ESPN boosts bid for all bowl games

Fort SmithOutside The Wire

by The City Wire staff ([email protected]) November 13, 2008 10:42 am 75 views 

ESPN, the cable sports giant owned by Disney, has reportedly bid $125 million for the rights to air the five Bowl Championship Series games — the Orange, Sugar, Fiesta and Rose bowls plus the BCS National Championship — beginning in 2010.

The reported bid trumps the $100 million bid by Fox, which has the rights to all BCS games except the Rose Bowl. Fox now pays $82.5 million for the rights, according to the article in Variety magazine detailing the ESPN move.

ESPN is also reported to have placed the high bid to gain the complete broadcasting rights to the British Open. Turner Cable TNT now has the rights to the first two rounds, with ABC covering the Saturday and Sunday rounds.

And for those interested in baseball, a new report says Major League Baseball channel is scheduled to present 1,400 hours of live programming, including a show titled “30 Clubs in 30 Days” that features different teams during spring training.