Menu
Colleges

Sun Belt takes different path, goes all in with ESPN

Sun Belt schools can expect $300,000 to $400,000 per year with annual increases.Getty Images

Conference USA cut its media rights deal with CBS, Stadium and Facebook just days after a rights deal was announced by the Sun Belt, a peer conference a notch below the power five. While their timing was similar, the two deals are markedly different, with Conference USA opting for three partners compared to the Sun Belt’s all-in arrangement with ESPN.

 

The Sun Belt signed its deal with ESPN and will provide significant programming on ESPN’s soon-to-launch over-the-top product, ESPN+. As part of the deal, ESPN committed to carry a handful of regular-season football games on one of its linear TV channels, mainly in a midweek time slot.

 

Wasserman’s Tag Garson consulted with Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson on the new arrangement.

 

The league still had two years remaining on its existing ESPN deal. In fact, its exclusive negotiating window to talk to other media companies wasn’t scheduled to come up until next year, which means that talks with Facebook or other non-linear platforms never came into the picture.

 

Sun Belt schools will see an increase in annual revenue well above the current $100,000 per school, sources said. Under the new deal, Sun Belt schools can expect $300,000 to $400,000 per year with annual increases.

 

Each athletic department will take on more of the production responsibilities for the games going on ESPN+, but the network is expected to offset some of those costs with an upfront payment.

 

Some schools expressed concern about sending most of their games to a pay channel — ESPN+ will cost $4.95 a month. But sources said Benson and conference leaders preferred a model that keeps almost all of its games on one channel instead of selling a more fragmented package of games.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2018/03/19/Colleges/Sun-Belt.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2018/03/19/Colleges/Sun-Belt.aspx

CLOSE