The Associated Press and Getty Images both announced new exclusive distribution partnerships on Tuesday. AP Images has become the photo-licensing agent for the National Collegiate Athletic Association, while Getty Images is the new distribution partner of the Association of Surfing Professionals. Financial arrangements of either agreement were not disclosed.
AP Images will represent the photography of the 88 NCAA championships, including the popular Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, under a three-year content partnership. AP will also handle retail sales of archival NCAA imagery.
Much of the NCAA archive has been shot by Rich Clarkson and Associates, which has served as the official NCAA photographer since 1994 and has covered the NCAA Men’s Final Four since 1952. The firm—founded by former National Geographic Society director of photography and Sports Illustrated contract photographer—will continue to provide photography services for all NCAA championships during the next three years.
The newspaper and stock-image industries are facing different yet equally formidable challenges. Predictably, the two industries’ leaders are increasingly facing off in overlapping areas of their businesses: news, sports and entertainment imagery. The NCAA deal is AP Images’ first significant move in the space thus far dominated by Getty Images, which is the accredited photo supplier to more than 50 international sports leagues and governing bodies.
Australia-based professional surfing governing body ASP is the latest addition to the list of Getty sports partners, which include all the major U.S. baseball, basketball, football and golf leagues. In addition to the existing collection of over 4,000 images, Getty will represent the photography from ASP’s 2009 Dream Tour Competition.
ASP, which says surfing continues to grow both as a pro sport and a sports property, hopes that Getty’s global platform will place its imagery in front of an entirely new audience. According to Getty, the partnership demonstrates the company’s unique expertise to conserve, market, license and manage sports photography rights and collections.