With the broadcast deal between ESPN and the Valley being up, there was a concern as to whether the MVC could keep up in the tv market and make a new deal. The MVC has come out swinging and hit a home run.
The ESPN deal was extended their deal with ESPN and ESPN continued their sublicensing agreement with CBS and CBSSN for the Arch Madness tournament games.
The biggest news came today with the announcement of the MVC ditching Bally Sports RSN network to partner with Gray Media to broadcast valley games via OTA broadcasts. This means that Valley games are going to be broadcast on local channels and in some cases, third party sources. Marquee may decide to pick up the Chicagoland area to fill their winter hole and with the recent death of NBC Sports Network. This means valley teams are able to boost their TV ratings over the A10.
This also implies that for the first time in a long time. Valpo will have regularly televised games through the third party OTA broadcaster for the Chicagoland Area. Albeit I do not know the logistics of sharing the market with UIC or who is the 3rd party source. ESPN+ is still an option as the new deal does not include regional blackouts.
