Big Ten Media Rights Could Increase up to 25% Thanks to USC, UCLA Additions

Jeff Kotuby

July 13, 2022

The two newest members of the Big Ten could make the conference some serious bank through the league’s upcoming media rights deal.

According to a report by Front Office Sports, the Big Ten’s media rights value could increase by between 10 to 25% thanks to the addition of USC and UCLA, who came over from the Pac-12 in a shocking move late in June. The Big Ten’s media rights were already projected to be worth over $1 billion annually, but now could be worth anywhere from $1.1 billion to $1.25 billion. The conference’s current media rights deal is set to expire in 2023.

FOS makes mention of the fact that this isn’t just a win for the Big Ten in the traditional sense — adding two passionate fanbases from blue-blood programs — they’re also adding the greater Los Angeles TV market.

“The timing couldn’t be better,” said sports business expert Lee Berke. “There’s no other Pac-12 presence throughout Southern California. So you get that market. It’s not just the city; it’s the DMA.”

Fox — who owns 61% of the Big Ten Network already has secured half of the conference’s football rights, and while ESPN, CBS, and NBC have reportedly been interesting in some or all of the remaining rights, a more streaming-focused company has re-entered the picture. The move to add USC and UCLA reportedly re-ignited talks between Apple and the Big Ten for the live broadcast rights. The conference has already granted Fox half of the rights in the forthcoming package — including the first choice of games — but would, of course, want to add a second or even third partner.

It’s not all sunshine and roses, though, especially if you’re the Pac-12. The struggling conference is now without one of its top schools (USC) and a presence in the coveted LA TV market. There are additional reports that indicate that the conference could lose even more teams, this time to the Big 12, who themselves will lose two big schools in the near future — Texas and Oklahoma; the pair will leave for the SEC in 2025.

Even if the PAC-12 does manage to survive, unless they add a handful of exciting schools or come up with a creative scheduling partnership with another conference, the loss of USC and UCLA will likely come at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars thanks to what will ultimately be a weaker television product without the LA-schools, and a smaller inventory of games with two fewer teams. Like the Big Ten, the Pac-12’s media deal expires in 2023.