Atlantic 10 re-ups with CBS, NBC, ESPN

The Power Five conferences aren't the only ones chasing the big television dollars.

On Thursday, the Atlantic 10 announced that it signed new media rights deals with incumbent partners CBS, NBC and ESPN. The five-year pacts begin starting with the 2024-25 academic year and include more games for each broadcast group's streaming platforms.

“This media rights agreement is a critical part of maintaining the league’s national position, branding and relevance in men’s and women’s basketball,” conference commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade said in a statement. 

Nearly 100 men's and women's basketball games will be shown on linear networks, according to the press release. ESPN's family of channels will show 11 men's and two women's regular-season games, while NBC and CBS will carry even more. NBC will have 25 men's and three women's regular-season games. CBS will feature 28 men's and eight women's regular-season games along with wider studio coverage on CBS Sports Network. The associated streaming platforms for each — ESPN+, Peacock (NBC) and Paramount+ (CBS) — will also show the linear games.

The three groups will share the conference tournament action, with CBS Sports Network and NBC sibling USA Network broadcasting most of the early round games for both men and women.

What's most notable on the streaming front is that ESPN+ will take on the conference's "Olympic" sports (all those that aren't basketball) as well as basketball games that are not shown by any of the partner linear channels.

The A10 may not get the high-wattage attention of its bigger peer conferences, but the ability to be seen across multiple platforms is a boon in this newer media and betting environment. More exposure on TV and online helps build some familiarity with teams as they get closer to the wider NCAA Tournaments and perhaps can influence those in the selection committee who could be skeptical about schedule quality and overall talent of the programs.