Conference revenue discussion

https://csnbbs.com/thread-852698.html

why are ACC schools trailing so much in total revenue?

Is it in the ticket sales? Not really.
ACC teams aren't among the top in ticket sales, but many of them can hang with the likes of Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Florida.

The average ticket sales for the top 60 teams is $22.8M; the ACC average (for the public schools) is $20.8M -- a difference of only $2M.

Is it in the donations? No again.
There are a couple of top 10 teams in the donations category, and several ACC schools do well here.

The average donations for the top 60 teams is $25.5M; the ACC average (for the public schools) is $25.5M -- ACC teams are slightly ahead of the average, in fact.

No, it's the rights and licensing!
The average rights and licensing revenue for the top 60 teams is $46.6M; the ACC average (for the public schools) is $37.7M -- an $8.9M gap!

Auburn gets about $24 million more than Clemson.
Kentucky gets $31 million more than Louisville.
That's CRAZY!

Keep in mind that a big chunk of this is TV revenue, though there is some radio, apparel, etc. mixed in as well. The ACC Network should make up most of the average gap; individual schools will need to negotiate better-paying apparel deals, etc. on their own.

For data tables, click here.



Okay, so you've accounted for roughly 11 million out of a 43 million dollar gap. Where you are fouling up is on your averages for the top 60 teams. The SEC places 10 or 11 of their 14 within the top 20. So by expanding your averages to prove your point you mitigate the higher numbers of the SEC and Big 10 by averaging the top 60 schools. That's a nice trick but it is a fundamentally flawed method.

I'm sorry Mark, I really like a lot of your stuff, but this one is either totally naive, or the biggest gloss I've read in quite sometime. You easily eliminated 20 million of the 43 million dollar gap with the averages which deflated SEC numbers (mostly top 20) to make ACC numbers (mostly below the 40th position) look better. And by averaging only the ACC public schools (about half of the conference) you even elevate the ACC numbers more.

I'm not sure what this exercise is good for as it doesn't alter the reality, nor does it even explain, the very real differences.

And another big error in math that is glossed is that you averaged ticket costs, but you didn't account for a massive difference in venue size and actual attendance. 77,500 (average attendance in the SEC) x the ticket price is a lot more than 49,900 (average attendance in the ACC). And by averaging the ticket costs of the top 60 you again mitigate the costs of tickets for the top 20. Ditto on the donations.


You are still missing my point Mark. I agree with your comparisons on rights and licensing. But that accounts for 9 million. What I saw as flawed were donation and ticket sales comparisons. There's even more disparity there. But you can't take an average of the top 60 because the preponderance of ACC schools (even the public schools) is in the lower third and the preponderance of the SEC schools is in the top 1/3rd. You compare the ACC's deficit to the average. You can't do that because your totals drag the average way down. You can average the ACC schools and compare them to the average SEC school's ticket prices, or even donations, if you want a fair comparison. Or you can do that with regard to any of the other conferences. But you drastically reduce your actual deficits by comparing the ACC to an average which already includes your deficient numbers.

That's a methodology problem for both ticket prices because the top 20 schools get much more for them, and for donations again where he top 20 schools demand much higher required donations before you can even purchase tickets. On the lower third the skewing downward is even greater than say what Virginia Tech might receive. Some schools practically give away end zone and upper deck tickets. In the SEC even those sell for full price and require donations for the right to purchase them.

Yes there is a big difference in licensing contract totals. But the difference that separates the SEC from the Big 10 is in donation and ticket sales where we average 11,000 more in attendance per home game and where outside of Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State we have larger venues and therefore more ticket sales.

So I'm not taking exception to your main point, but rather against you saying that ticket sales (not prices per se) and donations do play a very significant role in the total revenue picture. And then even after that ticket prices from the lower 1/3rd compared to the ticket average of all 60 will be nowhere near as significant as compared to the top 1/3rd which after all is why there is such a great disparity. Taking that approach reduces gap by 50% for schools in the lower 1/3rd. So a 2 million dollar gap is probably a 6 million dollar gap from the top 1/3rd instead of a 2 million gap from the average of all 60.

There is 43 million to account for. So take away the difference in TV revenue alone (40.9 for the SEC - 28 for the ACC = ~ 13 million.

Licensing revenue difference= 9 million

Ticket sales in actuality (not against the average)= ~6 million

Thats 28 million right there. Donations will account for a good bit more.

But let's return to the ticket sales for a moment. The average for college football (attendance wise) is probably 60,000 which is 17,500 below the SEC average which if multiplied by the ticket prices x the number of games (SEC Ticket $75 x 4, other P school $75 x .5 G5 or less ($60 x 3)) = $300 + 37.5 + 180= $517.50 x 17,500= 9 million plus that is just plain missing from your math.

So the average SEC school using SEC pricing on only the 17500 in attendance which is over the attendance average of all P5 schools accounts for 9 million more than how you calculated the ticket differential and we haven't even given the SEC their full ticket price for the 60,000 figured at the average for all P5 schools. That would likely account for a few million more. Let's say 3 million.

Add that in and you are a lot closer to the 43 million dollar difference.