Fox, Big Ten Closing In On Media Rights Agreement

BleedGopher

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per Sports Business Journal:

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.

The Fox deal essentially is half of the package of games that had been with ESPN (as part of a 10-year, $1B deal that expires next spring) and CBS (as part of a 6-year, $72M basketball-only deal that also expires next spring). The Big Ten will return to the market to solicit bids on the second half of the package. The conference has the flexibility to allow for another network or two to pick up that half. ESPN will be one of several TV networks engaged for the second half of the Big Ten’s package, along with the usual suspects of CBS, NBC and Turner.

The second package also is expected to include around 25 football and 50 basketball games. The package also could include rights to the football championship games every other year, though sources caution that the rights in the second package are flexible and could include more – or less – games.

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

Go Gophers!!
 

Well that blows. Between FS1 and BTN this is going to make my cord cutting more challenging. ESPN is attainable through Sling, but the Fox-affiliated channels aren't, so if I want to see any Gopher sports I'm going to have to make a tough call.
 



Thanks for the tip, Madtown. What a completely effed up industry when you have dual streaming services under the same brand, but need to pay twice for it. I wonder when the sports rights fee bubble is going to burst as people like me continue to drop cable/satellite? I have to believe these multi-billion dollar contracts will be harder and harder to justify in the near future.
 


I wish you could just add the Fox Channels for $5 a month like they offer for other add-on packages. I might even pay $10 a month if the package was Fox, FX, FXX, Fox Sports WI, Fox Sports 1, and FNC.
 

per USA Today:

When the final numbers are in, they’re going to be staggering. If there’s anything we can glean from John Ourand’s report Tuesday in the Sports Business Journal about the Big Ten’s first step toward its new media rights deal, that much seems certain.

And soon, commissioner Jim Delany will be able to walk away secure in the knowledge that he one-upped his old friend and rival Mike Slive once and for all.

First, though, let’s break down the numbers. If Ourand’s reporting is accurate, the Big Ten will sell half of its rights package to Fox for up to $250 million per year — which would divide out to a cool $17.86 million per school. And that’s with the other half still up for bid to ESPN, CBS, NBC or whomever.

We’ll see where the final numbers come out, but it seems almost certain that Big Ten schools will soon be banking more than $30 million per year — a number that doesn’t even include what the conference makes off the Big Ten Network and digital rights. When it’s all said and done, it could be a $40 million distribution.

And the best part? If it’s a six-year deal, as Ourand reported, the Big Ten’s media rights will come up for bid again (and maybe again prior to that) before ESPN’s 20-year agreement with the SEC expires in 2034.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...delany-new-deal-stunningly-big-deal/83247570/

Go Gophers!!
 

Well that blows. Between FS1 and BTN this is going to make my cord cutting more challenging. ESPN is attainable through Sling, but the Fox-affiliated channels aren't, so if I want to see any Gopher sports I'm going to have to make a tough call.

Playstation Vue

It's the sports lovers dream. The only downside is no 5.1 audio.

BTN
ESPN
ESPN2
ESPNU
SEC Network
FS1
FS2
TNT
FSN
beIN
NBCSN

$35/month

It's not missing any relevant sports channels. You even get all the ridiculous channels CBS uses for March Madness.

It has way better DVR features than Sling too.

If you're wanting to cut the cord and want to watch live sports. There isn't anything else close. As soon as Comcast increases my rate again, I'm dumping them.
 

Playstation Vue

It's the sports lovers dream. The only downside is no 5.1 audio.

BTN
ESPN
ESPN2
ESPNU
SEC Network
FS1
FS2
TNT
FSN
beIN
NBCSN

$35/month

It's not missing any relevant sports channels. You even get all the ridiculous channels CBS uses for March Madness.

It has way better DVR features than Sling too.

If you're wanting to cut the cord and want to watch live sports. There isn't anything else close. As soon as Comcast increases my rate again, I'm dumping them.
Is this only available for PlayStation hardware?
 



Playstation Vue

It's the sports lovers dream. The only downside is no 5.1 audio.

BTN
ESPN
ESPN2
ESPNU
SEC Network
FS1
FS2
TNT
FSN
beIN
NBCSN

$35/month

It's not missing any relevant sports channels. You even get all the ridiculous channels CBS uses for March Madness.

It has way better DVR features than Sling too.

If you're wanting to cut the cord and want to watch live sports. There isn't anything else close. As soon as Comcast increases my rate again, I'm dumping them.

This is what I have now and I couldn't be happier, There is also other packages, I have the 100+ package which costs me 45 bucks a month. You can also use allthe "on the go" apps all the channels have now days with a playstation vue subscription. For those of you wondering, you don't need a playstation to have this, its also on Amazon Fire TV, and Fire TV Stick, as well as iPad and iPhone, and they are currently working on adding it to more platforms.. This is much better option than sling, the quality so much better and you much more options.
 


I won't miss ESPN. And that's big $$.
 

As a follower of the Big Ten I'd prefer the coverage all be under one umbrella. ... the Fox/BTN/FS1 branch is just fine for me. ESPN can do its SEC thing, and the B1G can do its Fox thing.
 



As a follower of the Big Ten I'd prefer the coverage all be under one umbrella. ... the Fox/BTN/FS1 branch is just fine for me. ESPN can do its SEC thing, and the B1G can do its Fox thing.

ESPN still rules the roost, though. Abandoning them could be harmful to overall exposure throughout the country. I suspect Mr. Jim knows that and that's why he's leaving half of the package on the table. This was inevitable. FOX needed something more than the Big East to flagship its sports network and now they have it, but I still think the B1G needs exposure on ESPN and they probably will get it.

Question now becomes whether all the extra cash will actually improve the competitiveness of the programs.
 

ESPN still rules the roost, though. Abandoning them could be harmful to overall exposure throughout the country. I suspect Mr. Jim knows that and that's why he's leaving half of the package on the table. This was inevitable. FOX needed something more than the Big East to flagship its sports network and now they have it, but I still think the B1G needs exposure on ESPN and they probably will get it.

Question now becomes whether all the extra cash will actually improve the competitiveness of the programs.

With our luck, it's likely to improve all the U programs except football and men's basketball!
 

Several industry experts said Big Ten basketball coaches were closely watching the negotiations. Anything that meant fewer games on longtime partners ESPN and CBS would be viewed negatively by the coaches.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/dennis-dodd/25560400/why-the-big-tens-reported-short-new-tv-deal-with-fox-makes-sense

I can see why the coaches wouldn't be happy with this. There is a better chance your average fan (and recruits) will be watching any of the ESPN channels than Fox Sports 1.
 





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