Fox Sports and the Big 12 Conference have finalized a 13-year deal that will make Fox’ cable properties the conference’s exclusive cable home for football. Sources say Fox has agreed to pay $90M per year over 13 years. Fox had been paying $20M per year for the rights. In exchange for that fee, Fox will pick up the exclusive cable rights to 40 football games (up from 20 in the current contract) and all online, mobile and wireless rights.
Most of the games will be available on FSN, though several also will be scheduled for FX. As part of the deal, Fox will get cable exclusivity for 40 Olympic sports events. "This landmark agreement positions the Conference with one of the best television arrangements in collegiate sports," Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe said in a release. "It exceeds the benchmarks as we move forward with our 10 members by providing significant revenue growth, increased exposure while allowing institutions to retain selected rights."
There is no word on a proposed Big 12 channel, though the rights retained by the schools (which include one football game each), could be used to support such a channel, which sources say could carry up to 60 basketball games and Olympic sports. The channel would not include programming from the Univ. of Texas, which has partnered with ESPN on the new Longhorn Network, or the Univ. of Oklahoma, which is planning its own channel as well.
