Big East conference tourneys will be behind paywall in ’26

This week the complete UConn men’s and women’s basketball schedules, save for very few blanks to fill in, were released with starting times, game sites and broadcast information. It’s the broadcast information details that continue to bear scrutiny, especially for Huskies fans.

Many may have forgotten or not even noticed back in June 2024 when the Big East and NBC announced a mega six-year deal to televise conference games. Many also may not have realized that the deal allowed NBC to put many of the games behind their Peacock streaming service paywall.

As the details were released by both UConn and NBC this week, here are the facts. In addition to a total of 16 UConn games — nine men’s and seven women’s contests– both Big East tournaments will also see games on Peacock. The entire women’s tournament, held annually at Mohegan Sun for the last several seasons and available on cable TV, will be broadcast by the streaming service. That means UConn fans who don’t have Peacock could miss out on three games: the quarterfinal, semifinal and championship.

On the men’s side, the annual Madison Square Garden event will have three first-round games and two afternoon quarterfinals on the streaming service, which costs $10.99 per month. Peacock also broadcast those games last season.

“Nobody does college basketball like the Big East conference — and there’s only one place to watch the biggest games this season,” NBC Sports wrote press release. “It’s official: Peacock will be the exclusive home of nearly 75 Big East men’s and women’s regular-season and tournament games — including all 10 2026 Big East Women’s Tournament games!”

As one might expect, UConn fans will be impacted by this new deal in several ways. On the women’s side, 15 women’s games will be on Peacock throughout the season. Seven of those are games featuring the Huskies, including a high-profile matchup with Ohio State on Nov. 16 at noon, in addition to six conference games.

An NBC Sports press release also raved about the Huskies on the pay service: “UConn, who defeated South Carolina, 82-59, in the National Championship Game, return 2025 NCAA Women’s Final Four Most Outstanding Player Azzi Fudd as well as National Championship Game starters Sarah Strong and Jane El Alfy,” the release read. “UConn will make a team-high seven appearances on Peacock this season!”

On the men’s side, nine regular-season Husky games are behind the wall, although one (vs. Marquette on Jan. 4) will be simulcast on NBC, and time will tell about the conference tourney. Fans will need to pay to see UConn rivalry games against Xavier, Providence, Georgetown and the ultimate: The Feb. 25 showdown with Rick Pitino and St. John’s at PeoplesBank Arena.

Originally Published: October 3, 2025 at 2:17 PM EDT