Apple and Amazon pursuing streaming rights
Apple and Amazon are reportedly pursuing streaming rights after ESPN, which is jointly owned by Disney (NYSE:DIS), ended its 40-year partnership with the Big Ten.
As it has withdrawn from talks for the broadcast rights to the league’s sports, ESPN is terminating a 40-year collaboration with the Big Ten college athletics conference, according to sources.
This ends one of the longest-running sports rights partnerships and makes room for several new ones, including CBS, a subsidiary of Paramount Global Class B (NASDAQ:PARA), and NBC, a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA), who may join Fox Sports (NASDAQ:FOX) as Big Ten partners as of the 2023–2024 academic year.
According to Sports Business Journal, ESPN expected to have to pay $380M or more to maintain rights to just the linear TV games in a seven-year package, but the price became too high.
Now, it is anticipated that CBS will air a Big Ten football game in the Saturday 3:30 p.m. window, while NBC would choose to air a game in prime time and several exclusives for its Peacock streaming service (which will also simulcast the NBC games). According to reports, CBS and NBC each paid roughly $350M for their bundles.
While FS1 and BTN will broadcast select games, Fox Sports will continue to cover the games in the Saturday noon window.
The Athletic reports that Apple and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) are heavily involved in the Big Ten negotiations on the direct-to-consumer rights that are being severed from linear TV, though it is not yet obvious who will win.
According to the source, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) returned to negotiations after the shocking news that Pac-12 powerhouses USC and UCLA were joining the Big Ten. This expansion greatly increased the Big Ten’s coverage area by bringing the West Coast into what had been a Midwest and Eastern-based conference. Previously, Amazon’s Prime Video was thought to be the front-runner for the Big Ten streaming rights.
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