Sports

CBS Fumbles Previously Unrivaled Afternoon Football Slot After Ditching SEC: ‘It Just Means Less’

#College Football
by Last Updated
An SEC on CBS college football logo

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CBS moved on from the SEC following a 15-year partnership to strike a deal with the Big Ten for the 2024 season. The initial response to a 2025 preseason schedule release has been less than positive.

This week, the network dropped its slate for the first four weeks of the upcoming campaign. The matchups offer a move away from showcasing the sport’s best game.

In the summer of 2023, the Big Ten announced an unprecedented media rights deal that included three of the four major networks. Football games would be aired on NBC, CBS, and FOX as part of a $1 billion agreement.

Included in that contract was a $350 million annual payout from CBS across the duration of the deal. That value was 7x more than its previous agreement, which paid the SEC $55 million per year.

In past years, the 3:30 PM ET time slot with CBS showcased the top game in the SEC, which was often the headliner each college football week. The final season of the deal included matchups between Texas A&M-Tennessee, Georgia-Florida, and Auburn-Alabama. The SEC title game was also reserved a spot in the afternoon time slot.

That changed last year. The Big Ten came in. The 3:30 PM time lost some of its luster.

Last year’s first four games included Ohio State-Akron, Notre Dame-Purdue, Iowa-Iowa State, and Michigan-USC. This year’s opening slate is even more underwhelming.

The schedule for the first four weeks includes a Big Ten-G5 contest, an out of conference meeting between Oregon and a three-win Oklahoma State team, and a pair of lackluster league matchups.

The immediate response online was largely negative.

“It just means less,” one follower posted. “CBS fumbled this so badly,” said another.

This social media user commented, “Never forget what they took from us,” alongside a graphic of the old SEC on CBS logo. One person simply wrote, “Gross.”

“The falloff of CBS Saturday after letting the SEC slide will be studied for generations.”

CBS took the money and the Big Ten’s larger markets, which no one can necessarily blame them for. Still, the fact that the billion-dollar deal involves two other major networks has been somewhat of a drawback.

FOX seems to get the pick of the litter when it comes to the top Big Ten game each week. That headlining matchup is often scheduled to follow the network’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame show, another slot that’s drawn the ire of fans.

This year’s FOX opener will show Texas and Ohio State at noon. CBS gets the leftovers with Penn State-Nevada at 3:30 PM.

The SEC, meanwhile, inked its own deal with ABC and ESPN for roughly $700 million. ABC will air Alabama-Florida State in its Week 1 afternoon slot with LSU-Clemson to follow in primetime.

We’ll see if CBS can land a few more high-profile games as the year moves on.