Big Ten puts stop to Maryland's subscription streaming plans

The University of Maryland shelved plans to launch a subscription streaming service due to pressure from the Big Ten and its associated Big Ten Network.

According to Emily Giambalvo of the Washington Post, the school had to retract an already disseminated press release and social media postings about the launch because the conference was allegedly not informed of these plans:

Last fall, Maryland’s athletic department unveiled an ambitious plan to launch a subscription streaming platform featuring behind-the-scenes videos, interviews and film breakdowns. The school would partner with a third-party company, charge customers $8 per month and allow fans to watch this content on their televisions and other devices through streaming apps.

The problem: Despite months of planning for an idea that was hatched years ago, the Big Ten, which controls the school’s media rights, was left in the dark. And this plan, according to a letter sent from Big Ten Network President Francois McGillicuddy to Maryland Athletic Director Damon Evans, would “flagrantly violate” the assignments of rights among the school, the conference and the Big Ten Network. That forced Maryland to remove its news release published Oct. 25, 2022, and tweets about the launch.

Terps Plus, the planned name for the service, would have provided non-game programming to users for a $8 monthly fee. The service would have been available on over-the-top platforms such as Roku but also accessed online through mobile devices, laptops and more. It was an expansion of Terrapins Club Plus, which Maryland launched solely for the school's website in 2020. Maryland had a "handshake agreement" with a company called Sport & Story to develop and manage Terps Plus.

However, though Terps Plus would not stream actual games, the conference alleged that the promised content falls under "ancillary programming" that is the property of the Big Ten Network, according to the conference's media rights agreement.

According to the Post, Big Ten Network president Francois McGillicuddy wrote a letter to the university's athletic department, stating:

“So when you say that Terps+ will be available to ‘Terrapin fans nationwide’ and ‘will be consumable wherever Maryland fans want to watch,’ whether on TV, internet, social media, or phone apps, what you are saying is that the University intends to disregard all of the limits on how it can distribute Ancillary Programming. And when you say that Terps+ will be the ‘exclusive’ source of that programming, what you mean is that the University intends to deprive us of our ‘right to distribute [the University’s] Ancillary Programming at no cost.’"

Professionally crafted anger aside, there are a couple of questions to consider. One, though the Terrapins program has strong basketball teams, a perennially elite men's lacrosse squad and an array of other sports, how much interest is there in the program beyond current students and alumni to justify moving beyond the initial Club Plus in the first place? 

Secondly, where was the due diligence between Maryland and Sport & Story before coming to an agreement? That other Big Ten member schools, including more prominent ones such as Ohio State or Michigan, haven't launched similar services should have been a sign for Maryland to tread lightly before enraging the conference. This chapter may be closed, but it wouldn't be surprising if similar conflicts arise again as these conference sports channels try to close rank around any school that tries to make its own way when it comes to streaming.