In the UK, a blackout of NCAA football and basketball competitions has come to an end after Sky Sports secured the UK broadcast rights for the NCAA. Sky Sports struck a deal with ESPN, who holds the international rights to NCAA, to broadcast up to three college football matches per week and air ESPN’s College Gameday pre-game show. The deal will be in effect until the end of the 2024/25 season.

The blackout was caused by TNT Sports opting not to extend its agreement with ESPN. This also affected magazine programming such as ‘Pardon the Interruption’. However, games involving Notre Dame continued to be available for broadcast despite Disney-owned US sports broadcaster shutting down its international ESPN Player direct-to-consumer streaming platform. Notre Dame is not affiliated with a conference and sells its media rights to broadcasters around the world, including Sky Sports in the UK.

In the US, NBC has extended its deal with Notre Dame until 2029 with provisions for additional exclusive matches on NBC’s Peacock streaming service. The extension has not disclosed its worth but NBC Sports president Rick Cordella said “There is no better tradition than Notre Dame Football in South Bend, and we are thrilled to keep that tradition within the NBC Sports family as we extend our relationship as the exclusive home of Fighting Irish home games through the end of the decade.”