The Big Ten is close to TV deals in which the conference would make more than $1 billion.
SBJ Media’s John Ourand first reported the news.
Barring a last-minute change of direction, ESPN will be not carry Big Ten games for the first time in 40 years.
SBJ Media is live:https://t.co/p7BVat3fcl
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) August 8, 2022
If all goes to according to plan, ESPN won’t be in the picture.
Although Orund wrote that ESPN is still negotiating with the Big Ten, leaving the possibility of a deal open.
But barring a surprise, ESPN won’t be broadcasting Big Ten football and basketball for the first time in four decades.
Additionally, ABC, which is under the ESPN umbrella, has been broadcasting Big Ten games since 1966.
With this deal,’CBS and NBC would replace the “World Wideleader in Sports” as the Big Ten’s No. 2 TV station behind Fox.
The plan is for the three stations to create a college football triple header. Fox would have the noon games and keep with its “Big Noon Saturday” alive, CBS would have the 3:30 p.m. games— and is expected to pay around $350 million annually for it— and NBC would broadcast the night game.
For what seems like forever, CBS has been synonymous with the SEC. But the conference has moved on and, starting in 2024, will broadcast all of its games on ABC/ESPN and make roughly $300 million to do it.
The SEC will end up making more than double that number, however, thanks to a separate agreement with ESPN that features additionally sports, bringing the SEC’s total payout from the network in the neighborhood of $700 million.
Orund reported that agreements “could be reached by the end of this week or push into next week.”
The current Big Ten media rights deal expires in 2023.
