Big Ten Media Rights
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Sounds like a no-brainer (effective auction). Ka-ching!
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Replacing the SEC as CBS's 2:30 telecast would be very, very good for the league, IMO. That's more valuable real estate than the ABC night game, I think.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
I would be very skeptical of getting into bed with NBC on the other hand. They've shut down NBCSN and are putting more and more of their Premier League soccer programming on Peacock, which is a paid streaming app and an unusually bad one. And I've never been particularly impressed with their Notre Dame coverage either.
That billion-per-year figure strikes me as absolutely ludicrous btw, more than 3x what the SEC got over a long-long term deal.
It's a little tricky because the league has to keep both Fox (co-owner of the BTN) and ESPN's beaks wet (never, ever turn your back on the worldwide leader, as the NHL learned, they can make you cease to exist in the discourse) while also wanting to court third partners. It's a complex arrangement.
The good news is that we have the uber smart communicator Kevin Warren as captain of our ship!
That Peacock app is phenomenally bad. My wife is an ND alum, and a couple games this past season were on the app exclusively. There was much consternation amongst their fans. I don't know how you can mess up a streaming app that badly, when the technology has been around for over a decade.
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- North Aurora
This. When any game was on the NBC / NBCSN app, it would either never work or would need to be reloaded at any commercial break. I have no confidence in Peacock as a platform either. I really, really hope we can avoid them.
I imagine one network will pay more to exclusively own Tier 1 rights. But my best case scenario is that CBS and FOX share Tier 1 rights and maybe alternate the game of the week and second best game between Big Noon Kickoff and a 3:30/2:30 or primetime slot, and then the rest of the games are split between BTN, FS1, and then somewhere else like maybe ESPN. You'd have to think FOX sees the value in keeping the biggest competitor to the SEC on ESPN, especially with how strong last season went for FOX. I have no idea what CBS' priority is, but that would be a great brand to partner with for great football on tv. Imagine the CBS theme opening up on a view of Champaign.
The reality probably is that if CBS or NBC gets one of the major games each week, each team will probably be facing at least one game per season on the respective streaming platform. To that I say gross, and screw BTN+.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
- the BIG is in the catbird seat because Delany opted for a 6 year deal (and the SEC and ACC went with looong term deals)
- whatever the final # is, it's going to be gigantic
- every broadcaster is going to steer traffic to subscriptions
- I agree that NBC/Peacock sucks
- high likelihood that multiple broadcasters will get the right
- there have been several very recent articles in The Athletic about this
The BIG’s timing is great. There are going to be a number of bidders who need content for over the air and streaming, which will run up the price. BIG will get a lot more $$ than the SEC did.
If you represent Michigan and tOSU's interests, then Commissioner Warren is interested in your opinion. If not.....
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
It would be a mistake to fully leave ESPN behind, especially now that they're so deeply embedded with the SEC.
ESPN has the power to create the sports conversation, even now in the social media era.
They also tend to be the high bidder in these things.
Being junior partner to the SEC at ESPN would offer no advantages.
Sell the rights to the highest bidder.
We may not get another bite from this apple. Sooner or later companies are going to figure out that tv advertising is like burning money, and the broadcast rights are going to be worth a whole lot less. B1G needs to be ready to go direct-to-consumer streaming by then. Probably over a backbone such as Starlink.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
We may not get THIS bite at the apple, but that's a whole other story.
Nonetheless, I can't resist, the old saying goes: half of all advertising spending is wasted, the trouble is no one knows which half.
That’s where commissioner Kevin Warren comes in. He’s spearheading the TV talks, and he’ll be in his element. The Big Ten’s chancellors and presidents hired him hoping he could replicate his business success elsewhere, particularly with the NFL’s Vikings. From 2015 to 2019, he helped improve the team’s sponsorship revenue from 32nd in the league to fifth.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/2...warren-troy-aikman-joe-buck-peacock-paramount
Interesting read on the upcoming Big Ten media rights deals...
With Fox reaching an extension with the Big Ten, what happens now for ESPN and other possible rights suitors?
Fox has renewed with the Big Ten while other media companies lineup to strike their own deal. What will shake out?
awfulannouncing.com
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Good article. I thought that having the Fox execs in the (negotiating) room was another Warren special, but after reading that, it's a lot more understandable.Interesting read on the upcoming Big Ten media rights deals...
With Fox reaching an extension with the Big Ten, what happens now for ESPN and other possible rights suitors?
Fox has renewed with the Big Ten while other media companies lineup to strike their own deal. What will shake out?awfulannouncing.com
IlliniSaluki
- IL metro east burbs of St. Louis
Yah that caught me off guard too about the fox execs but I think it mentioned that is similar to what happened the last time or was that only referring to the B1G not hiring an agency to help with the negotiations?