College Football: Big Ten Conference signs TV deal worth $1.14 billion

The Big Ten Conference has found the pot at the end of the TV media rights rainbow.

Sports Business Daily is reporting that ESPN and the Big Ten Conference will maintain a relationship forged nearly five decades ago, but the times have certainly changed.

On Monday, Sports Business Daily reported that Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany and ESPN have a deal in place for half of the conference's media rights. The deal is worth $1.14 billion over six years and is a win-win for the conference and the fans.

The Big Ten and Fox already had forged a six-year deal worth $240 million for the other half of the conference's media rights. The additional fee paid by Fox gives that network the right to choose games as well as broadcasting the conference football championship game.

Thus, games like Michigan-Ohio State most likely will be on Fox instead of ABC/ESPN.

Maintaining a relationship on ESPN gives coaches a wide swath of coverage for Big Ten fans and allows the conference to spread the conference brands further if games were just on Fox.

CBS remains in the mix, too. Sports Business Daily said the network will also renew its basketball-only package at $10 million annually through 2023. That package includes the Big Ten basketball tournament semifinals and the championship game.

The three deals, along with Big Ten Network rights, nearly triples the conference's television revenue. The new deal with ESPN will takes effect and run through the 2022-23 academic year.

ESPN's cost-cutting moves earlier this year left many wondering if the network would be able to make a competitive bid to maintain its relationship with the Big Ten. The conference opened talks with NBC Sports and Turner but a deal never materialized.

According to Sports Business Daily, ESPN and Fox will each broadcast about 25 football and 50 basketball games each year. Before the start of each season, the two networks will select the weeks where each network gets first choice of games, with Fox having the first pick every year.

Fox and ESPN will alternate picks for each week thereafter.

An official announcement is expected at the Big Ten annual Kickoff Luncheon on July 26.