Michigan-Ohio State. Yankees-Red Sox. Duke-North Carolina. When bitter sports rivals backed by massive resources face off against one another, fans are typically the winners.
But not in the latest battle dominating sports pages – league-controlled sports networks vs. cable companies.
No longer satisfied with simply selling the rights to games for millions of dollars, the National Football League, Big Ten conference and other leagues are setting up their own networks that can bring them millions more in cable subscriber fees, even during the offseason. The leagues are building up entities that could eventually be worth billions.