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ESPN’s Burke Magnus: The Big Ten Was Offering Half the Games for Double the Price

“As difficult as it was to go separate directions, it was the right decision for our company, there’s no doubt about that.”

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Burke Magnus

Burke Magnus is the President of Programming & Original Content at ESPN and when he agreed to talk about some of the decision making behind some of ESPN’s recent media deals, it was going to be a fascinating listen.

Magnus appeared on The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast and did exactly that. John Ourand and Andrew Marchand peppered the ESPN executive on several recent newsworthy items including the network’s decision to not enter a new media rights deal with the Big Ten conference after this season.

Magnus mentioned that in the negotiations between the network and the conference really hinged on the price of what was being asked versus the inventory the network would receive and the two never really matched.

“What happened here was we were being offered half the number of games we currently have, lower selection priorities and essentially double the price,” said Magnus. “It really came down to what the component parts were of the big ten deal on offer and knowing that we had the SEC already in the house. The ACC already in the house. By the way two more years of Pac-12. Three more years of Big 12. The CFP for 4 more years.”

Magnus also said that even though the two sides couldn’t come to a deal, it was the right choice for ESPN.

“What we needed to get at the price that we needed to get it at, neither of those things were available to us,” Magnus said on The Marchand and Ourand Podcast. “As difficult as it was to go separate directions, it was the right decision for our company, there’s no doubt about that. We’re going to continue to be heavily invested in college sports. Nothing is forever in the rights-buying business. So you’ve got to be somewhat dispassionate about, and stick to your process, if you will. But it was hard. It was hard decision, but I think it was the right decision for us because of what was on offer for us to buy, which was not what we were hoping for.”

Magnus also wanted to dispel the rumors that ESPN has been behind the some of the recent conference realignment. He said he was surprised the Big Ten invited UCLA and USC because the Big Ten is “the Midwest” but he understood it.

“We don’t get involved until it happens. If conference X and says we’ve extended invitations to these two institutions, there are in every contract, we have usually very specific provisions about how a negotiation would then commence.”

“But it’s after the fact,” Magnus reiterated. “It’s not before. We don’t sit there and ever ‘hey you should do this school instead of that school and here’s why’. But downstream it’s our job to asses market value for institutions that are coming… I know people out there are looking for smoking guns and suspect involvement on the front end. But trust me when I tell you my day is full enough.”

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Final ‘Good Morning Football’ Episode from New York Studio Airs Before Hiatus, Move to LA

After today, ‘Good Morning Football’ will take a brief hiatus, then move to LA. But outside of host Jamie Erdahl, who else will join the show on the West Coast?

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Good Morning Football

Today marks the last Good Morning Football episode to air from its New York studios on NFL Network. After today, the show will take a brief hiatus, then move across the country to Los Angeles. But which of the shows beloved cast members will move along with it?

We already know host Jamie Erdahl will be there once she gives birth to her child. The newest GMFB show member gave an emotional send-off to the show’s New York studios before announcing she was headed for maternity leave and would see everyone in LA.

Host Kyle Brandt delivered this message late last night, saying that viewers should tune in to he and his colleagues and that “he has a lot to say.”

Earlier this week, however, host Peter Schrager delivered his own goodbye message — one that may sound like a man who’s not ready to move his family across the country at a moment’s notice:

However, no hosts outside of Erdahl have given confirmation that they’re either staying or going.

The NFL’s move to take the show from New York to Los Angeles has been widely criticized by fans and media members alike. Bill Simmons wondered if the move wouldn’t spell just the end of GMFB but the NFL Network as a whole. It has some wondering if this is the end of football’s best show.

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ESPN Coverage of Men’s NIT Tournament Quarterfinals Up 33% vs. 2023

Viewership of the Men’s NIT Quarterfinals on ESPN were up 33 percent compared to last year and featured two games that averaged over one million viewers.

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Even the NIT is riding the recent hot streak of live sports viewership numbers. According to data provided by ESPN, the 2024 NIT Quarterfinals are up 33 percent compared to last year’s tournament. Perhaps more surprisingly, two NIT quarterfinal games topped one million viewers.

The network’s Georgia/Ohio State matchup averaged 1.03 million viewers, while the Cincinnati/Indiana State contest averaged 1.02 million viewers. These two games were the most-watched NIT games since 2017 — including title games. Both Georgia and Ohio State have rabid fanbases, while many thought Indiana State was unjustly left out of the March Madness tournament, which could be a reason why viewers tuned in.

Much of the focus this season has been on the women’s game, thanks to Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks, led by Dawn Staley. ESPN just had its most-watched women’s college basketball season since 2008-09 because of the increased interest in the women’s game. The men’s game, however, hasn’t been heralded as much this season for whatever reason, mostly because numbers seem to be holding steady compared to previous years. However, if the NIT is posting viewership wins, that should bode well for the NCAA Tournament’s incoming viewership totals.

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Report: NFL to Put Christmas Day Doubleheader Up For Bids

Bidding is expected to start at $50 million among the current NFL media partners but some think the games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

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The NFL will reportedly put its Christmas Day games up for auction, allowing its current media partners to bid for the games. Now, it’s up to CBS, FOX, ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video to pay up for rights to one of these two marquee games.

According to Front Office Sports Michael McCarthy, preference will be given to linear networks, so Prime Video and Peacock may sit this one out. Bidding is expected to start at $50 million but McCarthy and his sources expect that number to rise. John Kosner, the former ESPN executive, thinks the new Christmas Day games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

The NFL announced a Wednesday Christmas Day doubleheader during its annual league meetings. The league originally said it wouldn’t force games on Christmas Day if the holiday fell on an odd day of the week, though as the NFL continues to put games on days outside of Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and sometimes Saturdays, we’re running out of days that don’t feature NFL football.

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