The University of Hawaii earned $1,188 more from its Oceanic Time Warner contract in 2011 than 2010, but nobody is saying whether it will be the last pay-per-view check the Warriors will cash for a while.
Overall, UH said it took in $2,454,063 in rights fees on its deal with Oceanic from its final season as a Western Athletic Conference football member.
Beginning July 1, 2012, UH will become a member of the Mountain West Conference in football and officials at both the school and conference say it is too early to know if pay-per-view will continue.
“We’re still working with the Mountain West to see what the PPV situation looks like for this upcoming season,” said Jim Donovan, UH athletic director. “I wouldn’t care to guess what the future will be.”
Unless superseded by the MWC TV contract with CBS College Sports and Comcast, UH’s deal with Oceanic runs through 2014 and guarantees UH at least $2.3 million annually. UH can earn more based on sales.
For 2011, UH slightly exceeded 2010 PPV revenue despite a football record that plummeted to 6-7 from 10-4.
According to figures released by UH, the sale of pay-per-view season passes rose by 155 in 2011 to 6,193, while individual orders dropped to 9,139 from 13,094.
Officials speculated that because of the high expectations for UH in 2011, when the Warriors were picked to win the WAC by coaches and media, season packages sold well while individual sales slowed as the team began to struggle.
In addition, Oceanic president Bob Barlow said, “(In 2010) we gave rebates to customers (on the season-ticket PPV packages) for the Boise State game (ESPN picked this game up) and for another game that had technical difficulties. That would account for the revenue difference.”
UH football had a nearly $1.2-million shortfall at the box office, taking in $3,843,542, according to unaudited figures, compared to the $5 million that had been budgeted.