Media rights seem to be the talk of the town when it
comes to sports. In 2011 NBC won the
media rights for the Olympics through 2020 for the price of over $4
billion. The NFL has had its share of
press lately regarding media rights as well, implementing strict limits
regarding the coverage of football. The
newest member to jump on the bandwagon is ESPN.
ESPN has locked in a deal to cover the Rosebowl from
2015 through 2026. The media rights deal
tops off at almost $600 million, which roughly breaks down to approximately $80
million a year. The Rose Bowl’s new
media rights fee jumped from its current fee of $30 million per year to $80
million per year. This is an increase of
167 percent.
The pay structure allows the Rose Bowl’s partners
the Pac-12 and Big Ten to keep all of the revenue generated from the media
rights. One exception to this occurs
when the Rosebowl is a semifinal game or playoff game, then the revenue “flows
through the playoff system and be distributed to all of the FBS conferences”
(Smith 2012).
As of right now ESPN is the current BCS
partner. ESPN paid $125 million for the
media rights to the BCS Championship. This
fall negotiations will begin again between ESPN and the BCS for the media
rights. ESPN has 30 days to negotiate a
deal, if a deal cannot be made then the media rights open up to networks such
as FOX Sports.
While ESPN is negotiating the BCS, there are two
other bowl games where media rights are available; the Orange Bowl and
Champions Bowl. “ESPN has taken an
aggressive stance, considering its bid to keep the Rose. It’s terribly complex. There are a ton of
moving parts. Right now we have more questions than we have answers” (Smith
2012) said the commissioner of the Mountain West.
As the deals are finalized and ESPN and other
networks have dotted their “I’s” and crossed their “T’s”, it will be
interesting to see if the other Bowl media rights fees increase in the excess
of 167 percent like the Rose Bowl’s media rights did.
Seidenberg, J. (2009,
September 09). Legal issues affecting online coverage of sports.
Retrieved from http://suite101.com/article/legal-issues-affecting-online-coverage-of-sports-a149496
Hi Jen, enjoyed reading your post about how ESPN is now capitalizing on the entertainment industry. I am an avid professional football watcher. I enjoy watching my Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars play. Of course being in on the Georgia/Florida line we are either Georgia Bull Dogs or Florida Gators. You are right in the end it is all about the money. I just was trying to watch the Georgia tonight 9/15/2012 and I would have to pay $25.00 to watch it on ESPN3. Just amazing. I will have to come back and check out your blog since I see you write about sports.
ReplyDeleteDotty