NCAA News Archive - 2010

back to 2010 | Back to NCAA News Archive Index

ACC, ESPN reach media rights deal

Jul 8, 2010 3:12:08 PM


The NCAA News

 

The Atlantic Coast Conference signed a 12-year broadcast rights agreement with ESPN, the conference announced Thursday.

Financial terms were not disclosed. The arrangement runs through the 2022-23 season.

The deal gives the network exclusive rights to every conference-controlled football and men's basketball game, plus women's basketball, Olympic sports contests and conference championships.

About 4,800 ACC events will be broadcast on ESPN's television, digital and mobile platforms, and through syndication. The deal allows Raycom Sports to carry games and maintain its long-time relationship with the league. Raycom will continue to manage the conference corporate-partner program, as well as its digital assets.

The agreement calls for ESPN to broadcast ACC football games each week during the season, including Thursday, Saturday and a Labor Day telecast.

"We are excited to be continuing our partnership with ESPN and Raycom Sports," said Commissioner John Swofford. "This agreement allows our schools to reach significantly new financial heights while also showcasing more ACC content and coverage than ever before across traditional and new media platforms."

Though both the league and the network declined to discuss specific financial terms, Swofford said the new deal would "more than double the television revenue that (institutions) have been receiving in the past."

"Certainly, that's very significant for any college athletics program in today's world," he said.