early days of ESPN, ACC and ESPN were not a business model but truly relationship, they were making opportunities, seeing great events to show. They assumed the viewers would follow. but like anything Rights escalated, and when ESPN/ABC and merged with disney, there started to be factors of return on investment. the new guys were movie folks, and were not based on relationships. The same folks saw the rights things getting out of hand... (especially with pressure from traditional cable, satellite industry. Simply now ESPN managed by return on investment for entertainment, not sports. Therefore they see a better investment in funding full SEC, their drama their passion, and their huge sports industry in the sunbelt, was much better. Then they invested in getting the rights for CFB championship, and being able in content to manage the perceptions to only the SEC football is good, (because its the only sports network) or Fox who give rights to colleges. The other conferences are left taking whatever is left, (possibly in future gyrations less rights), and the schools have really no choice. Actually fox has the same mentality, with the Big 10 and Notre dame is ND. The rest hanging. and if either network see any flatlines in tTV revenue, they might push conferences for expansion. My gut all the major transactions in this phase is done, for a year or two....ESPN wants to know their investment in the SEC is worth it, and they get superior product in the expanded playoffs. Fox needs to see how this 18 team Big 10 works with an broad national football print and how does it translate into enhanced revenue. (and to the Big 10, outsourced some games to NBC/ NBC might have the margin, ND (national brand) and the Big 10 game of the week (when ND is away in ACC game. (also for ESPN, the only value of the ACC, is they get viewers when ND plays an ACC team. Real cynical, but it is . dont worry about it . the rest of us just need to work harder, be more creative on revenue streams, hire and keep top notch coaches who want to be rogue to the Big 10 for SEC, as well as type of players who want to stick it to the SEC/Big 10 programs