingdom you have ruled for 3 decades, sue anyone and all comers....it works. It stinks but it works.

Someone needs to start a boycott ESPN facebook page and send it to every CUSA board!

[HERDFAN1999]

The comments crack me up.  The one that said Marshall is an embarassment for WV is too funny.  We aren't the ones on the worst fans list.  We don't wear shirts that say "West f'n Virginia" and we don't spell "Virginia" as "Virgina" as the 'eers love to do on national TV.

[Chevy1]

Sad really.  ESPN was such a big part of Marshall's rise to prominence in the late 90s and early 00s.  They covered many of our games either on Game Plan, ESPN Plus or even ESPN 1 and 2.  And they covered our 1-AA playoff and championship games.  As a fan, I appreciated the coverage ESPN provided for Marshall.

Since our move to CUSA - we've been living with BS coverage, and the TV production and broadcast quality has been deplorable.

Let's face facts; the way this conference has "managed" (bungled) its TV coverage since MU has been in this league is more than enough evidence to suggest league management isn't too savvy when it comes to media negotiations.  Without actually seeing the contract or being involved in the negotiations, it's a bit tough to determine "who's on first", but "right of first refusal" is pretty typical for business contracts and a good part of the reported complaint seems to deal with that issue.

Anyway, regardless of the cause/outcome, again, it's somewhat sad to see MU being tied up in a lawsuit with ESPN.

[Big City]

Bet this goes away

[Marshallguy04]

The comments crack me up.  The one that said Marshall is an embarassment for WV is too funny.  We aren't the ones on the worst fans list.  We don't wear shirts that say "West f'n Virginia" and we don't spell "Virginia" as "Virgina" as the 'eers love to do on national TV.

The best part is he couldn't properly spell Marshall.

If ESPN wins this, it'd be awful.

ESPN is like the Huntington slumlord...he'll buy your property and "promise" to look after it...in reality will do nothing and let the property fall apart. Same with espn...they want CUSA simply to make sure nobody else does! Afraid CUSA will actually be tough and could draw a crowd.