ESPN is said to have matched NBC’s offer for a media rights package to the Big East conference’s games through the 2019-2020 academic year in a deal worth $130M, according to various sports media reports. NBC Sports Network made an official offer last week and ESPN, as the current primary rights holder, had one week to meet the bid. Sources said ESPN matched the financial offer, but further details are to be considered. Presidents from the Big East could vote as early as this weekend on accepting the deal for seven years of men’s basketball and six years of football, ESPN reported. Big East’s current basketball deal with ESPN and CBS expires after the 2012-13 school year. Its deal with ESPN for football expires after the 2013-14 term. ESPN’s league sources said CBS would also extend its basketball rights deal for an extra $2M per year.


They are overpaying for the Big East. They are losing a ton of schools in basketball and soon will just be another Conf USA look a like conference.
They aren’t overpaying because they aren’t really paying them all that much. ESPN would being paying the conference $20-$23 million a year, which is less than what all the schools in the Big Ten, SEC, Big XII and PAC-12 all get INDIVIDUALLY.
How exciting for ESPN to be able to broadcast exciting “Big East” showdowns such as Tulane v. Houston or Central Florida v. South Florida.
Did ESPN get the memo that the Big East is now just another version of Conference USA? Or that basketball powerhouses such as Syracuse, Georgetown, & Marquette will not be in the Big East after 2014?