Sky Sports has secured the UK broadcast rights for the NCAA, ending the blackout of college football and basketball competitions that began in the summer. The deal was struck with ESPN, who holds the international rights to NCAA. Under this agreement, Sky Sports will now have the rights to broadcast up to three college football matches per week, the College Football Playoff, and will also air ESPN’s College Gameday pre-game show. The deal will be in effect until the end of the 2024/25 season.
The blackout was caused by TNT Sports’ decision not to renew its agreement with ESPN, which also affected magazine programming such as “Pardon the Interruption.” However, games involving Notre Dame continued to be available for broadcast because they are not affiliated with a conference and sell their media rights directly to broadcasters around the world, including Sky Sports in the UK. Meanwhile, NBC has extended its deal with Notre Dame until 2029 with provisions for additional exclusive matches on its Peacock streaming service. The worth of this extension has not been disclosed, but NBC Sports president Rick Cordella stated that there is no better tradition than Notre Dame Football in South Bend and is thrilled to keep that tradition within the NBC Sports family as they extend their relationship as the exclusive home of Fighting Irish home games through the end of the decade.
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