ESPN Inks NCAA Eight-Year Media Rights Renewal Worth $920 Million

variety.com:

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor ESPN and the NCAA reached a new, eight-year sports rights agreement worth about $920 million over the term of the deal — more than four times the previous pact with the Disney-owned sports giant.

The new media-rights deal commences Sept. 1, 2024, for NCAA championship events. The pact includes domestic rights to a record 40 NCAA championships — 21 women’s and 19 men’s events — and international rights to those same NCAA championships plus the March Madness Division I men’s basketball tournament.

NCAA president Charlie Baker said the new ESPN deal has an average annual value of $115 million, an increase of more than 300% over the previous 14-year deal with ESPN, the AP reported.

The NCAA said that with “the significant increase in value of the new agreement,” its members will explore “revenue distribution units for the women’s basketball tournament.” According to the collegiate sports organization, the Division I board of directors finance committee “began discussion of revenue distribution philosophies and new models this year, and those discussions will continue with membership in the coming year.” In total, more than 2,300 hours of NCAA championships will be presented on ESPN’s linear and digital platforms annually, including 800-plus hours of the collegiate championships on ESPN linear networks each year. “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,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “The ESPN networks and platforms will exclusively present a record number of championships, including all rounds of several marquee events that, together.