Matt Brown: Big East may not renew with Fox

[Tyler2Rings]

Is Tier 3 rights still a thing? I wonder if the conference would get any added value by selling those separately, maybe to RSNs. Would love to see some of the smaller matchups on SNY for example and it would surely be better than ESPN+ or FOXsports GO

 

[nomar]

A condition of any BE media deal must include the rights to "Roundball Rock".

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Is Tier 3 rights still a thing? I wonder if the conference would get any added value by selling those separately, maybe to RSNs. Would love to see some of the smaller matchups on SNY for example and it would surely be better than ESPN+ or FOXsports GO

Fox owns them I believe and sells them to places like CBS sports network. Fox keeps the $.

 

[huskiesNhoos]

curious, why is espn+ seen as so awful (other than the obvious espn sucks)? I feel like just about any family in the country with kids has the disney+ package with disney/hulu/espn+ so it'd make it pretty readily available to a lot of folks - sports junkies with kids who have to have Bluey on the big screen while watching the games on their phones. I don't have cable and basically can't watch any games short of finding pirated links on reddit if I feel so inclined. espn+ would actually be great for me since I'd actually get to watch more games again.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

Dang. As an out-of-state fan, I really enjoy the fact that our games are reliably getting national coverage on FS1 (a channel I get!) or better.

Same. I’m an out-of-state streamer and when I log into Hulu, I love seeing the Husky logo pop right up on my home screen when there is an upcoming game. Hopefully they work something out.

 

[upstater]

What do you mean calling it a discovery type channel?

Great American Bake-off type shows, reality TV, etc. Spending at HBO is being curtailed over the next year. It will look more like Paramount or Peacock when all is said and done.

 

[Chief00]

i am just not a fan of espn these days. I loved working there, but I don’t find them committed to college hoops like Fox is journalistically.

They like duke, Carolina, Kentucky, Michigan state and Kansas; everything else doesn’t “rate.”

Fox has so much better content surrounding the games. If you follow a big east team, you don’t want an acc feature at the half.

ESPN is getting out of the journalism business.

So true.

 

[Jaydumo20]

@huskiesNhoos I'm with you. I'm assuming people think that the espn broadcasters are bad. That's what I gather. But I don't care who is calling the game. As long as I can watch it without illegally streaming it.



I live in Nashville and have youtube TV as well though, and it's been nice to have every game access through fox.

 

[shizzle787]

@huskiesNhoos I'm with you. I'm assuming people think that the espn broadcasters are bad. That's what I gather. But I don't care who is calling the game. As long as I can watch it without illegally streaming it.



I live in Nashville and have youtube TV as well though, and it's been nice to have every game access through fox.

As long as all of our games are on national linear TV, I’m good.

 

[dogpause]

Content is King because there are now so many networks. sports provides lots of content at a relatively affordable price while producing a sought after male audience. Advertisers also like sports because viewers don't channel surf as much during commercials. The Big East will have not trouble landing a lucrative contract. The only negative is the potential for a recession, which kills advertising sales.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Oh gotcha, and fox corp is the remainders of Fox after the Disney acquisition. I always wondered why ESPN and Fox would be bidding against themselves (that explains it, they weren’t lol)

Disney largely bought the 21st Century Fox movie studio and catalogue, the FX tv channel, National Geographic Channel, the Fox stake in Hulu (adding to the stake ABC already had). 21st Century Fox had the rights to X-Men, Fantastic 4, Deadpool and the original Star Wars. So naturally, Disney wanted those. They then bought out the NBC stake in Hulu.

 

[CL82]

curious, why is espn+ seen as so awful (other than the obvious espn sucks)? I feel like just about any family in the country with kids has the disney+ package with disney/hulu/espn+ so it'd make it pretty readily available to a lot of folks - sports junkies with kids who have to have Bluey on the big screen while watching the games on their phones. I don't have cable and basically can't watch any games short of finding pirated links on reddit if I feel so inclined. espn+ would actually be great for me since I'd actually get to watch more games again.

ESPN plus is largely school produced so there is a lot of variation of the quality of the broadcast. Some of it looks like local access coverage of a high school game. In addition to that you get dramatically less eyeballs on Internet access only. It’s a bad thing. It may just be a bad thing that will have to accept eventually, though.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

curious, why is espn+ seen as so awful (other than the obvious espn sucks)? I feel like just about any family in the country with kids has the disney+ package with disney/hulu/espn+ so it'd make it pretty readily available to a lot of folks - sports junkies with kids who have to have Bluey on the big screen while watching the games on their phones. I don't have cable and basically can't watch any games short of finding pirated links on reddit if I feel so inclined. espn+ would actually be great for me since I'd actually get to watch more games again.

Anything behind a paywall is going to be detrimental to UConn, or any sports property for that matter.

 

[dennismenace]

Under Storrs south twitter above:

Advice from
@MattBrownEP
: "Don't panic, but be prepared that your stuff may not be on FOX in 4-5 years"

4 or 5 years? That is so far into the future in this world that it almost isn't even worth speculating about. The entire landscape could change in any year with P5 and ?, future of the NCAA etc. If it's that far away it's nothing more than posturing for negotiations at this point.

 

[dennismenace]

ESPN plus is largely school produced so there is a lot of variation of the quality of the broadcast. Some of it looks like local access coverage of a high school game. In addition to that you get dramatically less eyeballs on Internet access only. It’s a bad thing. It may just be a bad thing that will have to accept eventually, though.

Hopefully where we are going will increase our brand and if this deal eventually sucks then it will be time to leave the Big East and find a greener pasture.

 

[Greedo]

curious, why is espn+ seen as so awful (other than the obvious espn sucks)? I feel like just about any family in the country with kids has the disney+ package with disney/hulu/espn+ so it'd make it pretty readily available to a lot of folks - sports junkies with kids who have to have Bluey on the big screen while watching the games on their phones. I don't have cable and basically can't watch any games short of finding pirated links on reddit if I feel so inclined. espn+ would actually be great for me since I'd actually get to watch more games again.

No one watches games on ESPN+ outside of fans of those teams. I have ESPN+ to watch Islanders games. I don't watch any other teams. If I'm looking for a random college basketball game I never think to look at ESPN+. I turn on YouTube TV and see what games are on. If we make a deal with ESPN, we are definitely going to ESPN+. The Big 12 has games there.

It would be the same issue (probably worse) with any other streaming service. No thanks to Apple, Amazon, or HBO. The Big East would be forgotten. Staying with Fox where all of our games are national broadcasts is the best route. I would rather less money from Fox to stay with our current situation.

 

[superjohn]

What makes you say that?

Because UConn basketball is too valuable a property that they won't bury their games on something nobody watches.

 

[CL82]

Because UConn basketball is too valuable a property that they won't bury their games on something nobody watches.

Agree, but the vast majority of Big East games would be on plus including the less desirable Connecticut games.

 

[Hurleyman216]

Might be a good time for UConn to start their own network (similar to what Texas did). We have the brand value and eyeballs. It’s one aggressive way to force The BIG to add UConn by showing our media value as a standalone entity. Sounds crazy but just might work

 

[Jbirdp5]

Great American Bake-off type shows, reality TV, etc. Spending at HBO is being curtailed over the next year. It will look more like Paramount or Peacock when all is said and done.

surprising to hear with all the big budget highly successful shows they produce and feature

 

[Greedo]

Because UConn basketball is too valuable a property that they won't bury their games on something nobody watches.

Kansas has games on ESPN+ because of the Big 12's deal with ESPN, they're not seen as too valuable. This year, in addition to their cupcakes being on ESPN+, they also have West Virginia, Iowa State, and Kansas State on ESPN+. Those are good games. I think ESPN would put most Big East games on ESPN+.

2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule - University of Kansas

The official 2025-26 Men's Basketball schedule for the University of Kansas

kuathletics.com

 

[HuskyHawk]

Kansas has games on ESPN+ because of the Big 12's deal with ESPN, they're not seen as too valuable. This year, in addition to their cupcakes being on ESPN+, they also have West Virginia, Iowa State, and Kansas State on ESPN+. Those are good games. I think ESPN would put most Big East games on ESPN+.

2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule - University of Kansas

The official 2025-26 Men's Basketball schedule for the University of Kansas

kuathletics.com

Nobody is immune to this. Not UConn or any other program. There are not enough time slots for every game to be on linear TV. It would be no different if UConn was in the ACC. Basketball has too much inventory.

Not sure why anybody cares. I get the "sports bar" argument, but eventually those places will all have ESPN+. The only solution is to win a lot, to minimize how many games are streamed.

 

[Greedo]

Nobody is immune to this. Not UConn or any other program. There are not enough time slots for every game to be on linear TV. It would be no different if UConn was in the ACC. Basketball has too much inventory.

Not sure why anybody cares. I get the "sports bar" argument, but eventually those places will all have ESPN+. The only solution is to win a lot, to minimize how many games are streamed.

I agree, I just think the other power conferences will be given priority over the Big East. So almost all Big East games would be on ESPN+, lowering the perception and visibility of the conference.

 

[bigknight3]

No one watches games on ESPN+ outside of fans of those teams. I have ESPN+ to watch Islanders games. I don't watch any other teams. If I'm looking for a random college basketball game I never think to look at ESPN+. I turn on YouTube TV and see what games are on. If we make a deal with ESPN, we are definitely going to ESPN+. The Big 12 has games there.

It would be the same issue (probably worse) with any other streaming service. No thanks to Apple, Amazon, or HBO. The Big East would be forgotten. Staying with Fox where all of our games are national broadcasts is the best route. I would rather less money from Fox to stay with our current situation.

Nobody is immune to this. Not UConn or any other program. There are not enough time slots for every game to be on linear TV. It would be no different if UConn was in the ACC. Basketball has too much inventory.

Not sure why anybody cares. I get the "sports bar" argument, but eventually those places will all have ESPN+. The only solution is to win a lot, to minimize how many games are streamed.

I'm no expert and my take regarding HBO is mostly cause I like the hard knocks property so much. But if we talking 4-5 years, I don't think we can speculate regarding streaming. Amazon just forced all of NFL's Thursday games onto their platform exclusively online. I've experienced being out at the bar and being surprised football wasn't on because it was on Prime TV. In 4-5 years, bars will probably have improved their ability to stream online games due to the shift this year from the NFL.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I agree, I just think the other power conferences will be given priority over the Big East. So almost all Big East games would be on ESPN+, lowering the perception and visibility of the conference.

I think they'll pick the best games from their inventory.

I'm no expert and my take regarding Gucci l HBO is mostly cause I like the hard knocks property so much. But if we talking 4-5 years I don't think we can specifically regarding streaming. Amazon just forced all of NFL's Thursday games exclusively online. I've experienced being out at the bar and being surprised football want on because it was on prime TV. In 4-5 years, bars will probably have improved their ability to stream online games due to the shift this year from the NFL.

Warner Media isn't a player right now, except the NCAA tournament, NBA playoffs and some baseball. Given the advertising advantages of live sports, plus their ability to drive subscriptions, it wouldn't surprise me if they expanded the live sports on TN, TBS and TruTv and/or created a CNN sports channel. They have new management and are out from under the old corporate leadership. They also have the Discovery channels.

TBS, TNT and TruTV are a mess. Can anybody here tell me what kind of programming to expect on each? There's no logic to it at all. TBS made its name showing Braves games back in the day. Converting one of those to an all sports and sports news channel would make sense. They have the NCAA tournament and NBA games, so basketball is their strength. The Big East would be a natural fit.

 

[gampelcrazies]

I agree, I just think the other power conferences will be given priority over the Big East. So almost all Big East games would be on ESPN+, lowering the perception and visibility of the conference.

I’m not 100% sure about that. Assuming that Fox is getting a decent amount of B10 and B12 games that should free up some ESPN air time.

 

[Fishy]

Is Tier 3 rights still a thing? I wonder if the conference would get any added value by selling those separately, maybe to RSNs. Would love to see some of the smaller matchups on SNY for example and it would surely be better than ESPN+ or FOXsports

UConn men’s basketball never gets to a tier 3.

 

[Fishy]

Might be a good time for UConn to start their own network (similar to what Texas did). We have the brand value and eyeballs. It’s one aggressive way to force The BIG to add UConn by showing our media value as a standalone entity. Sounds crazy but just might work

It’s idiotic and will never happen.

 

[uconnfan68]

Might be a good time for UConn to start their own network (similar to what Texas did). We have the brand value and eyeballs. It’s one aggressive way to force The BIG to add UConn by showing our media value as a standalone entity. Sounds crazy but just might work

That's what ESPN was supposed to be.

 

[ctkaiser]

i am just not a fan of espn these days. I loved working there, but I don’t find them committed to college hoops like Fox is journalistically.

They like duke, Carolina, Kentucky, Michigan state and Kansas; everything else doesn’t “rate.”

Fox has so much better content surrounding the games. If you follow a big east team, you don’t want an acc feature at the half.

ESPN is getting out of the journalism business.

You can never tell if ESPN is really interested in covering the game or using it to promo something else.