The Big Ten is one of the premier conferences in the US for athletics and fieldwork, in fact, the Big Ten got a big boost earlier this summer with the addition of USC and UCLA, making it a potential “super conference”. As we’ve seen throughout the coverage of the importance of Apple when acquiring streaming rights NFL Sunday Ticketthe world of sports licensing and media rights is incredibly complex and currently Fox blocked some of the Big Ten broadcasting rights.
It is also likely that CBS And NBC get the broadcast rights, which would end a 40-year partnership between the Big Ten and ESPN. But in addition to those complex broadcast rights, the Big Ten also has to add a streaming package to the mix, and The Athletic reports that both Apple and Amazon are in the running to acquire the rights to this packagebut “it is not yet clear” what will ultimately prevail.
Other college leagues have streaming options as part of their media rights deal, but not an exclusive package. Amazon Prime has long been considered the favorite to acquire the Big Ten streaming rights, but Apple TV is back in business after the announcement of the USC/UCLA expansion on June 30, and NBC’s Peacock could also become an option. if the linear network wins a Big Ten packet.
As with TV broadcast rights, this streaming package doesn’t seem to include every Big Ten sporting event, but only a few on certain days of the week. Whether Apple will ultimately prevail in its quest for a Big Ten streaming package remains to be seen, but it’s clear that the company sees live sports as an important part of Apple TV’s future.
Source: Lega Nerd
