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The Big Ten is poised to deliver a stunner
DerekJohnson
Administrator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 62,673 
By Nicole Auerbach
Aug 8, 2022
141
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The Big Ten is poised to deliver a stunner when it finalizes its media rights negotiations at some point in the coming days. ESPN is not expected to land one of the Big Ten’s packages, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations confirmed to The Athletic.
In addition to Fox, which had locked up Big Ten rights months ago, the conference is likely to partner with both CBS and NBC. Such deals, if finalized, could result in the following Saturday slate: a noon ET game on Fox, a 3:30 p.m. ET game on CBS and primetime on NBC. Multiple sources involved in the negotiations have reiterated over the past month that the Big Ten has prioritized those windows throughout the process.
Sports Business Journal,, which first reported the developments, reported Tuesday that ESPN had officially pulled out of Big Ten negotiations after saying no to the conference’s final offer of a seven-year deal worth $380 million per year. The news is undoubtedly historic. ESPN has carried Big Ten football and basketball games for the last 40 years; it has shared rights with Fox in the current deal, which is set to expire in 2023.
The Big Ten is also expected to add a streaming package, a source told The Athletic, though it is not yet clear how it will be structured and whether or not Amazon or Apple will be involved. Both companies have significantly increased their investment in live sports programming in the past year. Another streaming candidate under consideration is Peacock, which is already part of NBC’s offerings, a different source said.
Here’s what we know about the potential options:
How ESPN losing the Big Ten impacts its battle with Fox
If the Big Ten were to move on from ESPN, this would add quite a bit of fuel to the fire brewing between ESPN and Fox. ESPN has exclusive rights to the SEC, and Fox would have primary rights to the Big Ten — so, the rivals would each be backing a different horse as the two 16-team conferences are set to pull away from their peers by the end of the decade. What could that mean for programming decisions? Framing? Future media rights tied to an expanded College Football Playoff?
Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren opposed early efforts to expand the CFP last winter, in part because CFP expansion prior to the end of the current contract (which expires in 2026) meant that ESPN would have an exclusive negotiating window. Warren has long advocated for the CFP to have multiple media partners, which many in the industry have taken to mean Fox getting involved.
Aug 8, 2022
141
Save Article
The Big Ten is poised to deliver a stunner when it finalizes its media rights negotiations at some point in the coming days. ESPN is not expected to land one of the Big Ten’s packages, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations confirmed to The Athletic.
In addition to Fox, which had locked up Big Ten rights months ago, the conference is likely to partner with both CBS and NBC. Such deals, if finalized, could result in the following Saturday slate: a noon ET game on Fox, a 3:30 p.m. ET game on CBS and primetime on NBC. Multiple sources involved in the negotiations have reiterated over the past month that the Big Ten has prioritized those windows throughout the process.
Sports Business Journal,, which first reported the developments, reported Tuesday that ESPN had officially pulled out of Big Ten negotiations after saying no to the conference’s final offer of a seven-year deal worth $380 million per year. The news is undoubtedly historic. ESPN has carried Big Ten football and basketball games for the last 40 years; it has shared rights with Fox in the current deal, which is set to expire in 2023.
The Big Ten is also expected to add a streaming package, a source told The Athletic, though it is not yet clear how it will be structured and whether or not Amazon or Apple will be involved. Both companies have significantly increased their investment in live sports programming in the past year. Another streaming candidate under consideration is Peacock, which is already part of NBC’s offerings, a different source said.
Here’s what we know about the potential options:
How ESPN losing the Big Ten impacts its battle with Fox
If the Big Ten were to move on from ESPN, this would add quite a bit of fuel to the fire brewing between ESPN and Fox. ESPN has exclusive rights to the SEC, and Fox would have primary rights to the Big Ten — so, the rivals would each be backing a different horse as the two 16-team conferences are set to pull away from their peers by the end of the decade. What could that mean for programming decisions? Framing? Future media rights tied to an expanded College Football Playoff?
Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren opposed early efforts to expand the CFP last winter, in part because CFP expansion prior to the end of the current contract (which expires in 2026) meant that ESPN would have an exclusive negotiating window. Warren has long advocated for the CFP to have multiple media partners, which many in the industry have taken to mean Fox getting involved.
Comments
Never watched either, except the last 4-5 minutes of Game Day before it switches over to a game.