Marriage between BYU and ESPN still going strong

Published May. 19, 2015 12:22 p.m. ET

foxsports

ESPN has reached the midway point of its eight-year TV contract with BYU and the love is still there after all these years.

"No question, we are thrilled with the relationship we have with BYU," Ilan Ben-Hanan, ESPN's vice president of programming and acquisitions told the Salt Lake Tribune. "It remains every bit as strong as the day we signed the deal. They're fantastic to work with. They've done a great job on the field."

BYU’s deal with ESPN guarantees the school $800,000 to $1.2 million for every home game until the contract runs out in 2018.

A skeptic could view Ben-Hanan’s comments as a move to save face being that the Cougars have posted three straight 8-5 seasons. However, Ben-Hanan told the Salt Lake Tribune that is not the case and that he is not displeased with the deal.

"Absolutely not," Ben-Hanan said. "I can't speak from a fan base expectation, but I can tell you from a TV perspective they've been great. They're willing to challenge all comers. They play an exciting brand of football. They have, obviously, a large and diverse national fan base. They've done everything you could ever ask them to do as a television partner.

"… Schools in the Mountain and Pacific time zones have an advantage of playing [late] because it means more unopposed windows. At noon Eastern time, there's games all up and down the East Coast and the Midwest. BYU's had a unique opportunity to play in some great windows and get a lot of exposure."

(h/t Salt Lake Tribue)