The CBS Sports division of US network CBS will retain rights to all Naval Academy home American football games even though the US Navy is becoming a member of the Big East college sports conference, which has a rights deal with pay-television sports broadcaster ESPN, according to the Capital Gazette newspaper.
Navy’s athletic director, Chet Gladchuk, told the newspaper that it would honour its existing contract with CBS Sports through to 2017, and would retain rights to home games against rival Notre Dame as well as the Navy v Army game until 2018.
“What this is all about is honouring existing television contracts between the Naval Academy and CBS,” Gladchuk said. “Navy is going to continue its relationship with CBS through the completion of all current contracts. I’m pleased that the Big East agreed with Navy that it is important from an ethical standpoint to honour those contracts. Basically, our deal with the Big East stated that under no circumstances would Navy lose ground in terms of television revenue or exposure.”
Navy will join the Big East conference – which is set to be renamed following a number of departures – in 2015, as an American football-only member.
ESPN will show all of Navy’s away games as part of its seven-year deal with the conference, from 2013-14 to 2019-20.