Here's why the Summit League's new TV deal is so unique

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You may have missed this announcement, given that it dropped in the middle of the peak of major conference realignment speculation, but earlier this month, the Summit League announced a new TV deal that looks very different from most other mid-major media announcements.

The conference announced a new, three-year contract with CBS Sports and Midco, a regional sports network serving the Dakotas, Minnesota, Kansas, and other regions. This partnership will give the Summit League increased exposure on national, linear broadcasts (CBS Sports), while making Midco the league’s streaming partner.

With the exception of the CAA, most mid-major leagues typically sign media rights deals with ESPN. The league might get a few linear games on ESPN2 or ESPNU, and then the bulk of their other inventory lives on ESPN+.

The Summit had worked with ESPN before. Why the change? And why only a three-year deal?

Summit League commissioner Josh Fenton told me that the conference established four key priorities for their next media rights deal.

“The number one priority was expanded linear transmission. We believe that linear transmission still matters today. I’m not suggesting it’s going to matter the same way in five or ten years from now, but today, it does matter. We got a lot of feedback from our constituents, particularly our basketball coaches, in that regard.”

“Our second priority was revenue. For this particular deal, even beyond a rights fee, there are some opportunities to earn some revenue share, based on subscriber numbers.”

“Our third priority was building a brand and a better fan experience. In our previous deals, our digital component was pretty fragmented, and our linear distribution was limited.”

“And then lastly, was protecting local and regional relationships. We have several institutions that have existing local broadcast relationships that are financially important, or important from an exposure perspective.”

“So those were our guiding principles. We have a lot of respect for ESPN, and there were other options that we looked at as well, but when we looked at what options were more true to our four priorities, it was clear that the best option was with CBS and Midco.”

Confused about what protecting local relationships means? Here’s a hypothetical example

In the new Summit League deal, Midco will be the exclusive digital home for Summit League sporting events. But it isn’t necessarily the exclusive linear home.

So, theoretically, if St.Thomas or UMKC had an agreement to locally broadcast a few home games that CBS Sports Network hadn’t claimed on a local ABC affiliate or another regional sports network, that would be allowed under this deal. Not every potential media rights partnership would allow for local simulcasts, and that was the flexibility that the Summit League specifically sought. I’ve also heard both school and conference leaders in the CAA point to this specific flexibility as a real asset in their deal with CBS Sports and FloSports.

Fenton also told me that a digital-heavy broadcast schedule also allows schools to retain much more flexibility about when games start. If it makes more sense for a local community to tip off a specific game at 6:30 rather than 7:00, they can do that without automatically being tied to the requirements of a linear TV window.

This is what more linear exposure means, specifically

As part of the new deal, the men’s Summit League basketball tournament finals, and the women’s tournament finals and semifinals, will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network. Fenton told me that they hope to have the men’s semifinals broadcast later in the TV agreement, but there was a conflict between their arena lease and the available TV windows for the men’s semifinals in year one of the contract.

There will also be at least six men’s regular season contests broadcast on CBS Sports Network, with an additional six men’s or women’s games to be determined. This, according to Fenton, represents the largest amount of linear exposure for the Summit League yet.

And then why Midco?

If you aren’t a midwesterner, or a college hockey devotee, you’ll be forgiven if you haven’t heard of Midco. They’re not a national streaming platform like FloSports or any of the major broadcast partners.

Fenton told me part of what made Midco attractive was that they’ve already been a longtime partner, helping to broadcast the Summit League tournament before, and that Midco is also incentivized to help make the partnership work.

If you’re a sports fan in the Dakotas, there’s a decent chance you’re already a Midco Plus subscriber. The network also carries North Dakota hockey games, high school athletics across the region, D-II athletics, Missouri Valley Football games, and more. Fans can find broadcasts on their Summit League Network. The service costs $9.99 a month.

Is it a gamble? Sure. But I think its a defensible one

There’s a reason so many other peer conference sign longer deals with ESPN and ESPN+. I remember one longtime administrator telling me a few years ago that even though ESPN is seldom the highest bidder for mid-major conference rights, “nobody gets fired for doing a deal with ESPN.” It’s the largest network, many mid-major sports fans already have Plus subscriptions, and it’s a little easier to sell in recruiting.

Fenton stressed that the decision wasn’t an Anti-ESPN decision so much as being willing to try something different in their attempt to broaden their exposure, protect local relationships, and grow revenue for member institutions.

Not every mid-major conference has multiple programs with local broadcasting arrangements. Not every mid-major conference has a regional sports network in their backyard that can offer a one-stop-shop for streaming. What makes sense for the Summit might not be the best move for the Horizon or the Missouri Valley.

I don’t think it’s an accident that this media rights deal is only for three years. That’s pretty short, even for a smaller conference, and if it doesn’t work out for either side, they should be able to pivot to a different strategy.

But if it does, it could mean both more eyeballs and more dollars for some high-achieving programs that could really use more of both.

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