Could one of the biggest college football conference title games be moved off network television? It’s possible if NBC has its way with the Big Ten.
John Ourand of Puck reported Thursday that NBC has engaged in preliminary discussions with both Netflix and Amazon about trying to “sublicense” the 2026 Big Ten football conference championship game in 2026. According to Ourand, Amazon’s discussions are in the “early stages,” while Netflix is reported to be not interested in licensing the title game from the network.
Fox Could Throw A Wrench In Any Big Ten Deal
Ourand says that any sublicensing deal made by NBC would have to come with approval not not only the conference, but also Fox Sports. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported in 2023 that Fox technically owns all Big Ten football rights through its ownership of the Big Ten Network. In addition, Thamel reported that the only reason that NBC has the 2026 title game (which is the only time the network has the rights to the championship in its seven-year rights deal with the conference) is because commissioner Kevin Warren gave the rights to NBC without Fox’s permission, costing the conference a reported $40 million.
The Big Ten has already declined to sell inventory of their rights to other bidders. According to Ourand, Netflix reportedly was interested in airing a matchup of Notre Dame-USC, even going to far as seeing if the game could be held outside of the United States.
When the conference agreen to a rights deal with NBC in 2023, Amazon was a much smaller bidder when it came to live sports programming, and the conference decided to go with the legacy network. But Amazon has since grown its brand with Thursday night NFL football, a NBA and WNBA games package, NASCAR’s Cup series, and in 2026, coverage of the first two rounds of The Masters.
