Report: CBS paying in 'neighborhood' of $350 million for afternoon Big Ten matchup

How college football is broadcasted will be undergoing some changes over the next few years — specifically with the Big Ten. No longer will the conference find its games on ESPN and will instead feature multiple other networks. One of which is CBS, who will be paying a pretty penny to showcase the conference’s game of the week.

According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, CBS will be paying in the “neighborhood” of $350 million to broadcast the Big Ten. They will keep their patented 3:30 p.m. ET timeslot, one that has showcased the SEC for many years.

Alongside CBS, NBC has emerged as a frontrunner to land another primetime slot for the conference. Fox still has a deal with the Big Ten, getting to show their “A” slot games. There’s a possibility the Big Ten will have three games consecutively played across the three networks.

ESPN has long been a place the Big Ten broadcasts their football and even basketball games. It’s been over 40 years since a game was not on the four-letter network’s airwaves. The pivot comes after ESPN decided to strike a deal with the SEC, who will show their top game of the weekend at the 3:30 p.m. ET timeslot as well.

ESPN paying SEC less than CBS is paying Big Ten for 3:30 p.m. ET window

However, ESPN will be paying a significantly lower price to the SEC. $300 million a year was the deal between the two. Now, ESPN and CBS will go up against one another in viewership every weekend, with the battle of networks and conferences just getting underway.

Both the Big Ten and SEC have made major realignment moves to make their television market more valuable as well. USC and UCLA were added from the West Coast and partnered up with the midwest schools, while Texas and Oklahoma will be heading east. More is surely to come as conference realignment refuses to sleep.