Business Wars Wondery

It’s the 90s. College football’s a hot mess of untapped profit potential. But two TV execs have an answer. It’s called the Bowl Championship Series and it’ll ignite a rush for the big bucks.

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Pac-12 boss Larry Scott wants a media empire that can outshine the Big Ten. But to do it, he must strong-arm ESPN and then find a way to face down satellite TV giant DirecTV.

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With the College Football Playoff boosting the sport’s worth, the rivalry between the Power 5 conferences is heating up. But as the Big Ten thrives, the Pac-12 will find itself trapped by its past.

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It’s George Kliavkoff’s third week in charge of the Pac-12. But his new job will become a nightmare when the SEC makes a play that’ll send panic through entire the college football scene.

It's 1940 and as Adolph Hitler’s forces storm across Europe, the American army pays a nearly broke U.S. carmaker to develop a lightweight, durable, all-purpose, all-terrain automobile for use in the coming world war. The vehicle that’s created comes to be known as the Jeep and it plays a pivotal role in winning that war. But the Jeep has a bumpy homecoming. And as Americans start spending more time on the road and behind the wheel, they pave the way for the rise of an off-road challenger. It’s made by Ford. And it’s called the Bronco.

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It’s 1965 and as the Bronco bucks onto the market, the Jeep boosts its engine power in hopes of catching up. But by the 1970s, the Jeep’s owner, the American Motor Company, has a new strategy: beat the Bronco by going bigger. AMC introduces the massive Jeep Cherokee, jump starting an arms race. Next, Bronco also goes big. Then, Jeep goes even bigger, and more luxurious, with the Grand Cherokee.




As the 1990s arrive, the rugged Bronco is falling out of favor with consumers. But it spends one more wild moment in the spotlight when a white Bronco leads a low-speed police chase on live television. Its passenger is murder suspect O.J. Simpson.

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