You will no longer be watching Big Ten football on ESPN, beginning in 2023.

The long-rumored Big Ten media rights deal is reaching the home stretch, and some significant changes are coming to college football.

Expectations are now that the conference will have three media partners in a deal that could break $1.5B annually.

It's a well-known fact that the existing partnership between Fox and the Big Ten will continue and step up a notch. Fox already has an ownership stake in the Big Ten Network and has focused on the Big Ten for their Big Noon broadcasts.

Fox reportedly will pay the Big Ten more than $1B annually for the partnership. They will continue to run the "A package" and have the biggest Big Ten games in their noon time slot. The highest-rated game in college football last season was Michigan vs. Ohio State, which drew 15.9 million viewers on Fox. Michigan vs. Michigan State was the third-most watched game on Fox and drew 9.3 million viewers.

What was not known was who the second and third media partners would be splitting the Big Ten's "B package."

CBS became interested in a Big Ten media package after they lost the rights to the SEC to ESPN. CBS has been home for the SEC since 1996.

The relationship began to change with the launch of the SEC Network, which ESPN owns. Three of the most watched games in 2021 were SEC matchups broadcast on CBS in the 3:30 pm slot. CBS is expected to pay $350M each year for the rights to the Big Ten afternoon games alone.

The Big Ten is interested in having exclusive windows, ensuring the Big Ten will have consistent broadcasts across the entire day each week. Enter NBC.

With Fox carrying games at noon and CBS carrying games at 3:30, the third partner was expected to be a digital platform like Amazon or Apple. NBC has come to the table with a pitch to make the Big Ten "the NFL of college conferences." NBC would carry night games for the Big Ten at 7:30 pm, giving the conference a full slate of games at noon, 3:30 pm, and 7:30 pm each week. Their pitch is to have the broadcasts mirror what NBC presents for Sunday Night Football. A preview show with some level of a recap would be likely, along with a large team broadcast.

NBC loves the idea of pairing Notre Dame and the Big Ten for their own portfolio. The impact this could have on the Irish eventually joining the Big Ten is unknown now.

This is heading towards a divide of two super conferences, potentially operating like separate leagues, driven by the main media partners with Fox behind the Big Ten and ESPN behind the SEC.

Fox's involvement in the negotiations created tension with other media partners. With Fox at the negotiation table, other networks have had to show important data and information to their competitor. With the changes in how people consume media, live broadcasts that draw eyes have become essential for a network's marketing profile, and there are few draws as big as college football.

This deal creates a unique set of mediums for the Big Ten. Fox, CBS, and NBC are all major broadcast networks available in non-cable packages. Each network also owns a portfolio of multiple channels, allowing the conference to broadcast all of its games on a national level. Each network also has a streaming platform that will give the conference a digital presence that was being pitched by the likes of Amazon and Apple. What if any impact the subscription services will have on broadcasted games is unknown at this time. NBC aired a Notre Dame game exclusively on Peacock last season, requiring a $4.99 monthly subscription.

Also not known at this time is the impact the deal will have on basketball. Football has been the driving force behind conference expansion and this new media rights deal, but make no mistake, losing ESPN for college basketball broadcasts is a massive deal. How the conference will plan to broadcast all of its college basketball games on BTN and FS1 is unclear.

UPDATE: ESPN has pulled out of the negotitations. Another sign the eventual deal will include Fox, CBS, and NBC.

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