BleedGopher
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Doubling of annual media revenue
The previous Big Ten media rights deal was signed in 2017, a six-year contract with ESPN and Fox worth $2.64 billion — or about $440 million per season. The new deal dwarfs that, and will create a dramatic increase in media revenue. In 2019, the most recent athletic department budget not affected by the pandemic, the Gophers earned $45 million in conference distributed media rights — $36 million for football, $9 million for men's basketball. While the new contract will gradually increase over time, it will eventually see the conference distribute $80 million to $100 million in media revenue to the Gophers annually for football and men's basketball, according to multiple media reports. For perspective, consider: In 2019, total operating revenue for the entire athletic department was $130 million.Basketball viewing impacted
Losing ESPN as a broadcast partner may not have a big impact for football viewership since so many games will be on national television, but it creates questions for how fans will watch Gophers men's and women's basketball. The Gophers men had six games and the women had one on ESPN networks last season. The biggest change is that Peacock — the NBC streaming service — will stream as many as 47 men's basketball games (32 conference games) and 30 women's games (20 conference) per season. The Big Ten Network will still be a primary broadcast partner for the sport, while CBS will air 11 regular-season men's games in 2023 and 15 per season starting in 2024. That network will continue to broadcast the Big Ten tournament semifinals and championship. Fox and FS1 will air at minimum 45 regular-season men's games per year.What could the new Big Ten media rights package mean for the Gophers?
From doubling media revenue to increased national exposure, the Big Ten's historic media deal will have a major impact on the University of Minnesota.
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!