ESPN is getting less and less valuable even though they have the SEC but the B1G has actually beat the SEC in viewership. They will continue to be worth more moving forward. I’ve seen some rumors the deal is 150 billion plus. Getting very interesting. The B1G is actually positioning itself in a better spot money wise than the SEC. Hopefully it transitions onto the field.
I posted this over on the IU board a while ago with ESPN in the mix, here's a revision. If you look at 7 games a weekend (2 teams off each week), consider
1 Thursday Prime Time game (Fox, NBC or CBS)
1 Friday Prime Time game (FOX, NBC or CBS)
1 Saturday noon game (FOX, NBC, CBS)
1 Saturday 3:00 p.m. game (FS1, FS2)
1 Saturday Prime time (NBC, CBS, Fox)
1 Saturday west coast game (NBC, CBS, Fox)
1 Saturday afternoon game on FS1 or 2
Each network (not counting FS1&2) gets at least 2 games a week and one gets 3. Taking it one step further as to game quality and large fan base viewership, you have
OSU-PSU
PSU-MI
USC-OSU
USC-MI
USC-PSU
USC-MSU
MSU-OSU
MSU-MI
(and I won't count it, but high on entertainment value, PU-OSU)
Rivalry
MSU-PSU
OSU-MI
USC-UCLA
That gives you 9 top 20 team matchups in a 9 game conference schedule. second tier games (strong regional pull and fanbase) are:
NEB-IOWA
IOWA-MINN
NEB-WIS
WIS-MINN
WIS-IOWA
Throw in the upset alert Cinderella team making a late season run at the conference title and you add one or two games that will consistently draw the eyeballs. I know that USC won't play the slate above every year, but even if it's just 2-3 of those teams you end up with a dozen or more good to great TV games, and that's not even counting non-conference matchups.