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Big Ten on verge of $1 billion in TV deals that will exclude ESPN for first time in 40 years

M

Mikey Radio

nypost.com

Big Ten on verge of $1 billion in TV deals that will exclude ESPN

The Big Ten is on the cusp of television deals that are expected to pay it in excess of $1 billion and create a college football triple-header featuring Fox, CBS and NBC, The Post has confirmed.
nypost.com nypost.com
The Big Ten is on the cusp of television deals that are expected to pay it in excess of $1 billion and create a college football triple-header featuring Fox, CBS and NBC, The Post has confirmed. If the agreement goes through, ESPN will be out of the business of Big Ten football and basketball for the first time in 40 years.
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The Saturday format would likely be Fox with the noon kickoff followed by CBS in the late afternoon and NBC in prime time. Sources told The Post that CBS is expected to pay in the neighborhood of $350 million per year for the 3:30 p.m. game.

This will replace the SEC, which will be moving all its games to ABC/ESPN in a deal that pays the SEC around $300 million for its top football games beginning in 2024. ESPN and the SEC have a separate agreement that encompasses more football and other sports that brings the SEC number to around $700 million. If these deals go through, then next up will be the Pac-12, which ESPN likes because of its late night windows. The Big 12 is out there, as well, which could be a fight between ESPN and Fox. Amazon and Apple have shown interest in getting in the college football game, as well.
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I wonder if this will mean virtual cancellation of the Big Ten on ESPN's SportsCenter -- highlights buried deep in the show, analysis limited to nonexistent -- the way ESPN treated the NHL for years after it left the Disney "family" for Versus, which eventually turned into a deal with NBC. I'd imagine the emphasis on the SEC and other conferences still with ongoing ESPN contracts will be significant.
 
CTListener said:
I wonder if this will mean virtual cancellation of the Big Ten on ESPN's SportsCenter -- highlights buried deep in the show, analysis limited to nonexistent -- the way ESPN treated the NHL for years after it left the Disney "family" for Versus, which eventually turned into a deal with NBC. I'd imagine the emphasis on the SEC and other conferences still with ongoing ESPN contracts will be significant.
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nah, because ESPN has the more important College Football Playoffs and Big Ten teams will make the playoffs so ESPN has no choice but to cover them cause they aren't gonna tick off the NCAA and this is not a NASCAR or NHL situation where the sport is ignored completely cause ESPN didn't have TV rights (ESPN stopped caring for NASCAR the moment they lost to NBC Sports for the second half of the season rights and ESPN didn't cared for NHL until NHL returned to their network starting with the 2021-2022 NHL Season).
 
If this goes through it will answer the question of what conference CBS will carry once they lose the SEC. Also it will finally give NBC more college games than just Notre Dame, and this would make it where there will be Saturday night games on 3 of the Big 4 networks, unless CBS possibly makes some sort of deal for another conference for Saturday night games.
 
The NHL deal with ESPN sucks! You only get 25 games live on ESPN or ABC with the rest airing on ESPN+! I know that the Turner deal is more palatable, since you get 55 games on TBS and TNT. At least I can watch that.
 
blackgold said:
The NHL deal with ESPN sucks! You only get 25 games live on ESPN or ABC with the rest airing on ESPN+! I know that the Turner deal is more palatable, since you get 55 games on TBS and TNT. At least I can watch that.
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ESPN+ is the new NHL Center Ice. That's where the local broadcasts are.
 
nomadcowatbk said:
How does Lorne Michaels feel about long running games pushing SNL late?
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My guess us that NBC's prime time Big 10 games will kick off at 7:05 or 7:35 P.M. ET, so if NBC still programs the 10-11 P.M. ET hour, "SNL" probably would still start on time.

On the other hand, I recall a few years ago, NBC had an outdoor NHL game in Annapolis, Maryland on a Saturday night which ran late (thanks to an injury that stopped the game for several minutes). The game telecast was cut off at 10:59 P.M. EST so that late local news in the East and "Saturday Night Live" could both start on time.

Supposedly, the game ended at 11:06.

I heard an urban legend that NBC did this because "SNL" executive producer Lorne Michaels had point-blank told NBC executives that if "SNL" didn't start on time, he was going to send everybody home and that there would be no show that week.

If this story is true (I don't know if is) and had I been in his position, I would have said "Game running late? 'SNL' will likely start at 11:36? No problem! I'll just tell everyone we'll start six minutes late".
 
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nickp said:
We could also see the end of the Big Ten/ACC challenge in basketball
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Not necessarily.

But what will likely occur is that ESPN will carry those ACC/Big 10 Challenge games where an ACC school is the home team, and perhaps Fox or CBS (on a Saturday afternoon) or FS1 (if a prime time game) carrying those ACC/Big 10 Challenge games where the Big 10 school is the home team.
 
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