ESPN once again owns the rights to Boise State's home football games for the next seven seasons, assuring the Broncos a prominent place on the cable giant through the rest of the decade and reuniting them with the network that helped fuel their ascent.
ESPN sublicensed Mountain West games last year, but has not been television partners with the league since 2005.
"I think a combination that really took us to the next level was 1) being on ESPN and 2) playing well on ESPN," coach Chris Petersen said. "If we didn't play well, we wouldn't have been on there as much. And there were times that we were and if we hadn't played well, it doesn't mean as much."
Boise State is 40-5 in ESPN regular-season games since 2003.
As part of the Broncos' agreement to remain in the Mountain West, the league agreed to sell Boise State home football games as part of a secondary television package. The league announced the deal with ESPN on Wednesday.
"It's unique, but we're a unique program," Petersen said.
CBS Sports Network still holds the Mountain West's primary rights.
The value of the contracts with CBS Sports Network and ESPN are about $116 million over seven years, or $18 million annually for the 12-team conference, ESPN reported.
Other aspects of the deal:
Æ Boise State will earn at least $900,000 in national television bonuses each season. Games on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN or ESPN2 qualify for a $300,000 bonus. Saturday games are eligible for an additional $200,000 payment.
Æ The bonus is not applicable to road nonconference games, such as the Broncos' games at BYU and Washington in 2013.
Æ Boise State's other home games can be aired on any of ESPN's family of networks, including ESPNU, ESPNews and web-based ESPN3. Games on those outlets would not be eligible for the bonus. No more than two Bronco games per year can be on ESPN3.
Æ Boise State is not required to play more than three non-Saturday games in a year.
Æ Boise State said the promise of ESPN-televised games has helped in football scheduling. The Broncos recently announced home-and-home agreements with Florida State and Virginia.
Æ CBS Sports Network, which owns the rights to Boise State's road conference games, can swap a game with ESPN each year.
Æ In addition to Boise State home games, ESPN can televise up to 16 other Mountain West football and 31 men's basketball games.
Æ CBS Sports Network can pick the first eight games to televise before alternating picks with ESPN. It has rights to 22 Mountain West football games and 25 men's basketball games.
Æ CBS Sports Network retains the rights to the men's basketball tournament.
Æ The Mountain West is negotiating with CBS Sports Network for the rights to the the football championship game. The first one is scheduled for December.
Æ The Mountain West will also launch a digital network, allowing fans to watch games on the web. Additionally, the league could sell games to regional networks, such as ROOT and Altitude.
Æ The 2013 football schedule is expected to be announced in April.
