Notre Dame TV contract with NBC started as a five-year deal in 1991 worth $38 million. Before that, ABC had a TV deal in 1953.
Since joining hands with NBC, the two never looked away and have been locked into one another multi-year compact. The most recent was exercised in 2013.
The current deal is tenured from 2016 to 2026, a ten-year contract. It helps the football program generate $22 million annually.
With the Big 12’s member schools making $42.6 million yearly and the Big Ten schools banking around $90 million, the Fighting Irish have entered the market with the clear mind of negotiating a new deal.
They are one of the top programs in the country and have been so for a long time.
They want to continue with the same network but with a larger amount. To compete with Power 5 conference teams, they are expecting a deal worthy of $75 million annually.
The deal is still in the air, with the current one having two more years in the kitty. More development will arise in the near future regarding the two parties’ positions.
It will be interesting to see if they continue their bond or if Notre Dame will seek a new home.
When Does Notre Dame NBC Contract Expire?
Notre Dame NBC contract will expire after two seasons in 2025. The current deal was forged in 2013, a ten-year extension that started in 2016.
The announcement was made on 19th April 2013. Before that, all previous compacts with the network never crossed over five years.
Notre Dame football TV contract has remained with NBC since 1991. The network has been televising at least seven home games of the Fighting Irish on its main channel.
The school receives approximately 22 million dollars in football-only contracts per the agreement. Notre Dame TV’s deal with ACC generates an annual $11 million in revenue.
Big Ten TV rights deal worth over $8 billion signed on 18th August 2022 with Fox, CBS, and NBC lasts seven years. It generates around $90 million in annual revenue for its members.
With that concern in mind, the Fighting Irish plans to negotiate a new deal with their long-standing media partners. They want to issue a new contract that can land them a minimum of $75 million yearly.
Is Notre Dame In A Conference?
No, Notre Dame is not in a conference. It has been in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Independent since its inauguration in 1887.
In 2020, the Fighting Irish were compelled to join hands with a conference as there were restrictions on non-conference games due to COVID-19. That year, they played as a fully-fledged Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) team.
It is one of the four teams who compete as FBS Independent. The other three are the United States Military Academy, the University of Connecticut, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
In the past, BYU Cougars, New Mexico State Aggies, Idaho Vandals, UMass Minuteman, Liberty Flames, and UConn Huskies have competed as an FBS Independent team.
Will Notre Dame Join A Conference?
Notre Dome will not join a conference. They are not planning to be a Big Ten member of the ongoing conference realignment.
The Big Ten looks to add more names, with UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans joining the Michigan Wolverines and company from the 2024 season.
Washington Huskies, Oregon Ducks, Florida State Seminoles, and Clemson Tigers are rumored to be the next potential targets. The initial two are currently in the peak position to take the conference to eighteen members’ group.
In the midst of everything, there were rumors that Notre Dame might be aligning with the Big Ten.
Sources: Any potential changes in the Big Ten are not expected to impact Notre Dame’s view on independence.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 3, 2023
But, the tweet from Pete Thamel, a senior writer for ESPN, clarifies the school’s position. Thamel wrote that the expansion won’t impact Notre Dame.
The football program, which has remained independent for a long time, looked to sustain that status for now and maybe forever.
However, their affiliation with other sports besides football and fencing was with Big East until 2013. They made a move to ACC in 2014.
All other sports except football and men’s ice hockey compete as ACC members. Likewise, the fighting Iris contests five games with ACC schools every year.
Why Is Notre Dame Independent In Football?
Notre Dame is independent in football because it has national recognition with 11 national championships without any affiliation with a conference.
It has built a grand stature in the nation that is level with any Power 5 conference school.
The legacy, loyal fan base and grandeur of the football program are remarkable. They have produced seven Heisman Trophy winners.
Thirteen Pro Football Hall of Famer and sixty-two College Football Hall of Famer were the alma mater of the Fighting Irish.
Sine 1991, they have tagged along with NBC and made millions of dollars of revenue through broadcasting rights.
Likewise, their affiliation with ACC helps them generate buzz around the nation. They can play with any team from any conference besides the five fixed games with ACC members.
On top of everything, they are a national brand, with independence being its biggest selling point in the country.
Notre Dame Football TV Ratings
TV ratings for Notre Dame football matches peaked at 3.30 million viewership weekly in the 2022 season. They were in the sixth position.
The 2022 College Football Viewership was led by Ohio State Buckeyes, with 5.80 million weekly viewers. Alabama Crimson Tide (5.11 million), Michigan Wolverines (4.37), Tennessee Volunteers (4.13), and Georgia Bulldogs (3.50) were in the top five.
The Fighting Irish successfully drew 39.8 million viewers in the 2022 season.
The biggest crowd gathered around TV for the Fighting Irish’s contest was 10.5 million when they faced Ohio State Buckeyes on 4th September 2022.
Here are other fixtures and the corresponding viewers on that day:
- vs. Marshall Thundering Herd – 2.48 million
- vs. California Golden Bears – 2.91 million
- vs. North Carolina Tar Heels – 3.46 million
- vs. BYU Cougars – 2.53 million
- vs. Stanford Cardinal – 2.15 million
- vs. Syracuse Orange – 2.34 million
- vs. Clemson Tigers – 3.22 million
- vs. Navy Midshipmen -2.07 million
- vs. Boston College Eagles – 1.27 million
- vs. USC Trojans – 6.68 million
Notre Dame Football TV Schedule 2023
Notre Dame football TV schedule 2023 will start at NBC / Peacock on 26th August when they face Navy Midshipmen in Dublin, Ireland.
The College football kickoff 2023 will see be held at Aviva Stadium. It will be the fourth college football contest at the venue.
The Fighting Irish had a good 9-4 run in 2022. They successfully defeated South Carolina Gamecocks at the Gator Bowl on 31st December.
The brand of football associated with Notre Dame is lucrative for the broadcasters. The 2023 schedule for the Fighting Irish is as follows:
- vs. Tennessee State Tigers, 2nd September – NBC / Peacock
- at NC State Wolfpack, 9th September – ABC
- vs. Central Michigan Chippewas, 16th September – Peacock
- vs. Ohio State Buckeyes, 23rd September – NBC / Peacock
- at Duke Blue Devils, 30th September – TBD
- at Louisville Cardinals, 7th October – TBD
- vs. USC Trojans, 14th October – NBC / Peacock
- vs. Pittsburgh Panthers, 28th October – NBC / Peacock
- at Clemson Tigers, 4th November – ABC
- vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 18th November – NBC / Peacock
- at Stanford Cardinal, 25th November – TBD