More details are emerging about Fox' planned cable rights deal with the Big 12, which sources say is worth an average of around $90M over 13 years. At that rate, Fox would pay a 350% increase over its current fee of $20M per year. But as part of the deal terms being negotiated, Fox would end up with much more content. The deal would have FSN double the number of football games it is allowed to carry, from 20 to more than 40. Fox also is keeping all digital and mobile rights to those games, and it would retain cable exclusivity for all Big 12 contests. That means that ESPN will be able to show Big 12 games only if it buys them in syndication from Fox. It also gives Fox flexibility to carry games on its other cable channels. The current deal ends after the '11-12 academic year. Sources said the new deal should close in the next few weeks. Last summer, as Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe attempted to hold the conference together, Fox suggested that it would be willing to pay at least $60M annually as part of a new cable rights deal.
