Since Fox launched Fox Sports 1, a.k.a. FS1 and even before then, it has coveted obtaining the rights to the Big Ten conference. Over the last year, it has given games involving Big Ten teams a huge showcase such as last year’s Michigan-Utah contest, Jim Harbaugh’s first as Wolverines coach to show what it could do for the conference. Well, it seems that effort has paid off.
According to Sports Business Daily’s John Ourand and Michael Smith, Fox is close to signing a big portion of the Big Ten’s media rights. A conference source has told Fang’s Bites that a deal could be finalized as early as next week. As Ourand and Smith write, Fox’s deal would include 25 football and 50 basketball games which was in essence ESPN’s part of its current 10-year contract that expires after the 2016-17 season. The Fox contract would begin in the 2017-18 season and last six years for as much as $250 million annually.
Ourand and Smith add that there’s another package of rights that is still up for bid:
The Big Ten will return to the market to solicit bids on the second half of the package. The conference has the flexibility to allow for another network or two to pick up that half. ESPN will be one of several TV networks engaged for the second half of the Big Ten’s package, along with the usual suspects of CBS, NBC and Turner.
The second package also is expected to include around 25 football and 50 basketball games. The package also could include rights to the football championship games every other year, though sources caution that the rights in the second package are flexible and could include more – or less – games.
CBS has a basketball-only contract that culminates every year with the Big Ten Conference tournament. CBS is reportedly interested in renewing its deal to keep the Big Ten in the fold.
As for ESPN, this hurts the alleged Worldwide Leader which had cultivated the Big Ten last decade for this current contract. According to SBD, ESPN presented a non-competitive bid for the rights as it continues to look for ways to save money in the wake of cord cutting and lower subscriber fees.
For Fox, this would be a huge win as it can use the Big Ten to build its FS1/FS2 combo plus air Big Ten games on the Fox mothership. We should get the official word next week when the contract is finalized.
