Excitement for CBS is high as the network prepares for its first season carrying Big Ten football. But the countdown is also on for CBS as it will air the conference championship game for the first time in 2024.
CBS will only have two opportunities to broadcast the Big Ten title game in this new media rights deal for the conference. After next year, CBS won’t get the championship again until 2028.
CBS Sports executive vice president of programming Dan Weinberg told The Athletic that landing the football championship was essential when negotiating the new media rights deal.
“We love crowning champions on CBS Sports,” Weinberg said. “That’s what we do. We do big events, we do champions. It was a very, very important thing for us to be part of the rotation for the Big Ten championship game.”
CBS has been the home of the SEC championship game since its inception in 1992. With the SEC taking its TV rights to ESPN and ABC after this season, it was crucial that CBS continue to broadcast a power five conference championship game in the future.
NBC will be the home for the Big Ten title game just once during the new deal, in 2026. That will be a big year for the network, and the Big Ten championship in December will be a nice way to cap things off.
“That comes at a great, great time for us,” NBC Sports president of partnerships and acquisitions Jon Miller said. “We have the 2026 Super Bowl, and we’ll have the 2026 Big Ten championship. That year is going to be a big year for us because we’ll also have the Winter Olympics from Milan.
