Cable customers in Austin “don’t have access to their hometown University of Texas’ Longhorn Network” but starting next fall, they will “be able to see plenty of the Longhorns’ bitter rival through hours of University of Oklahoma-branded programming, thanks to a deal that’s close to being signed with Fox Sports,” according to Ourand & Smith of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. Fox has “agreed to carry at least 1,000 hours a year of Oklahoma programming on its FS Southwest and FS Oklahoma regional sports networks, which go to 8.6 million homes in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas and ... Texas.” The programming will be “branded in the name of the school -- something like the Sooner Network or Oklahoma Network -- and will feature third-tier TV rights, including at least one live football game, several men’s and women’s basketball games and Olympic sports.” Money from third-tier rights “is especially valuable in the Big 12 because that’s the only revenue that doesn’t have to be shared with the rest of the conference.” Third-tier TV revenue in the Pac-12 and Big Ten, by comparison, “is shared with the rest of the league.” While Texas’ deal with ESPN for LHN is “valued at $300 million over 20 years, OU’s deal with Fox is believed to be worth much less, both in terms of annual value and length.” Industry sources “cautioned that Oklahoma and Fox haven’t yet signed an agreement,” but the school “has moved into exclusive negotiations with the network and both sides have agreed to several big issues that would make Fox the exclusive regional home for Oklahoma athletics.” While a Fox deal “would not provide Oklahoma with a full 24-hour channel, it would give the school a fully distributed regional network on which to run its branded programming” (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/2 issue).
KICKING UP COVERAGE: In a Q&A with the L.A. TIMES' Lance Pugmire, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott talked about his desire to reach a greater platform in college sports and said, “I have an aggressive schedule as it is. Seven TV networks to launch by August. Important BCS discussions. Our basketball tournaments. International discussions. I just returned from Beijing, meeting with government officials, broadcasters, event promoters to stage events there; sporting exchanges with some of our teams -- volleyball, basketball, swim, tennis, golf. That builds our brand and promotes our schools academically and otherwise." On what he most anticipates about next season, Scott said, “We'll have three top 10 teams who'll all be well-regarded again next year, with lots of Heisman discussion. Every football game will be on national TV. It's the biggest platform we've ever had, more coverage for the nation and the East Coast media. I'm an East Coast guy, so I want to give people the benefit of the doubt about East Coast bias. We've instead dealt with that by coming up with inventive ways to kick up our coverage" (L.A. TIMES, 1/2).
