The Big Ten and Commissioner Jim Delany "face crucial decisions about their TV future" with the conference's football and basketball deals with ESPN/ABC and CBS set to expire after the '16-17 basketball season, according to Ed Sherman of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Negotiations are "expected to heat up soon, assuming they haven't already." The Big Ten "should be in line for a windfall." The conference "will get significant increases" from its 10-year, $1B deal with ESPN/ABC for football and basketball and 6-year, $72M pact with CBS for basketball. It also has a 25-year, $2.8B deal "with the league-run BTN that extends" through '31-32. However, the final decision could be about more than "simply dollars and cents." Delany and the Big Ten "might have to put a price tag on the value of exposure if it decides to leave the immense reach of ESPN for the fledgling" FS1. Delany "knows his timing couldn't be better." Fox is "expected to make an aggressive bid for the Big Ten's rights," while CBS Sports Network and NBCSN are "unlikely contenders in this derby." Cutting the ESPN cord "comes with potential risk for the Big Ten." Industry observers "point to the sagging ratings for Big East basketball" on FS1. Big East games are "averaging 96,000 viewers" on the net, while the Big Ten "averages 1.2 million viewers per basketball game on ESPN" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/12).
ACROSS THE PAC-IFIC: In San Jose, Jon Wilner noted the Pac-12 is "facing a significant revenue shortfall relative to the Big Ten and SEC, perhaps as much as" $8-10M per year starting in '17-18, due to the "projected disparity in income related to TV rights." The Tier 1 deal with ESPN and Fox is set ($250M per year) and "would only change if the conference expanded." That option "dissolved when the CEOs balked at adding the Oklahoma schools a few years ago, leaving the Pac-12 with no good options." There is "marketing and sponsorship potential for the league" in Asia, and China in particular, but "significant revenue is years away." The Pac-12 Networks were "supposed to provide much-needed exposure to boost recruiting efforts." So far, however, "we haven’t seen much impact." Wilner: "How much could the sale of 49 percent equity generate? It’s impossible to predict accurately because we don’t know 1) the timing, 2) the market to TV rights at the time of sale and 3) how many bidders would be involved" (MERCURYNEWS.com, 3/11).
