OVC and ESPN Sign New Multi-Year Media Rights Agreement

ESPN and the Ohio Valley Conference have announced a new six-year media rights agreement, extending the long-standing collaboration.

The new agreement delivers unprecedented visibility for OVC student-athletes, coaches, and programs - anchored by a robust slate of events annually across ESPN platforms, including ESPN's new direct-to-consumer offering, which is inclusive of ESPN+ and launched in August.

A minimum of 725 events per year will be available digitally on ESPN+. Linear exposure includes regular season basketball telecasts on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU, the semifinals of the Men's Basketball Tournament on either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPNEWS and the Men's Basketball Tournament Championship game on either ESPN or ESPN2.

Additionally, the agreement allows the OVC to retain the rights to telecast up to 50 linear events per year locally in the Conference footprint.

"We're excited to build on our longstanding partnership with the OVC with this new agreement," said Mallory Kenny, ESPN Director of Programming and Acquisitions. "This deal underscores ESPN's commitment to elevating college sports and we look forward to showcasing the OVC's student-athletes on a national stage across our platforms in the years ahead."

"We are thrilled to continue our valued partnership with ESPN through this new long-term agreement," said OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche. "This deal provides an exceptional platform to showcase the extraordinary talent of our student-athletes and the outstanding competition that defines the OVC. ESPN's commitment to our conference supports our strategic growth initiatives and ensures our member institutions receive the quality broadcast coverage they deserve. We're deeply grateful to our ESPN partners for their partnership and vision. Equally important, we thank our member institutions for their continued dedication to producing high-quality content that makes these broadcasts possible. This partnership represents more than just media coverage - it's an investment in the future of OVC athletics and our student-athletes."

The OVC and ESPN have a relationship that spans multiple decades, dating back to the league playing midnight basketball games to a national television audience in the early 1980s, and continuing through several media rights agreements, including an extension in 2018 that first put contests digitally on ESPN+.

About the Ohio Valley Conference

The Ohio Valley Conference was founded in 1948, making it the eighth-oldest Division I athletic conference. Over the years OVC teams have garnered national championships in football along with national team or individual titles in the sports of rifle, cross country, track and golf. In the 1950s the OVC became a pioneer when Morehead State became one of the first non-traditionally Black mid-southern institutions to accept an African American student. Soon after the passing of Title IX legislation, the OVC began formulating plans for women's athletics, which began in 1977. The OVC has long been a national leader in sportsmanship and in 1995 implemented a first-of-its-kind Sportsmanship Statement, a policy that promotes principles of fair play, ethical conduct and respect for one's opponent.

The Ohio Valley Conference sponsors 19 championship sports. The league consists of 11 member institutions in six states, including Eastern Illinois University, Lindenwood University, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Morehead State University (charter member), Southeast Missouri State University, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, University of Southern Indiana, Tennessee State University, Tennessee Technological University, the University of Tennessee at Martin and Western Illinois University.

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