Associated Press, NCAA reach three-year photo distribution deal
The NCAA and the Associated Press announced this week a three-year agreement making AP Images the global distributor of the NCAA’s photo collection, a move the NCAA says will create the largest existing pool of college sports photography.
Under the new agreement, the AP will gain access to the NCAA’s full archive and the NCAA will have access to the entire AP photo archive of NCAA events.
“Combine the history of the NCAA photo archives with the depth of photos compiled by AP Images over the past 100 years, and the NCAA and the AP Images partnership will create the single greatest collection of collegiate sports photos,” NCAA Director of Broadcasting Greg Wietekamp said in a statement.
In addition to being posted at APImages.com, the partnership will allow for a new consumer-accessible purchase point at NCAA.com, giving the public the opportunity to buy the photos.
Since 1994, a Denver-based media company, Rich Clarkson and Associates, has provided the NCAA’s official photographers and subsequently distributed the photos. Though the AP will now handle distribution, Clarkson’s photographers will continue to serve as official NCAA shooters.
News Photographer Magazine reports that the move came as the NCAA searched for wider distribution of their photography. Clarkson told the magazine that Getty Images had jockeyed for the contract, but that the NCAA ultimately chose the not-for-profit AP. The NCAA is also a non-profit organization.
The Associated Press will handle the distribution of all the NCAA’s official photos (Photo copyright Dustin Snipes/Icon SMI).
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