ESPN out of Big Ten negotiations as Fox, CBS and NBC near deals: Sources

The Big Ten is in the process of finalizing media rights deals, according to sources the athlete The league hopes to make an official announcement by early next week. In a stunning development, ESPN has pulled out of the negotiations, and sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations have confirmed the athlete.

In addition to Fox, who had been locked up The rights of the big ten Months in advance, the conference will likely partner with both CBS and NBC. Such deals, if struck, could lead to the following Saturday’s roster: a noon match ET on Fox, a match at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS, and prime time on NBC. Multiple sources involved in the negotiations over the past month confirmed that the top 10 companies prioritized these windows throughout the process.

A source said that ESPN has officially pulled out of the Big Ten negotiations after rejecting the conference’s final offer for a seven-year deal worth $380 million annually. the athlete Tuesday. These developments were first reported by the Sports Business Journal.

ESPN’s rejection of the Big Ten was only 13 of the Big Ten’s “B”/”C” game bundle; ESPN also considered the primetime package. Fox already has the league’s ‘A’ Game Pack, which he will be carrying around in the afternoon.

ESPN’s exclusive 10-year deal with the SEC, which begins 2024-25, is believed to be in the range of $300 million. This deal includes both 3:30 p.m. ET and primetime windows for major conference games, which are different from what the network was playing with the Big Ten. The worldwide leader clearly did not appreciate the Big Ten secondary package at a higher price for years lower than the SEC deal, especially with the network already committed to the ACC as well.

The news is undoubtedly historical. ESPN has carried Big Ten football and basketball games for the past 40 years.

ESPN has mid-afternoon and peak windows for its upcoming deal with the SEC, as well as deals with the ACC, and possibly future deals with Pac-12 (post-2024) and Big 12 (post-25).

However, this fall will mark the 40th and final anniversary of ESPN broadcasting Big Ten football.

– Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) August 9, 2022

A source told that it’s also likely that the Big Ten will add some kind of broadcasting option the athlete, although it is not yet clear how it will be organized and whether Amazon or Apple will participate. Both companies have significantly increased their investment in live sports programming in the past year. Another source said Peacock is another candidate under consideration, who is already part of the NBC shows. It would make sense if NBC got the Big Ten package as expected now.

A source confirmed to CBS that Big Ten is expected to pay $350 million annually for their new deal the athlete. NBC is also expected to pay about $350 million annually, according to multiple reports. Multiple outlets have reported that Big Ten is seeking to exceed $1 billion in rights fees annually in its new deal.

“The public structures of the new rights agreements have not been finalized,” The Big Ten said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The conference continues to have productive meetings with linear and direct-to-consumer media partners,” Big Ten said. “We are committed to providing unparalleled resources and exposure opportunities to Big Ten member organizations, sports programmes, student-athletes, coaches and fans. We are very grateful to the media companies that recognize the value of Big Ten programs and want to communicate them to our fans around the world in a forward-thinking way” .

Since ESPN is no longer in the mix to broadcast Big Ten Football, expect the network to participate in either or both the Pac-12 and Big 12 conferences, the rights of which appear next. Pac-12 already opened its exclusive negotiating window with ESPN early in the aftermath USC And the University of CaliforniaMoving on to the Big Ten.

Richard Deitch and Matt Fortuna contributed to the report.

(Photo: Matthew O’Harren/USA Today)