Current College Sports Television Contracts
Last Updated on August 28, 2023
Trying to figure out which network has tv rights for which conference and for which sports or games? We try and keep the below list updated as new television contracts in college sports are signed.
The numbers below do not include payouts conferences receive from the College Football Playoff or for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament payouts.
Another caveat is that each conference handles distributions slightly differently, meaning the per school, per year averages are the amounts without taking conference distribution policies into account. For example, some conferences subtract conference expenses before equally dividing revenue between schools, while others grant the conference office a share equal to the schools instead of subtracting expenses first. Also, many deals are backloaded, meaning the per year average is an estimate and not actual.
These contracts are generally never made public, and therefore the numbers below are based on media reports.
Big 12
Deal Expiration: first deal expires 2024-25; new deal starts in 2025-26 and runs through 2030-31 (6-year deals)
Deals Worth: $2.6 billion for 13 years for deal expiring in 2024-25 with ESPN and Fox/FS1; $2.28 billion for deal running 2025-26 through 2030-31 with ESPN and Fox/FS1 (with pro rata increase for new schools entering the conference)
Per-year average: $220 million for deal expiring in 2024-25; $380 million for deal running 2025-26 through 2030-31
Per-school, per-year average: $22 million for deal expiring in 2024-25; $31.7 million for deal running 2025-26 through 2030-31
Conference Network: none
Football regular season:
- ESPN: the top 4 football picks each season, 6 of the top 8 picks, 8 of the top 12 picks and 12 of the top 20 picks
- Fox/FS1: 26 football games per season
Football championship game: ESPN
Basketball regular season:
- Fox/FS1: the new deal gives Fox rights to Big 12 basketball games for the first time, but no specifics available yet on how many
Basketball championship game: ESPN
Big Ten
Deal Expires: End of 2029-2030 academic year (7-year deals)
Deals Worth: $8.05 billion; FOX/FS1, CBS, NBC and Big Ten Network
Per-year average: $1.15 Billion
Per-school, per-year average: $71.875 million
Conference Network: Big Ten Network (61% Fox, 39% Big Ten Conference)
Football regular season:
- Fox/FS1 will broadcast up to 27 games in 2023, then up to 32 games per season from 2024 on (noon window)
- CBS will broadcast 7 games in 2023, then 14-15 games per season starting in 2024 (3:30pm ET window and streaming on Paramount+); CBS will also carry an afternoon game on Black Friday starting in 2024
- NBC will broadcast 16 games in 2023, then 15 games per year from 2024 on (primetime window, simultaneously streaming on Peacock); NBC will also carry a primetime game on Black Friday
- Big Ten Network will broadcast up to 41 games in 2023 and a maximum of 50 games in later years
- Peacock will exclusively stream four conference football games per season and four nonconference games
Football championship game:
- Fox will broadcast in 2023, 2025, 2027, and 2029
- CBS will broadcast in 2024 and 2028
- NBC will broadcast in 2026
Basketball:
- Big Ten Network will carry at least 126 men’s basketball games per season, including the four Thursday games and four quarterfinal games of the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament
- CBS will carry up to 11 regular-season men’s basketball games in 2023, 15 games (13 conference games) from 2024 on; Big Ten tournament semifinals and the championship game; women’s basketball tournament final
- Peacock will stream 32 regular-season men’s basketball games (20 conference games) in 2023-24 and 47 games (32 conference) from 2024-25 on plus the Big Ten tournament’s opening night doubleheader; 30 regular-season women’s basketball games (20 conference games) starting in 2023-24
- Fox/FS1 will carry at least 45 regular-season men’s basketball games per year
SEC
Deal Expiration: CBS expires in 2023; ESPN’s deal expires in 2033-34
Available information: Reports differ on the SEC’s first-tier numbers, which impacts our calculations. We’ve noted below.
First-tier rights: Reportedly $6 billion (only one outlet reporting a figure) from ESPN for 20 years through 2033-34 (extension inked in 2013 with start of SEC Network)
Second-tier rights: $55 million/year, CBS (through 2023 season); $300 million/year, ESPN/ABC (10 years starting in 2024)
SBJ has the total value of the SEC’s deals beginning in 2024 at $7.1B for $710M per year, but that doesn’t exactly match any of the reports for first- and second-tier rights above.
Per-year average: $355 million through 2023-24; $740 million per SBJ for 2024-25 through 2033-34
Per-school, per-year average: $14.6 million through 2023-24; $68.75 million 2024-25 through 2033-34 using SBJ’s per-year average at the 14 members in existence at the time of the deal
Conference network: SEC Network (wholly owned by ESPN, with Disney the controlling stakeholder at 80% and Hearst owning the remaining 20%)
Football regular season:
- ESPN/ABC: Beginning in 2024, ESPN/ABC has the first pick for the SEC’s game of the week and can shift from the 3:30 p.m. timeslot (previously held by CBS) to primetime.
- ESPN+: Rights to stream 1 non-conference football game per SEC school each season
Football championship game: ABC
Basketball regular season:
- ESPN/ABC: 8 marquee SEC men’s basketball games will be on ESPN or ABC exclusively starting in 2024-25, givin ESPN every SEC men’s basketball game to air across ESPN or on ABC.
- ESPN+: Rights to stream 2 non-conference men’s basketball games per SEC school each season
ACC
Deal Expiration: 2036
First-tier rights: $4.8 billion, ESPN (20 years)
Sublicensed rights: CW Network (through 2026-27; acquired from Raycom Sports, which sublicenses from ESPN)
Per-year average: $240 million
Per-school, per-year average: $17.1 million
Conference Network: ACC Network (wholly owned by ESPN)
Football regular season:
- ESPN: all regular season football games except the 50 sublicensed to Raycom/CW
- CW: 13 football games per season in the afternoon and in primetime from 2023 through 2026-27
Football championship game: ESPN/ABC
Basketball regular season:
- ESPN: all regular season basketball games except the 28 men’s and 9 women’s sublicensed to Raycom/CW
- CW: 28 men’s basketball games and 9 women’s basketball games in December, January and February with men’s doubleheaders every Saturday afternoon and women’s basketball games on Sunday afternoons.
PAC-12
Deal Expiration: 2024
First-tier rights: $3 billion, ESPN/FOX (12 years)
Per-year average: $250 million
Per-school, per-year average: $20.8 million
Conference Network: Pac-12 Networks (wholly owned by the conference)
Football regular season:
- ESPN: 22 games per season
- Fox: 22 games per season
Football championship game: alternates between ESPN and Fox
Basketball regular season:
- ESPN: 46 men’s basketball games; 5 women’s basketball games
- Fox: 22 men’s basketball games on various FSN networks
Basketball postseason: the men’s conference basketball tournament alternates between ESPN and Fox. In Fox years, Fox or FX will air one semifinal game, one quarterfinal game and the championship game. In ESPN years, the ESPN family of networks will televise the same games. The women’s championship game airs on ESPN.
With research assistance by John Riker and Syd Large
