MVC deal with ESPN for 5 year 40 game minimum TV contract

[_kai_]

http://www.mvc-sports.com/mbasketball/news/2011-12/5543/missouri-valley-conference-signs-five-year-agreement-with-espn/

5 year contract that guarantees up to 40 games televised nationally a year. Includes ESPN3 games.

[Walker Schwartz]

Freaking amazing pickup for the MVC! The exposure can only help us in recruitment and increasing the chances of the MVC getting multiple bids in march

[KochHead22]

Did i read that right? The MVC tourney championship rights are now ESPN's?

[SpanglerFan316]

How much money does the MVC get from this deal?

[RoyalShock]

Interesting. I'm a little concerned that a lot of games could get buried on ESPN3.

The agreement also puts the Valley championship game back on ESPN, and away from CBS.

[SubGod22]

40 games a year? 30 of those will be on ESPN3 which basically means nobody is watching. However, it sounds like a fairly decent deal for the Valley and should we continue to pick it up as a conference, more of those games could end up on the U or 2.

[KochHead22]

Are were sure its 40 a year. . . "The agreement with ESPN extends through the 2015-16 academic year and annually provides a minimum of 40 national appearances for Valley teams on ESPN platforms." I took that quote as the total amount was a minimum for the 5 years, looking at an average of 8 games a season and giving them the right to add more if they wanted.

[Good News]

Interesting. I'm a little concerned that a lot of games could get buried on ESPN3.

The agreement also puts the Valley championship game back on ESPN, and away from CBS.

Which is the real takeaway from that press release. I'll reserve judgment on whether this is a good deal or not until I see how many events (if any) the Valley is picking up at the margin on ESPN and ESPN2.

[KochHead22]

I mean it says annually, yes, but i guess i'm just not that big of a fan of it because a lot of it will be espn3.

[_kai_]

Are were sure its 40 a year. . . "The agreement with ESPN extends through the 2015-16 academic year and annually provides a minimum of 40 national appearances for Valley teams on ESPN platforms." I took that quote as the total amount was a minimum for the 5 years, looking at an average of 8 games a season and giving them the right to add more if they wanted.

Bolded and large font.

Annually means per year.

[KochHead22]

Ya i just caught that. . . not a fan of that many a year, seems like most will be espn3

[RoyalShock]

Now that the numbers have sunk in . . .

"40 national appearances" probably means 20 games (2 MVC teams per game). 8 on ESPN/ESPN2, 8 on ESPNU (both as specified in the contract) and 4 on ESPN3.

The question is, where does that put the MVC with Fox Sports? And what about the first 3 days of Arch Madness?

[SubGod22]

Now that the numbers have sunk in . . .

"40 national appearances" probably means 20 games (2 MVC teams per game). 8 on ESPN/ESPN2, 8 on ESPNU (both as specified in the contract) and 4 on ESPN3.

The question is, where does that put the MVC with Fox Sports? And what about the first 3 days of Arch Madness?

Good question. FSN has been good to us and I'd assume they'd still pick up games that aren't on the ESPN networks and continue to show the first few rounds of the tournament as they have been. ESPN will now have the Championship game instead of CBS. But I could see us with a smaller presence on FSN now and that will suck if most of these games end up on E3.

[_kai_]

Here are figures from the article. These are straight quotes from the article.

The ESPN agreement will also include at least eight regular-season national TV men’s basketball appearances for the Missouri Valley Conference on ESPN or ESPN2 each year.

In addition to those contracted appearances on ESPN and ESPN2, eight additional Valley events will be produced for distribution on ESPNU

Baseball and other sports are included in the 40 games.

Also, complaining about games getting buried on ESPN3 is a bit erroneous. They'd most likely be games you wouldn't get to see anyways, so it's not like it's that big of an issue for people. I'm actually excited I will get to see more Valley hoops this year than ever. It's really hard to catch other Valley games unless the occasional game is on FSN, and I hate watching those telecasts. I bet I'll get to watch 500% more Valley basketball this year than in previous years.

[AndShock]

EDIT: Nevermind, the Final will still be on CBS.