ESPN had the gall to put most of its best college football products on cable — the College Football Playoff, the Rose Bowl, and so on — in part because Fox’s presentation of the BCS, from 2006 through 2009, was so panned by regular viewers. Remember all the catcalls for the constant shots of the marching bands? Fox now has a big chunk of the college football broadcast rights — top Big 12, Pac 12 and Big Ten games are on the network — but there remains a sense that ESPN just does college football a little better. I think it’s kept some leagues as more loyal customers than they should have been; some of the early Big Ten games on ESPNWhatever are average-to-poor productions. But ESPN’s name attached to college football is still a factor.

Another factor is whether the streaming experience could consistently, universally compete with the dependable cable experience. I’m not technologically savvy enough to say “absolutely” it could all the time, with the same volume of viewers that now watch Ohio State-Michigan on cable. I get the sense, right now, it wouldn’t. Glitches and momentary freezes are annoying with TV shows, but manageable. They’d be a nightmare in live sports if they happened often. Sports fans watch sporting events alongside reading their Twitter feed on the phone. That’s how it rolls. Fans have been ticked at me for explaining a play live — in the stadium — in the second before they see it on TV. That’s how slim the margin is. A game-winning kick isn’t the same 17 seconds after it happens.