Watching UConn basketball will be more expensive this season

Watching UConn men’s and women’s basketball has become more of a complicated — and expensive — proposition this year.

But one thing is for absolute certain: If you want to watch the biggest games, you’re going to need Peacock.

The NBC-owned streaming platform will be the exclusive home of the Big East women’s basketball tournament, meaning all 10 first-round, quarterfinal and semifinal games, plus the championship game (from March 6-9) will only be available behind their paywall.

In addition, five Big East men’s basketball tournament games will only be available on Peacock — including three first-round games on March 11 and the afternoon quarterfinal games (12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.) on March 12.

Some of the biggest games of the regular season are also on Peacock, including the UConn men’s much-anticipated showdown against Rick Pitino and St. John’s on Feb. 25, as well as men’s games against Butler (Dec. 16), Providence (Jan. 7 and 27), and Xavier (Dec. 31 and Feb. 13).

UConn women’s games against Ohio State (Nov. 16) and Big East games with Marquette (Dec. 17), Providence (Dec. 31), Creighton (Feb. 11) and Villanova (Feb. 18) will air on the service.

A UConn doubleheader will air on Peacock on New Year’s Eve, with the women playing at Providence at 3 p.m., the men at Xavier at 5 p.m., so you should make sure your Wi-Fi is strong if you want to ring in the new year with the Huskies.

The reason for Peacock’s ubiquity this season is the beginning of a six-year media rights deal the Big East made, which runs through 2030-31. The multifaceted deal also includes partnerships with FOX Sports and TNT Sports.

As for how much all of this will cost? Well, you’ll need to pony up $10.99 per month for Peacock premium.

To catch the rest of the games, you’ll also need a cable or streaming service package that includes FOX, ESPN, NBC, TNT, truTV, and FS1, and you’ll need an ESPN+ subscription ($10.99 per month) to watch the men’s season-opener against Division I newbie New Haven.

The average cable bill runs customers about $150 per month, and with some of the channels above not on most basic cable packages, you’ll likely be paying about that if you want to watch the Huskies this season. Not to mention the near $25 a month for the extra streaming services, which means fans who want to catch all the games are looking at around a $175 per month commitment.

The new TV deal is great for the Big East, as it extracts more money from various outlets and gets its games onto more platforms and into more households nationally than ever before. But it’s not so great for fans who are used to being able to find the Huskies on cable.

Bottom line, it should be an exciting season for UConn hoops, but to catch all of it, you’ll need to make sure your remote — and wallet — are handy.