As expected, the nine current members of the Big 12 have agreed to equally share all broadcast revenue from the network and cable contracts.
This simply means that from now on all revenue from the networks (ABC, FOX, CBS or NBC) as well as any cable football, ESPN basketball and Big 12 network games produced by ESPN Regional will be split evenly among all members. Previously, the distribution was based on television appearances, and so teams with more appearances (Texas, OU, Nebraska) received a larger portion. The deal will take effect once each of the nine schools commit to a grant all of these rights to the conference for at least six years.
Each team would retain control of their third tier rights, which could be a network or a web outlet or a locally syndicated package. That means that the Longhorn Network will not have to share any of its earned revenue.
The timing of the move today was to help the Missouri Board of Curators commit to the Big 12 long-term at their meeting on Tuesday.
Next on the agenda for the Big 12 will be expansion. Assuming Missouri stays, there are those in the league who would want to add BYU and then stop at 10. If the league decides to expand back to 12 to have a conference championship game, other contenders would be Big East teams Louisville, West Virginia and possibly Cincinnati and South Florida; Boise State and Air Force and TCU - even though the Horned Frogs are currently committed to move to the Big East.