Host Communications Signs 11-Year Agreement for
NCAA Marketing, Licensing & Media Rights
ATLANTA, July 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Host Communications, Inc. (Host), a
wholly owned subsidiary of Bull Run Corporation (Nasdaq: BULL), has executed
an 11-year agreement with CBS Sports for certain marketing, licensing and
media rights. Under the agreement, which takes effect in September 2002, HCI
was awarded, among other rights, the (a) exclusive right to administer the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Corporate Partner Program; (b)
exclusive right to produce, distribute and sell NCAA Championship game
programs and publications; (c) rights to engage in merchandise licensing
utilizing registered marks of the NCAA and its Championships; and (d)
television rights for certain NCAA Championships that will not be otherwise
aired by CBS or ESPN, and other sports-related television programming.
Host's contract with CBS will run concurrent with the network's agreement
with the NCAA, which begins with the fall academic calendar in 2002 and
extends through the spring championships season in 2013. This CBS/Host
agreement extends Host's relationship with the NCAA, which began in 1975 and
was otherwise scheduled to and in 2002.
Robert S. Prather, President and CEO of Bull Run Corporation, commented,
"This is an extraordinary event for our Company. Host Communications has been
recognized as a leader in collegiate sports marketing for many years, and this
agreement with CBS and the NCAA solidifies that position for many years to
come."
"We are tremendously excited about the opportunity to become a partner
with CBS and to expand our role in NCAA promotion and marketing," said W.
James Host, Host Communication's chief executive officer. "We have a strong
working relationship with the NCAA and with the corporations that have
made the NCAA corporate partner program a success. We are excited about this
new integrated partnership with CBS."
"We believe that this partnership with CBS will add value to the NCAA
corporate partner and merchandising programs that we have been administering,"
said Host. "It opens new and exciting challenges with the television
production and distribution elements that will be available to us."
"There is not a company in the world that has the experience and
credibility in marketing, licensing, promotion, publishing and media in the
college community that Host Communications has," said Sean McManus, president
of CBS Sports. "We are intimately familiar with both the product that Host
produces and the high quality of personnel who will be implementing the
marketing activities, and we look forward to integrating our media sales into
the NCAA Corporate Partner Program to add more value for our advertisers and
the corporate partners. The CBS/Host team will provide many new promotional
benefits for intercollegiate athletics, particularly NCAA Championships."
Host Communications began its association with the NCAA in 1975 when it
acquired radio rights to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
It then began publishing the printed game programs for NCAA championships in
1978 and created what is credited with being the first intercollegiate
corporate partner program in 1985.
"These successful negotiations will permit CBS and Host to collaborate our
efforts to raise our contracts with the NCAA to a new level of promotion and
commitment while concurrently enhancing shareholder value for the Bull Run
stockholders," said Host. "Each of us certainly believes that the synergies
that will be created by integrating the NCAA corporate marketing, licensing
and media rights will be attractive to the corporate advertising community."
Bull Run, through Host Communications, provides affinity, multimedia,
promotional and event management services support to universities, athletic
conferences, associations and corporations. Selected as one of the top five
sports marketing companies in the world by SportsBusiness Journal last year,
Host currently holds the multi-media athletics rights to 13 institutions and
six conferences that include Florida State, Kentucky, Michigan, Notre Dame,
Purdue, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and the Southeastern Conference, in
addition to its contractual relationship with the NCAA. Bull Run also has
significant investments in Gray Communications Systems, Inc., an owner and
operator of 13 television stations and four newspapers; Rawlings Sporting
Goods Company, Inc., a leading supplier of team sports equipment in North
America; iHigh Inc., a marketing company focused on high school students; and
Sarkes Tarzian, Inc., an owner and operator of two television stations and
four radio stations.
SOURCE Bull Run Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.bullruncorp.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/232438.html
CONTACT:
Robert S. Prather, Jr., President & CEO of
Bull Run Corporation, 404-266-8333, or W. James Host, CEO of Host
Communications, Inc., 859-226-4202
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