Pac-12 Networks on Thursday announced that it will distribute its sports programming to international audiences through a new pay YouTube channel scheduled to launch in late August. The outlet will become the first live streaming 24/7 subscription sports channel on YouTube. The new channel at launch will distribute the Pac-12 Networks feed as well as VOD content to 27 countries, expanding to additional countries over time (Pac-12 Networks). Pac-12 Networks President Lydia Murphy-Stephans: "Our goal is to be wherever our fans are, at work, at home, on the road, even in sports venues when they’re watching live games and events." In L.A., Thuc Nhi Nguyen noted the YouTube channel "will be geoblocked" in the U.S. (DAILYNEWS.com, 7/24). The net this football season is slated to air 35 games and will "document UCLA on 'The Drive,' the network’s all-access documentary-style program that featured Arizona State last season" (ARIZONA DAILY STAR, 7/25). Meanwhile, Murphy-Stephans on Thursday also announced new carriage deals with Cox Network and Time Warner Cable, expanding the net "to roughly 20 million more homes in the U.S. from when it began two years ago." The deals will "mostly make the Pac-12 Network more available in the Midwest and East coast" (DESERET NEWS, 7/25).
