Apple has emerged as a leading contender for Pac-12 media rights; Nickelodeon will air an alternate presentation of Super Bowl 58. Plus: NCAA volleyball will get an NFL lead-in on FOX and more.
Apple deal emerges as top option for Pac-12
Pac-12 presidents and chancellors were presented with “several options” for a new media rights deal at a meeting Tuesday, of which a potential agreement with Apple has emerged as the leading contender, according to ESPN. The Apple deal would be “relatively short term” and start at a “relatively low” rights fee, with subscription-based incentives that could bring said fee to parity with other Power 5 leagues.
While Apple is the leader in the clubhouse, no deal has been reached. Per ESPN, questions remain about the potential impact on the conference’s finances and exposure. The conference is expected to hold another meeting “soon” per CBS Sports. (ESPN 8.1)
Nickelodeon to carry Super Bowl
Nickelodeon will televise an alternate presentation of this year’s Super Bowl 58, it was announced Tuesday, marking the first secondary broadcast of any Super Bowl, excluding Spanish-language broadcasts, since CBS and NBC aired competing coverage of Super Bowl 1. It will also mark the first time the Super Bowl has ever aired on an English-language cable network (ESPN Deportes and Fox Deportes have carried the game in past years).
The Nickelodeon simulcast will be the fifth NFL game carried by the children’s television network, following a pair of Wild Card playoff games in the 2020 and 2021 seasons and Christmas Day games this season and last. As with the other games, it will be tailored to Nickelodeon’s young audience with an emphasis on virtual graphics and the network’s decades-old signature slime. (CBS Sports PR)
FOX to air NCAA volleyball adjacent to NFL
The FOX broadcast network will carry a regular season NCAA women’s volleyball match on October 29, an NFL Sunday, it was announced Tuesday. In markets receiving an early NFL game on FOX, Minnesota-Wisconsin will air immediately afterward at 4:45 PM ET. Markets receiving a late NFL game will see Ohio State-Michigan at 2 PM. NFL lead-ins generally result in seven-figure audiences regardless of the event. Both matches will also air on FS2.
In addition to the FOX match, the NCAA women’s volleyball national championship is set to air on ABC in December. (Fox Sports PR)
Auerbach, Breen, U.S. Open
NBC Sports has hired college football reporter Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic to serve as an insider on its college football studio show, per the New York Post. … ESPN NBA play-by-play voice Mike Breen told the New York Post Tuesday that he is saddened and surprised by the firings of longtime colleagues Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson. Breen called 17-straight NBA Finals alongside Van Gundy and 15 of 17 alongside Jackson. … ABC is set to carry three hours of US Open tennis coverage over Labor Day weekend, marking the first time since CBS last held rights in 2014 that any portion of the tournament has aired on broadcast television. (NYP 8.1 a, b; ESPN PR)
