NBC Signs Five-Year Extension Of Notre Dame Football TV Rights

NBC To Televise Eight Notre Dame Games Annually Under TV Rights Extension

NBC and the Univ. of Notre Dame (ND) have reached a five-year extension of their home football TV rights agreement through the 2015 season. The extension gives NBC a total of eight broadcasts annually, including one neutral-site game that will air in primetime. While the extension does not begin until 2011, NBC will begin airing eight ND games in ’09, including a game against Washington State Univ. at San Antonio’s Alamodome. The deal extends NBC's relationship with the school that began in '91. NBC Sports & Olympics Chair Dick Ebersol said ND is “one of the premier brands that defines who we at NBC are.” Despite several recent down years for the school, including a 3-9 record in ’07, Ebersol said he has "such a strong feeling about the Notre Dame traditions, both academically and athletically, that I have no doubt in the years going forward that this will be a sensational deal for both sides" (Spencer Ruberti, THE DAILY).

MORE DETAILS: USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand reports NBC's rights fee, which under the previous deal "had been about $9[M] annually, will increase because the new deal has more games" (USA TODAY, 6/20). Ebersol said that the contract is a "flat fee and not based on ratings" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/20). In N.Y., Richard Sandomir writes NBC will "benefit from selling the advertising time for the off-site games at potentially higher prices because they will be the only prime-time home games played" by ND (N.Y. TIMES, 6/20).

NAME BRAND: In South Bend, Eric Hansen writes the "eight-game inventory and the prime time games were significant bargaining chips for [ND], especially considering it will not budge on playing a regular home game at night." NBC last season averaged a 1.9 rating for its ND broadcasts, "by far the worst since the contract went into effect." But Ebersol said, "The Notre Dame brand is a brand that's been sustainable for decade after decade. When you look at great brands, you don't necessarily look at year to year" (SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE, 6/20). In Milwaukee, Bob Wolfley writes the renewal is "remarkable on one level because Irish football hasn't been mistaken for national championship-level football for years." But the "brand remains sturdy even though the football is not" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 6/20). Ebersol added that ND "consistently ranking among the top 10 teams in the nation would more than satisfy him" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 6/20).