With Big Ten television negotiations to begin this spring, Jim Delany's conference picked up a big ol' feather in its cap en route to the negotiation table.
According to a report from Nielsen, live sports went from 14% of top-rated programs in 2005 to a staggering 93% in 2015. (The numbers are aided, obviously, by such things as DVR proliferation and the growth of services such as Netflix. Nobody, however, is DVRing the big game to watch later in the week.)
Even sweeter for the Delany: The Big Ten led the nation in ratings for regular season, nationally televised conference games.