It was announced last week by the Duke athletic department that Amazon would be the host for three non-conference basketball games next season for the Blue Devils’. But one of the matchups is already facing a roadblock.
In a historic move, Amazon is stepping into the college athletics space with a deal to broadcast games on its platform, with Duke serving as the centerpiece. The slate involving Duke includes matchups against UConn, Michigan and Gonzaga.
This deal, which was announced by Duke and Amazon, was supposed to be the start of a larger endeavor that would see Prime start finding different ways to stream college athletics. Think of it as an experiment for what the future might hold in the ever-changing landscape of television rights.
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But, there was a reported problem with the deal that arose just one day after the announcement was made by all parties involved, as Yahoo Sports first discussed.
The Big Ten, which Michigan is part of, has a very big problem with the agreement that ESPN and Duke signed to allow Amazon the rights to broadcast the game.
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In order to get this deal with Amazon approved, Duke needed the ACC’s television rights holder ESPN to sign off on allowing the Blue Devils to broadcast games outside their network. To do this, there was essentially a trade-off between ESPN and Duke for future games.
“In exchange for the flexibility to participate in this Prime Video series of nonconference games, Duke has committed to participate in select additional ESPN owned and operated men’s basketball neutral-site events across the 2027-28 and 2028-29 seasons,” Duke said in a statement.
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Television rights are a tad complicated, and expensive
The problem is that Michigan plays in the Big Ten, and the conference is under the impression that the nonconference game against Duke falls under their television agreement for the upcoming season. Think of it as a rotating series for television networks.
Last year, ESPN had the rights to broadcast the Michigan versus Duke contest from Washington, D.C., which ended with the Wolverines losing 68-63 in a highly contested matchup.
So, this year, with the Big Ten having a television rights agreement with FOX, the nonconference showdown would go to their side.
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This, obviously, is a key detail that Duke and Amazon knew ahead of their announcement, and it’s hard to keep something like this a secret in the television world.
Of all the issues this would create, one would think this part would be sorted out before an announcement of this magnitude was finalized. But, think again, because sources tell OutKick that the Big Ten was prepared to contest the announcement, which is the main reason why ESPN and Duke were quickly made aware of their agitation of Michigan’s game being included in the package.
Is New York City outside the Big Ten’s footprint?
This also comes down to regional territory in which the game takes place. There are clauses for these nonconference games that include which city inside an area that the contest takes place.
One of the reasons why Amazon is getting the rights to UConn centers around the game being played in Las Vegas, which is outside of the Huskies’ territory, along with the contest against Gonzaga being played in Detroit.
But the Big Ten considers New York City part of their regional footprint, so this is another reason why the conference feels as though they have the right to broadcast the game between Michigan and Duke.
What could happen next?
Well, ESPN, Duke and Amazon would write a six-figure check to the Big Ten, or FOX could just take over the television production of the game involving Michigan. This would only occur if the conference knew they had a strong leg to stand on in this potential fight.
If the Big Ten and FOX are under the impression that this year’s game falls under their purview, then this will be a pretty simple case.
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But, if Duke and Amazon decide this is not worth the hassle, both sides could theoretically find a replacement for the Wolverines.
Time will tell, but one would think this type of stuff should be handled before such a historic announcement.
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