ESPN exercises option on BYU Football contract

PROVO, Utah (June 23, 2017) — BYU director of athletics Tom Holmoe today announced ESPN has exercised its contract option to extend broadcast rights of BYU football through the 2019 season. On Sept. 1, 2010, BYU announced an exclusive eight-year contract (2011-18) with ESPN to broadcast its home football games on the ESPN networks. The term of the agreement will now include a ninth year (2019).  

“We’ve enjoyed a great relationship with ESPN for decades and that relationship seems to get stronger every year,” said Holmoe. “There is great collaboration and I feel really good about what we are doing together. We’ve had good dialogue about extending the contract and felt this option would give us some time for additional conversations.”

Over the past six seasons, BYU has played 32 of its 37 home football games on ESPN networks and platforms. Overall, the Cougars have played on ESPN in 58 of its 78 football games, including all six bowl games.

“BYU plays an important role in ESPN's college football portfolio, having aired its games for more than 32 years,” ESPN vice president of programming and acquisitions Nick Dawson said.

“Our long relationship has been successful for both parties. We are thrilled to add 2019 to our current deal and look forward to many more years showcasing BYU football across our networks and platforms.”

ESPN also holds the first-tier BYU men’s basketball broadcast rights through its contract with the West Coast Conference. Over the past six seasons, BYU basketball has played 82 games on one of the ESPN channels, an average of nearly 14 games per year.

So far in 2017, ESPN has announced television plans for eight BYU games on its networks and platforms, including the 2017 AdvoCare Texas Kickoff vs. LSU in Houston on (Sept. 2) and home matchups against Portland State (Aug. 26), Utah (Sept. 9), Wisconsin (Sept. 16) and Boise State (Oct. 6). In addition, road games at Fresno State and UNLV have been announced for ESPN networks, as well as a BYUtv simulcast of the UMass game on ESPN3.