The Univ. of Kansas and IMG College have signed a long-term deal with Time Warner Cable for KU's Tier-3 TV rights that will see regional distribution of more than 300 hours of original programming. TWC Metro Sports will air live games from various sports as well as non-game programming such as pre- and postgame shows for football and men's basketball. The channel will show a weekly magazine show, a social media-centered show, live press conferences and quarterly KU academic specials. The non-game programming will be available nationwide to all TWC customers via VOD (IMG College). In Kansas, Matt Tait reports TWC Metro Sports beginning with the upcoming school year will air "more than 50 live KU events on the revamped Jayhawk Network and also provide 600 hours of additional 'shoulder' programming." Due to the Big 12 Conference's deals with ESPN and Fox, live-game broadcasts on TWC Metro Sports "will be offered only to viewers in the state and the Kansas City metro area." The Jayhawk Network this year will "provide coverage of one football game, six men's basketball games, as many as 16 women's basketball games, nine volleyball matches, eight baseball games and up to 12 live softball, soccer and track and field events." KU was the "final Big 12 Conference school to sign a contract concerning its Tier-3 television rights." KU AD Sheahon Zenger said that the deal to "expand KU's broadcasting efforts had been in the works for a while and added that being the last university to sign on the dotted line did not hurt KU in any way" (LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD, 6/18).
