Fox Closing In On B1G Media Rights Deal

[seaofred92]

"Fox is close to signing a deal that gives it half of the Big Ten’s available media rights package, according to several sources. Deal terms still are flexible – both in terms of money and rights. However, the two sides have agreed on basic terms that will give Fox the rights to around 25 football games and 50 basketball games that it will carry on both the broadcast channel and FS1 starting in the fall of '17. The deal runs six years and could cost Fox as much as $250M per year, depending on the amount of rights the Big Ten conference puts in its second package."

 

 

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Closing-Bell/2016/04/19/Big-Ten.aspx

[Michiganball]

It will be interesting to see how much the other half of the package will go for and with whom. Likely EsecPN will top the bids, but B1G will take offers from others. when all is said and done each school could be getting 40 mill payouts.

[GSG]

Mike Tirico is reportedly leaving e$ECpn for NBC, leading to other speculation:

 

 

 

 

 

[GSG]

 

 

 

[GSG]

 

 

 

[Michiganball]

Would like to see NBC do this, but only if they show many of the games on regular network tv(except when their deal with ND shows their home games). Network games crush cable in ratings, the more eyeballs the better, so being on Fox and NBC could be excellent exposure.

 

From what I have been reading the FOX deal may be bad for Big 12 as well, as they only guarantee 6 games for them. so this means B1G on FS1 and FOX while everything else like Big 12 bar some top match ups getting bumped to FS2.

 

It's all speculation at the moment but I would really like to have Esecpn's influence taken down a few notches. It seems a couple weeks ago since they had the first right on negotiations, they again tried to low ball B1G. Last time they tried this, they paid in the end and ended up with a launch of a competing B1G network, this time, they might not get off so lightly. They need the northern markets more then we need them, so as Esecpn said to Delaney, "if you dont take it, you are rolling the dice". He's reply "consider them rolled". I hope we roll the dice again.

[VectorVictor]

Would like to see NBC do this, but only if they show many of the games on regular network tv(except when their deal with ND shows their home games). Network games crush cable in ratings, the more eyeballs the better, so being on Fox and NBC could be excellent exposure.

 

From what I have been reading the FOX deal may be bad for Big 12 as well, as they only guarantee 6 games for them. so this means B1G on FS1 and FOX while everything else like Big 12 bar some top match ups getting bumped to FS2.

 

It's all speculation at the moment but I would really like to have Esecpn's influence taken down a few notches. It seems a couple weeks ago since they had the first right on negotiations, they again tried to low ball B1G. Last time they tried this, they paid in the end and ended up with a launch of a competing B1G network, this time, they might not get off so lightly. They need the northern markets more then we need them, so as Esecpn said to Delaney, "if you dont take it, you are rolling the dice". He's reply "consider them rolled". I hope we roll the dice again.

 

We pretty much knew that Fox was going to get Tier 2 and some Tier 1 rights when Delaney said some time ago that they'd like to keep more of that programming on the BTN, even if it meant creating a second channel, as they're just pissing away ad revenue to ESPN. Considering what cheapasses Fox is, this is the next best thing for them--they leverage channel bandwidth that wasn't going towards much anyway, and they don't have to shell out for a second channel and all of the backend that entails. I just wonder if any of this will trickle down to baseball/softball and Olympic sports, not unlike what the SEC has going on right now with ESPN.

 

And I wonder if NCAA Football will have any impact on NBC's deal with the Premier League airing on their family of networks. There's overlap during most of the college football season, so scheduling will be tricky for AM fixtures and 11a to 2p kickoff NCAA Football games...but NBC may leverage channels like the USA Network as overflow if they have conflict, not unlike what they do if they have multiple fixtures going on at the same time at the beginning of the season.

 

Also, I wouldn't be shocked if CBS is part of this deal for both football and basketball; we know they have a hand in the later, but the former would be a nice feather in their cap, even if it's only one or two games a week.

 

As for the Big XII and the B1G Deal messing up their exposure...yeah, but then again, it's one of the many reasons why there are Big XII teams that are active suitors of the B1G. Oklahoma would like to know they'll have a place to lay their head when that conference goes belly up...a place preferably with benefits to their other athletic and academic programs.

[Mavric]

Based on how ESPN is hemmoreaing employees, I wonder if they're not going to pony up as much in their bids either.

[VectorVictor]

Some reactions to the B1G Media Deal with Fox:

 

Frank the Tank (One of the best B1G expansion bloggers and prognosticators out there)

 

USA Today

 

Dennis Dodd (via CBS Sports)

 

Similar points I've seen in the coverage:

• Fox is paying more for about half of the B1G's Tier 1 inventory than the entirety for the Pac-12 inventory (~50 games). At this rate, the B1G will pull in more than eight figures per school more than the SEC schools and their vaunted $1.5 billion deal.
• They're negotiating for six year contracts, which puts the deal up in 2022. 2023 is when GORs for the Big XII expire.
• We could see the B1G end up on CBS/Turner (Basketball and maybe football), NBC Sports (Football, Olympic sports?), Fox Sports/FOX OTA (Football and Basketball), and ESPN (Football, Basketball?), which will simultaneously be a boon to exposure and a pain in the ass for fans.
• No word on how Olympic sports and Baseball will fare. Personally would like to see Baseball and Hockey get much more exposure than they do, especially the former, to help B1G schools compete for recruits against warmer-climate schools.

[Michiganball]

With a six year contract I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple more teams join B1G before the 2022 negotiations commence. This time around it will be much easier to pick up some storied programs when your conference earnings per team may be double or more then theirs. Never mind the stability B1G brings to the table.

[VectorVictor]

With a six year contract I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple more teams join B1G before the 2022 negotiations commence. This time around it will be much easier to pick up some storied programs when your conference earnings per team may be double or more then theirs. Never mind the stability B1G brings to the table.

 

Well, we keep hearing that the two schools are already on board, unless the Big XII tries to extend GORs, at which point this whole mess may be jumpstarted sooner.

[Michiganball]

 

With a six year contract I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple more teams join B1G before the 2022 negotiations commence. This time around it will be much easier to pick up some storied programs when your conference earnings per team may be double or more then theirs. Never mind the stability B1G brings to the table.

 

Well, we keep hearing that the two schools are already on board, unless the Big XII tries to extend GORs, at which point this whole mess may be jumpstarted sooner.

 

 

Talking Oklahoma, Kansas?

 

Funny thing is how these Big 12 issues come back full circle due to the same unresolved issues with Texas(and the damage done by Nebraska and others leaving). From Texas perspective and it's students they seem oblivious to what the problems may be, they are like a guy on life support who is smoking cigarettes and going "what? whats the problem? there is no problem, your the problem!".

They even think they can poach some ACC teams. Granted that is their only hope that ACC get's torn apart by B1G and SEC and some left overs join them, but thats the only positive scenario where this could happen. In reality that conference has a tiny footprint, essentially its Texas teams and the national appeal is almost nil there. They are right now the most vulnerable, particularly that we are hearing the same discontent from a few years ago, so yea, it would be interesting to beef up that B1G west with some quality old rivals.

[VectorVictor]

 

 

 

 

With a six year contract I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple more teams join B1G before the 2022 negotiations commence. This time around it will be much easier to pick up some storied programs when your conference earnings per team may be double or more then theirs. Never mind the stability B1G brings to the table.

Well, we keep hearing that the two schools are already on board, unless the Big XII tries to extend GORs, at which point this whole mess may be jumpstarted sooner.

Talking Oklahoma, Kansas?

 

Funny thing is how these Big 12 issues come back full circle due to the same unresolved issues with Texas(and the damage done by Nebraska and others leaving). From Texas perspective and it's students they seem oblivious to what the problems may be, they are like a guy on life support who is smoking cigarettes and going "what? whats the problem? there is no problem, your the problem!".

They even think they can poach some ACC teams. Granted that is their only hope that ACC get's torn apart by B1G and SEC and some left overs join them, but thats the only positive scenario where this could happen. In reality that conference has a tiny footprint, essentially its Texas teams and the national appeal is almost nil there. They are right now the most vulnerable, particularly that we are hearing the same discontent from a few years ago, so yea, it would be interesting to beef up that B1G west with some quality old rivals.

Yup. I'd say it's a damn near certainty that as long as the current OU President is in charge, they'll have one foot out the door no matter what happens. Plus it can't help to see old rivals improve their academic cache after leaving, which is something that OU significantly wants to do.

 

That improvement won't happen in the BIG XII or SEC. That only happens in the B1G thanks to things like the CIC.

[Michiganball]

Yea, Oklahoma's president has three "demands", it's almost as if he knows some are impossible. Get Big 12 to 12 teams, doable but there is nothing game changing out there for them, team or market wise. Have a conference championship, very doable. Finally one that is very unlikely to happen due to Texas having their heads up their rear is Big 12 having a proper network.

[VectorVictor]

Yea, Oklahoma's president has three "demands", it's almost as if he knows some are impossible. Get Big 12 to 12 teams, doable but there is nothing game changing out there for them, team or market wise. Have a conference championship, very doable. Finally one that is very unlikely to happen due to Texas having their heads up their rear is Big 12 having a proper network.

 

And for the first demand, the OU President mentioned that expansion had to be with teams of significance (his words, IIRC), and that none of the current suitors live up to that. He's thinking teams like FSU, Arkansas (who has always had fluctuating levels of unhappiness with the SEC), and the like--not mid-major teams like Houston or BYU that are hoping to get a seat at the big boy table. So, that first demand likely isn't achievable either, unless Texass can use some of their dirty oil money to peel off a couple of SEC/ACC teams to join the Big XII.

 

But yeah, it's just a matter of time and OU/NU will be back on the schedule at Thanksgiving, though the OU fans don't realize this yet (they're still clinging to the delusion that the SEC would be the best fit for them).