ESPN used its exclusive negotiating window to reach an eight-year, $920-million deal with the NCAA on Thursday, an arrangement that extends a relationship that began when ESPN was launched in 1979 and has proved lucrative for both parties since.
The new contract — worth $115 million a year — proves that even in a fragmented media landscape, content is king and college sports draw a significant, and growing, television audience on cable and through streaming.
The agreement is worth roughly three times the annual value of the current deal, and the NCAA said production and marketing costs assumed by ESPN would add another $25 million to $30 million per year.