All the way back in 2008, when the streaming business was just a glimmer in consumers’ eyes and cable television remained perhaps the greatest economic model ever conceived, ESPN outbid Fox by $100 million to win the rights to college football’s Bowl Championship Series, the precursor to today’s CFP. Of course, ESPN won those rights against a mere broadcast network: These were the halcyon days of the brand, which collected billions of dollars in carriage fees from cable and satellite companies that couldn’t live without its channels. ESPN reinvested the revenue in everything from live rights to gleaming new sets, from bold-faced talent to worthy editorial projects like Grantland and 30 for 30. A better flagship product increased the value of the business, in turn.