A $300 million Edsel?

[Mitch McConnell]

While there is a lot of handwringing going on about the Longhorn Network, is there anybody who is actually going to have the choice to watch this thing?

It makes its debut on Aug. 26 (I think the network is christened with Texas-Pepperdine volleyball) but I have yet to read a story where any cable outlet or satellite provider has picked this up. Maybe I missed something.

But think about it. This will appeal to a finite audience. There are 300 million people in this country. Maybe 2-3 million (who knows if that's close or not) are either alums or fans and will care about this. The balance of the country will not.

If ESPN or whoever else is involved to push this can't convince even a Texas cable company (again I haven't heard if one has even agreed to do it so a little help) to take it, could it be the next aforementioned car or even worse...the cue cat?

[RednBlue11]

i see an ad for LHN just about everyday here in dallas in Time Warner

[goldenstang]

Supposedly these deals are almost always last minute. They are waiting to see if they are going to be able to air a second game. A second game would dramatically change the value of the network. It seems it is in both sides best interest to wait.

[PK]

That would be Edsel...not Edsal.

[friarwolf]

It will be a monumental bust...Even the biggest die-hard horn fan will be hard pressed to spend more than a few hours a week watching it........

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

I've thought the same thing from the beginning. I'm surprised they were ever able to get money behind it.

As much as they like to think so, they don't have a devoted fan base. They are as fair-weathered as they come. Just think about how much less orange you have seen around this spring and summer.

Plus, you can only show so many football and basketball shows - and nobody will watch volleyball, soccer, tennis, in any volume to satisfy advertisers. Non-revenue sports will be mainly friends and family.

Sure they have volume, but a network like the major league baseball network barely registers on the sports landscape, and every single franchise has more fans than the Longhorns have.

[Pony ^]

Don't matter. Texas gets $300 million no matter what, I doubt they care who watches it.

[Pony_Law]

I don't know I think if the programing was done right it could have broad appeal. I'm not a UT fan at all but I would love to see some indepth behind the scenes shows about being a major football program player.

[westexSMU]

I can't imagine the LNW being a big hit on the west or east coast north or south. North of Texas ? I don't think Okie City, Kansas City, St. Louis, or Omaha, Nebraska will be strong markets either. BUT getting a certain private school in the Dallas market, who would play them on their network every year would be helpful.

[skyscraper]

http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-footba ... e-of-texas

The new Longhorn Network is expected to be a cash cow for the University of Texas and ESPN, but no television carrier in the state of Texas has picked it up yet, the Dallas Morning News reports.

That’s not unusual to see carriage deals coming down to the wire, the newspaper reports. Often, cable companies and the network officials haggle over money (re: how much subscriber fees will increase as a result of carrying the network). What is unusual is that not a single carrier has signed up for the network that launches Aug. 26.

"We are still in active discussions," an ESPN spokesperson said.

It would be advantageous for ESPN and Texas to cut at least one deal with a carrier to gain leverage over the rest of the carriers, as the carrier could tout its newfound offering, which could make its competitors cave. But even that hasn’t happened yet.

It’s likely that some carrier will add the network before its launch, the newspaper says, but for right now, ESPN and Texas must be holding their breath.

[Mitch McConnell]

Supposedly these deals are almost always last minute. They are waiting to see if they are going to be able to air a second game. A second game would dramatically change the value of the network. It seems it is in both sides best interest to wait.

Probably but when I was checking orangebloods to see if our fellow alum Chip Brown had any updates, one headline on their chatboard read:

"How do I get the LHN in Austin?''

Pretty funny.

[RednBlue11]

http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2011-08-13/report-longhorn-network-has-zero-carriers-in-state-of-texas

The new Longhorn Network is expected to be a cash cow for the University of Texas and ESPN, but no television carrier in the state of Texas has picked it up yet, the Dallas Morning News reports.

That’s not unusual to see carriage deals coming down to the wire, the newspaper reports. Often, cable companies and the network officials haggle over money (re: how much subscriber fees will increase as a result of carrying the network). What is unusual is that not a single carrier has signed up for the network that launches Aug. 26.

"We are still in active discussions," an ESPN spokesperson said.

It would be advantageous for ESPN and Texas to cut at least one deal with a carrier to gain leverage over the rest of the carriers, as the carrier could tout its newfound offering, which could make its competitors cave. But even that hasn’t happened yet.

It’s likely that some carrier will add the network before its launch, the newspaper says, but for right now, ESPN and Texas must be holding their breath.

GREAT gif you got there

[skyscraper]

GREAT gif you got there

Thx. Found it a few months ago, finally decided to roll it out now that gameday is approaching.