Of course, it will backfire, as will all televised sports not called NFL, and most other forms of entertainment. Streaming doesn't work as a business plan, that is clear.
Rutgers is in the Big 10 because the Big 10 Network, AKA Fox, outsmarted everyone else, which is a pretty common thing Fox does. All of the conference specific networks have an in-market and out-of-market rate. The Big 10 then added Rutgers and Maryland to pick up those markets, even though 99% of people in the NYC DMA, including those who live in New Jersey, could not care less about Rutgers.
Which bring me back to the point. Numbers are nice, but it is not everything. If you think Boston College occupies the same place in the minds of Bostonians as Alabama does in the minds of Birmingham; you need to spend some time in Birmingham. Or just watch Finebaum. Fact is that college football is a creature of the forgotten, fly over, or bluntly red places. While 1% of NYC is a whole lot more than 1% of Birmingham, or Columbus, or Kansas City, or Raleigh, the point is I can get 25 or 30% of those places, contrasted to the 1% in the northeast.