ESPN and the NCAA have agreed to an eight-year media rights deal, extending a contract that’s been in place since 1979, when the sports-focused cable network was founded.
Running through 2032, the contract includes the rights to 40 NCAA championships — 21 women’s and 19 men’s events — and exclusives for all rounds in sports like women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, women’s gymnastics, softball, baseball and FCS football. It also provides international rights to the Division I men’s basketball championship. (U.S. rights to men’s March Madness are covered by a seperate rights deal with CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery.)
The agreement, which takes effect September 1, is valued at $920 million, or $115 million annually. That’s roughly three times the value of ESPN’s current deal with the governing body of college athletics, which pays about $40 million annually.
“ESPN and the NCAA have enjoyed a strong and collaborative relationship for more than four decades, and we are thrilled that it will continue as part of this new, long-term agreement,” said ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro in a statement. “This unprecedented deal also further strengthens The Walt Disney Company’s industry-leading commitment to women’s sports and will help fuel our continued growth, including in the critical streaming space.”
“Having one multiplatform home to showcase our championships provides additional growth potential along with a greater experience for the viewer and our student-athletes,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said.
As sports media rights grow in value while profits from pay TV shrink, the increased revenue from the new agreement will make it possible for NCAA members to explore new distribution models for women’s sports, according to the NCAA’s statement.
Disney and ESPN, meanwhile, will struggle to rise to the challenge of skyrocketing sports-rights pricing as their distribution model goes through a transitional garden hose from linear to digital. ESPN has lost nearly 4 million subscribers in 2023 alone, according to recently released Nielsen data.
And ESPN is facing still more pricey renewals. The NBA, for instance, is reportedly seeking multiyear national TV rights deals totaling around $75 billion vs. the $24 billion it’s currently netting. The league’s current deal with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery expires after the 2024-25 NBA season.
