Report: Big Ten, Fox close to media rights agreement

The move has seemed inevitable and now appears to be headed toward ink.

According to Sports Business Journal, Fox is nearing a deal to secure half of the Big Ten's first tier media rights. Though the terms are reportedly still flexible, Fox is expected to receive the rights to around 25 football games and 50 basketball games it will air on both Fox and Fox Sports 1 for over $250 million per year for six years.

The Big Ten's primary media rights deal had been with ESPN for football (a $1 billion, 10-year contract) and CBS for basketball ($72 million over six years). They expire at the end of the 2016-17 season.

The Big Ten and Fox seemed like a match. Fox owns 51 percent of the Big Ten Network and airs the Big Ten title game in football. The Big Ten's TV rights will be the last major sports property, pro or college, to be on the market in this decade. Fox Sports needs go-to live programming and a boost for its cable entity, Fox Sports 1.

The Fox deal is for half of the Big Ten TV rights. Sports Business Journal reports that the Big Ten will solicit bids on the other half. So, ESPN still is a possibility, along with NBC, CBS or Turner.

The second package also is expected to include around 25 football and 50 basketball games, Sports Business Journal reported.

Fox and the Big Ten also feel like a match since ESPN jumped in with ownership of the SEC Network. ESPN has, of course, tilted its attention toward the SEC. The B1G would be the top priority on Fox Sports 1 and, probably, Fox, at least on every day that isn't an NFL Sunday.

The other side of that argument is Fox Sports 1 and its low ratings. FS1 carries Big East basketball and averaged just 96,000 on the network (national champion Villanova calls the Big East home, by the way). Last year, the Big Ten averaged 1.2 million viewers for basketball games on ESPN.

Then again, this is a football world. Football would be the big trophy for Fox, which could offer a clear path for B1G games to have a national exposure on its main network. In the current deal with ABC/ESPN, the coverage mainly has been on a regional basis.

With the split package and a six-year contract, the Big Ten could test Fox and its platforms and keep a presence on ESPN, which faces economic pressure on the cord-cutting front.

Is Fox up to this? Can the Big Ten afford to bypass ESPN? These are the $1.5 billion questions.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com