Last week, the Big Ten announced the largest media rights deal in college football history — by a long shot. Given the reach of the conference, including huge brands and large media markets that make advertisers salivate, the conference engaged a set of networks who were willing to pay up rather than focusing on a more limited partnership. Notably, the $7 billion deal effectively cut ESPN out of the conference’s repertoire in favor of a mélange of CBS, FOX, and NBC.
The move felt shocking, but natural — like when the last carriage left the streets of New York as automobiles took over, because Big Ten football on ESPN, in its glory days, is a vestige of another time.