Athletic multimedia contract remains unsigned

With the first football game of the season less than three weeks away, UVA has yet to ink a contract for their multimedia rights, including radio broadcasts, coaches shows, video production and corporate sponsorships­—virtually everything except for televised game broadcasts. Those rights are worth roughly $4 million in revenue and almost $2 million in projected profits during the 2005-2006 season. The legal teams from UVA and CBS Collegiate Sports Properties, which operates Virginia Sports Properties, are still hashing out the specifics, though officials from both groups hope to have a deal signed in the next few weeks. The original request for proposals was released in September, and staff originally hoped to wrap up negotiations in January.
    Rich Klein, director of CBS Collegiate Sports Properties, says that the company has operated as long as eight months without a contract. His group also handles the multimedia rights for ACC rivals Maryland and Florida State, among others.
    Even without a contract, the company has had to make deals with subcontractors for the coming season. Gray Television, which owns Charlottesville Newsplex CBS 19, ABC 16 and Fox 27, was recently awarded “flagship” status by Virginia Sports Properties. That means that the stations get the rights to air all coaches shows, weekly athletic previews and special programming such as bowl games or tournament previews (though this doesn’t relate to game coverage). Televised coaches shows are new for UVA, and will help them match coverage provided for other ACC markets.
    “There’s instant credibility that goes along with being partnered with [Virginia Sports Properties],” says Roger Burchett, general manager at Charlottesville Newsplex. “We’re going to do whatever we have to do to make sure they’re proud of their choice.”
    “Virginia Sports Properties” represents a name change from the earlier “Cavalier Sports Marketing.” Klein explains that the change was made to eliminate confusion with the UVA marketing department, and to introduce a “fresh new brand” in the marketplace.