ESPN and the NCAA Agree To An 8-Year Media Rights Contract Extension
ESPN and the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) have agreed to extend their media rights deal for eight years.
The rights agreement covers 40 championships, including the women’s “March Madness” college basketball tournament.
A Longstanding Partnership
The partnership between the NCAA and ESPN began in 1979, the year the network launched, and is showing no signs of slowing down.
The new agreement will extend that partnership for another eight years at the cost of $920 million.
The deal will begin on September 1, and pay out an average of $115 million per year. The Women’s March Madness is valued at $65 million of that number. That number is triple the price of the current package.
“This is a Reset”
The contract will end in 2032 to correspond with the end of the men’s Match Madness tournament deal that the NCAA has with CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery.
“We didn’t do a renewal,” EVP and Head of the Americas for Media at IMG, Hillary Mandel, said. “This is a reset.”
For ESPN, the new deal will add 11 extra championships to the network’s platforms and guarantee more investment in storytelling, including long-form documentaries.
With ESPN looking towards streaming as the future of its business, live sports will play an integral role as the network evolves.
A Look Into the Future
Meanwhile, the NCAA got a large package in an era where networks are increasingly worried about overspending.
With both the men’s and women’s March Madness contracts set to expire in 2032, the NCAA will likely look to package the two tournaments to future networks.
Whether ESPN is a player in those negotiations remains to be seen.