Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 15, 1994 TAG: 9402150058
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In a move that effectively ends the College Football Association's control of television rights, the ACC announced a five-year deal with ABC and ESPN, starting in 1996. In addition, the ACC said it has extended its regional TV agreement with Jefferson Pilot for three years, through the 2000 season.
The ACC will earn about $50 million from ABC and $30 million from ESPN over the five-year contract. The Jefferson Pilot schedule of noontime games is expected to yield about $2 million annually, an amount down slightly from the current $2.8 million. That's because with more games on ABC and ESPN, there will be less schedule inventory for JP Sports.
The league's coaches will love the deal because of the increased exposure. According to sources familiar with the agreement, ACC schools will be the home team for about 70 games on ABC from 1996-2000, and another 45 games on ESPN, where ACC football has enjoyed higher-than-average ratings.
Under the current CFA contract with ABC, ACC regional games have averaged between 11 and 18 percent of the nation's TV homes. That figure will be increased to 25-30 percent and most Saturdays the ACC game will air in a region from at least Washington, D.C., down the eastern seaboard and west to Louisiana.
That overlaps the SEC region, after that conference left the CFA and ABC last week to sign an $85 million, five-year deal with CBS Sports. The Big East Football Conference is expected to follow the SEC, with a decision possible at the conference's meetings today and Wednesday in Pittsburgh.
The CFA's five-year contracts with ABC and ESPN run through the 1995 season and includes the ACC. Previously, the Big Ten and Pacific 10 conferences had extended their ABC contract through 2000. Those leagues are guaranteed to share at least 50 percent of the nation's homes weekly.
With the SEC headed to CBS and the Big East likely following, ABC had a regional void for college football in the East and Southeast. That gave the ACC an advantageous bargaining position with the networks. The Southwest and Big Eight conferences are still in negotiation with ABC and the possibility of a merger between the two for at least a TV contract exists.
"While we would have much preferred for the CFA to have stayed together as one bargaining unit, these circumstances allowed us the opportunity to find our value in the open marketplace," said ACC commissioner Gene Corrigan. "We are delighted to be remaining with ABC and ESPN, the present CFA carriers, through the end of the century."
Virginia athletic director Jim Copeland, chairman of the ACC's television committee, said the league hadn't been mentioned in the recent speculation on its TV future because Corrigan spent much of the last two weeks trying to keep the CFA package together.
The 64-school CFA package, had four-year extensions for $158 million with ABC and $116 million with ESPN on the table. Those offers are history.
"Once the SEC went with CBS and the Big East looks the same, we had to do something for our conference," Copeland said. "What was fortuitous for us was that we were at our winter meetings [that ended Sunday at Key West, Fla.], and we were already scheduled to meet with the people from ABC, ESPN and Jefferson Pilot. That helped us make the deal this quickly."
During the 1993 season, the ACC earned about $7.7 million from TV appearances in the CFA schedule on ABC and ESPN, plus another $2 million-plus for schools signing rights over to the CFA pool. The nine ACC members split network rights fees equally.
In the contract that begins in 1996, the ACC will earn an average of about $16 million annually, although some of that is likely to be paid to non-conference teams that visit an ACC stadium for a TV date.
"We're going to be getting more money, we'll be in more homes and we'll have some national games," Copeland said. "It's a very good deal for our conference."
by CNB