re: The Big 12 is in better condition than we think

For all of your intelligence and the MBA you bought you are completely missing the mark. College sports networks are not competing with HGTV and the Kardashians. How many college football fans watch the Kardashians? From about August to February the SEC network has more than enough of a target market to make money and drive ad sales. The SEC network allows advertisers in cetain markets to drill their target market with ads for 6-7 months out of the year. Throw in basketball which is getting better in the SEC and that tacks on another couple of months.

Have you ever heard of creating a niche? Millions of businesses make millions of dollars off of "niche" markets.

ESPN already had the infrastructure in place so the cost was rather small and the return is terrific. The network is doing exactly what it was designed to do.