Along the same lines, I do not think ESPN is motivated to kill off the other conferences and make it a P2. I see very little motivation for that, certainly not at the cost it would take. Most agree they would want the content that an expanded Big 12 would provide, and at a discount. But people that think relegating the Big 12 to a level locked out of the playoff is good because it can be "bargain" content are missing a pretty major point. At that point it would be cheap content, not bargain content, because it would be damn near worthless. Viewership will tank over what it is now.
It seems for ESPN, the ultimate would be keep it at a P3, or P4 while ACC is around while getting rights to the Big 12 at something like $30M per team. Having teams that get watched pretty well that are part of the top tier for $30M a team might actually be considered a bargain. Then you have the SEC, Big 12 and ACC, and Fox has Big 10. Then they can basically run the CFP show, which is really the big fish here. When the ACC eventually implodes, the better teams get divvied up, and you are at a P3.
It was one thing when ESPN wanted OU and UT. The AAC thing was a stupid idea that I can't believe anyone at ESPN thought would work, but it looked like the quickest, most cost effective way to get OU and UT.
Where things stand now, the top priority by a mile, and nothing is close, for ESPN is to maximize the value of the CFP. They have cranked up the value of their regular season product. Fracturing college football and dumping a bunch of teams out doesn't boost CFP value. I would argue it loses fans and devalues it, but the extent of that (if at all) can be argued.
As much as I hate to say it, I think it makes the most sense for the Big 12 to get in bed with ESPN. My opinion is that playoff access (and particularly an autobid in and expanded playoff) is a necessity for the league to retain value. There's probably not an amount an Amazon or Apple are going to pay you per team that would offset the loss in value in the long-run if your league is relegated out of playoff access.
I think the "out of the box" thinking from Yormark is not going to be what people think. It's not going to be deviating from traditional networks to squeeze out a few more millions per team. It might be as simple as securing markets (Four corners additions), then leveraging the position as a nice value product for ESPN with growth potential if they have an autobid to an 8 or 12 team playoff.