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I'll just note, it would be egregious if the VT athletic department did not own HokieSports as a trademark and others were using it. But, I also thinks this totally possible.

the current ACC contract is peak stability

Is it though? What's stable about the ACC having zero control of how their media is broadcasted? I do know what you mean. ACC has a check coming in for $X until 2036.

But ESPN can and is currently using sole control of media rights to degrade and destabilize the product. I don't know what responsibilities ESPN is contractually obligated to perform, but I don't think it is a lot. ESPN could have the power and right to move the ACCN to only one cable outlet and keep the ACC off of any national broadcasts. I would not suggest that's stable.

ESPN has never been the world-wide leader in sports if they never featured international/European soccer and cricket. And I don't think I need to agree with ESPN's self-proclaimed label or otherwise anoint someone else as leader. But my point was not about which media entity provides the most broadcasting of sports, but who controls how sports are broadcasted.

My comment was more referring to the fact that MLB is saying to ESPN that that they are not the one leading the charge on national broadcasting of MLB anymore and signaling they are not leader in sports broadcasting they once were. ESPN was leading how MLB was nationally broadcasted from the 80s-2010s as their platform nationalized baseball more than any other platform. This move by MLB is them saying they don't need ESPN to have successful national broadcasting. MLB has set themselves up to dictate how their media is to be nationalized, where it broadcasted, when it is broadcasted, etc. And a lot of that has to do with the advances of streaming media, the decline of cable, and MLB motivation to take back control of their media.

While I agree this was a "mutual decision" in which ESPN did not agree to MLB's higher prices, it's a major paradigm shift for ESPN to not be the premier broadcaster of the second most popular professional sport in the U.S. (which also has major appeal in Latin America and Asia). MLB is definitely turning their back to ESPN (right now) and looking to move in another direction for national broadcasting. If ESPN wants to broadcast baseball, they will need to be more agreeable to MLB terms.

As far as the ACC goes, they have zero control of their media rights. ESPN has sole control. That's the key issue that ACC needs to address (and the point of the OP). Unfortunately, I don't think they have the legal means to take back control. So, they have nothing to learn from this MLB decision (except this further exemplifies the shortsighted leadership of the ACC and what not to do with your media rights).

...who would you say is the "Worldwide Leader" in sports now?

crackstreams ;^)

Reporting is that ESPN was not going to pick up the option at the $550m/yr amount, so this was a "mutual opt-out" , but only because MLB wouldn't agree to a lower amount, which is certainly their right. You are correct that it's not a one to one, but it's not MLB taking their ball, and going home, like it's being portrayed in this thread.

I don't really watch ESPN for anything besides live games, but who would you say is the "Worldwide Leader" in sports now? I guess maybe just social media/Youtube in general? I don't think any of the other networks are bigger. ESPN definitely has a smaller share, but I think it's still the biggest share? It's a good question.

MLB is shifting their broadcasting pretty significantly on a few fronts. With the success of the MLB app, they are looking to move things more national but also more controlled by MLB. Regional stations have been on decline for a long time and are hurting pretty much every baseball team not in NYC or LA. And they may be moving all regional games to a MLB-lead platform.

They are trying to expand viewership nationally (more national games like Sunday Night Baseball). I'm sure they would like to have used the ESPN platform, but if ESPN is not pushing the MLB games as well as MLB would like, then MLB needs to find better national broadcasting. We'll see where they go from here. I wouldn't be surprised to see them more into the national streaming platforms.

Sunday Night baseball was a staple. Monday night and Wednesday baseball used to also be staples on ESPN, but those were already downgraded by the media company.

A few years ago, it was 3 nights a week. I think it was down to one night a week last year (or last few years). And now it's zero.

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It is literally the only good thing about our contract, but it is a good thing.

Depends on the project and which side, Contracting or Engineering?

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RIB?