Big Ten Football on Fox!

A while ago I predicted/blogged what will be the future of the NFL on TV….now my take on the best conference in college sports, the BIG TEN.  I’m looking this purely at football only.  Basketball is a different monster.

Currenlty the Big Ten has contracts with ESPN/ABC and the Big Ten Network, and most recenlty FOX to broadcast the Big Ten Championship game.  The ABC/ESPN deal goes through 2015 season.  Fox gets the Big Ten Title game through 2016.  As for buyouts with either I don’t know what they are, but I think there’s a better chance of a clause with ABC/ESPN than Fox.  Fox owns DirecTV and also has a stake in the Big Ten Network.

So I think it is interesting that when the Big Ten negotiated the Big Ten Title game, why didn’t it go to ESPN/ABC?  Could it be because the Big Ten-Fox marriage with the Big Ten Network?  Fox had the dipped into the college football world with the BCS for four years, but nothing during the regular season.  When the next Big Ten contract talks come up, I think you see Fox be a big player and add in college football to their slate and the Big Ten will move football from ABC/ESPN to Fox, and then of course the Big Ten Network. 

To do this though I think Fox needs to make a bigger commitment and investment into College football.  You can’t just dip your toes into it with Terry Bradshaw and Jimmy Johnson, and please NO Chris Rose or Chris Myers.  You need to grab some decent and really good anaylsts and show hosts, and I think they can and will do that. 

But also with that I’m excited, especially during conference play, of what it would mean for the Big Ten and getting all their games on nationally, instead of regionally.  With Fox and the Big Ten Network, you have 6 great time slots.  11 am, 3pm and prime time at 7pm.  ABC and ESPN can vouch for this, college football is ratings gold.  What are you going to throw on Saturday night on Fox in the fall?  Football is gold!  Now the Big Ten has a rule that no games played at night after the first week of November, that needs changed, move it to maybe the first 2 weeks in November. 

Looking at a typical Big Ten confernce week coming up, you’ll have 5 or 6 games a week.  Here are a couple examples of what your national broadcasts would look like. 

TIME	Big Ten Network	FOX
11AM	Illinois @ Indiana	Michigan @ Northwestern
3PM	Minnesota @ Purdue	Penn State @ Iowa
7PM		Ohio State @ Nebraska
	Bye - MSU/WISC
TIME	Big Ten Network	FOX
11AM	Northwestern @ Indiana	Iowa @ Minnesota
3PM	Purdue @ Michigan	Michigan State @ Nebraska
7PM	Illinois @ Penn State	Wisconsin @ Ohio State
Thanksgiving Weekend
TIME	Big Ten Network	FOX
3PM - FRI		Iowa @ Nebraska
11AM	Illinois @ Minnesota	Mich State @ Northwestern
3PM	Purdue @ Indiana	Penn State @ Wisconsin
7PM		Ohio State @ Michigan

Now obvioulsy as teams play all is subject to change, but you get all the games available nationally, not regionally at 230 and 11am on ESPN or Big Ten Network.  This allows you all your conference games to be on tv.  Now when it comes to non-conference games, that would have to be worked around regionally with 12 different broadcasts, but you’d still get a chance for two primetime and two 3pm games.  No more sharing with SEC and ACC or Big East, the BIG TEN is bigger and better and more available.

Obviously also that the college basketball contract would have to be worked out some.  I don’t know if I can see FOX jump in on the college basketball front, but CBS has weekend games for the Big Ten, and ESPN would still have the games on Tuesday and Thursday, but you’d have to have all for the Big Ten Network pumping the basketball games. 

CBS is all in love with the SEC but shares them with ABC/ESPN.  But when you turn on CBS at 3pm in the fall, it’s their channel.  This is what it could be like for the Big Ten with the Big Ten on Fox!