Report: NBC Poaches ESPN’s Blackledge for Big Ten Football

The former quarterback has been at ESPN for 16 years.

When NBC begins its Big Ten football coverage next year, it will have a big name as its main analyst. The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand reports the network is hiring Todd Blackledge away from ESPN to anchor its Big Ten coverage.

Blackledge has been at ESPN since 2006, where he has served as one of the network’s top college football analysts. He is currently on the network’s No. 2 team with Sean McDonough, and recently called the the College Football Playoff semifinal between TCU and Michigan at the Fiesta Bowl. He is also broadcasting the National Championship game on Monday for ESPN radio.

NBC will pair Blackledge with Noah Eagle, Ian Eagle’s son, who currently works for Fox Sports and as the Clippers radio play-by-play voice. Eagle has also called select NFL games on Nickelodeon since the 2020 playoffs. Maria Taylor will lead NBC’s in-studio coverage as well.

The Big Ten agreed to a new media deal with CBS, Fox and NBC that is worth over $7 billion through 2030. While CBS and Fox already have established college football teams, NBC has primarily been broadcasting only Notre Dame games on Saturdays. Eagle and Blackledge will rival Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt on Fox and Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson on CBS.

Starting next year, the Big Ten will have games at every window on Saturdays. Fox will have the Noon game, CBS in the mid-afternoon at around 3:30 and NBC a primetime game. NBC will get 16 Big Ten games next year and 14–15 starting the following season, with a focus on prime time matchups. NBC will get to pair Saturday night football with its Sunday Night Football staple in the NFL.