Fansided

Ohio State vs Michigan game likely moving to FOX starting in 2017

By Jason Parker

Nov 28, 2015; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines offensive line lines up against the Ohio State Buckeyes defense line during the game at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 28, 2015; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines offensive line lines up against the Ohio State Buckeyes defense line during the game at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /
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The annual Ohio State-Michgian game will likely be moving to FOX as part of the Big Ten’s new contract with the network, according to sources.

It’s one of the great traditions in all of college football. The annual game between two hated rivals, the Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes, is usually what kicks off the post-Thanksgiving football marathon on a Saturday that is full of rivalry showdowns.

For what seems to be decades now, the game as been a Noon kickoff on ABC (with the exception of the epic No. 1 vs. No. 2 match up in 2006 that was moved to 3:30 PM and caused all hell with the old guard). Now, it appears that the game may be heading to a new home.

CBSSports.com went in depth about the Big Ten’s new deal with both FOX and ESPN/ABC for football that kicks in during the 2017 season. According to the article, it looks like the Buckeyes and Wolverines will be heading to the youngest of the four major broadcast networks:

"Both networks will have the same amount of games to show (25 football, 50 basketball), but Fox will get first choice of the top games.This means it’s more likely than not that the annual Ohio State-Michigan game will air on Fox rather than ABC, where it’s been broadcast for decades. Fox will also have the rights to the Big Ten Championship Game in December. That gives Fox the rights to arguably the Big Ten’s two most attractive games."

The selection process will go where FOX will get to pick the week it wants to have first dibs, then ESPN will pick a week, then FOX and so on. Under that theory, you have to figure that one of college football’s premier games will be followed by reruns of Family Guy and Gotham.

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