Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Big Ten TV Deal, What does it mean for Iowa?

Episode Date: August 19, 2022

Trent Condon is back to nerd out on the Big Ten TV Contract.A look at what the future of viewing will be with the newest partners in CBS & NBC along with old partner FOX.How does ESPN not being a part of the contract impact things? And what does this mean for basketball?Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at Linkedin.com/lockedoncollege Terms and conditions apply.Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coming up on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast, we find out the latest that is going on with the Big Ten and their media deal that becomes official. What's it mean for the Hawkeyes? What's it mean for sports outside of football? We talk about that today and more on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Our Locked On Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the on hawkeyes your daily podcast on the iowa hawkeyes part of the locked on podcast network your team every day

so Welcome back once again to the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. I am Trent Cotton. Come to you for the first time, the home studios. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen each and every day. You can find us on all your podcast sources, and you can also find the video stream on YouTube, and you can see my mug. You can see the background today.

I got the old pictures up back there here in the man cave, the downstairs studio that I have at my home. You see Roy Marble, BJ Armstrong, Ed Horton over my shoulder there. Kittick Stadium, the day that the wrestling mat went down against Oklahoma State, what a day that was, and a couple of newspaper clippings. That's one thing that I always like to keep, and maybe it makes me an old man because, yes, I'm keeping newspaper clippings. That's one thing that I always like to keep and maybe it makes me an old man because yes, I'm keeping newspaper clippings, but you see those and you can check that out on YouTube. Again, if you're just an audio listener, go to Lockdown Hawkeyes,

you can find us there each and every day. Well, it's time to talk some Big Ten and about these media rights. And we talked about it earlier this week, just a little bit as the news came out on Thursday morning about what this is and what this is going to mean ultimately for Iowa. That's what I think a lot of people want to figure out. You want to know when we're going to see the Hawkeyes play. You want to know what it's going to be, what it's going to look like on a football Saturday, and, of course, the other aspects of it. So this is something that I really enjoy. I really like sports media,

something that has always interested me. I listen to a bunch of different podcasts that are involved with that. I listen to the John Orans of the world. I've had him on my radio show now for over a decade, and I really like his perspective from Sports Business Journal. It's given great insight into these kinds of things and the opportunities I've had to talk with him. Jimmy Trena, a long time with Sports Illustrated, another guy that's big into sports media. There's a lot of these different places out there, and I know it's a niche of a niche. It's media and working in sports media. That's probably why it maybe interests me a little bit more. So I'm going to break things down for you a little bit today, though,

and kind of get you up to date of where I see it, where it's going to be ultimately. So we get the official news, and I've talked about that with you on the podcast here over the last couple of weeks, and the anticipation of what this is going to be, what it's going to look like from a Big Ten perspective. And it really, yes, it played out in the fashion that a lot of people believed that it was going to. It's going to go and morph into what we see here today. And the three big windows, starting with the big noon kickoff that has been a part of Big Ten landscape now since 2017, when the last rights went into effect, when ESPN, really? They shortchanged that number one, those tier one rights.

At that time, ESPN came with a lowball offer, and the Big Ten and Jim Delaney at the time said, okay, well, we're going to shop around, and they got their relationship with Fox. At that time, ESPN came with a low ball offer and the Big Ten and Jim Delaney at the time said, okay, well, we're going to shop around and they got their relationship with Fox. So that's the first one that happened and how we got to the point that we're at right now. The second window, of course, taking over CBS. They are losing their SEC 230 window, 230 Central Time, 330 for you East Coasters. That window is gone as now all the SEC games are moving to ESPN, ABC. And because of that, that window is open. CBS knew that there was one thing that they could do in college sports

to make up. It put in that window, and that was Big Ten football. They knew they weren't able to do that with the Pac-12, the Big 12. The ACC was already locked up. They knew that there was one place that they can go. And Sean McManus, the longtime president of CBS Sports, he said this much today. He said there was one property. And this was not just guys talking and saying what you want to say when a press release comes out. These are real quotes from McManus. And he understood the importance. We're losing the SEC. We have to have something. There's one thing that can fill that hole. It that 230 game and then the primetime window that'll be exclusive with NBC and those night games and though it'll be at times maybe not the shiniest of objects like you're talking about sometimes the second or even third picks on those nights they're still going to be good games with the additions of USC and UCLA are

there going to be some clunkers sure but that's the case all the time you can think back and and some games that haven't been exactly the greatest that have been put on primetime, it's just the way of the world. And the third choice games at times, not going to be great. You're going to get a Michigan State-Purdue game that if you're a Big Ten fan, yeah, it could be pretty good. Could be the other side too. And across the nation, people are pretty ho-hum. It'll be interesting though to see. The other part of this is how this plays out. So what Fox does have, along with their relationship with the Big Ten, the tier one rights that they have, is they will get the number one selection every year. It was out there in the early reports,

some people thought that they got the number one pick every week of the top game. That's not the case. That's not the way that this plays out. But they do get the top pick every year. And what do they pick every year? Well, you choose by weeks. So these media companies come together, and these three that hold these Tier 1 rights, which are ESPN, no longer a part of it. So it is Fox, CBS, NBC. And they have basically a draft.

I mean, think of your fantasy draft. That's what this is, right? This is a fantasy draft where you're getting together, and you're choosing not individual games, but weeks of the season. So final week of the regular season, that's going to be the number one choice every week. And the reason for that is the Ohio State-Michigan game. It outrates anything. It is a dominating factor year after year, no matter how good those programs are, how good those teams are. And well, the good news is at least one of the two teams, usually the Buckeyes recently, are really, really good. The numbers are through the roof.

So that's what they have. They lock that in. We get this week. And then it goes through. It's a long system. Nobody's got the exact parameters. And I'll tell you, every media member would love to be a part of that and be able to write a story or talk about it on the airwaves like a guy like me, because it is an incredibly fascinating way that they go behind it. So that's

the way that it's set up. So Fox will not have the best game every single week. They will have it a lot though. NBC will get a choice a couple of weeks. CBS will get a choice of the number one some weeks. That's just the way that the process plays out. So that's something to keep an eye on into the future. That is a basic layout of things of what you anticipate with the tier one rights. Those are the big games, the three biggest games, if you will, each and every week. But there's a lot more than that. And the Hawkeyes are not going to be playing in the best three games each and every week. We certainly know that throughout the years. When we come back, we're going to talk about that a little bit. What else is going on with these media right deals? What else do we need to know about them?

What do we need to know as it pertains to the Hawkeyes? What other entities will have Hawkeye games on them? And also a little bit later, we're going to be talking about the other sports. How does this impact Iowa basketball, women's sport, wrestling? We'll get into that as we roll through. It's the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. It can happen so easily. You're out with your friends, coworkers, having a few drinks. A few becomes too many. It's time so easily. You're out with your friends, co-workers, having a few drinks.

A few becomes too many. It's time to go, and for a moment you think of calling for a ride. Nah, you're a good driver, you live nearby, you can make it home okay. What are the odds you get pulled over? And even so, what's the worst that could happen? Lose your license? Your job? total your car, you could kill someone. It only takes one mistake to change your life or someone else's forever. Plan it safe and plan ahead to get a ride. Drive sober or get pulled over.

Try to kind of back you with you once again on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making us your first listen each and every day. Talked about it earlier in the week. It was a rough go of things for me coming off of what we saw in Las Vegas last week. And I was under the weather. I got to realize I'm 42. I am no longer 22. And Vegas took a lot out of me. But we're back rolling again.

And I'm going to have another podcast coming out with you on Friday this week as we will hear from LaShawn Daniels, talk some Iowa football with LaShawn, and always looking forward to that. I'll mention there's some other factors here. We're going to get to outside of football. What else is happening there? It's the big money aspect that is still there. The big money that continues to be a huge, huge part of this deal. What we're seeing come in financially. 65 is the initial number, upwards of $100 million a year though, for each Big Ten institution that's

going to go into their athletic department at the end. and the way that they outmaneuver things too with the rest of the landscape is you look at the sec they're signed up through 30 34 20 34 they got to wait even longer where the big 10 is going to go back to the negotiating window but the way that kevin warren you know really played this out and reading some quotes from him today the big 10 commissioner i thought it was great him him using that NFL perspective and making the sport a national sport and a global sport and understanding the importance of that, working with different partners and having those different partners work together. And we can be frustrated, I think, as college football fans to not have the college football playoff, the expanded playoff, when we get to the 12 or 16 team model that we're ultimately going to get to maybe as soon as we

want but the reason for that and why kevin warren put together the much fangled alliance with the acc and the pac-12 is well you need to get some votes behind him but he knew that for college football for these entities to make the most money they couldn't just go to expansion and give all the rights and they would with the contract to espn they had to have it go to open market we see what happens and now college campuses across the country should be singing the big 10 praises yes the sec they're going to be because they don't have as much money now as the big 10 look it's a big measuring contest right where we know what this, ultimately the back and forth between the Big Ten and the SEC. But for as upset as the Pac-12 is, and the Big 12 is,

after what the SEC did to them taking Texas and Oklahoma and USC and UCLA from the Pac-12, and the ACC being locked into that long grant of rights that they have. Remember, the Big Ten now has brought in more entities that are going to be bidding on the college football playoff. Fox, they want a part of it. We knew that. But now NBC is going to want a part of that. If they're going to invest this much, and not just the seven Notre Dame games a year that they get,

plus the 12 or 13 games that they're going to have with the Big Ten, they're going to want to invest more. They're going to want to get a playoff game, maybe a couple every single year. Same thing for CBS. And when you get a college football playoff championship or a Final Four, think of what those numbers are going to do when you have a real bracket building into that and the amount of money. People are estimating that a 12-team playoff is worth a billion dollars a year. A billion dollars a year. That's what the Big Ten's getting for all of their games. We're talking about 11 for that billion dollars. It just shows you how much money is still out there. And the rest of college football, because of what the Big Ten has done, they're going to be better for

it, even though there's going to be some hurt feelings along the way. Mention, we talked about the tier one rights, right? We got the three games that we talked about, but there are upwards of now eight games every single week. And well, when you're talking about non-conference, even more than that. So it is going to remain, you're still going to see games on FS1, 219 on your direct TV. If you have that, that is going to be another landing place for a lot of these games. Again, with no ESPN, you're also going to have some other components. So Peacock is the one streaming service that you will have to get for Big Ten Athletics. And really, as we'll get to a little bit later on here today on the basketball side of things,

something that's going to be an even bigger piece. Another thing to keep an eye out for, though, is the possibility of an additional piece here. And that goes also hand-in-hand with some basketball we'll get into. But there is an opportunity if there is further expansion of the Big Ten. There is a real chance that they can go out there and they can still, in these contracts, add to it. If they're adding members, and members, they're going to go back and they're going to be able to get more money if they're able to do that.

So expansion is still on the table. There was an article from Pat Forty yesterday that talked just about that, about the real possibility of further expansion, and saying for all intents and purposes that the Big Ten is not done, that this is going to continue in the Big Ten. So something certainly to keep an eye on in that factor and looking to say, oh, they're done at 16. Nah, you got to slow down just a little bit. There's going to be some changes, I think, ultimately that still are down the line. Notre Dame is always going to be the prize. We know that Stanford, Cal, Oregon, Washington, those are the ones that make, I think, the most sense. And if you get to that point, the ultimate destination. I've long maintained this. I know

a lot of people are with me in this line of thinking, but going back years and years, I thought it was ultimately going to be two leagues two power leagues that are going to break off and we also have a story from the other day from pete thamel now at espn and he talked about the possibility of the ncaa and college football at the highest structure just walking away from each other and the ncaa structure declassifying themselves at least with football away from from the NCAA model. What does that mean? Very well could mean in the future, the SEC, the Big Ten, they depart, they expand to 20, 22, 24 teams in each of those conferences, and then those 40 to 48 teams play each other in their own

championship level. That's down the line. We're talking about well into the future, but that possibility becoming more and more of a reality take a look at that article from pete thambel where he breaks that down a little bit more mention the other games though peacock that is a streaming entity that you'll have that is the nbc owned one you can watch the office on there i guess it'll be okay it's not too expensive yet that price tag might go up a little bit more then of, of course, you got the standard BTN games. One other interesting nugget as it pertains to future scheduling is Iowa-Nebraska has now become that Black Friday game that Nebraska's owned now for basically my whole lifetime. I'm 42, and for as long as I can remember, Black Friday has been synonymous with Nebraska football. For

a long time, it was Nebraska against Oklahoma that weekend and morphed into Nebraska, Colorado after the formation of the Big 12. The Big 8 went away. Oklahoma was not playing Nebraska on a yearly basis as they were in different divisions, and it led to Colorado becoming that team. And then, of course, with the jump of the Big 10 for Nebraska, Iowa took that spot. And I think it's something that Hawkeye fans have grown to like. It doesn't matter if you're somebody that's able to make your way to the game. I've been to a game at Nebraska on Black Friday with the Hawkeyes. I've been to two in Kinnick. It's not something that's part of my yearly repertoire. Travel, family, it makes it a little bit more difficult, but I know plenty of

families, it's their only game that they're able to go to a year. You're coming back and you live outside the area and you're able to make that game every single year it's become a tradition so what this tradition is going to continue is btn fox they will be able to get one black friday game a year but there's also now the possibility of both cbs and nbc getting a black friday game now the now here's a problem nfl is trying to butt their way in now black friday they see the tv numbers say hey we're the nfl NFL is trying to butt their way in now. Black Friday, they see the TV numbers, say, hey, we're the NFL. We're going to do that. And they're going to put a game on Amazon Prime coming up in future years. But that's great news.

Think about that, too. And especially if Nebraska can now keep up their end of the bargain, actually be decent for once. Iowa's been able to win these games recently. We know how tight they've been. It's always fun to, you know, just a little bruskin' at those Huskers every once in a while. But if that comes down to, think of that, Black Friday, cold night game with a division championship in the line or in the future when divisions aren't a thing

but maybe a team trying to get into a championship game, how big, how monstrous that would be. Yeah, it'd be cold, but it would be fun if that was the impact there and having it be on an NBC, having it be an afternoon game on CBS over the year, just how huge that could be. So another possibility. You remember the highest rated game in BTN history, Big Ten Network history that's been around for almost 15 years now

was Iowa-Nebraska on Black Friday. That game is rated well when it's been on ABC in the past, and now an opportunity for it to be on either CBS or NBC in the future. And there's going to be two now, Black Friday, Big Ten games. That is something that is in this latest contract. So that's what you have to know basically overall with the football side of things. We're going to continue. We're going to talk about one more aspect of that,

and that is what we need to know about basketball, women's basketball, wrestling. What else is out there? That's what we continue on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks again for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen each and every day. The ultimate college footballview is here. It's a seven-episode preview with college experts,

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Back with you one final time on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Coming to you from the home studio. So as we wrap things up here, just a couple more things for you. And I talked about one of the more important aspects for me, that is what this means for basketball. And though on the side of football, this is a great thing. Yes, no ESPN. Are they going to be talking about the Big Ten as much on game day? I think that's overrated. Look, when they went away from the NHL, that was still the NHL. That was still a niche sport. You're still talking about college football. You can't just completely ignore, even if you don't have the rights to them, you can't ignore the Big Ten. You just can't. I think it's a different circumstance. If it was,

game day was going away and all of a sudden they were doing soccer coverage, well, of course, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. This is different, though. You can't talk about college football and not talk about the Big Ten. So I think that's a little bit overblown. Are they going to be more of a hype machine for the SEC? They're already there. And ultimately, it comes down to guys in a meeting room figuring things out. And, well, it comes down to a TV show. And TV shows at rate, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State,

those ones rate too. They're still going to have a seat at the table. But that's a conversation I think down the line. We'll ultimately see how it is. I think it is overblown, some of the thoughts on that. So my questions are about basketball. I mentioned Peacock. That is going to be a streaming component.

They're going to have eight exclusive games each and every year on the football side of things. But it is going to be a much bigger component for men's basketball. You're going to see more and more games there. You're also going to see under the NBC umbrella, they have used to be NBC Sports Network. That was always big. Well, now that has gone away. And as that's gone away, you see some of the other properties that they had. Before last season, they had the NHL, and you'd see some playoff games that'd be on the USA Network. You see Atlantic 10 basketball.

That used to be on NBC Sports Network. And this past season, it was also on the USA Network. So that's one to keep an eye on, 242 on your DirecTV if you have that. That is where you would be able to find some of those games. I anticipate that is probably going to be a place that you're going to see some college basketball games. But the one frustration I think for Big Ten coaches and fans is going to be just on a cold Tuesday night,

and you flip on the TV and you're flipping around, and for me, I go to 206. That's where I start, ESPN. And you go through games and usually stop on one, and you get something pretty compelling, and you don't think to go to 219. If you're a Big Ten fan, you go to 610. You go to Big Ten Network, and you get that.

But you're going to lose a little bit of that, the normalcy of just flipping around and not realizing, oh, man, I didn't realize Wisconsin was playing Michigan State tonight. That's going to be a good game and locking in. You got Indiana-Purdue. It's on Peacock. Probably not going to see that. That's a bigger concern, I think, on the basketball side of things.

Money alleviates a lot of problems. Is this going to impact the Big Ten? Well, look, the Big Ten hasn't won a national championship in over two decades. They're as good as the conference has been. They haven't got the ultimate prize. A lot of different teams have got to the Final Four. Is it going to make a major impact? I don't think so.

I don't see this as something that's going to be a big deal. But coaches, they always find something to complain about. As it pertains to the other sports, though, other Olympic sports, it does look like there's going to be a continued home for the BTN. What they've done with volleyball, what they've done for us wrestling fans, has been absolutely huge, and that's going to continue. Again, more properties, more people out there buying to get their eyeballs out there this is a great thing for the btn as i mentioned i love this stuff i love the media deals that are out there i just think this stuff is so much fun to talk

about if you have any questions any comments shoot up me on twitter at trent condon as where you can find me and we'll talk about it there we can go back and forth hit me up on the comment section here on the youtube page as well. Again, LockedOnHawkeyes is where you can find us on YouTube. Everybody out there in podcast land, thanks for making us your first stop each and every day. For your second stop every day, make it LockedOnBig10, where Nate Dickinson does a great job talking about all the big games,

all the big stories, and talking a lot this week, obviously, about what we laid out today, the Big Ten media deal. That's Locked On Big Ten. Make that your second listen each and every day. We'll finish up the week. LaShawn Daniels is going to stop by. My buddy Jace from the Degenerate side, he's going to be here next week

as we get closer and closer to kickoff. Been a fun one. Thanks for joining me today from the home office. This has been the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Go Hawks!