Disney has announced a brand new eight-year agreement between ESPN and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which starts on September 1st 2024.

This new deal covers domestic rights to a record 40 NCAA championships – 21 women’s and 19 men’s events – and international rights to those same NCAA championships plus the Division I men’s basketball tournament.

The agreement continues exclusive coverage of sports included in the previous ESPN agreement – including all rounds of marquee NCAA Championship events (women’s basketball, softball, volleyball, gymnastics, baseball, FCS football, and more) – and adds coverage of the Division I men’s and women’s tennis team championships and the national collegiate men’s gymnastics championship. It also includes full rights for the men’s National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), as well as international rights for the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. Division II and Division III also add coverage on ESPN platform of championships in men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball.

ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement:

“ESPN and the NCAA have enjoyed a strong and collaborative relationship for more than four decades, and we are thrilled that it will continue as part of this new, long-term agreement.  The ESPN networks and platforms will exclusively present a record number of championships, including all rounds of several marquee events that, together with the NCAA, we have grown over time. This unprecedented deal also further strengthens The Walt Disney Company’s industry-leading commitment to women’s sports and will help fuel our continued growth, including in the critical streaming space.”

Charlie Baker, NCAA president added:

“The NCAA has worked in earnest over the past year to ensure that this new broadcast agreement provides the best possible outcome for all NCAA championships, and in particular women’s championships.  Over the past several years, ESPN has demonstrated increased investment in NCAA championship coverage, and the Association is pleased to continue to provide a platform for student-athletes to shine. Having one, multi-platform home to showcase our championships provides additional growth potential along with a greater experience for the viewer and our student-athletes.”

The 40 NCAA events included in ESPN’s new eight-year agreement include:

• Men’s Championships – soccer, football (FCS, DII & DIII), cross country, water polo, indoor track & field, swimming & diving, wrestling, ice hockey, gymnastics, fencing, volleyball, lacrosse, outdoor track & field, tennis, baseball and basketball (including DII semifinals & DIII semifinals and championship).
• Women’s Championships – soccer, field hockey, volleyball (including DII & DIII), cross country, indoor track & field, swimming & diving, basketball (including DII & DIII), ice hockey, bowling, gymnastics, fencing, beach volleyball, lacrosse, outdoor track & field, tennis, softball, and water polo.
• Also: men’s National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT); NCAA Div I Men’s Basketball Championship (international rights).

New agreement extends relationship between ESPN and NCAA

The new agreement adds to the already successful offering of NCAA events on ESPN each year – a relationship that began 45 years ago in 1979, the year of ESPN’s original network launch. NCAA championships will continue to benefit from the broad portfolio of ESPN platforms which includes broadcast and cable networks – ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, as well as ESPN+, the industry’s leading sports streaming service. 

The agreement calls for the NCAA and ESPN to work together to maximize exposure opportunities on ABC and ESPN throughout the term. The national championship game in Division I women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, women’s gymnastics, and the Football Championship Subdivision are guaranteed to air on ABC each year, with additional ABC exposure guaranteed within the overall softball and baseball championships as well. The agreement also includes a guarantee that at least 10 of the championships will have selections shows distributed on linear ESPN networks.

Select rounds of NCAA championships will be exclusively available on ESPN+, which includes 24,000 college games each year spanning more than 20 conferences, effectively linking regular season and championship viewing for fans. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown quickly to more than 25 million subscribers, offering fans thousands of live events, original programming, and premium editorial content.

In total, more than 2,300 hours of championships will be presented on ESPN’s linear and digital platforms annually, with more than 800 hours of NCAA championships on ESPN linear networks each year.

The agreement also includes enhanced broadcast sponsorship and footage rights for ESPN across its full portfolio of championships and platforms.

With Disney looking to launch a brand new direct-to-consumer version of ESPN, this new deal will help keep the content coming.

Are you looking forward to watching NCAA content on ESPN?  Let us know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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