The funding is already almost all advertising dollars. That’s how the networks are paying for the media rights, selling ads. The advantage of this is that live sports are one of the only ways left to capture an audience. Most streaming is ad free or has a tier to avoid ads if not live. Premier shows on services like HBO have no ads so unless you get a show you have to watch live to avoid massive spoilers, love sports is still one of the best ways to capture an audience.
You understand that the decline in sports viewership is occurring also, just not as fast, right? It's understandable that media outlets would put more chips on their sports content because it is a better bet over other linear television options, but the established trend is fewer eyeballs every year. At some point, that is a reality that has to show up in the bids for content. Just because big checks have come in the past, it doesn't mean they always will. PAC learning about this right now, looks like.
This multi-year decline already is rearing its head in sports media. ESPN is cutting ties with dozens of their established media personalities in a bid to save cash right now, before any of the recently negotiated deals even kick in. Fox Sports just finished a restructuring a year ago but the parent company is slashing jobs in their other TV holdings.
Hypothetically, what do you think happens in the B1G if next time contracts are bid the deals come back flat or a 10% reduction on average over the lifetime of the deal?