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Notre Dame home football games will continue to air on NBC for the next decade and more. The school and the network announced a ten year extension to their current contract, which expired after the 2015 season, that will keep the games on NBC until 2025.
The contract calls for a minimum of seven home games per year to air on NBC and NBC Sports Network. In addition to their six scheduled home games at Notre Dame Stadium in 2013 (which includes Michigan State, Oklahoma, and USC this season), NBC will also be airing the Fighting Irish's October matchup with Arizona State in Dallas and this weekend's Blue & Gold spring game.
The details of the new contract are currently unknown, but back in September, Darren Rovell of ESPN reported that NBC was paying around $15 million per season for the rights, and that he expected the Irish to get about $20 million per year in their next contract. $20 million seems like a lot to pay for one school's games, especially when you consider ESPN is paying roughly half of that per school for the SEC rights, and the SEC is the premiere conference in the country.
But after a season when Notre Dame games averaged a 2.8 rating and 4.4 million viewers, overpaying might be in the best interest of NBC to keep their foot in the college football pool.
The contract calls for a minimum of seven home games per year to air on NBC and NBC Sports Network. In addition to their six scheduled home games at Notre Dame Stadium in 2013 (which includes Michigan State, Oklahoma, and USC this season), NBC will also be airing the Fighting Irish's October matchup with Arizona State in Dallas and this weekend's Blue & Gold spring game.
The details of the new contract are currently unknown, but back in September, Darren Rovell of ESPN reported that NBC was paying around $15 million per season for the rights, and that he expected the Irish to get about $20 million per year in their next contract. $20 million seems like a lot to pay for one school's games, especially when you consider ESPN is paying roughly half of that per school for the SEC rights, and the SEC is the premiere conference in the country.
But after a season when Notre Dame games averaged a 2.8 rating and 4.4 million viewers, overpaying might be in the best interest of NBC to keep their foot in the college football pool.