Notre Dame Looks to Maintain Independence With NBC Extension
Notre Dame has extended its rights deal with NBC Sports through 2029, in a deal that may go a long way toward ensuring that the university’s football program will maintain its independence during a time of widespread conference realignment.
While financial terms were not disclosed, it is believed that the cost of securing the home football rights is in keeping with the $58.8 million payouts the Big Ten schools raked in during the 2022 fiscal year. That marks a steep increase from the value of the legacy NBC deal, which sources pegged at around $22 million per year.
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The extension comes just five months after NBC Sports Group chairman Pete Bevacqua announced he’d be leaving the company to spearhead his alma mater’s athletic department. Bevacqua is currently serving as a special assistant to Notre Dame’s president, and will take the reins from outgoing AD Jack Swarbrick next year.
“One of the great things about the extension with NBC that we’re announcing today is it helps ensure our independence,” Swarbrick said in an interview that aired at the top of Saturday’s Wake Forest-Notre Dame broadcast—the final home game for the Irish in 2023. “That is so important to us. … Realignment will continue. It’s not over. But we need to make sure, as realignment continues, that the interest of the student-athletes are first and foremost.”
Season-to-date, Notre Dame football is averaging 4.68 million viewers on the NBC broadcast flagship, with streaming on Peacock nudging those deliveries up to 5.1 million per game. NBC secured its biggest TV turnout of the college football season on Sept. 23, when its primetime coverage of Ohio State-Notre Dame averaged 9.98 million viewers. An additional 620,000 viewers took in the Buckeyes’ last-second victory via streaming platforms.
“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,” said NBC Sports president Rick Cordella, by way of announcing the deal. “With enhanced rights that allow us to present Notre Dame Football on NBC as well as across Peacock and additional platforms, we look forward to bringing the Fighting Irish to fans in more ways than ever before.”
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