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Tony Petitti, B1G commissioner, speaks to ‘evolution’ of TV and streaming-only broadcasts
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Tony Petitti is leading the B1G in his first calendar year as the new commissioner of the league. He stepped into the league while helping to finalize the landmark media rights deal that was started by former commissioner Kevin Warren.
A major part of the new media rights deal includes the emergence of NBC’s “Peacock” streaming platform to broadcast B1G events. The service has aired at least one football game each weekend and will host a large inventory of men’s and women’s basketball games during the 2023-24 season.
Speaking at B1G Basketball Media Days on Monday, Petitti addressed the idea of using streaming-only options and called it a part of the “evolution” of television. He also said sports landing on streaming services is simply a byproduct of the direction entertainment is taking as a whole.
“This is just part of that evolution. This is what is happening overall for all entertainment. Live sports wants to be where people are going to be. You have to start somewhere,” said Petitti. “There are always going to be some disruptions in terms of how people find it, but it’s happened before, and live sports — fortunately for everybody in college athletics — has been something that drives engagement, so it’s going to be important to those companies. I look at it that way, as this continuous evolution. In today’s current space the value of live sports has never been greater. I think the value of women’s sports in that ecosystem has never been greater.”
Long story short, fans should get used to at least some portion of games as streaming-only options for the foreseeable future.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.