ABC and ESPN were close to completing a new six-year agreement for ACC football late last week that would provide the league at least $29.7 million next season and almost $38 million in 2005, sources said.
The agreement being discussed would include rights to both regular-season games and a new ACC football championship game. ABC and ESPN would pay $2.7 million per conference member for regular-season rights and $5 million for the championship game, sources said.
That means the ACC, which now has nine members, would receive at least $29.7 million in broadcast rights this fall when Miami and Virginia Tech join the league. The fee would increase to $37.4 million in 2005 with the addition of Boston College and the first annual football title game.
Sources said the two sides could agree to $32.4 million for regular-season rights in 2004, one year before Boston College joins the conference.
ESPN is also looking to have more Thursday night game commitments from the league as part of the new deal, sources said.
It was unclear at press time whether the rights fee would increase annually beyond 2005.
ABC/ESPN officials would only say talks were continuing. ACC Commissioner John Swofford was unavailable for comment at press time.
The league's television negotiator, IMG's Barry Frank, said he and ACC officials were in the midst of "very positive discussions" with ABC and ESPN.
"I think that everybody on our end will be very happy with [the contract] when and if it's completed," Frank said. He would not discuss financial terms.
The ACC has two seasons remaining on its existing ABC/ESPN football contract, which began in 1998. The conference's coming expansion, however, allowed the ACC to open negotiations for a new deal.
The league was scheduled to receive about $23 million from ABC/ESPN for the 2003 football season, sources said.
The ACC, which sources said was looking for a $40 million a year deal, was likely helped by the fact that other networks were interested in the package. ABC/ESPN's exclusive negotiating window closed on Jan. 21, sources said.
Turner Sports and Fox were both said by sources last week to be interested in picking up the package should negotiations with ABC/ESPN fall through.
Fox's deal would likely include both broadcast and cable components, while Turner would want an all-cable deal in which games would air on TBS, sources said. An agreement of that nature with Turner would make the ACC the only major football conference not on broadcast network television.
"If the ACC does become available, we would certainly look at it, for all the games," said Turner Sports President David Levy.
