NBC Sees Big Ten Being ‘NFL of College Conferences’; proposing a strategy that calls for back-to-back, prime-time Big Ten and NFL games on Sat & Sun

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BleedGopher

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per Front Office Sports:

NBC has already pushed the idea of combining Big Ten telecasts with its existing Notre Dame coverage as a “perfect one-two punch.”

Now, as rights negotiations with the conference near the finish line, NBC is proposing a strategy that calls for back-to-back, prime-time Big Ten and NFL games on Saturday and Sunday nights, said sources.

  • NBC is pitching a fall Saturday football schedule that includes triple-header coverage of Big Ten games on Fox, CBS, and NBC from early afternoon to night.
  • The slate would be followed by NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” the most-watched show in prime time for a record 11 straight years.
“The Big Ten would have exposure in every TV home,” said one source. “It would also be a smart idea to follow the model of the most successful sports league in America.”

NBC, ESPN, and Amazon declined to comment on negotiations. The Big Ten did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Billion-Dollar Deal​

The Big Ten is expected to command at least $1.25 billion annually for its next media rights deal from bidders including NBC, Amazon, ESPN/ABC, and CBS Sports. The winner will air games alongside Fox Sports, the conference’s primary TV partner and an operating partner in the Big Ten Network.

The Big Ten’s current media rights deals expire after the 2023 season.

Go Gophers!!
 

Why would they do that if NBC still has Notre Dame? Notre Dame's contract value would increase with Big Ten games surrounding it.

The Big Ten wants to grab Notre Dame, not prop it up.

Now, if Notre Dame is part of the Big Ten, then that's a different story.
 

The SEC's deal with Disney (ABC, ESPN, etc) is worth 3 billion over 10 years, or an average of $300M per year. It doesn't start until 2024.

The Big Ten's current deal, started in 2017, is worth $440M per year.

The Big Ten's next deal, also to start in 2024, is going to go anywhere from $1.1-1.5+ Billion per year.

In summary, :ROFLMAO::LOL:😎 SEC poors. This is where the Big Ten footprint's larger population and wealthier economies start to show.

The Big Ten. It's just worth (4x) more!
 


fmlizard said:
The SEC's deal with Disney (ABC, ESPN, etc) is worth 3 billion over 10 years, or an average of $300M per year. It doesn't start until 2024.

The Big Ten's current deal, started in 2017, is worth $440M per year.

The Big Ten's next deal, also to start in 2024, is going to go anywhere from $1.1-1.5+ Billion per year.

In summary, :ROFLMAO::LOL:😎 SEC poors. This is where the Big Ten footprint's larger population and wealthier economies start to show.

The Big Ten. It's just worth (4x) more!
Click to expand...
It just means more.
 


TruthSeeker said:
Why would they do that if NBC still has Notre Dame? Notre Dame's contract value would increase with Big Ten games surrounding it.

The Big Ten wants to grab Notre Dame, not prop it up.

Now, if Notre Dame is part of the Big Ten, then that's a different story.
Click to expand...
Irish will be in the B1G.
 



matt said:
I don’t care how the Big Ten lines up their games in 2024 as long as it doesn’t interfere with our ability to watch the Gophers play their Big 12 conference foes.
Click to expand...
Bring on the Cyclones!
 




TruthSeeker said:
Why would they do that if NBC still has Notre Dame? Notre Dame's contract value would increase with Big Ten games surrounding it.

The Big Ten wants to grab Notre Dame, not prop it up.

Now, if Notre Dame is part of the Big Ten, then that's a different story.
Click to expand...
I assume the "they" you refer to here, is the Big Ten.

Two things overall:
1) obviously Notre Dame only has a finite supply of home games. NBC only has the right to broadcast home games. So, adding in (especially marquee) Big Ten games, fills in those voids and adds a lot of value.
2) the Big Ten could choose to look at it like this: this is the first (baby) step in forming a closer bond and partnership with Notre Dame, which could then bear fruit down the road of getting ND in as a full member.

FWIW
 

fmlizard said:
The SEC's deal with Disney (ABC, ESPN, etc) is worth 3 billion over 10 years, or an average of $300M per year. It doesn't start until 2024.

The Big Ten's current deal, started in 2017, is worth $440M per year.

The Big Ten's next deal, also to start in 2024, is going to go anywhere from $1.1-1.5+ Billion per year.

In summary, :ROFLMAO::LOL:😎 SEC poors. This is where the Big Ten footprint's larger population and wealthier economies start to show.

The Big Ten. It's just worth (4x) more!
Click to expand...
Something that often gets lost when you focus on TV viewership numbers: how much money is made by that TV household tuning in?

Households with more money, are more likely to be able to spend it on the things you're advertising!
 

PMWinSTP said:
Irish will be in the B1G.
Click to expand...
I don't think so, for right now, this round. I think ND and Big Ten will sign separate agreements with NBC, and NBC will then market them together on the backend.

I think the next major realignment, there is a strong chance. It may coincide with some other ACC schools getting invited to the party.
 



matt said:
I don’t care how the Big Ten lines up their games in 2024 as long as it doesn’t interfere with our ability to watch the Gophers play their Big 12 conference foes.
Click to expand...
What about NDSU??
 

Neither the BTN nor the BIG need Notre Dame.
The BTN's coverage is already very strong especially now with the LA market.
Eventually, ND will have to come hat in hand asking to join the BIG.
I hope the BIG either turns them down or makes them wait five years to be full partners in the BTN $$$.
 

Plato said:
Neither the BTN nor the BIG need Notre Dame.
The BTN's coverage is already very strong especially now with the LA market.
Eventually, ND will have to come hat in hand asking to join the BIG.
I hope the BIG either turns them down or makes them wait five years to be full partners in the BTN $$$.
Click to expand...
How large does the Big Ten need to grow until they need to launch BTN2?
 

I’m still not totally convinced that Texas will be playing in the SEC in 2027.
 


fmlizard said:
The SEC's deal with Disney (ABC, ESPN, etc) is worth 3 billion over 10 years, or an average of $300M per year. It doesn't start until 2024.
Click to expand...
The deal you refer to here, is just the replacement for the deal that CBS had with the SEC, for "game of the week" type content.

https://www.espn.com/college-footba...eal-college-football-basketball-starting-2024


My point is that, you're not comparing apples to apples. The Big Ten's $1.25B figure is for the whole smash.

The SEC still has a lot of content to sell, as part of the main package that I'm sure multiple TV networks will bid for, just like with the Big Ten.
 







mnsportsgeek said:
Get ready for basketball on peacock.
Click to expand...
CBS and NBC will have a limited set of "game of the week" type content. Similar to what CBS had with the SEC for years.

Don't know if that will include basketball, but if so then I would bet it is choice games on the broadcast channels. CBS more likely. I don't know if NBC does any college basketball at all?
 

Nicole Auerbach in The Athletic yesterday:

The Big Ten is poised to deliver a stunner when it finalizes its media rights negotiations at some point in the coming days. Barring a last-minute surprise, ESPN is not expected to land one of the Big Ten’s packages, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations confirmed to The Athletic.

In addition to Fox, which had locked up Big Ten rights months ago, the conference is likely to partner with both CBS and NBC. Such deals, if finalized, could result in the following Saturday slate: a noon ET game on Fox, a 3:30 p.m. ET game on CBS and primetime on NBC. Multiple sources involved in the negotiations have reiterated over the past month that the Big Ten has prioritized exclusive windows throughout the process.

Sports Business Journal first reported the developments and noted that ESPN is still negotiating with the Big Ten, so there is still a chance the network will end up with a package. If ESPN does not end up with any Big Ten football and basketball games in this round of negotiations, it will be historic. ESPN has carried Big Ten games for the last 40 years; it has shared rights with Fox in the current deal, which is set to expire in 2023.

The Big Ten is also expected to add a streaming package, though it is not yet clear if that will go to Amazon or Apple, a source told The Athletic. Both companies have significantly increased their investment in live sports programming in the past year.

...

If the Big Ten were to move on from ESPN, this would add quite a bit of fuel to the fire brewing between ESPN and Fox. ESPN has exclusive rights to the SEC, and Fox would have primary rights to the Big Ten — so, the rivals would each be backing a different horse as the two 16-team conferences are set to pull away from their peers by the end of the decade. What could that mean for programming decisions? Framing? Future media rights tied to an expanded College Football Playoff?

Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren opposed early efforts to expand the CFP last winter, in part because CFP expansion prior to the end of the current contract (which expires in 2026) meant that ESPN would have an exclusive negotiating window. Warren has long advocated for the CFP to have multiple media partners, which many in the industry have taken to mean Fox getting involved.

...

Dochterman: An industry source said Big Ten officials approached school administrators this spring about revisiting options for Friday night or mid-to-late November primetime kickoffs. Currently, the Big Ten schedules four Friday night kickoffs with only two outside of Labor Day weekend.

The league’s media rights agreements with Fox and ESPN allow for network-controlled primetime scheduling through the first weekend in November. From the second weekend onward, both schools must agree for a game to move into primetime. However during the pandemic in 2020, arrangements were made for additional late-November primetime kickoffs. By adding UCLA and USC, weather won’t be a major issue for primetime kickoffs as it is in the Midwest and East Coast.

It appears the Big Ten will air games in all three coveted windows: noon, 3:30 p.m. and primetime on linear networks Fox, CBS and NBC, respectively. FS1 and BTN, of which Fox owns 61 percent, also will spread out kickoff times. Big Ten officials have asked schools to consider joining Iowa-Nebraska as a second Black Friday option, which now could be in play with USC and UCLA joining the league in 2024. To this point, all have declined.
 



Kill off BTN+ (for cripes sake) and fold those into Amazon Prime video, along with a bit more choice content (normally would go on BTN).
 

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