• Loading stock data...
Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Big Ten Network Elevating Digital Game During Conference Tournament

big-ten-march-madness

Photo Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

(*opendorse is a proud partner of Front Office Sports)

The Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament starts Wednesday in Chicago and digital will be the name of the game. It’s the second year BTN has exclusive rights to the first 10 games of the tournament, and Jordan Maleh, BTN senior director of digital marketing and communications, wants to make sure the network is optimizing its reach, not only for those with access to the Big Ten Network but non-viewers, too.

“Live events are our core business and we’re thinking year-over-year, how do we adapt to digital?” Maleh said. “In terms of elevating and impact, the plate has become a little more full. So from our end, it’s knowing how we complement the events and games and understand how to maximize our rights.”

BTN has long featured school-specific social handles to push school-specific content and while those follower counts are lower than the mother ship BTN accounts, the engagement is increased because of how rapid school fan bases can be, Maleh said.

That’s especially true when the social content leverages the tournament broadcast rights.

READ MORE: Pac-12 Network Grows Viewership Thanks to Cross-Platform Integration

BTN uses third-party editing company WSC to cut and post highlights across social media. Those highlights are sponsored by State Farm, while Gatorade-sponsored vignettes of iconic Big Ten Tournament moments will be pushed across the channels. All the while, on-air talent from BTN will be synced with the Opendorse platform and push video from their personal handles.

But the most ambitious part of the digital strategy revolves around BTN’s multiplatform video/producer, or MVPE program, which will feature seven videographers creating custom content for each of the 14 school-specific accounts.

“From our end, a unique angle different from other networks is the content we break down to school-specific,” he said. “That’s where you get every highlight and every piece of content for that school. That’s where you see Tom Izzo and Cassius Winston walking into United Center or celebrate if they cut down the net.”

MVPE began last year with three pilot schools — Michigan State University, Penn State University and University of Minnesota — to best maximize the network’s rights and provide more comprehensive digital content. The MVPE program was partly modeled after the NFL’s Live Content Correspondents program but adjusted for BTN’s school campus model. The network embeds the freelancer with the athletic department and provides equipment, ranging from laptops and cameras to GoPros to capture exclusive content.

“From our end, we never had a presence onsite,” Maleh said. “We want to make mobile-first content as fast and the most efficient we can. This is day of, hour of and minutes after.”

[mc4wp_form id=”8260″]

It’s worked, in a big way: This year, the program expanded to include seven total schools to prove its sustainability and profitability, with the intent to eventually cover all 14 schools. According to Maleh, MVPE coverage included approximately 55 percent football and men’s basketball and 45 percent Olympic sports.

“That’s a huge value add for the schools,” he said. “A lot of departments might not have the bandwidth to cover, so that’s where we come into play.”

The Big Ten Tournament will be a departure for the program as the seven correspondents are all in Chicago producing for each Big Ten school which will expand the depth of digital coverage of the tournament, Maleh said.

The Big Ten Tournament MVPE content will be presented by Yahoo! Sports, and Maleh is excited about the program’s future. The first year, it generated 4 million video views. This year, that number soared to 26 million. The 2,987 social posts across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter generated more than 97 million impressions. Between impressions and views, sponsorship buy-in can ultimately help the model remain sustainable, Maleh said.

“We want to be a scalable content consumption model,” he said. “There is growth, extreme growth, and with our future goal of all 14 schools, that’s scalable and that’s an interest for us.”

READ MORE: How the NFL LCC Program Brings Fans ‘As Close As They Can Get’

Maleh hopes the program is something other conference networks might model initiatives on, continuing the network’s innovation pattern. It would only be natural, given the Big Ten Network’s legacy as a pioneering brand on television.

“We take pride in being the first collegiate conference network,” he said.  “As a benchmark, we do compare against the landscape of other conference networks, but from an innovation standpoint, we like to be the first network to do X.

“We like to be first in the space. We have been and hope to continue to be.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Texas Tech Booster Cody Campbell Slams Conference PE Deals

Campbell said the concept goes against “all the laws of finance.”
exclusive

WNBA’s Fire Prematurely Announce Head Coach Hire on LinkedIn

Portland is expected to hire Alex Sarama from the Cavaliers, FOS confirmed.
Oct 10, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) celebrates with teammates after game four of the 2025 WNBA Finals at Mortgage Matchup Center.

WNBA Finals Draws 1.5M Viewers, Second-Highest Series on ESPN

The four-game series averaged 1.5 million viewers.

Featured Today

Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) celebrates with her teammates after her last second shot to take the lead 90-88 against the Phoenix Mercury in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on Oct. 8, 2025.
exclusive

Standoff Over WNBA’s Future Has Dominated Finals

CBA negotiations have stolen the spotlight from the Aces’ dominant performance.
Paul Cartier
October 5, 2025

Sports Organists Are Still Thriving in the Era of Raucous Arena Music

“When they walk out and they see a real organ guy, it’s like, ‘Wow.’”
Sep 27, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Jackson Chourio (11) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at American Family Field.
October 4, 2025

Milwaukee Moneyball: Brewers Are Beating MLB’s Deeper Pockets

Milwaukee is holding its own against big-budget competitors.
Kōloa Rum Company Rum Rusher
September 27, 2025

Panthers Bubbly, Jets Wine, Manning Whiskey: The Sports Booze Boom

A sommelier dives into the sports booze trend—and tries Jets wine.
MLS

MLS Publishes Unchecked AI-Generated Game Recaps

Humans are not reviewing the articles for accuracy.
Sep 5, 2025; Flushing, NY, USA; Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Novak Djokovic of Serbia embraces after their match in the semifinal of the men’s singles at the US Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
October 13, 2025

Six Kings Slam Returns With Record $6M Prize, Netflix Deal

The Six Kings Slam is held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Micah Parsons
exclusive
October 14, 2025

NFL Scorigami Creator Blames Glitches on Twitter Platform Changes

The bot has been glitching all NFL season, and fans have noticed.
Sponsored

How Jenny Just Is Shaping the Future of Sports Ownership

Jenny Just on bringing her investment experience to sports ownership.
Mar 5, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; A view of the NBA logo and NBA app logo and basketballs in front of the base during warms up before the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Suns at the American Airlines Center.
October 13, 2025

NBA Will Take Over League Pass After WBD Divorce

The league now has full operational control of those media assets.
Aces
October 10, 2025

WNBA Finals Most Viewed In 25 Years Despite Possible Aces Sweep

Games 2 and 3 have averaged more than 1.2 million viewers.
Spectrum
October 10, 2025

ESPN Streaming Service at Core of New Spectrum Plan

The No. 1 U.S. distributor further blends linear and streaming TV.
exclusive
October 10, 2025

Alyssa Lang Joins ESPN NBA Sideline Reporter Ranks

Lang has been a host and reporter for ESPN and SEC Network since 2018.