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Atlantic 10 reaches television deal with NBC Sports, ESPN, CBS

Atlantic 10 logo A-10 A 10

The Atlantic-10 has reached a media and television rights agreement with NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and ESPN, an eight-year deal that is set to begin at the start of the 2013-14 season, the conference announced Tuesday.

“Our commitment to basketball at the highest level has allowed us to leverage our national exposure in the best way possible for the Atlantic 10,” A-10 commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade said in a release. “Partnering with ESPN, CBS Sports Network and NBC Sports Network for the next eight years is truly a historic moment for the A-10 and its member institutions.”

The financials of the agreement were not disclosed.

The deal calls for 146 men’s basketball “exposures,” including 64 men’s basketball games to be broadcast over the networks--14 on ESPN-affiliated stations, 25 on the CBS Sports Network, and 25 on the NBC Sports Network.

It also sets up a structure for the conference tournament, which secures rights for NBC to broadcast A-10 tournament quarterfinals, CBS to broadcast the tournament semifinals, and ESPN to broadcast the championship game.

NBC Sports will also broadcast additional programming through its regional outlets.

The deal runs through the 2021-22 season and gives the Atlantic 10 a greater deal of exposure, while providing NBC and CBS with original live content that can be integrated into the programming of the growing networks.

NBC Sports also has deals with the CAA, which it signed in February, and the Ivy League, signed in May, giving NBC’s emerging NBC Sports Network a range of live sports programming in football, basketball, and Olympic sports.

The A-10 will lose Temple to the Big East next season, a major loss for the conference, but adds Butler and Virginia Commonwealth this year to boost its national appeal.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_