https://www.si.com/college/2022/08/09/espn-pulls-out-of-big-ten-media-rights-negotiations-per-reportESPN has pulled out of media rights negotiations with the Big Ten, ending a four-decade relationship between the network and conference, according to Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand.
The Tuesday morning update comes after previous reports indicated that the negotiations between the two sides were hanging by a thread. ESPN then reportedly turned down a seven-year, $380 million offer from the Big Ten for about 13 games per season, according to SI’s Ross Dellenger.
That package would have been about half of ESPN’s current, 27-game Big Ten game slate. The offer would have also limited the network’s access to the second and third-best Big Ten matchups and only during the primetime window, when the network already has deals to show SEC and ACC contests, per Dellenger.
ESPN signed its first rights agreement with the Big Ten in 1982 and has broadcast the conference’s games without interruption ever since. Even though the network stands to lose its Big Ten rights, it could still carry some non-conference games involving Big Ten teams, depending on the opposing team’s rights.
With ESPN now effectively out of the picture, CBS and NBC are considered the frontrunners to purchase the conference’s remaining inventory, according to a previous report from Ourand. The networks are considering purchasing the broadcast rights to games in the 3:30 ET and prime-time windows.
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