Big Ten strikes $7 billion TV deal with CBS, FOX, NBC and Peacock

The Big Ten announced today that it has struck a broadcasting deal with CBS, FOX, NBC and NBCUniversal's Peacock. The deal is worth $7 billion, according to the Associated Press, and will run from 2023 through 2030. “The breadth of new partners, in addition to Big Ten Network (BTN) and FS1, will place conference football, women's and men's basketball and Olympic sports student-athletes on the biggest stage and provide fans with the most exciting matchups across traditional over-the-air linear television and direct-to-consumer streaming. These landmark media rights agreements are the most comprehensive in all of college sports and further strengthen the tradition of the Big Ten Conference,” a press release said. "Big Ten Conference football will dominate Saturdays, beginning in the fall of 2023 on the largest broadcast platforms from morning to night, with FOX at Noon ET, CBS at 3:30 p.m. ET and NBC in Prime Time," the release says. Big Ten football games from schools like the University of Michigan and Ohio State University routinely draw large television audiences. Notwithstanding the conference’s name and Midwest roots, the Big Ten now has 14 members across states stretching from New Jersey to Nebraska. USC and UCLA are expected to join the conference in 2024. "The Big Ten Conference media rights agreements are more than just dollars and deals. They are a mechanism to provide stability and maximum exposure for our student-athletes, member institutions and partners during these uncertain times in collegiate athletics," Big Ten Conference Commissioner Kevin Warren said in the release. ESPN’s decision to walk away from the bidding was first reported by the Sports Business Journal. ESPN has carried Big Ten football and basketball for 40 years, the publication said. The cost of the new Big Ten deal was expected to be far more than the previous one, especially after the conference said in June that the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Southern California, which have large fan bases and famous sports histories, will join in 2024. Winning the Big Ten rights is seen as particularly important for CBS, which will lose Southeastern Conference football when ESPN takes over in 2024. ESPN agreed to pay $300 million per season to show SEC sports. ESPN also has media-rights deals with the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Pac-12. —Crain's Chicago Business with Bloomberg News

Big Ten strikes $7 billion TV deal with CBS, FOX, NBC and Peacock

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