NBC is scheduled to air the Big Ten Championship game in 2026, the only year in which the network has dibs on rights to the big game as part of its seven-year deal with the conference that runs through 2030. But according to a new report, the network is thinking about selling the game.
According to Puck sports correspondent John Ourand, NBC has held talks with Netflix and Amazon about selling the rights to next year’s Big Ten Championship game. “Sources described the Amazon deal as in early stages. Netflix, notably, expressed little interest,” Ourand reports.
Another interesting wrinkle in this case is the Fox component. Fox owns a majority stake in Big Ten Network, the cable channel dedicated to covering the conference. In a unique setup, Big Ten Network, rather than the conference itself, controls the media rights for the league. So when NBC negotiated its seven-year deal with the Big Ten, the network negotiated not only with conference executives, but directly with Fox executives as well.
Ourand posits that any sort of sublicense would have to get Fox’s blessing, and the network could “bristle at the idea that one of their network partners would try to cherry-pick a game to sell elsewhere,” especially to a competitor like Netflix or Amazon.
However, because NBC only gets the game once over the course of its seven-year deal, it is difficult for the network to monetize the game, or leverage it during negotiations with distributors. That, according to Ourand, is why the network sees it as an attractive asset to sell.
The Big Ten Championship game regularly attracts eight-figure audiences and typically features at least one blue chip team like Ohio State. Given that Fox may be reluctant to see the game go to a streamer, NBC may end up broadcasting the game after all. But it’s an interesting report, nevertheless.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.