NBC is quickly becoming a go-to destination for college sports fans.
This season, the network announced it will be home to over 150 men’s and women’s college basketball games between the Big Ten, Big East and Atlantic 10 conferences.
Over 120 of those contests will stream exclusively on Peacock.
The season will tip off on Monday with a game between Northwestern and Lehigh airing exclusively on Peacock. Earlier this month, NBC announced its full schedule of Big Ten men’s and women’s contests, more than 75 of which will be Peacock exclusives. Five games will also be simulcast on NBC’s broadcast network.
Additionally, Peacock will have a piece of the Big Ten’s postseason tournaments, airing the first round of the men’s and women’s competitions in March.
New this year, NBC has added Big East basketball to its portfolio for the first time.
The network will air 25 regular season games on Peacock, along with two contests on its broadcast network. NBC joins CBS in having a piece of the Big East’s second-tier rights, with Fox remaining on as the conference’s lead media rights partner. Peacock will exclusively broadcast the first round of the Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament and two games in the quarterfinal round.
NBC has also bolstered its cable inventory for the upcoming season by continuing its relationship with the Atlantic 10 conference. USA Network will air 19 live Atlantic 10 regular season games on Saturdays and Sundays, while a handful of other weekday conference matchups will stream on Peacock. USA will also handle the first, second, and quarterfinal rounds of the A-10 Tournament.
Overall, the 2024-25 college basketball season marks another data point in NBC’s strategy to load up Peacock with live sports. While the streamer might not be airing the most in-demand games, the volume of broadcasts will surely generate some subscriptions in the long run.