BRISTOL, Conn., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- ESPN officials have agreed to a deal with the Bowl Championship Series that will have the BCS national title games from 2011-13 broadcast on the cable network.
Under a contract with the BCS, the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar bowls will all be shown by ESPN from 2011-2014 and the BCS National Championship Game will be on ESPN in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
The 2014 title football game is set for the Rose Bowl, which negotiates its broadcast rights separately. Those rights are owned by ABC, which is in the same corporate family as ESPN.
Under the deal, ESPN gets exclusive TV, radio, digital, international and marketing rights for all 15 BCS games. The games will be the first BCS bowls to be featured on cable.
"The BCS will thrive on ESPN," ESPN President George Bodenheimer said. "Our slogan is 'College Football Lives Here' and the BCS will now top college football's best regular-season and studio coverage, the sport's top awards shows, Bowl Week and other national championships all carried on our family of networks. This is a proud day for ESPN and an exceptional day for this great sport and its passionate fans."
The BCS games are currently shown by Fox Sports and will continue to be on that network through 2010.
