The word:
NCAA tourney may expand
And it may also jump to cable, ending a long-term deal
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Dec 8, 2009
ESPN has already snapped up rights to the Bowl Championship Series, "Monday Night Football" and NASCAR over recent years. Might the NCAA men's basketball tournament be next?
That's a possibility being floated right now, according to the Sports Business Journal, which reports that the NCAA may exercise an escape option in its long-term deal with CBS that would allow it to shop the lucrative tourney to cable partners.
ESPN, of course, would be the most logical partner as both one of the top-rated networks on cable and the undisputed leader in sports event hyping.
CBS has carried March Madness since 1982 and is in the midst of a $6 billion, 11-year deal, but there is a clause that would allow the NCAA to shop for a new partner following this spring's Final Four.
Cable is seen as a more logical destination for two reasons. First, the NCAA reportedly wants to expand the tournament, from its current 65-team format to 96 teams, a third of whom would receive first-round byes.
It would be easier for a cable channel to make room for all those extra daytime games than a broadcast network; ESPN runs "SportsCenter" and other non-event programming most days, while CBS has a full slate of soaps, game shows and local affiliate news that has to be preempted.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, a cable network would be in position to pay higher rights fees. These networks make money off not just advertising, as broadcasters do, but also carriage fees.
When ESPN won the rights to the BCS last year, it offered a 50 percent rights hike over what Fox had been paying.
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