The 2023 Big Ten conference football schedule on NBC is set, according to a new report by Brett McMurphy of The Action Network. Beginning on Sept. 23, Maryland visits Michigan State at 3:30 p.m. EST/12:30 p.m. PST, a matchup between last year’s conference champion and redshirt senior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa. Illinois visits the Purdue Boilermakers one week later at 7:30 p.m. EST/4:30 p.m. PST. Purdue appears on the schedule two more times on NBC, including the following Saturday at Iowa. After that, Iowa becomes a staple of games for the next two weeks, visiting Wisconsin and then hosting Minnesota.
The classic state rivalry matchup between the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans will be played at 7:30 p.m. EST/4:30 p.m. PST on Saturday, Oct. 21 on NBC. Another doubleheader occurs on Nov. 11 starting with Maryland vs. Nebraska and concluding with a battle between Michigan State and Ohio State.
In-between those two dates, NBC visits Camp Randall when the Wisconsin Badgers host the Ohio State Buckeyes on Oct. 28; and Michigan makes another return to prime time when they take on Purdue (Nov. 4). As previously revealed, Ford Field in Detroit is the site of the final scheduled matchup of the year, taking place three-and-a-half hours after the National Football League’s inaugural Black Friday game on Amazon Prime Video. The neutral site will play host to the Penn State Nittany Lions’ face-off against the Michigan State Spartans. All Big Ten football games are expected to be available for streaming on Peacock, and the platform will be the home of eight exclusive conference games throughout the year.
Of course, the schedule is pending changes related to the flex ability of several networks. CBS Executive Vice President of Programming Dan Weinberg revealed that each network will have multiple chances to pick the top game throughout the year, rotating on a weekly basis.
NBC recently announced its plans for coverage of the Big Ten conference, including a new studio show titled B1G College Countdown. The program will take place on the campus of the showcase game and is going to be anchored by Maria Taylor. She will be joined by analysts Matt Cassel, Joshua Perry and Michael Robinson, along with co-host Ahmed Fareed. The network will also introduce a new broadcast booth featuring Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge, and Kathryn Tappen will continue to report from the sidelines.
The Big Ten conference is entering the first season of its seven-year, $7 billion rights deal with NBC, FOX and CBS – the largest media rights contract in history for a college conference. NBC is the exclusive home of Big Ten Saturday Night and will also present the conference’s championship game on its linear channel and Peacock in 2026. Additionally, the deal includes the ability to televise men’s and women’s basketball regular season and tournament games, golf and Olympic sports.