Ohio State’s lack of home primetime games these past few seasons has been a hot topic of debate amongst Buckeye fans this offseason, with many arguing that the Big Ten’s media rights contract with FOX, CBS and NBC has not given the flagship program favorable kickoff times.
This issue has certainly reached the desk of athletic director Ross Bjork, who in a press conference on Thursday said he would like the league’s next TV contract to have some more “flexibility” in terms of kickoff times.
“Really, at the end of the day, there’s no flexibility in the contracts,” Bjork said. “FOX bought the noon window, CBS bought the afternoon window, and NBC has the night window. And then the Big Ten Network and Peacock layer into that. So what we need is more flexibility. Can that happen anytime soon? I don’t know. But I think every program should deserve the right to have way more flexibility.”
As Bjork outlined, the Big Ten’s current media rights deal makes it so each of the three big networks have the same time slot every Saturday, with FOX’s “Big Noon Kickoff” matchup airing at noon, CBS’ game airing at 3:30 p.m. and NBC’s at 7:30 p.m. As the conference’s primary rightsholder, FOX gets the first choice for what games they want to pick, which in many cases are games involving the Buckeyes. FOX has already taken Ohio State’s Week 1 matchup against Texas, while its Nov. 30 game against Michigan is also in the noon slot, as usual.
“We have carried the day for Big Noon,” Bjork said. “There’s no question about it, if you look at the viewership. So we understand why FOX went with Big Noon. We understand why we’re picked all the time. But we’re hoping for just more flexibility, that’s what we’re looking for.”
Although frustrations and conversations regarding Ohio State’s lack of non-Big Noon games will certainly continue into the summer months, Bjork acknowledged that a potential change spurring more TV flexibility may not be imminent, but that both he and the conference will work hard to spur some change, whenever that may be.
“(Big Ten commissioner Tony) Petitti is going to work with our TV partners. We’re going to continue to have those conversations. But can anything change any time soon? Probably not,” Bjork said. “Because those contracts are rigid and they’re locked in for several years.”
