“Will FOX steal the Big 10 From ESPN?”
That’s the billions-dollar question in the college sports industry right now, as ESPN president John Skipper and 21st Century Fox founder Rupert Murdoch go head-to-head in a battle that could change the sports media landscape forever.
Since launching FOX Sports 1 two summers ago, FOX has been waiting for its chance to put a huge monkey wrench in ESPN’s world dominance of sports. This is that chance.
The Big 10’s 10-year, $1 billion contract with ESPN, six-year, $72 million deal with CBS for select basketball games and six-year, $145 million pact for the Big 10 Championship Game all expire after the 2016-17 season and a new, gargantuan deal will be struck within the next 12 months.