Sky Sports Secures NCAA College Football and Basketball Broadcasting Rights, Ending UK Blackout

The UK has recently seen an end to the blackout of NCAA football and basketball competitions, which had started in the summer. Sky Sports has secured the UK broadcast rights for the NCAA after striking a deal with ESPN, who holds the international rights to the organization. This agreement grants Sky Sports permission to broadcast up to three college football matches per week, as well as the College Football Playoff and ESPN’s College Gameday pre-game show. The deal will be in effect until the end of the 2024/25 season.

The blackout had originally taken place after TNT Sports decided not to renew its agreement with ESPN. This decision also impacted magazine programming such as ‘Pardon the Interruption.’ However, it is worth noting that games involving Notre Dame continued to be available for broadcast, despite Notre Dame not being affiliated with any conference and instead selling its media rights to broadcasters worldwide, including Sky Sports in the UK. Meanwhile, in the US, NBC has extended its deal with Notre Dame until 2029, with provisions for additional exclusive matches on NBC’s Peacock streaming service. The worth of this extension has not been disclosed by NBC Sports president Rick Cordella but he stated that “There is no better tradition than Notre Dame Football in South Bend, and we are thrilled to keep that tradition within the NBC Sports family as we extend our relationship as the exclusive home of Fighting Irish home games through