BATON ROUGE — LSU has announced it will enter into negotiations with a joint venture of Viacom Sports and Westwood One for a long-term agreement to manage the multi-media rights of the LSU athletics program.
LSU issued a request for proposals (RFP) in September with the purpose of seeking to maximize revenues and program effectiveness by licensing the rights associated with its radio and television programming, corporate sponsor and signage opportunities, Internet presence and program sales. Four major firms responded to the RFP.
Viacom Sports/Westwood One was selected as the leading proposer and will begin negotiations with LSU for its multi-media rights. Under the terms of its proposal, Viacom Sports/Westwood One would pay to LSU an annual rights fee that represents an annual increase of approximately $1.5 million over LSU’s existing multi-media rights earnings.
Viacom Sports/Westwood One’s proposal includes other financial incentives and creative marketing and promotional plans for the athletics program, as well as exposure opportunities for the University to promote its academic programs.
Any agreement resulting from the negotiations will be submitted to the LSU Board of Supervisors for approval and would be effective on July 1, 2005.
“This is a dramatic and effective change in the way we do business,” said LSU athletics director Skip Bertman. “The fact that we received four outstanding proposals reflects well on the stature of our athletics program. We look forward to our discussions with Viacom Sports/Westwood One.”
Previously, LSU athletics has maintained its own radio, television and corporate sponsor rights while contracting with outside firms to coordinate its radio and television sales, as well as game program and website production and Internet sales. The Tiger Athletic Foundation currently holds rights to LSU’s scoreboard sponsorships, and will enter into an agreement with Viacom Sports/Westwood One in order to participate in the new multi-media rights package.
“This was a year-long process that has resulted in a very advantageous position for LSU athletics,” Bertman said. “Our goal was to create a single source through which local, regional and national companies could establish a high-profile identification with LSU athletics, resulting in higher revenues for the athletics program. I am confident that we have achieved our goal.”
LSU issued the request for proposals to 22 firms across the country, with four firms or combinations of companies choosing to submit proposals by a November 5 deadline. In addition to Viacom Sports/Westwood One, LSU received proposals from Host Communications, a joint venture of International Sports Properties and Learfield Communications, and Louisiana Network, Inc.
The proposals were reviewed by a committee consisting of members of the Athletics Department, the Office of Purchasing and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administrative Services. After evaluation of the proposals, the committee recommended that the University enter into negotiations with Viacom Sports/Westwood One for the purpose of awarding a long-term contract.