Agreement allows the OVC to retain the rights to broadcast up to 50 linear events
ESPN and the Ohio Valley Conference, which have had a relationship that spans multiple decades, dating back to the league playing midnight basketball games to a national television audience in the early 1980s, recently announced a new six-year media rights agreement that will continue that tradition
Tennessee Tech is currently a part of the OVC conference, but it will be moving to the Southern Conference next year, where 14 of its 15 sports will compete.
“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,” according to a release by the OVC.
ESPN recently launched an all-in-one app that builds on the success of its ESPN+ service. With that, there is a need for content. OVC is the perfect vehicle, and a minimum of 725 events per year will be available digitally on ESPN+.
“Linear exposure includes regular season basketball broadcasts 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,” according to the release.
The agreement allows the OVC to retain the rights to broadcast up to 50 linear events per year locally in the Conference footprint.
The OVC sponsors 19 championship sports and consists of 11 member institutions in six states, currently includes:
- Tennessee Technological University
- 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,
- the University of Tennessee at Martin
- Western Illinois University
“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.”
OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche says the deal provides an “exceptional” platform for the OVC, and ESPN’s commitment to the fans is beneficial for the conference’s growth.
“We are thrilled to continue our valued partnership with ESPN through this new long-term agreement,” said 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.”
Photo via TTU.
Copyright 2025 The Upper Cumberland Business Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Other stories you may want to check out:
