the merger. They have a ton of resources and really put a lot into it now. Much more than Scout alone or the old 247 did. The old 247 was hardly anything but compiling everyone else's stuff. Rivals doesn't have the manpower and doesn't really care. They kind of piggyback or don't care. ESPN is just biased.
They're also respecting BYU more. When BYU offers a kid or they get a commitment, it might take 247 a while, but they take notice and go back to re-evaluate the kid. There were a bunch of no-name guys last year who got well-deserved bumps after re-evaluation.
But yeah, especially early, a bunch of it still depends on hitting the camps. That's why someone like Moea'i keeps dropping. It's why Jacob Smith was well-rated on Rivals, but nowhere else (because the only thing he did was go to one Rivals camp). If you don't go to camps and put yourself out there with contact to media, you'll be left behind for a bit.
But 247 has done a good job of taking notice when kids get offers, and realize they should go back and take a look for re-evaluation, or the first evaluation for a kid period. They obviously can't get to everyone all at once, but they've done a better job lately and it depends on garnering some attention.