The broadcast of UMKC-Kansas had so many issues, it prompted apologies from ESPN and KUkansas athletics
The Big 12 Conference has "taken a chunk" of Univ. of Kansas' basketball games "off cable and put them exclusively on the new streaming service know as Big 12 Now through ESPN+," according to Matt Tait of the LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD. Fans are "required to subscribe" to ESPN+ to have access to Big 12 Now. But the frustration from KU fans has "not been limited to the subscription requirement." KU fans took to Twitter and email to "complain about the production quality of the broadcasts." KU's victory over UMKC had "so many production issues it prompted both ESPN and Kansas Athletics to release apology statements a couple of days later." By the end of the season, the KU men's basketball team "will have played 10 games exclusively on Big 12 Now/ESPN+" (LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD, 1/3).
WORKING THROUGH IT: West Virginia AD Shane Lyons said he realizes there will be "growing pains" with five of the school's basketball games appearing on ESPN+ between now and the end of the season. Lyons said, "We feel that ESPN+ has a lot of room for growth." He admitted that broadband coverage in parts of West Virginia can be "spotty but he expressed hope that the situation would also improve in the years ahead." Lyons: "We have roughly 1.8 million people, 1.4 million of them have the streaming capabilities. We understand hopefully that's going to continue to climb higher and everyone is going to have the streaming capabilities as we move into the future" (WVMETRONEWS.com, 1/3).
