The Big Ten’s stunning additions of USC and UCLA are already having an impact on the conference’s closely-watched media rights talks.
The announcement Thursday that USC and UCLA will leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten — news that was first broken early Thursday by Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury-News — has shaken up negotiations for the remaining Big Ten media rights, according to Sports Business Journal. Per SBJ, prospective bidders were sent scrambling “back to the drawing board” in the wake of the news.
Apple, which was reportedly not considered a serious bidder as late as Thursday morning, is said to have contacted the Big Ten soon after the news broke to reenter talks.
Fox Sports has already reached an extension to maintain its portion of the Big Ten rights, but the remaining inventory is up for grabs. CBS, which owns some Big Ten basketball rights, has long been viewed as a contender for a package of football games that would essentially take the place of its expiring SEC deal. The Big Ten is expected to split its rights three ways, with SBJ listing Amazon, ESPN and NBC as the primary contenders for the third package.
The shift of USC and UCLA to the Big Ten is just the latest blockbuster from the world of college realignment. Oklahoma and Texas last year announced they will move to the SEC, with recent reports indicating that the move may occur in 2024 — a year earlier than initially reported.
As one would expect, the loss of USC and UCLA figures to have a significant impact on the Pac-12’s media rights as well. Like the Big Ten, the Pac-12’s new deal goes into effect in 2024.
