something may or may not have happened before does not invalidate his premise. Anybody that has watched TV sports with goofy start times for events to ignoring local weather forecasts to pairings that seem made for TV, all even before considering the "golden rule", knows that TV, the guy paying the bills, calls the shots. This is probably true for all sports with the exception of the 800 pound gorilla known as the NFL. It should also be noted their success and power, while certainly attributable to the product, is also grounded in their foresight to spread it around as opposed to granting monopoly power to a single media entity. When the the NFL says jump, the Mouse(ESPN) says how high, a stark contrast to some of ESPN's other media relationships.