As Fox and CBS have seen some positive momentum in college football TV ratings during the Disney–YouTube TV carriage dispute, the networks are drawing the short end of the stick this weekend due to the Big Ten’s complicated media-rights contract.
The conference’s best game of the week, No. 21 Iowa at No. 17 USC, won’t be televised on any of the three networks—Fox, CBS, and NBC—that are paying the Big Ten a combined $1 billion annually through 2030. Instead, the matchup will be broadcast by Big Ten Network.
The curious move is a result of some unique contractual obligations for the Big Ten’s 18 teams, a broadcast network source told Front Office Sports.
A Big Ten spokesperson provided the following statement to FOS: “The conference and its media partners operate within an agreed upon set of selection parameters, and the networks work collaboratively with the conference to manage the week-by-week selection process throughout the season. Within those parameters is a requirement that each Big Ten institution appear on Big Ten Network twice during the football season, with at least one of those being against a conference opponent.”
Iowa and USC have each played in just one game on BTN this season.
So, while the conference’s cable channel airs Iowa-USC, with the Trojans fighting to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Fox will broadcast Central Florida at No. 6 Texas Tech (the Red Raiders are three-touchdown-plus betting favorites), and CBS will show Penn State at Michigan State.
At noon, Fox is airing No. 18 Michigan at Northwestern from Wrigley Field. Iowa-USC wasn’t an option for the window as Fox doesn’t schedule 9 a.m. PT kickoffs in its Big Noon Saturday time slot. NBC’s lone game Saturday is UCLA at No. 1 Ohio State in prime time, with the Buckeyes four-touchdown-plus favorites.
Like the other Power 4 conferences, the Big Ten announces most game times and network assignments on a rolling 12- and 6-day basis, factoring in which matchups are the most intriguing throughout the season.
