B1G TV Rights up next year, NBC expected to make a run
https://twitter.com/fos/status/1494309540690599940?s=21
All those charts about how many Michigan/Ohio State games being among the highest rated for the year are putting dollar signs in the eyes of everyone at the conference offices. CBS will presumably also be a big bidder, which may also force Fox’s hand, as well as ESPN/ABC.
February 17th, 2022 at 11:37 AM ^
My apologies
February 17th, 2022 at 11:40 AM ^
No need to apologize in my mind. It's an interesting topic, and that prior discussion got bombed by a multi-post of epic proportions.
February 17th, 2022 at 11:44 AM ^
To be fair that thread went off the rails slightly quickly with a certain insult
February 17th, 2022 at 12:02 PM ^
Ok gramps
February 17th, 2022 at 11:32 AM ^
not a fan. I feel like NBC's HD is terrible... maybe its just watching ND over the years, but it always seemd like the football games weren't as clear as other channels. Maybe its the camera they use that limited it ... or just ND being stuck in mud on their crap field.
Anyway whatever
February 17th, 2022 at 12:19 PM ^
NBC is basically what Fox was in the early 90s at this point. Jeff Zucker wrecked that network and it’s never recovered. If it weren’t for SNL (which is just meh these days) and Law and Order SUVLOLWTF, I wouldn’t know a single show on the network.
February 17th, 2022 at 1:10 PM ^
Yeah -- I know we all complaint about FOX commercials, but their 4k integration (and even regular HD) is much better than nbc. Plus, some of those nbc games would inevitably end up on peacock (which I admit would be a major improvement to btn+ for non-football, non-basketball.
February 17th, 2022 at 1:27 PM ^
NBC is still slightly better than ABC. ABC is the worst. They don't even broadcast in high enough quality for the score graphic to not be blurry/pixelated.
It's ridiculous that 1080p has been available for over a decade and channels are still broadcasting sports in 720p.
February 17th, 2022 at 1:32 PM ^
The only time I watch NBC College Football is when Michigan plays @ ND. From what I remember, those games take an hour longer than they should. I do like Ann Arbor resident Mike Tirico.
February 17th, 2022 at 11:32 AM ^
Fox I think is willing to outbid the rest to be the main home for B1G football; like CBS is for the SEC. They got a taste of what having a good Michigan and OSU can do for ratings and I don’t think they let it go.
If I was a conference I wouldn’t even entertain NBC unless they dropped Notre Dame.
February 17th, 2022 at 12:35 PM ^
NBC doesn’t have a sports channel anymore; they still give ND priority; so no to NBC.
…and they just suck out loud.
February 17th, 2022 at 2:19 PM ^
like CBS is for the SEC.
Bad example. CBS is losing the SEC after 2023 and they’re expected to be in on the bidding war for the B1G.
February 17th, 2022 at 11:37 AM ^
Yeah, please not nbc... I much prefer fox and be away from abc/espn... CBS and Fox with NFL ties are much better imo. Abc/espn is just why bother with the bs they have pulled. I like Fox's broadcast better closer to the nfl style. Still rome to get better but they really captured the environment for the game and sold me on Fox for the BT.
February 17th, 2022 at 11:38 AM ^
I really hope Fox pulls through. I like the commentary teams they have. Especially Klatt and Gus Johnson (OH-JAHH-BO!)
February 17th, 2022 at 12:23 PM ^
+1 for O. JA. BO!
-1 for liking Gus Johnson
+1 for the contradiction.
February 17th, 2022 at 8:04 PM ^
MICHIGAN. DEFEATS OHIO STATE.
FOURTY TWO TO TWENTY SEVEN.
FFFFFINALLY!!!
February 17th, 2022 at 11:50 AM ^
NBC would be a terrible choice. They’ve imploded their sports channel recently and are quickly fading in their sports coverage in general. Going to them would be very bad for the conference in terms of exposure and accessibility. Their Peacock streaming service is also a disaster both financially and also in terms of interface.
Id love to see the conference go all-in with ESPN, but the SEC beat them there. That’s the only big time sports network and they are complete whores for the SEC these days - I wish it were like that for the Big Ten.
I don’t like Fox for a multitude of reasons, but they are a solid fit for the Big Ten. They also have FS1 as a sports channel to broadcast additional games not on the main Fox network or on BTN.
If the Big Ten were to stay with Fox, I would hope it becomes a deal where Big Ten events dominate their networks across all sports.
February 17th, 2022 at 12:26 PM ^
Is Peacock really a "disaster financially?" I know that they have most definitely NOT met their goals in terms of demand for their original programming. But I also know that their # of actively monthly user number right now is already at 70-80% of their goal for the end of CY 2024 (24.5MM vs. a goal of 30-35MM).
Now, the number of actively monthly users is going to struggle if they don't have good original programming. But getting some B1G programming certainly doesn't seem like it will hurt as regards the latter.
Of course, putting B1G programming on Peacock isn't necessarily great for the B1G sports fan, but I foresee NBC being a strong player in this bid process.
February 17th, 2022 at 11:54 AM ^
NBC would be horrible. They suck at covering sports. EPL, hockey, Olympics... you name it
February 17th, 2022 at 12:32 PM ^
I'm interested in why you don't like their EPL coverage. Every game is available and their studio show seems good to me. Way better than it used to be as far as I can tell.
February 17th, 2022 at 1:30 PM ^
I actually liked their NHL coverage (not to mention that is actually existed, in contrast to ESPN). But, RIP.
February 17th, 2022 at 12:10 PM ^
No to NBC. You know how we have a few games a year that seem to get stuck on BTN? 100% NBC is going to put a few Michigan, OSU, etc. game on Peacock every season to try to force B1G fans to buy subscriptions.
February 17th, 2022 at 12:23 PM ^
That's why I'm also against it as well. You know part of their competitive bid package would be a cost-recovery attempt by putting good chunks of the games on Peacock and not just the main offering but their premium one.
Wherever the B1G lands hopefully it will be on a network that doesn't chase as many commercial breaks as Fox.
February 17th, 2022 at 12:16 PM ^
To Hell with NDBC.
February 17th, 2022 at 12:18 PM ^
Michigan football + the CBS college football theme music is gold.
February 17th, 2022 at 12:34 PM ^
And Brent Musberger. Lou Holtz and Reggie Ho. You can leave that game in the vault.
February 17th, 2022 at 2:02 PM ^
The 1988 and 1990 games were both great games with brutal finishes. But it made 1991 all the more sweeter.
February 17th, 2022 at 5:15 PM ^
I was at the 1990 game. Moeller's first game. We looked great and had a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter. Moeller thought he could sit on it and hold the lead and after some run run pass punt it was gone.
February 17th, 2022 at 12:32 PM ^
Kieth ...(edit) KEITH Jackson is considering leaving ABC to announce on NBC cuz he loves his Michigan Wolverines!
February 17th, 2022 at 12:36 PM ^
Kieth Jackson is considering leaving ABC because Keith Jackson doesn't want him around.
February 17th, 2022 at 12:49 PM ^
Love NBC for premier league coverage but absolutely hate their football coverage. From nd to nfl, they just aren’t great
February 17th, 2022 at 5:11 PM ^
They need to put the second-tier games back on NBCSN and get rid of Peacock.
February 17th, 2022 at 1:16 PM ^
Any idea if Amazon is interested... WOTS is they are serious about bidding for the ESPN contract for the NFL...
February 17th, 2022 at 2:26 PM ^
If Mike Tirico is doing all our broadcasts then sign me up for NBC. If not then no thank you
February 17th, 2022 at 3:02 PM ^
I was curious so I Googled "Top 100 telecasts in 2021."
There are some interesting factoids which bode well for the BIG TV Rights.
- A full 63 out of the 100 top telecasts are sports related.
- Of these 63 telecasts, more than half are football, and most of those are NFL.
- Michigan was in there for #75, the Big 10 Championship game with Iowa. (I thought The Game with OSU would have been higher, but upon reflection, it had major interest particularly for Michigan and OSU fans.)
- While I am not a fan of gambling, I'm guessing that wagers on games really drive some of the viewership.
- Beyond the NFL, a number of sports were represented: NBA Finals, NCAA Tourney, World Series, Summer Olympics, College Football Playoffs.
- However, the NHL was shut out. Apparently hockey is much more of a niche market
A related topic is "Most Watched Networks in 2021."
- The top 4 networks/channels were CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox, in that order.
- ESPN came in 6th. However, their viewers were less than half of Fox, and less than a third of CBS and NBC.
This tells me that OTA broadcasters still have massively more viewers than anything you have to pay for. This certainly fits with my own priorities. As long as almost all games are on CBS, ABC, Fox, and NBC (in that order,) I will be happy. The more Michigan can avoid being on the Big 10 Network or ESPN, the better, in my opinion.
While there is not a DIRECT connection between payouts to colleges and NIL payouts, it is crystal clear that players need to be better taken care of. With the kind of money we're seeing, I think there is a blurring of lines in salaries between the NFL and the top 25 college programs, so that shouldn't matter. But whatever Michigan does with incoming monies, it needs to help out those who are playing on the field.
UNRELATED: I am curious about something with Madden and other video games, which if I recall correctly, led to some of the NIL issues. How will players be paid out for their images and likenesses being part of college football and basketball video games?
February 17th, 2022 at 5:12 PM ^
Michigan-Ohio State wasn’t on there because that list is prime-time telecasts only. Mich-OSU outdrew Mich-Iowa by roughly 4M.
February 17th, 2022 at 3:13 PM ^
NBC is an inferior provider, the Adidas of sports programming. If they get The Game, you can bet it's gonna be on Peacock.
February 17th, 2022 at 3:22 PM ^
We might get a Rutgers-UM game on Peacock, but they aren't putting the OSU-UM game on a streaming channel.
I think we'll see a split package like we have today with Fox/ESPN. Either CBS or NBC will replace ESPN as the secondary network. Fox will continue to carry The Game, and then Fox and CBS or NBC will alternate which games they carry each weekend.
February 17th, 2022 at 5:32 PM ^
Agree—Mich-OSU wouldn’t land on a streaming network. But it is an interesting question: What caliber of game could?
When ESPN2 was young back in the ‘90s (and was by no means a sure bet to succeed), they put Duke-UNC basketball games there to get operators to carry the channel. ND-Toledo was the only ND game that was exclusively on Peacock last season, but NBC only had the rights to 7 games. If they had more inventory, it stands to reason they’d try to put more games on Peacock.
February 17th, 2022 at 6:48 PM ^
I think Peacock would push to put games like Michigan-Minnesota or Ohio State-Indiana on Peacock. Games that are better than Michigan-Rutgers but neither at a Michigan-Iowa or Ohio State-Nebraska level.
ND-Toledo last year was a "trial balloon." Frankly, it was probably a good trial balloon, given the game was close and there was chatter for 1-2 hours that Saturday of "how do I watch this potential upset?!?" I think the lesson they learned is "we could put better games on streaming."
Looking at ND's 2022 schedule, I'll guess NBC puts ND-BYU (in Vegas) on Peacock. NBC has the rights to that game and BYU is just that "mid-tier-ish" opponent for which it could work. BYU has a relatively-wide-ranging fan-base in their own right.
February 17th, 2022 at 5:16 PM ^
The TV time outs are just going to keep getting longer and longer
February 17th, 2022 at 6:17 PM ^
If NBC gets B1G games, the next thought I will have is that ND is joining the B1G. Now ND and the B1G can both have NBC contracts.
February 18th, 2022 at 1:43 PM ^
It’s a really good point.
If you look at all this from ND’s point of view, you’d have to be a little irked if NBC gets the B1G deal. NBC would be paying B1G schools significantly more per school than they’re paying ND.
Now, B1G teams are already making more. But part of the reason ND doesn’t sweat that is (aside from liking independence) they have the prestige of having a broadcast network to themselves. But they could find themselves in a position where their network is paying more to teams in their own backyard.
February 17th, 2022 at 8:00 PM ^
No thank you to NBC. They spend most of each Notre Dame halftime pimping their NFL games. Their coverage of Notre Dame - "their team" - is weak and disinterested.