Recapping recent developments in Pac-12 and Big Ten media rights negotiations. Plus: an update on NFL Sunday Ticket rights, ESPN’s Monday Night Football roster and more.
Pac-12 future hinges on ESPN deal; Big Ten to get richer
The Pac-12 is in the midst of an exclusive 30-day negotiating window with incumbent rights partners ESPN and Fox Sports, but only the former is expected to bid on the rights, according to reporter John Canzano. The conference moved up its rights negotiations earlier this month in the wake of USC and UCLA’s pending departures to the Big Ten. Per the San Jose Mercury-News — which broke the news of USC and UCLA’s move — the Pac-12 could take months to determine its next steps in the event that its rights hit the open market.
Meanwhile, the additions of USC and UCLA could drive up the Big Ten’s annual rights fee as much as 25 percent compared to what the conference would have otherwise garnered, Front Office Sports reported this week. Per Sports Business Journal, ESPN and NBC are among the companies that have become “more aggressive” in bidding on the conference’s rights in the wake of the move, joining CBS and Amazon as realistic bidders. Apple, which was said to have rekindled talks with the Big Ten last week, is no longer a contender.
A potential deal between NBC and the Big Ten could result in Notre Dame joining the conference, radio host Dan Patrick reported on his eponymous show Friday.
[Canzano 7.13, Mercury-News 7.15, Front Office Sports 7.13, Sports Business Journal 7.12]
NFL Sunday Ticket rights reportedly down to Amazon, Apple
Rights fees for NFL Sunday Ticket could rise to as high as $3 billion per year, effectively pricing out ESPN and leaving Amazon and Apple as the only bidders, the industry website Puck reported Thursday. The league is not expected to entertain putting Sunday Ticket on its new streaming service. Apple is considered the favorite, per the report. [Puck 7.13]
ESPN officially names Levy, Riddick, to secondary MNF team
ESPN officially announced this week that Steve Levy, Louis Riddick and Dan Orlovsky will form the secondary broadcast team on Monday Night Football this season. The trio, which will be joined by Laura Rutledge on the sidelines, will call both of ESPN’s preseason games, Titans-Bills in Week 2, the Broncos-Jaguars game from London in Week 8, and one game of ESPN/ABC’s Week 18 doubleheader.
Levy and Riddick were part of ESPN’s primary MNF team the past two years and prior to that were part of the secondary team in 2019.
In other MNF news, ESPN is expected to name Robert Griffin III the replacement for Randy Moss on “Monday Night Countdown,” the New York Post reported this week. [ESPN PR, NYP 7.11]
Plus: ESPN+ price, Erdahl & Dell, Berry, Gottleb
The monthly price of ESPN+ is rising to $10 per month, a sharp increase over the current $7/month fee. The annual price will be $100, up from $70. … NFL Network officially announced this week the hiring of CBS college football reporter Jamie Erdahl as the new host of “Good Morning Football.” Erdahl will leave CBS for her new role, with Jenny Dell replacing her on SEC games. … ESPN fantasy football host Matthew Berry left the company this week and per the New York Post is expected to join NBC Sports. … Fox Sports radio host Doug Gottlieb has been sued by Casey Close, former agent of Dodgers 1B Freddy Freeman, for defamation. Gottlieb said on social media last month that Close failed to inform Freeman about a contract offer by his former team the Braves before he signed with L.A. … [CNBC 7.15, network PR, NYP 7.12, ESPN.com 7.14]
