J-P Sports and Raycom Sports Reach Agreement with ACC |
Greensboro, N.C. – Jefferson-Pilot Sports and Raycom Sports have reached an agreement with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) that will give Raycom/JP Sports the television syndication rights to ACC football games through the 2010 season. The new, seven-year deal begins with the 2004 ACC football season. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Raycom/JP Sports also increased their financial commitment to the ACC men’s basketball television package which runs through the 2010-11 season. Raycom/JP Sports have held the ACC men’s basketball rights for the past 22 years, beginning with the 1982-1983 season. This new football agreement expands the relationship between Raycom Sports and Jefferson-Pilot Sports, who formed a joint venture to acquire basketball telecast rights to the ACC in 1982. JP Sports has held the ACC football syndication rights since the 1984 season. “We are extremely pleased that we have been able to reach a long-term agreement with Raycom/Jefferson-Pilot,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “Our association with Raycom Sports and Jefferson Pilot Sports has always been very positive and beneficial to all the parties involved. This agreement benefits not only our institutions, but also our fans, and will continue our successful relationship with Raycom/Jefferson-Pilot and will ensure maximum coverage of Atlantic Coast Conference football and basketball. “ACC Football and Jefferson-Pilot Sports have been a successful combination since 1984,” stated Ed Hull, President of Jefferson-Pilot Sports. “With the additions of Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech, it will only be better. We are delighted to expand our relationship with Raycom Sports and combine football and basketball interests. We look forward to continued success with the ACC and Raycom/JP Sports.” “The marketing of football and basketball together is the key to the continued success of Raycom/JP Sports and the ACC,” said Ken Haines, President & CEO of Raycom Sports. “The combination will provide additional exposure and marketing opportunities for the ACC, as well as our Corporate Partners. The Raycom Sports/Jefferson-Pilot Sports relationship over the past 21 years has been one of the most successful in sports television history. We are excited to see our companies grow with each other, and with the conference.” Raycom Sports is an innovative sports marketing, event management, television production and management consulting firm. In addition, the company owns and operates events around the country including two LPGA tournaments, in Alabama and Sacramento, and the Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte. Raycom Sports’ parent company Raycom Media, located in Montgomery, Ala, owns and operates 35 television stations covering over ten percent of the United States, including Puerto Rico. Jefferson Pilot Sports is the longstanding rightsholder of SEC basketball and football telecasts and is a leader in sports television production, syndication, sales and marketing. The company is a subsidiary of Jefferson Pilot Communications, whose parent is Jefferson-Pilot Corporation (NYSE: JP), one of the nation’s largest shareholder-owned life insurance companies. Jefferson Pilot’s life insurance and annuity companies, principally Jefferson-Pilot Life Insurance Company, Jefferson Pilot Financial Insurance Company and Jefferson Pilot Life America Insurance Company, offer full lines of individual life insurance and group life, disability and dental insurance products, in addition to annuity and investment products. Jefferson-Pilot Communications Company owns and operates three network television stations and 18 radio stations. The Atlantic Coast Conference is completing its final year as a nine-member conference with Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia and Wake Forest. The ACC will expand to 11 schools in 2004 with the addition of Miami and Virginia Tech. Boston College will become the league's 12th member in 2005.
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