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FOX Sports reaches deal with Bowl Championship Series
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FOX Sports
Posted: 41 minutes ago
DEAL ESTABLISHES STAND-ALONE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Also Includes Television, Radio, Internet, Sponsorship & Merchandising Rights
FOX Sports and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) have announced today that they have reached an exclusive four-year agreement covering all media distribution and sponsorship rights for the Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl from 2007 through 2010, and a new, stand-alone, BCS National Championship Game from 2007 through 2009. Financial terms were not disclosed.
In addition to telecast rights, the contract also covers national radio rights; Internet rights; all sponsorship rights, including naming rights, on-field virtual signage and in-game enhancements; potential ancillary programming on FOX and/or FSN; and a joint venture (FOX, BCS and Bowls) to identify and exploit merchandising opportunities.
"Few sports boast the passion and pageantry of college football, and the BCS is the Mt. Everest of college football," said David Hill, Chairman, Fox Sports Networks. "The deal we‘ve agreed to with the BCS will prove to be financially advantageous for all concerned, and I already have several ideas for the broadcasts that I'm anxious to try. I'm just sorry we have to wait two years for this to begin."
Over the last two years, the Fiesta, Orange, and Sugar Bowls have averaged an 11.1 household rating, which would rank the three BCS Bowls in a tie for seventh among all prime time shows this broadcast season-to-date. These games also attract audiences that are both upscale and better-educated than average, both compelling features for advertisers. Last year, these three BCS Bowls averaged a 15.2 rating in homes with income in excess of $75,000 a year, and a 13.9 rating in homes in which at least one resident had at least four years of college, ranking them sixth in both demographics among all prime time programs last season.
The BCS championship game, which right now is presented as the Fiesta, Orange, Rose or Sugar Bowl on a rotating basis, is one of the most powerful events in television. The last two BCS title games (the 2004 Sugar Bowl and 2003 Fiesta Bowl) averaged a 15.0/26 household rating/share. Only one show in all of prime time, CSI, is averaging better than a 15.0 rating this season-to-date (18.0/27). The 15.0 for the last two BCS title games is equal to the prime time average of the Athens Olympics and better than the two-year averages of the NBA Finals (9.0/16), NCAA Tournament Final (11.8/19), Monday Night Football (11.5/19), the final round of the Masters (7.8/19), and the Belmont Stakes (10.4/25). An estimated 50 million Americans are expected to watch the 2005 Orange Bowl, this year's BCS championship game.
FOX Sports' NFL and MLB postseason coverage are also outstanding platforms from which to promote the BCS. Last year, one commercial to promote the BCS in each of FOX Sports' December NFL broadcasts would have reached over a hundred million viewers. This year, had one BCS promotion run in each of FOX' 23 postseason baseball broadcasts, it would have reached an audience represented by 230 gross ratings points, far exceeding the 70 gross ratings points generated by ABC's regular-season college football coverage.
Story Tools: Print Email
FOX Sports
Posted: 41 minutes ago
DEAL ESTABLISHES STAND-ALONE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Also Includes Television, Radio, Internet, Sponsorship & Merchandising Rights
FOX Sports and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) have announced today that they have reached an exclusive four-year agreement covering all media distribution and sponsorship rights for the Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl from 2007 through 2010, and a new, stand-alone, BCS National Championship Game from 2007 through 2009. Financial terms were not disclosed.
In addition to telecast rights, the contract also covers national radio rights; Internet rights; all sponsorship rights, including naming rights, on-field virtual signage and in-game enhancements; potential ancillary programming on FOX and/or FSN; and a joint venture (FOX, BCS and Bowls) to identify and exploit merchandising opportunities.
"Few sports boast the passion and pageantry of college football, and the BCS is the Mt. Everest of college football," said David Hill, Chairman, Fox Sports Networks. "The deal we‘ve agreed to with the BCS will prove to be financially advantageous for all concerned, and I already have several ideas for the broadcasts that I'm anxious to try. I'm just sorry we have to wait two years for this to begin."
Over the last two years, the Fiesta, Orange, and Sugar Bowls have averaged an 11.1 household rating, which would rank the three BCS Bowls in a tie for seventh among all prime time shows this broadcast season-to-date. These games also attract audiences that are both upscale and better-educated than average, both compelling features for advertisers. Last year, these three BCS Bowls averaged a 15.2 rating in homes with income in excess of $75,000 a year, and a 13.9 rating in homes in which at least one resident had at least four years of college, ranking them sixth in both demographics among all prime time programs last season.
The BCS championship game, which right now is presented as the Fiesta, Orange, Rose or Sugar Bowl on a rotating basis, is one of the most powerful events in television. The last two BCS title games (the 2004 Sugar Bowl and 2003 Fiesta Bowl) averaged a 15.0/26 household rating/share. Only one show in all of prime time, CSI, is averaging better than a 15.0 rating this season-to-date (18.0/27). The 15.0 for the last two BCS title games is equal to the prime time average of the Athens Olympics and better than the two-year averages of the NBA Finals (9.0/16), NCAA Tournament Final (11.8/19), Monday Night Football (11.5/19), the final round of the Masters (7.8/19), and the Belmont Stakes (10.4/25). An estimated 50 million Americans are expected to watch the 2005 Orange Bowl, this year's BCS championship game.
FOX Sports' NFL and MLB postseason coverage are also outstanding platforms from which to promote the BCS. Last year, one commercial to promote the BCS in each of FOX Sports' December NFL broadcasts would have reached over a hundred million viewers. This year, had one BCS promotion run in each of FOX' 23 postseason baseball broadcasts, it would have reached an audience represented by 230 gross ratings points, far exceeding the 70 gross ratings points generated by ABC's regular-season college football coverage.