How The Big Ten’s New Media Deal Affects Basketball

By John Bohnenkamp

Much of the talk of Thursday’s announcement of the Big Ten’s new 7-year, $7 billion media rights deal with Fox, CBS and NBC centered on the football package and its impact on the conference.

But there also will be a significant impact to college basketball coverage in the new deal, which is set to begin next season.

A look at how basketball will be covered on various platforms, according to Sports Illustrated:

• The bulk of the men’s and women’s basketball coverage will remain on the Big Ten Network, which will show a minimum of 126 men’s games and 49 women’s games per season. The total of men’s games includes eight games from the first three rounds of the Big Ten Tournament. The total of women’s games includes all of the Big Ten Tournament games with exception of the championship game.

• CBS will air 9-11 Big Ten men’s games in the 2023 season, with an increase to 15 for the rest of the contract. Thirteen of those games will be conference games. The network also will continue to telecast the semifinals and finals of the Big Ten Tournament.

As part of the deal, CBS will also get the championship game of the women’s tournament.

• Fox/FS1 will get 45 men’s games in the 2023-24 season, and at least that many games for the rest of the contract. The networks will also have options to broadcast women’s games, but will not show any games of either tournament.

• NBC will not show any basketball on its networks, but will have games on Peacock, its streaming service. Peacock will have 32 men’s games next season — 20 of them conference matchups — and then 47 (32 conference games) for the rest of the contract. The service will also get two games on the opening night of the conference tournament.

Peacock will show 30 women’s games, with 20 of those conference games.

• ESPN is shut out of the deal. The ESPN networks have been a long-time basketball partner with the Big Ten.

Photo: Iowa’s women’s basketball team celebrates the Big Ten Tournament championship last season. The tournament title game will be shown on CBS beginning in 2023-24 under the conference’s new rights deal. (Stephen Mally/hawkeyesports.com)

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