An Ohio State and a Big Ten helmet sit on the stage at Big Ten Media Days at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis July 27. Credit: Casey Smith | Lantern TV Sports Producer
The Big Ten Conference reached a new seven-year distribution agreement with an array of media partners, it announced Thursday.
In addition to the familiar Big Ten Network and FS1, the conference will also broadcast and distribute media of football, men’s and women’s basketball and Olympic sports across CBS, FOX, NBC and NBCUniversal’s Peacock platforms beginning July 1, 2023, through the 2029-30 season, according to a release.
According to Adam Rittenberg of ESPN, the new media agreement is expected to “bring in more than $7 billion” to the Big Ten.
The Big Ten aims to “reach the broadest audience in the country, coast-to-coast,” after the expansion and additions of the University of California, Los Angeles and University of Southern California, which were announced July 1.
“The Big Ten Conference media rights agreements are more than just dollars and deals. They are a mechanism to provide stability and maximum exposure for our student-athletes, member institutions and partners during these uncertain times in college athletics,” commissioner Kevin Warren said in the release. “We are very grateful to our world-class media partners for recognizing the strength of the Big Ten Conference brand and providing the incredible resources we need for our student-athletes to compete at the very highest levels, and to achieve their academic and athletics goals.”
The Big Ten Championship will now be broadcast on CBS in 2024 and 2028 and on NBC in 2026, with FOX airing the 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029 contests.
Beginning in 2023, CBS will broadcast seven football games in addition to regular season and postseason men’s basketball action. However, that number will jump to 15 football games which will include an annual Black Friday afternoon game in November.
NBC will broadcast anywhere between 14 and 16 football games each season, while their streaming affiliate Peacock is slated to host eight games every year, 47 regular-season men’s basketball games and 30 regular-season women’s basketball games.
