Menu
Media

Oklahoma-Texas Big 12 Hoops Opener on Longhorn Net Draws Ire Of OU Fans

Longhorn Network now is "affecting college basketball fans," as the Univ. of Oklahoma's Big 12 Conference opener against Texas is slated to air on the cable net, according to Berry Tramel of the OKLAHOMAN. Out of 90 conference games, "only seven have been bypassed by the ESPN brand." One of those seven games -- Oklahoma State-Kansas -- "will be on CBS." Tramel: "Basically, six games didn’t make the cut." ESPN, which owns LHN, has discovered there is "not enough quality programming to devote an entire television channel to just one college athletic program," and the public outcry for "such a channel is not strong, even with a fan base as mighty as Texas." Thus, ESPN set aside certain games "to draw more eyeballs or new subscribers" to LHN. The move "frankly is OK from the Texas side," but for fans of some other Big 12 schools, that means "either they can’t watch their team play, or they watch their team play under the brand of the opposition." However, ESPN is "not in the business of placating OU basketball fans," and LHN "needs inventory." If it means OU fans "don’t get to watch their conference opener, so be it." If it means "watching OU’s conference opener amid a cavalcade of Texas promotions, so be it." The move could "create a backlash," and not just from "basketball zealots, but from fans tired of Texas’ influence on the conference." The move by ESPN and LHN was made possible by the Big 12's decision "to forego a conference network and let schools branch out on their own." That is where OU "made its mistake." The school's alliance with Fox Sports "has proven to be fine and solid and good television for ardent OU fans." But Fox Sports "is not ESPN" (OKLAHOMAN, 9/23).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: April 26, 2024

The sights and sounds from Detroit; CAA Sports' record night; NHL's record year at the gate and Indy makes a pivot on soccer

TNT’s Stan Van Gundy, ESPN’s Tim Reed, NBA Playoffs and NFL Draft

On this week’s pod, SBJ’s Austin Karp has two Big Get interviews. The first is with TNT’s Stan Van Gundy as he breaks down the NBA Playoffs from the booth. Later in the show, we hear from ESPN’s VP of Programming and Acquisitions Tim Reed as the NFL Draft gets set to kick off on Thursday night in Motown. SBJ’s Tom Friend also joins the show to share his insights into NBA viewership trends.

SBJ I Factor: Molly Mazzolini

SBJ I Factor features an interview with Molly Mazzolini. Elevate's Senior Operating Advisor – Design + Strategic Alliances chats with SBJ’s Ross Nethery about the power of taking chances. Mazzolini is a member of the SBJ Game Changers Class of 2016. She shares stories of her career including co-founding sports design consultancy Infinite Scale career journey and how a chance encounter while working at a stationery store launched her career in the sports industry. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2013/09/25/Media/Longhorn-Net.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2013/09/25/Media/Longhorn-Net.aspx

CLOSE