ESPN Extends Relationship With Big 12 In Eight-Year Deal

By John Ourand, Staff Writer

Big 12 Signs Eight-Year Deal With ESPN

The Big 12 has signed an eight-year media rights deal with ESPN that essentially puts the kibosh on the conference launching its own channel. The deal is believed to be worth around $480M and runs through 2015-2016. ESPN and the Big 12 were in an exclusive re-negotiating window that was set to expire at the end of the month and talks were closely watched by industry observers. As part of the deal, ABC will telecast up to 19 Big 12 football games, including four guaranteed national telecasts and the Dr Pepper Big 12 Football Championship. Fox’ exclusive cable deal for the conference’s football games runs through 2011-2012. In men’s basketball, there will be more than 60 games on ABC and ESPN’s platforms, including the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship on ESPN. The deal also includes a regular Wednesday night men’s basketball game on ESPN2. One of the biggest winners appears to be ESPNU, which could wind up with up to 50 exclusive non-football games per year. ESPNU also is planning a weekly studio show centered on the Big 12. As is typical in ESPN deals these days, the rights extend across multiple platforms, including ESPN.com, ESPN360 and the company’s mobile, PPV, int’l and syndication divisions.