The Big East Conference moved from its longtime home of ESPN to Fox Sports in 2013. 10 years later, it doesn’t seem like they intend to move from their current nest.
As the Big East handed out its men’s basketball awards at Madison Square Garden, commissioner Val Ackerman made a major announcement. Ackerman revealed that the conference intends to spark renewal talks on their media rights deal with Fox in the coming months.
Big East aficionado and Fox Sports reporter John Fanta broke the news to the world. Fanta tweeted, “NEWS: Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman announces that the conference will be initiating talks about a renewal deal with media rights holder Fox Sports in the coming months.”
NEWS: Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman announces that the conference will be initiating talks about a renewal deal with media rights holder FOX Sports in the coming months.
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) March 8, 2023
This news generally doesn’t come as much of a shock. The Big East and Fox have worked well with each other over the past decade. The networks have often spotlighted the conference and have given it its deserved big stage annually at the Big East Tournament. They’ve held court with television shows like This Week in the Big East in the past and also have had select Big East All Access telecasts. During those telecasts, viewers were able to get an inside look at games without the usual play-by-play and color commentary, and instead could only listen to the action on the court, on the sidelines, and in the locker room from the coaches and players only.
One thing to potentially watch for: Fox has suddenly gained a bevy of basketball coverage. Considering that the Big Ten is fully moving in after its longstanding tenure with the Worldwide Leader, and that they’ve gained extra basketball rights in their new deal with the Big 12, that will be a lot for everyone to handle should the Big East strike a deal with the network again. Those Big Ten games may wind up across BTN, Fox, FS1, and FS2, reducing available slots for other conferences.
One would expect the Big East to stick around, especially with not many great homes out there. But it could prove interesting to see where they all are sorted out.
