ESPN Says It Will Still Dominate CFB Coverage Without the Big Ten

ESPN could still dominate a large share of total college football viewership despite losing rights to the Big Ten. 

When ESPN’s new contract with the SEC starts in 2024, it projects that it will garner 63% of all college football viewership minutes for people between the ages of 18-49, the network calculated. 

That’s only a 1% drop from the network’s 2021-22 numbers. 

Last week, the Big Ten announced it had signed the most lucrative media rights package in the history of college sports. But the deal, worth more than $7 billion over seven years, conspicuously did not include ESPN. The two have severed ties after a four-decade relationship. 

ESPN plans to go after college football beyond its SEC deal, however. 

A source previously told Front Office Sports that the network is interested in the next iteration of contracts with the Big 12 and Pac-12. It plans to also try to re-up rights to the College Football Playoff.