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Mr. Williams sees a glass half empty, at best.
I think he has overlooked some factors that should be discussed.
Yes, NFL rights are rising. But the burden will be shared by more media outlets. Imagine one network buying all of the NFL content. How will they monetize all 272 regular season games in 18 weeks? "It takes a village." Not everyone will prosper, but many are willing to try. The cost of the content is actually painless to the ones who are making a profit. They will not be inhibited from buying more content to fill "non-NFL" days of the week and weeks of the year. Even the lower performing networks my be motivated to buy NCAA (and other) content to make up for NFL underperformance. So if NFL gets expensive, college sports must take a haircut... I don't think so. TV needs more than The NFL can provide. College sports will continue to get strong competitive bids.
Realignment predictions seem to always be set in the year 2030. That will be perhaps the busiest year ever for movement, for obvious reasons. But I could imagine some very strategic, intentional early moves before the dam breaks. Exit fees be damned.
Mr. Williams reports that The NFL is exploring a Sunday morning package (9:00am). Don't rule-out a similar college window on Saturday morning. Remember, a game that starts in Atlanta at 9am will be seen live in London at 2pm, in Berlin at 3pm, and in Dubai at 5pm. This may be the audience that finally lifts streaming services into profitability.
Why is streaming still losing money? They are offering their services at below-cost rates while they wait for cable companies to die. ESPN and Fox One even bundled their respective packages at humbling rates. But in the US market I think cable still has some good years ahead of it. In 2023, the B1G expansion year, cable subs actually increased a little. The next year, OUT to The SEC, subs decreased very minimally. Cord cutting is still a reality, but most of the remaining subscribers seem to be live sports viewers who see no reason to adopt streaming. Watch out for CBS who is in the same stable, now, as TNT, TBS, and TRU; all sports cable carriers. I anticipate vicious predation.
Thread Replies (6)
JW: Why College Football Realignment May Be Slowing Down
-- RandomAsianGuy
Apr 29, 2026 at 12:18 AM ET
RandomAsianGuy
•
04/29/26 12:18 AM ET
I think the US college industry is going to be on its heals in 5 years
-- MrBayAreaHokie
Apr 30, 2026 at 11:06 PM ET
MrBayAreaHokie
•
04/30/26 11:06 PM ET
Totally agree....the value of a college degree is about to plummet
-- SMU Pony
May 04, 2026 at 06:09 PM ET
SMU Pony
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05/04/26 06:09 PM ET
you DONT ease up on the pedal
-- 1947Sunbowl
Apr 29, 2026 at 09:19 AM ET
1947Sunbowl
•
04/29/26 09:19 AM ET
Mr. Williams sees a glass half empty, at best.
◄
-- 33laszlo99
Apr 29, 2026 at 08:32 AM ET
33laszlo99
•
04/29/26 08:32 AM ET
I think JW is saying even NFL won't see such high growth. **
-- RandomAsianGuy
Apr 29, 2026 at 12:27 PM ET
RandomAsianGuy
•
04/29/26 12:27 PM ET