Originally published Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Fox won't match ESPN on TV deal for 2011-2014

It will be four-and-out for Fox and the BCS. The network has declined to match ESPN's offer for the 2011-2014 BCS bowl games. Barring a late snag...

By Chicago Tribune

It will be four-and-out for Fox and the BCS.

The network has declined to match ESPN's offer for the 2011-2014 BCS bowl games. Barring a late snag, those TV rights will be awarded to ESPN, which offered a reported $500 million for four years.

Fox offered about $405 million over four years, according to a network official.

Acquiring the BCS title game and four additional BCS bowls would represent a huge victory for ESPN, which added "Monday Night Football" to its stable in 2006.

Some critics will bemoan a sports championship going to cable because approximately 16 million U.S. homes do not receive the channel.

ESPN officials would not confirm the deal but did release a statement pointing out that the network has 98 million subscribers.

ESPN was able to offer a higher rights fee because it charges cable and satellite companies approximately $2.85 per subscriber.

Fox will broadcast this season's Fiesta, Sugar and Orange bowls, plus the BCS title game. ABC, a member of the ESPN family, has the Rose Bowl.

In January 2010, Fox will exit with the Fiesta, Sugar and Orange. ABC has the Rose and BCS title game in Pasadena.

The Rose Bowl has a separate agreement with ABC/ESPN through 2014 that gives it the right to shift the game from ABC to ESPN.

ESPN's reported $125 million-per-year deal represents more than a 50 percent increase over the $82.5 million Fox is currently paying the BCS.

Given that so many ESPN anchors and commentators have pushed for a college football playoff, it's natural to wonder if this agreement could lead to one.

The answer: Not any time soon. BCS officials in May voted to maintain the current format of five BCS bowl games with the title game rotating among the Fiesta, Orange, Rose and Sugar bowl sites.

Any significant change — the kind that president-elect Barack Obama says he will lobby for — will not come until the 2014-15 season.

This beefed-up BCS deal comes two months after the SEC signed $3 billion worth of TV deals with ESPN and CBS. That nearly tripled the conference's TV revenue.

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