Brigham Younger Cougars defensive lineman Pepe Tanuvasa (45) and Brigham Younger Cougars defensive lineman Earl Tuioti-Mariner (91) chase Baylor Bears quarterback Blake Shapen (12) as BYU and Baylor play at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. Scott G Winterton, Deseret Information
BYU and Baylor gave the Large 12 Convention and these future convention rivals one thing to shout about — TV numbers.
On Tuesday, ESPN introduced that 2.4 million viewers watched their sport final Saturday, a double-overtime thriller that the Cougars received 26-20.
It’s one of the best viewership numbers for a late-night ESPN school soccer broadcast since 2016, when Cal hosted Texas that 12 months.
Our future is shiny 💥 #Big12
— Large 12 Convention (@Big12Conference) September 13, 2022
From @ESPNPR: The #BAYvsBYU sport on Saturday was ESPN's finest late-night sport since 2016 with 2.4 million viewers
(by way of https://t.co/uOukmZfnHU) pic.twitter.com/aaw3PujW6S
It’s good timing for the Large 12, as these two future league rivals — BYU is becoming a member of the convention in 2023 — placed on a late-night present.
Not too long ago, the Large 12 introduced it could be opening media rights negotiations with its companions sooner than anticipated.
Final week, new convention Commissioner Brett Yormark gave an replace on the scenario.
“The method has began. I met with ESPN final week, had nice conferences with them,” Yormark mentioned, per The Athletic’s Justin Williams. “I believe we’re very aligned and like-minded in the place we wish to go sooner or later. I’ll be assembly with Fox within the subsequent week to gauge their curiosity.
“Clearly these are conversations to discover if it’s in everybody’s finest curiosity to go early, to achieve readability. My intestine tells me that each Fox and ESPN wish to try this, however I’ll know for positive as soon as I meet with Fox within the subsequent week.”
The Large 12’s present media rights deal expires in 2025.