Unprecedented coverage
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
A national sports business publication recently came out with an in-depth front page story on the state of television deals for both the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference and Southwestern Athletic Conference a story that peers into the inner workings of deals that have caused two national sports television networks to clash.
At the heart of writer Andy Bernstein's story (see graphic
at right) in the June 13-19 edition of the weekly
Street & Smith's Sports Business
Journal, are developments over the last five months involving media giants, ESPN and CSTV, as both try
to make inroads into the black college sports market through
these conferences. 
ESPN, which got on board in a major way with black college conferences by televising the 2005 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Basketball Tournament in March, announced in February exclusive seven-year deals to televise MEAC and SWAC football and basketball games, beginning with their basketball tournament games in March.
In April, CSTV announced a deal of its own involving extensive television and media rights it said it had landed with both conferences along with the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. That announcement set off a volley of denials from all three conferences, excerpts of which are included in the story.
Bernstein's story also traces the history of black college conference TV deals over the last few years and the role of New Vision Sports Properties, the company that has marketing rights for all three conferences, in this dispute and several others.
The SBJ, the industry leader in sports business publications, is available both in print and on-line only through subscriptions but is not sold on newsstands. Trial subscriptions can be obtained through the magazine's website, sportsbusinessjournal.com.
© 2005 Azeez Communications, Inc.