What the SNY agreement means for UConn and its fans

As UConn moves the majority of its athletic programs to a new conference this summer, change will be in the air in Storrs.

The Big East is a welcome destination for UConn fans, but the exit from the American Athletic Conference will leave the football program without a conference home. And the the current Big East is not the old Big East, so there will be an adjustment for fans.

But amid all of the uncertainty, one thing will remain constant: UConn women’s basketball fans will continue to watch their beloved team on SNY. The New York-based network announced Wednesday night that it reached a deal with Fox Sports — the media right partner for the Big East — that will allow SNY to televise UConn women’s games.

Financial terms are not immediately known and the deal is only for women’s basketball. UConn’s previous relationship with SNY included men’s basketball and football, and a separate football package with the network is possible. UConn received $1.1 million from SNY in its previous deal.

Why is the relationship with so SNY important?

UCONN IS CONTINUING TO VALUE AND ELEVATE ITS ICONIC PROGRAM

As Geno Auriemma built his program into a national brand, the state popularity of the UConn women’s basketball team was fueled by access to the games on

TV. For 18 years, the prorgram was televised by CPTV — a generation in Connecticut grew up with the local PBS station identified more for women’s basketball than Masterpiece Theatre or Sesame Street.

In 2012, UConn cut a deal with SNY in an effort to spread the school’s athletic brand to the Metro New York market. And at the center of the agreement with Auriemma and his program, which had seemingly outgrown CPTV.

Fans were initially unhappy. The CPTV hierarchy was critical.

Yet as the seasons passed, SNY fed the insatiable appetite of UConn fans. There were all-access shows, a Geno Auriemma show, pre-game and post-game coverage. The 11-time national champion program was given unique treatment and fans responded.

For UConn the overall relationship with SNY raised the school’s presence in New York as SNY’s UConn coverage reached 11 million households. The men’s basketball and football coverage were part of the deal, but it was clearly Auriemma and his team that were the stars.

Keeping the UConn women’s on own media package was a priority for the school.

REMEMBER, THE PARTNERSHIP WITH SNY ALMOST ENDED

The American Athletic Conference seemed to be UConn’s long-term home long before the school announced it was bolting for the Big East last summer. In

March 2019, the American announced a 12-year, $1 billion media rights contract with ESPN that gave the Bristol-based network exclusive rights for league events — many shown on the ESPN+ digital streaming platform.

That left UConn’s side deal with SNY in peril. UConn would receive $7 million a year from the American’s new agreement with ESPN, a boost in media revenue. But the end of a deal with SNY would be greater than just the $1.1 million financial loss.

UConn would lose the New York exposure and — perhaps more importantly — the women’s program would lose 16 to 18 unique broadcasts with pre-game and post-game coverage built around games.

UConn was not happy with the contract. “Based on UConn’s understanding of the deal, there are certain exclusive components which we believe are not in the best interest of our fan base or representative of maintaining and building our brand,” the school said in a statement.

The statement signaled UConn’s unhappiness in the AAC. Just a few months later, UConn announced it was leaving the AAC for the Big East.

THE DEAL SHOWS THE BIG EAST SUPPORTS UCONN

The new deal was announced during SNY’s broadcast of the UConnCincinnati game. And the announcement was very specific in outlining how the deal came together: SNY and Fox Sports negotiated the agreement.

Fox Sports in the media rights partner for the Big East, signing a 12-year, $500 million contract in 2013. Fox Sports has exclusive rights to Big East content and Auriemma’s program would seem to be valuable content.

But with the support of the Big East, Fox Sports sublicenced UConn women’s game to SNY. Indications are UConn did not take the lead.

“We have not been involved in the negotiations between SNY and Fox,” athletic director David Benedict said. “So all we know at this time is SNY is doing women’s basketball in the future and we’re excited about that.”

Yet the statement from SNY included a quote from Big East commissioner Val Ackerman: “This agreement is a strong complement to our existing Big East women’s basketball coverage on FS1 and FS2 and is exciting news for UConn fans who have enjoyed Husky women’s games on SNY for many years.”

But don’t overlook the benefit to the Big East, a conference that holds its men’s basketball postseason tournament at Madison Square Garden and very much remains a league tethered to the Northeast. Auriemma pointed out Wednesday night that Big East schools will reap the benefits of facing UConn on SNY.

“Now every time they play us, they’re going to get a ton of exposure that they weren’t getting before,” Auriemma said. “That’s going to help. You’ve got Providence and St. John’s and Seton Hall and Villanova. There’s a lot of Northeast teams.”

In the AAC, UConn was facing the likes of Tulsa, Tulane, Houston, and East Carolina. Different markets, far removed from Metro New York.

THIS DEAL COULD BODE WELL FOR UCONN FOOTBALL

Producing over 300 hours of UConn content per year, SNY has embraced its partnership with the school. SNY was behind the Connecticut Ice hockey festival at Webster Bank Arena in January, playing a role in bringing the state programs together after years of haggling over a potential tournament.

An SNY executive at the tournament raved about the event and said the partnership with UConn has only grown stronger. Speaking off he record, the executive talked about more UConn content.

Two months later, the women’s basketball branch is secure. The men’s basketball program, a strong national brand that resonates in the Northeast, would seem to add value for Fox Sports. The network might be less likely to cut a side deal with SNY.

But UConn football could provide some weekend content for SNY. There is no Big East football, so UConn is embarking on life as an independent and Benedict is building a school. Finding a media partner for an independent football program is important, since UConn won’t have the built-in conference agreements.

“We’re trying to bring that to a close here pretty soon,” Benedict said Wednesday. “We’re obviously talking to SNY.”