ESPN May Be Left Out of Big Ten Media Deal
Barring a last-minute change of direction, ESPN will be not carry Big Ten games for the first time in 40 years.
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) August 8, 2022
SBJ Media is live:https://t.co/p7BVat3fcl
Darn.
Dollaa Dollaa bills, yo
For the sake of my sanity, NBC better get some better commentators
If this means no Gus Johnson then I don't want it. CBS and NBC are dregs... No thank you.
Just because ESPN is out doesn't mean FOX is out. Gus Johnson works for FOX exclusively. Pretty sure FOX and the B1G have a TV deal in place already anyway, especially with BTN being part of Fox's network.
August 8th, 2022 at 11:36 PM ^
Could you imagine going from Gus Johnson to Gary Danielson?
No thanks!!!
I know everyone hates ESPN and they do LOVE the SEC waaaaaaay too much, but I like having games on ESPN. ESPN to me is just part of sports culture.
August 8th, 2022 at 11:16 PM ^
And MTV used to have good programming and music. ESPN isn't what it once was.
August 8th, 2022 at 11:37 PM ^
This is fucking brilliant!
A good point.
Imagine if ESPN got Martha Quinn to call games.
August 9th, 2022 at 10:32 AM ^
Don't tease me.
Say what you want about ESPN/ABC, but they cover college football like it matters, and always have. From College Game Day in the morning to College Football Final in the late evening, with multiple college games in between. Pure College Football all day. College Football is not just a warmup act for the NFL, the way that Fox, NCB, and CBS treat it.
August 9th, 2022 at 10:18 AM ^
Pure SEC slob knobbery. Mindless talk shows, shouting and drivel. Guys who have taken repeated blows to their head standing around in their suits jibber jabbering. Just put sports on the air. I don't care what it is, just sports. Put news on ESPN news. College GameDay should obviously stay, but there's so much garbage on ESPN now.
August 9th, 2022 at 10:33 AM ^
I will give Fox credit for how they've ramped up their CFB stuff the last few years. The morning show is pretty good and is starting to rival Game Day. Game Day has gotten to be pretty soft with content the last few years between the guest pickers, and all the random non-football fluff they put in there. But College Football Final is a great watch when it doesn't have one of the Acho brothers on there.
As a cord cutter who needs to jump through hoops to get ESPN games... good.
Right. That was the only problem in my Sling Blue plus Sports Extra setup the past two years
August 8th, 2022 at 10:09 PM ^
I dislike ESPN and their ballsack licking of the SEC which gets worse and worse every year, but I would prefer them to continue splitting the broadcast of games with Fox/FS1/BTN as opposed to some shitty deal with CBS/NBC - both of which just plain suck.
Also, wasn't NBC basically gutting their sports division last I heard? Plus, having games on NBC/CBS would also mean having to use Peacock or Paramount+ - the biggest jokes in streaming.
If anything, I wish the Big Ten would hook up with Amazon/Netflix/Apple instead of looking at working with shit like CBS/NBC. They have superior streaming platforms (stack, UI/UX, etc.) and are all probably dying for content to bring eyeballs to their platforms. Amazon in particular would be a hell of a platform - even if they are as morally bankrupt as it gets overall.
August 9th, 2022 at 11:03 AM ^
Yes NBC has eliminated their NBC Sports Channel -- which hasn't been as bad as I thought, as they moved most of their coverage to USA. The Olympic Channel will be eliminated in the fall -- which is very bad as my wife watches that channel about 70% of the time.
Amazon would be awesome. I haven't seen their NFL coverage, but their coverage of the Australian Swim Trials is >>>> than NBC's coverage of the US Swim Trials.
Big Ten Basketball will be a big loser if ESPN is cut out of covering it. How will you see a Tuesday night Michigan - Iowa basketball game now?
Some of the speculation here is just so. . . speculative. Wilson said that he was keen to get more B1G sports on screens, and until we note the terms of these deals, I think it's probably wise to keep our powder dry. ESPN is a corporate behemoth; they all are. Personally, I'm more interested--for now--in whether the inking of a deal means an end, at least temporary, to addition of other teams.
I've hated espn for a long time. I really like how Fox vastly improved their broadcast of games for cf and they really captured the environment of The Game last season! I much prefer the BigTen on Fox over any other network now! No nbc/cbs and what not. Stick with Fox! I'll be fine if cbs or nbc gets some afternoon games. IE it looks like the sec is going full in with abc/espn. Which is fine, I'll take btn and big noon saturday for my pregame post game coverage and see ya to the bs of the other network.
Someone mentioned this in the other thread, but you have to believe this means that B1G highlights will be featured on ESPN now about as much as USFL highlights are.
ESPN has been an SEC puppet for years now anyway.
August 9th, 2022 at 10:58 AM ^
SEC needs to renegotiate their deal with espn, stat. Subject line: How do you like me now?
August 9th, 2022 at 11:10 AM ^
ESPN won't agree to that. SEC will now see what it feels like to live on a fixed income for the next 12 years. Bigger payday than the ACC but same situation. B1G negotiations have been brilliant.