Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany finally confirmed Monday what has been reported for months regarding TV contracts.
The Big Ten has extended its deal with BTN through 2032, while signing six-year contracts with CBS for basketball and with Fox and ESPN for football, basketball and Olympic sports.
Delany didn’t provide numbers, but the CBS, Fox and ESPN deals are expected to produce $2.64 billion. Those deals are why Big Ten revenue shares per school are expected to top $50 million annually as soon as 2018. It’s also why Delany received a $20 million bonus.
Fox and ESPN previously have shared college football content in the Pac-12 and Big 12 conferences. Now, the Big Ten is part of that mix.
“We’re healthy competitors,” Fox Sports Executive Vice President Larry Jones said, nodding at his ESPN counterpart, Burke Magnus. “But we can play in the same sandbox.”
The Big Ten will begin playing Friday night football games this fall, but Delany acknowledged the league has received considerable blowback for playing on what traditionally has been the night for high school football.
Michigan and Penn State have said they won’t participate. Northwestern was supposed to play two games this season, but complained and got both changed. Nebraska plays at Illinois this season on Sept. 29, a Friday.
In the future, Delany said, he expects just two Friday games per year beyond Labor Day weekend, with as much as 10 months’ notice for schools to prepare.
As for the total number of night football games, the Big Ten in recent years has had roughly 15 to 18 such kickoffs. Delany said “the low 20s” is the probable number in the future.
