Duke-Michigan basketball game up in the air over broadcast rights

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA — One of the most highly anticipated men’s college basketball games for the 2026-27 season is up in the air, with broadcasting rights casting doubt.

Reigning national champion Michigan and Duke had previously announced they would play on Dec. 21 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Vibes changed around the game when Duke announced a multi-year partnership with Amazon Prime, giving the platform exclusive streaming rights to multiple Duke basketball games each season. The game against Michigan is part of the deal.

While the ACC and ESPN were supportive of the deal, the same can’t be said for the Big Ten and its broadcast partner, Fox, putting the game’s status in question.

The main issue is the Big Ten believes Michigan should get a cut of the revenue from the game, and New York is a Big Ten market, making it an issue for Fox.

“What’s the structure of how we got this game made in the first place, and what are we going to do about it?” Big Ten commissioner Tony Pettiti told the media at the Big Ten spring meetings on Tuesday, May 19.

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said his staff knew Amazon Prime would broadcast the game, and made sure it was understood the game needed to go through the Big Ten. Now, he and Duke athletic director Nina King are “working through” ensuring the game takes place.

“Hopefully it’ll be resolved. It’s a great college basketball game, given who we are, who they are in college basketball,” Manuel told reporters. “I love the opportunity to play them, but we just have to make sure everything was right.”

Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.

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Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.

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Nebraska’s Berke Buyuktuncel celebrates with fans following a second-round game in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament between Nebraska Cornhuskers and Vanderbilt Commodores at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on March 21, 2026.

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Arkansas Razorbacks cheerleaders in the second half against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors during a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2026 in Portland, Ore.

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A Texas Christian University Horned Frogs cheerleader practices before the game during a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 19, 2026 in Greenville, SC.

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The two teams played each other last season, a February contest played in Washington, D.C., that was put together by a third-party organizer, the Gazelle Group. That game was broadcast by ESPN.

“I just believe that we’ve got to have that spirit of partnership that we felt strongly about where that game should sit. We’ll see how it ends up getting resolved,” Pettiti said. “There’s a couple of solutions. We’ll see.”

The issue can result in the game either moving to a different network − which could complicate Duke’s deal with Prime − or moving out of New York to a location that isn’t a Big Ten market. If it can’t get resolved, the game can be called off entirely and become a casualty to broadcasting rights.

UCLA coach Mick Cronin offered his thoughts on the situation, believing there’s “no chance it goes through. Not when Fox has paid hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars for the rights.”

He added the Bruins have been approached by streaming platforms to air non-conference games, but has told them they can’t be done within the Big Ten footprint.

Manuel said he can’t anticipate what changes might happen to make the game come to fruition, but he’s confident in the game happening.

“I don’t know how much changes. We’re working through it, and what I’m looking forward to is playing the game,” he said.