Under the deal, which is one of the most lucrative in the country, Sun Sports will pay Florida’s marketing arm, the University Athletic Association approximately $10 million a year until 2018 for a bundle of multi-media rights, which include local television, broadband and radio to on-site signage and corporate partnerships. Sun Sports will also broadcast tape-delayed football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and Olympic sports.
To manage the property, Sun Sports has brought in IMG College created when IMG acquired Collegiate Licensing Co. and Host Communications. The overall value of the deal is believed to be just less than the 13-year, $112.5 million agreement that IMG College recently guaranteed the University of Nebraska for its rights.
The deal is likely to end speculation that a Southeastern Conference channel –modelled on the Big Ten Network – will be created. While the deal itself would not preclude the SEC from creating a channel, its timing, just weeks before the conference picks its new TV partners, suggests that such a channel is doubtful.
