ESPN, The R&A Agree To Eight-Year Deal For British Open Rights

TARGETING BCS TOO: SI.com's Stewart Mandel noted ESPN's reported negotiations for BCS rights include plans to "broadcast all five bowls," including the BCS Championship Game, which would become the "first major American sports championship to be broadcast on cable." Pilson Communications President Neal Pilson: "CBS would never let anyone take away the Masters, and NBC feels the same way about Wimbledon and the Olympics. Now we have ESPN basically staking out its position as the No. 1 college football carrier, and I think that they regretted not being more competitive four years ago and allowing (the BCS rights) to go to Fox." Mandel noted BCS officials publicly have "expressed satisfaction with Fox's production and presentation of the games," but sources said that BCS officials privately have been "angling to get back into business with ABC/ESPN." Fox is "extremely limited in its ability to promote the BCS, with its lone connection during the regular season consisting of the weekly unveiling of the BCS standings during its NFL postgame show." But to "get back into business with ESPN," the BCS "will have to undergo the unprecedented step of taking its product entirely off network airwaves." Pilson: "Of all the sports that face the recession we're about to experience, college football is probably the most recession-resistant. If you look ahead the next four years, I'm sure ESPN and Fox see college football as being a relatively safe investment. I don't think anyone is worried that Michigan and Ohio State and Georgia and Florida are going to go into a (financial) slump." Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said college football "has probably grown more in the past decade than any other sport" (SI.com, 11/13).

SEISMIC SHIFT: In DC, Tim Lemke wrote there will be "some people who complain" about a BCS move to cable, as for the most part, "nearly all of the truly premiere sporting events have historically been shown on over-the-air television." But that has "shifted a bit in recent years, with baseball and the NBA each moving some of their playoff games to cable" (WASHTIMES.com, 11/12). In Dallas, Barry Horn wrote, "In case you are wondering where ESPN is getting all [its] money, check your monthly cable bill. ESPN thanks you for your patronage" (DALLASNEWS.com, 11/13). In San Diego, Jay Posner writes, "Where will it end? Probably not until ESPN gets the Super Bowl. Scoff if you want, but I certainly wouldn't rule it out" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 11/14).

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