Gannett and Big Ten Conference Announce Media Partnership

February 01, 2024 at 15:19 PM EST

Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) and the USA TODAY Network today announced a multi-year agreement to become the official content partner of the Big Ten Conference, the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States.

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© Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY Network

As part of the agreement, syndicated content from across USA TODAY Network’s local network of more than 200 publications will be featured on BigTen.org. This includes content from The Columbus Dispatch, The Des Moines Register, Detroit Free Press and The Indianapolis Star among several others.

USA TODAY will also continue to produce souvenir covers to commemorate the winners of the Big Ten Championship Games in football and men’s and women’s basketball. These covers are presented to athletes on the field or court after the final whistle. This tradition began last year with the Big Ten Football Championship Game and continued this year with the “A-MAIZE-ING” headline celebrating Michigan’s win in the conference title game.

“We are proud to be a content partner of the Big Ten conference,” said Nate Scott, Vice President and Publisher, USA TODAY Sports Media Group. “The USA TODAY Network’s local footprint is uniquely positioned across key college markets and dedicated to amplifying the importance of recognizing these sports.”

The USA TODAY Network will also produce and publish the Big Ten Conference’s official championship game day programs for football, as well as men’s and women’s basketball.

“The USA Today Network’s talented writers cover so many Big Ten stories, programs, and student-athletes,” said Tyler Kupper, Big Ten Vice President of Corporate Partnerships. “Gannett will make for a great partner to the Big Ten Conference, Big Ten Network and coverage of our championship events.”

ABOUT GANNETT

Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is a subscription-led and digitally-focused media and marketing solutions company committed to empowering communities to thrive. With an unmatched reach at the national and local level, Gannett touches the lives of millions with our Pulitzer Prize-winning content, consumer experiences and benefits, and advertiser products and services. Our current portfolio of media assets includes USA TODAY, local media organizations in 43 states in the U.S., and Newsquest, a wholly owned subsidiary operating in the United Kingdom with more than 150 local news media brands. Gannett also owns digital marketing services companies branded LocaliQ, and runs one of the largest media-owned events business in the U.S., USA TODAY NETWORK Ventures. To connect with us, visit www.gannett.com.

ABOUT THE BIG TEN CONFERENCE

The Big Ten Conference is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. Founded in 1896, the Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in the lives of students competing in intercollegiate athletics and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness and competitiveness. The broad-based programs of the 14 Big Ten institutions will provide over $200 million in direct financial support to more than 9,500 students for more than 11,000 participation opportunities on 350 teams in 42 different sports. The Big Ten sponsors 28 official conference sports, 14 for men and 14 for women, including the addition of men's ice hockey and men's and women's lacrosse since 2013. For more information, visit www.bigten.org.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that relate to our current expectations and views of future events. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements relating to whether the transaction will drive Big Ten Conference or Gannett’s revenue and cash flow growth, result in or be able to leverage any synergies or be accretive to Big Ten Conference or Gannett’s revenue, are all forward looking statements. These statements represent our opinions, expectations, beliefs, intentions, estimates or strategies regarding the future, which may not be realized. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “believe,” “may,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “should,” “plan,” “expect,” “predict,” “potential,” “could,” “will,” “would,” “ongoing,” “future” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements are based largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives and financial needs. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies, changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially and/or significantly different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statement. For a discussion of some of the risks and important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations, see the risks and other factors detailed in Gannett’s 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K and Gannett’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and each of Gannett’s other filings with the SEC, in each case as such factors may be updated from time to time. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof and accordingly undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Gannett disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than to the extent required by applicable law.