Baker told the Sports Business Journal that the new deal is worth $115 million annually
Old deal was only $41.6m a year (12 yr $500m). New deal is worth very nearly 3x that much, and it's $920m over 8 years. I wonder how much of this new deal is the women's NCAAT...2/3? 80%? Looks like they're using WBB to carry all the non-money sports now.
I thought that they were going to eventually split the NCAA women's Division I basketball rights off separately. This IMO is bad, the women's tournament on the open market likely would have gotten a huge pay raise as opposed to being bundled with all the other sports. Men's basketball is a separate contract and that's why it's worth way more.
Looks like the new deal ups the rights fee from about $42m annually to about $115m annually, though the new deal does include rights to some sports championships that weren't in the last deal. The last deal was signed in 2011.
https://www.espn.com/college-sports/stor...more-years
It is surprising they didnt peel off the Women's NCAA basketball tournament on its own.
You would think the Men's and Women's College World Series would be a good anchor product for the less desirable championships that would struggle getting a TV deal independent of bundling.
From D1.ticker:
The
NCAA has signed a new eight-year championship media rights agreement with
ESPN, starting September 1, 2024 that will include domestic rights to 40 NCAA championships including DI Women's Basketball and Men's and Women's Basketball Invitationals, and international rights to those 40 events and the DI Men's Basketball Tournament.
SBJ's Ben Portnoy reports the deal is worth an average of $115M per year, up from the current total of around $40M per year, with "at least 25% of that value (around $28.75 million) includes production and marketing costs assumed by ESPN." NCAA President Charlie Baker on the deal and WBB: “If you look at the numbers across most of these sports, they've all done far better over the past few years. And we fully expect the reason we got three-times [our previous deal] is because they're all going to do far better going forward. [...] What we had always said was we wanted the best deal for all of our championships. If you think about it, it's [2,300] hours of programming, which over the eight years of the deal will take place in an enormous number of settings with a whole variety of challenges and on the ground circumstances that make this something where if you can get a production partner who's willing to bite the whole thing off at a price that we believe is more than market competitive, we thought that was a better way to go.”
https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Ar...ights-deal
(01-04-2024 11:31 AM)solohawks Wrote: [ -> ]It is surprising they didnt peel off the Women's NCAA basketball tournament on its own.
You would think the Men's and Women's College World Series would be a good anchor product for the less desirable championships that would struggle getting a TV deal independent of bundling.
The problem with peeling the WNCAAT off on its own is that leaves all the other sports without an anchor. ESPN might not have been willing to broadcast many/most of the other sports at all, or put them on ESPN 8 the Ocho or something, but now they have to broadcast everything in order to get the WNCAAT. This is huge exposure for sports like baseball, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, and FCS football, and it probably didn't cost the NCAA much to put them on WBB's coattails.
deal includes the international rights to everything plus the Mens tourney.
(01-04-2024 11:46 AM)bryanw1995 Wrote: [ -> ] (01-04-2024 11:31 AM)solohawks Wrote: [ -> ]It is surprising they didnt peel off the Women's NCAA basketball tournament on its own.
You would think the Men's and Women's College World Series would be a good anchor product for the less desirable championships that would struggle getting a TV deal independent of bundling.
The problem with peeling the WNCAAT off on its own is that leaves all the other sports without an anchor. ESPN might not have been willing to broadcast many/most of the other sports at all, or put them on ESPN 8 the Ocho or something, but now they have to broadcast everything in order to get the WNCAAT. This is huge exposure for sports like baseball, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, and FCS football, and it probably didn't cost the NCAA much to put them on WBB's coattails.
I figured the Men's and Women's College World Series would suffice as the anchor product for which to bundle the non major championships.
Feels like ESPN is getting a good deal
(01-04-2024 11:59 AM)solohawks Wrote: [ -> ] (01-04-2024 11:46 AM)bryanw1995 Wrote: [ -> ] (01-04-2024 11:31 AM)solohawks Wrote: [ -> ]It is surprising they didnt peel off the Women's NCAA basketball tournament on its own.
You would think the Men's and Women's College World Series would be a good anchor product for the less desirable championships that would struggle getting a TV deal independent of bundling.
The problem with peeling the WNCAAT off on its own is that leaves all the other sports without an anchor. ESPN might not have been willing to broadcast many/most of the other sports at all, or put them on ESPN 8 the Ocho or something, but now they have to broadcast everything in order to get the WNCAAT. This is huge exposure for sports like baseball, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, and FCS football, and it probably didn't cost the NCAA much to put them on WBB's coattails.
I figured the Men's and Women's College World Series would suffice as the anchor product for which to bundle the non major championships.
Feels like ESPN is getting a good deal
Nearly tripling the rights fees paid over a decade is outstanding growth. The NCAA could have gone anywhere for this contract, the very fact that the decided to sign with ESPN again means that ESPN was willing to pay more than anybody else for it.
(01-04-2024 11:59 AM)solohawks Wrote: [ -> ] (01-04-2024 11:46 AM)bryanw1995 Wrote: [ -> ] (01-04-2024 11:31 AM)solohawks Wrote: [ -> ]It is surprising they didnt peel off the Women's NCAA basketball tournament on its own.
You would think the Men's and Women's College World Series would be a good anchor product for the less desirable championships that would struggle getting a TV deal independent of bundling.
The problem with peeling the WNCAAT off on its own is that leaves all the other sports without an anchor. ESPN might not have been willing to broadcast many/most of the other sports at all, or put them on ESPN 8 the Ocho or something, but now they have to broadcast everything in order to get the WNCAAT. This is huge exposure for sports like baseball, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, and FCS football, and it probably didn't cost the NCAA much to put them on WBB's coattails.
I figured the Men's and Women's College World Series would suffice as the anchor product for which to bundle the non major championships.
Feels like ESPN is getting a good deal
The Men’s and Women’s CWS are solid properties, but it was perfect timing for the NCAA to negotiate the WNCAAT because last year’s ratings blew the roof off. The final got nearly 10 million viewers and the semifinals averaged 4.5 million viewers last year, while only 2 CWS games have ever gotten more than 3 million viewers in its history.
Since the NIT is in there, and not a separate piece, I suspect the FOX tournament will almost certainly go forward.
Found the answer to my question of how much is being attributed to the women's tournament
https://frontofficesports.com/ncaa-espn-...pionships/
$65M of the $115M annually is for the Women' tournament
$50M annually for the M/W College World series, W Volleyball, M Lacrosse and other non marquee events.
With the Men's Tournament paying out an estimated $900M a year, the women are being given less that 10% value of the Men. Since they compete directly against each other on the calendar, CBS and WBD not being in the mix of bidder would probably drive down the value a bit.
Could a standalone package of the M/W College World series, W Volleyball, M Lacrosse and other non marquee events gotten $50M a year, or is the W Basketball tournament propping them up?
When you factor in the OTA exposure on ABC and the wide distribution of the ESPN networks, its makes sense for the NCAA, who wants to protect the smaller less marketable championships, but the Women's probably could have gotten a bit more had they been allowed to be bid on completely on their own, but I understand they did what they did.
I still say ESPN is getting a good deal. By paying slightly more than 10% of what CBS/WDS are paying for the Men, they get the growing Women's tournament along with everything else thrown in.
(01-04-2024 11:46 AM)bryanw1995 Wrote: [ -> ] (01-04-2024 11:31 AM)solohawks Wrote: [ -> ]It is surprising they didnt peel off the Women's NCAA basketball tournament on its own.
You would think the Men's and Women's College World Series would be a good anchor product for the less desirable championships that would struggle getting a TV deal independent of bundling.
The problem with peeling the WNCAAT off on its own is that leaves all the other sports without an anchor. ESPN might not have been willing to broadcast many/most of the other sports at all, or put them on ESPN 8 the Ocho or something, but now they have to broadcast everything in order to get the WNCAAT. This is huge exposure for sports like baseball, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, and FCS football, and it probably didn't cost the NCAA much to put them on WBB's coattails.
IIRC the College World Series is one of the few championships that actually makes money. The FCS championship usually gets 1-2M viewers, which rivals most of the G5 bowls. Probably more actual butts in seats at the FCS game too.
if WBB was being underpaid
Fow would jumped in
(01-04-2024 12:13 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote: [ -> ] (01-04-2024 11:59 AM)solohawks Wrote: [ -> ] (01-04-2024 11:46 AM)bryanw1995 Wrote: [ -> ] (01-04-2024 11:31 AM)solohawks Wrote: [ -> ]It is surprising they didnt peel off the Women's NCAA basketball tournament on its own.
You would think the Men's and Women's College World Series would be a good anchor product for the less desirable championships that would struggle getting a TV deal independent of bundling.
The problem with peeling the WNCAAT off on its own is that leaves all the other sports without an anchor. ESPN might not have been willing to broadcast many/most of the other sports at all, or put them on ESPN 8 the Ocho or something, but now they have to broadcast everything in order to get the WNCAAT. This is huge exposure for sports like baseball, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, and FCS football, and it probably didn't cost the NCAA much to put them on WBB's coattails.
I figured the Men's and Women's College World Series would suffice as the anchor product for which to bundle the non major championships.
Feels like ESPN is getting a good deal
The Men’s and Women’s CWS are solid properties, but it was perfect timing for the NCAA to negotiate the WNCAAT because last year’s ratings blew the roof off. The final got nearly 10 million viewers and the semifinals averaged 4.5 million viewers last year, while only 2 CWS games have ever gotten more than 3 million viewers in its history.
Now I'm curious, what were those two games?
(01-04-2024 01:03 PM)BeepBeepJeep Wrote: [ -> ] (01-04-2024 12:13 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote: [ -> ] (01-04-2024 11:59 AM)solohawks Wrote: [ -> ] (01-04-2024 11:46 AM)bryanw1995 Wrote: [ -> ] (01-04-2024 11:31 AM)solohawks Wrote: [ -> ]It is surprising they didnt peel off the Women's NCAA basketball tournament on its own.
You would think the Men's and Women's College World Series would be a good anchor product for the less desirable championships that would struggle getting a TV deal independent of bundling.
The problem with peeling the WNCAAT off on its own is that leaves all the other sports without an anchor. ESPN might not have been willing to broadcast many/most of the other sports at all, or put them on ESPN 8 the Ocho or something, but now they have to broadcast everything in order to get the WNCAAT. This is huge exposure for sports like baseball, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, and FCS football, and it probably didn't cost the NCAA much to put them on WBB's coattails.
I figured the Men's and Women's College World Series would suffice as the anchor product for which to bundle the non major championships.
Feels like ESPN is getting a good deal
The Men’s and Women’s CWS are solid properties, but it was perfect timing for the NCAA to negotiate the WNCAAT because last year’s ratings blew the roof off. The final got nearly 10 million viewers and the semifinals averaged 4.5 million viewers last year, while only 2 CWS games have ever gotten more than 3 million viewers in its history.
Now I'm curious, what were those two games?
2023 LSU-Florida and 2009 LSU-Texas:
https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2023/06...ship-espn/
(01-04-2024 11:59 AM)solohawks Wrote: [ -> ] (01-04-2024 11:46 AM)bryanw1995 Wrote: [ -> ] (01-04-2024 11:31 AM)solohawks Wrote: [ -> ]It is surprising they didnt peel off the Women's NCAA basketball tournament on its own.
You would think the Men's and Women's College World Series would be a good anchor product for the less desirable championships that would struggle getting a TV deal independent of bundling.
The problem with peeling the WNCAAT off on its own is that leaves all the other sports without an anchor. ESPN might not have been willing to broadcast many/most of the other sports at all, or put them on ESPN 8 the Ocho or something, but now they have to broadcast everything in order to get the WNCAAT. This is huge exposure for sports like baseball, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, and FCS football, and it probably didn't cost the NCAA much to put them on WBB's coattails.
I figured the Men's and Women's College World Series would suffice as the anchor product for which to bundle the non major championships.
Feels like ESPN is getting a good deal
Those two are post-Memorial Day. They are summer events plus historically the Women's Final Four doubles them both up in viewership.
Hard for me to believe that Fox or CBS/Turner were not interested in the women's basketball tournament