Big 12 Basketball Scores Major Exposure Boost with CBS Sports Deal!

The Big 12 Conference, recognized as one of the premier entities in American college sports, is set to significantly enhance its visibility on CBS Sports for its esteemed basketball division.

This expansion to 16 member schools for the 2024-25 academic year marks a pivotal moment in the conference's evolution.

On Monday, CBS Sports unveiled a sub-licensing agreement with ESPN, ensuring that an additional 20 regular-season men's basketball games will be broadcast across its platforms each year until the conclusion of the 2026-27 season.

Currently, CBS Sports airs a minimum of six Big 12 men's basketball games annually, all of which are also available for live streaming on Paramount+.

This expanded partnership highlights CBS Sports' commitment to delivering premier college basketball content to fans.

The Big 12 has undergone a dramatic transformation recently, influenced by nationwide conference realignments.

New additions for the 2024-25 season include the University of Colorado, Boulder, Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah, all of whom previously belonged to the Pac-12.

This follows the entrance of BYU, Cincinnati, UCF, and Houston, who joined the conference in 2023.

With these changes, the upcoming season will be the first in which the Big 12 operates as a 16-team conference, a transition that follows the loss of Oklahoma and Texas to the Southeastern Conference.

In October 2022, the Big 12 renewed its domestic media rights agreements with ESPN and Fox Sports, finalizing a six-year contract worth $2.28 billion (€2.29 billion), effective from 2025-26.

This deal will elevate the average annual rights fees for the conference from $220 million to an impressive $380 million.

ESPN secured the leading package, including rights to championships for both Big 12 football and men's basketball, while Fox Sports will broadcast a package of 26 football games each season and is set to feature Big 12 basketball for the first time.

The Big 12's negotiations were bolstered by Endeavor-owned WME Sports and IMG Media, reflecting the league's strategic approach to media partnerships.

Dan Weinberg, executive vice president of programming at CBS Sports, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, "CBS Sports continues to be the home for big-time college basketball, and we are excited to expand our long-standing relationship with the Big 12... This is a tremendous opportunity to add 20 high-quality games from a premier conference to our schedule and we are thrilled to increase the number of Big 12 basketball games across our CBS Sports platforms."

Brett Yormack, commissioner of the Big 12, emphasized the significance of this partnership: "Growing our presence on CBS Sports will deliver Big 12 basketball to even more fans across the country.

The additional nationally televised games will continue to grow our brand as the best conference in college basketball and showcase the elite student-athletes and programmes from our 16 institutions."