Can the Big 12 Network Finally Become a Reality Now that the Bevo Channel Will Finally Die?

The University of Texas announces the Longhorn Network will merge into the SEC network. Hopefully this will finally pave the way for the long awaited Big 12 network.

Since the Longhorn Network's inception in 2011, it has been the major blockade to the Big 12 conference having its own network like the other four Power Five conferences. In a recent town hall meeting, University of Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte stated that the Longhorn Network will cease to exist, and its content will merge into the SEC channel in 2024. The University of Texas will retain the rights to the network's historical content, which may be used later to create a historic Longhorn channel to rebroadcast such content. 

So...what does all this mean for the Big 12, the current eight teams, and its four future members? I hope you are all sitting down. This finally opens the door for a Big 12 network deal to be negotiated similar to the channels that the other Power Five conferences have and that fans across the Big 12 have demanded for the past twelve years. No longer is ESPN, the operator of the Longhorn Network, the thorn in the side of the Big 12 fan (notwithstanding the streaming issues with ESPN+). Now Fox, Bally's, or even the ever-difficult ESPN may sit down at the Big 12's table and negotiate with the Big 12 for the entire sports landscape of the conference now that Bevo TV is dead. 

The next question for the Big 12 conference is when all this could happen and when could the earliest the channel could be launched. After completing negotiations with UT and the University of Oklahoma, the soonest we could see the channel launch would be the 2024 football season. Talks for the new network could be happening now that everything has been settled with the two teams leaving the conference.  Current rumors have several networks putting together bids for the opportunity to launch and run the Big 12 channel. At this point, we will have to wait and see, yet the odds say we should have a press conference announcing the launch date for the new channel during 2023. so get your popcorn ready Big 12 fans!!!

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