"Big Ten Set To Begin Media Rights Talks in the Upcoming Season"

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http://awfulannouncing.com/2015/big-ten-set-to-begin-media-rights-talks-in-the-upcoming-season.html

The current contract expires in 2016-17 and the conference knows it will gain a hefty financial windfall when the new contracts are finalized. ESPN pays $1 billion over ten years while CBS has a $72 million deal that spans six years. Fox has It also has a 51% stake in the Big Ten Network that pays $2.8 billion in a 25-year contract that runs through the 2031-32 season.

Armed with Fox Sports 1, Fox is hoping that its cable sports network will lure the Big Ten to place games there. And despite the fact that Big East basketball hasn’t been drawing audiences since the 2013-14 season, Fox can point to the recent Women’s World Cup as an example that FS1 can bring viewers into the fold.

ESPN will say that it’s been a loyal partner to the Big Ten back to the days when ABC Sports was airing games in the mid-1980’s. And it will say it has the infrastructure with ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC.

And CBS will point to the fact that it has broadcast basketball since the 1990’s and its conference tournament since its inception.

NBC is a potential wild card knowing that this will be its last chance to get a major sports property until the next decade and it doesn’t want to get shut out...
 

I hope the Big Ten cuts some sort of deal with Fox that gets them on FS! and the main Fox network, and leaves ESPN/ABC in the dust.


I do not get how some people worship ESPN, and stay fixated on stupid ESPN hyped creations like the moronic "GAMEDAY" and wetting their pants on where gameday is on a particular weekend. Screw it, it sucks, they all suck, Reece Davis, that jackass who played QB at Florida who wears suits three sizes to small for him, Ed Cunningham, Mushburger, Beth Mowins, all of them are crap. Okay, I like Speilman, Blackledge, Robert Smith, Sean McDonough and a few more, but really??? OHHHHH my, we might get fricking Gameday and my life will be complete!!!! F that

They were all badmouthing the Big Ten all year, then Ohio State finally shut them up. Some of them were probably still feeling sorry for Baylor or some SEC team in the 3rd quarter of the NC game. They were propping up those fraudulent Mississippi teams all year, and they both sucked donkeys in the end.

ESPN has taken the Big Ten for granted for years, with inferior ESPN2 11AM production values, and rotten start times, while the SEC gets all the good later start times and endless hype throughout the day on all their pregame, halftime ad highlight shows. Screw ESPN/ABC The BTN was one of the greatest things ever and the production values are just as good as ESPN, if not better in some respects.


I'd also be fine with a FOX deal with some sort of partnership where CBS, or even NBC get some of the prime games, sort of how the ESPN shared the SEC games with CBS.

The key though is to cut out ESPN and keep the games out of the dreaded early start times. My guess is some non ESPN/ABC players are going to offer a great deal of money to the Big Ten.
 

ESPN has gotten horrible.

Need it for Gopher games, but that is about it.

PTI is good.......Sports Center is unwatchable.

Their bubble will burst.
 

ESPN has gotten horrible.

Need it for Gopher games, but that is about it.

PTI is good.......Sports Center is unwatchable.

Their bubble will burst.

I loathe ESPN. But they are what they claim they are -- "the worldwide leader" -- and that counts a ton. I compare this to the NHL, who got a sweet deal from NBC, a network that does a fantastic job covering hockey, IMO. But hockey isn't part of the ESPN hype machine, and suffers as a result.

Part of me wants the Big Ten to tell ESPN to stick it. But whatever the Big Ten decides, I think they've earned the benefit of the doubt in doing what is best for business.
 






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