ESPN Extends Agreement with Atlantic 10 Conference for Men's & Women's Basketball Rights

ESPN has reached a multiyear extension with the Atlantic 10 Conference for the league's premier men's and women's basketball games, including each conference championship. The agreement - which will begin with the 2013-14 season and conclude in 2021-22 - will continue to include extensive action on ESPNU.

As part of the deal, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will remain the conference's primary rightsholder, televising 14 men's and two women's regular season basketball games annually with six of the men's contests airing on ESPNU. ESPN will continue to control rights to the men's and women's conference championship game, televising the men's game on ESPN, ESPN2 or via sublicense and the women's game on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU each year.

ESPN's Atlantic 10 programming will be available across multiple platforms, including ESPN, ESPN on ABC, ESPN2, WatchESPN, ESPNU, ESPN3, ESPN 3D, ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN Buzzer Beater, ESPN International, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Classic and ESPN.com.

"The Atlantic 10 is a very deep conference with a proven track record of success at the highest levels of the sport," said Burke Magnus, ESPN senior vice president, college sports programming. "This long-term extension will continue to serve fans with the Conference's premier content across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU into the next decade."

Atlantic 10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade added, "The partnership between ESPN and the Atlantic 10 Conference is one that we are very proud of. ESPN has been an important media partner with expansive distribution platforms for national and international exposure that has help the Atlantic 10 Conference to grow exponentially. The strong brand association between the A-10 and ESPN has enabled the conference to showcase its basketball and sports inventory on one of the best sports media networks in the world."

ESPN

ESPN, Inc., is the world's leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of more than 50 multimedia sports assets. The company is comprised of eight 24-hour domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes, ESPN 3D and the regionally focused Longhorn Network) and five HD simulcast services (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS and ESPN Deportes). Other businesses include ESPN Regional Television, ESPN International (48 networks, syndication, radio, digital), ESPN Radio (broadcast, satellite, digital, a growing category led by ScoreCenter), ESPN.com (plus a variety of sport-, college-, and market-specific sites), ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Enterprises and espnW. Multi-screen offerings include WatchESPN (access to several ESPN networks online and via an app), ESPN3 (live multi-screen network available online, on the go and via Xbox LIVE) and ESPN Mobile (mobile Web, mobile TV and video, apps, alerts and messaging). Based in Bristol, Conn., ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.

Atlantic 10 Conference

The Atlantic 10 Conference was formed in 1976. Currently comprised of 16 member institutions and sponsoring 21 championship sports, the mission and goal of the Atlantic 10 is to preserve, protect, and enhance the academic and athletic pursuits of the membership. The conference is committed to integrity, educational excellence and providing quality equitable championship experiences for more than 6,000 student-athletes, coaches, and support staff. The member institutions of the Atlantic 10 are Butler University, the University of Dayton, Duquesne University, Fordham University, The George Washington University, La Salle University, University of Massachusetts, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, University of Rhode Island, University of Richmond, St. Bonaventure University, Saint Joseph's University, Saint Louis University, Temple University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Xavier University.