Big Ten media rights negotiations are finally nearing an end and ESPN looks like it will be the odd network out.
Sports Business Journal reported Monday that CBS and NBC are expected to split the remaining Big Ten media rights, joining incumbent Fox Sports in a three-network rotation that would include a weekly Noon ET game on FOX, 3:30 PM game on CBS and primetime game on NBC. ESPN, which has carried Big Ten games dating back to 1982, would be left out. No deal with CBS or NBC has been finalized and ESPN continues to negotiate, but a final agreement could be announced as soon as this week.
The Big Ten would be the first “Power 5” conference without an ESPN deal in the BCS era (1998-present).
Per New York Post reporter Andrew Marchand, CBS would pay about $350 million per year for its package of mid-afternoon Big Ten games, a staggering increase over the $55 million/year it currently pays for SEC games in the same 3:30 PM ET timeslot (plus a primetime game and the SEC Championship) — and higher than the $300 million/year ESPN will pay for that same package of SEC games starting in 2024.
A ballpark figure for NBC was not immediately available. In addition to primetime games on the NBC broadcast network, select games would reportedly air on Peacock. There was no word on whether games would air on the CBS streaming service Paramount+. FOX, as in its current deal, will continue to distribute games through FS1 and Big Ten Network.
In addition to pushing ESPN out of the Big Ten business, CBS and NBC would also hold off Amazon, which also bid on the rights.
It was not immediately clear how the potential new media rights arrangement would affects sports other than football, though CBS already owns rights to Big Ten basketball games and the weeknight ESPN inventory could presumably be picked up by FS1 or BTN.
[News from Sports Business Journal 8.8, Marchand/Twitter 8.8]
