TxSt02
August 15th, 2005, 02:38 PM
Hadnt seen this posted yet...
Southland Conference Reaches Agreement with ESPN
ESPNU To Commence Five-Year Deal With 2005 Football Coverage
Aug. 15, 2005
PLANO, Texas - ESPN, Inc. has reached a five-year agreement (through 2010) with the Southland Conference for coverage of football and men's basketball, in addition to the right to televise coverage of the conference's Olympic sports. Driven by its increased commitment to intercollegiate conferences, ESPNU, the new college sports network, will televise the first Southland events as part of the new deal.
The Southland and ESPN at a glance:
• In its inaugural season of live football coverage, ESPNU will televise two Thursday night games featuring Southland teams; Alcorn State vs. Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday, Sept. 8 (7:30 p.m. ET) and Stephen F. Austin vs. Northwestern State on Thursday, Nov. 17 (7:30 p.m.). • ESPN will televise the men's basketball championship game on ESPN or ESPN2 through 2009-2010 season. • Each Southland school will be eligible to participate in ESPN's Bracket Buster through the 2009-2010 season.
"ESPNU looks forward to bringing the nation the great competition and traditions of Southland athletics," said Burke Magnus, vice president and general manager, ESPNU. "This agreement is a model of our commitment to offer a unique assortment of quality programming to college sports enthusiasts, while also maximizing exposure for conferences, institutions and student-athletes."
"We are absolutely thrilled to continue and expand our longstanding relationship with ESPN, and look forward to both our football telecasts on ESPNU this fall," Southland Conference commissioner Tom Burnett said. "We appreciate the interest in the Southland Conference shown by ESPN, and this agreement is a tribute to the collective success of the league and our member institutions."
The new pact also includes distribution rights for Southland Conference programming across multiple ESPN platforms, including ESPN Mobile, ESPN Interactive, ESPN360 (formerly ESPN Broadband), ESPN.com, ESPN Pay-Per-View, ESPN Video-on-Demand, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, ESPN Deportes and more.
ESPNU
ESPNU, the new college sports network, was launched in March 2005. The ESPNU schedule will feature more than 300 live events (regular-season and championships) in the network's first year. Action includes a variety of top football and men's and women's basketball mixed with baseball, softball, volleyball, lacrosse, ice hockey, wrestling and more. ESPNU also offer comprehensive studio programming, replays of ABC Sports, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Regional Television games, plus specials and more.
In the 2005 Beta Research Cable Subscriber Study - Interest in Emerging/Mid-sized/VOD Networks, ESPNU was ranked sixth (tied) among men 18-34 for high interest in watching each network, out of the 21 mid-sized networks assessed.
ESPNU has secured distribution agreements with DIRECTV, Adelphia, Mediacom, several smaller affiliates and is close to distribution agreements with others. The 24-hour television network is the key component of the multi-media ESPNU initiative that will deliver college sports content across ESPN's family of services, such as ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Mobile, ESPN Radio, ESPN Interactive, ESPN360, merchandising and more.
Southland Conference
The Southland Conference consists of 11 member institutions in Texas and Louisiana. Texas institutions in the conference include Lamar University in Beaumont, Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas State University at San Marcos, the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Texas at San Antonio. Louisiana institutions include McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond and the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
http://southland.collegesports.com/genrel/081505aaa.html (http://)
Southland Conference Reaches Agreement with ESPN
ESPNU To Commence Five-Year Deal With 2005 Football Coverage
Aug. 15, 2005
PLANO, Texas - ESPN, Inc. has reached a five-year agreement (through 2010) with the Southland Conference for coverage of football and men's basketball, in addition to the right to televise coverage of the conference's Olympic sports. Driven by its increased commitment to intercollegiate conferences, ESPNU, the new college sports network, will televise the first Southland events as part of the new deal.
The Southland and ESPN at a glance:
• In its inaugural season of live football coverage, ESPNU will televise two Thursday night games featuring Southland teams; Alcorn State vs. Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday, Sept. 8 (7:30 p.m. ET) and Stephen F. Austin vs. Northwestern State on Thursday, Nov. 17 (7:30 p.m.). • ESPN will televise the men's basketball championship game on ESPN or ESPN2 through 2009-2010 season. • Each Southland school will be eligible to participate in ESPN's Bracket Buster through the 2009-2010 season.
"ESPNU looks forward to bringing the nation the great competition and traditions of Southland athletics," said Burke Magnus, vice president and general manager, ESPNU. "This agreement is a model of our commitment to offer a unique assortment of quality programming to college sports enthusiasts, while also maximizing exposure for conferences, institutions and student-athletes."
"We are absolutely thrilled to continue and expand our longstanding relationship with ESPN, and look forward to both our football telecasts on ESPNU this fall," Southland Conference commissioner Tom Burnett said. "We appreciate the interest in the Southland Conference shown by ESPN, and this agreement is a tribute to the collective success of the league and our member institutions."
The new pact also includes distribution rights for Southland Conference programming across multiple ESPN platforms, including ESPN Mobile, ESPN Interactive, ESPN360 (formerly ESPN Broadband), ESPN.com, ESPN Pay-Per-View, ESPN Video-on-Demand, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, ESPN Deportes and more.
ESPNU
ESPNU, the new college sports network, was launched in March 2005. The ESPNU schedule will feature more than 300 live events (regular-season and championships) in the network's first year. Action includes a variety of top football and men's and women's basketball mixed with baseball, softball, volleyball, lacrosse, ice hockey, wrestling and more. ESPNU also offer comprehensive studio programming, replays of ABC Sports, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Regional Television games, plus specials and more.
In the 2005 Beta Research Cable Subscriber Study - Interest in Emerging/Mid-sized/VOD Networks, ESPNU was ranked sixth (tied) among men 18-34 for high interest in watching each network, out of the 21 mid-sized networks assessed.
ESPNU has secured distribution agreements with DIRECTV, Adelphia, Mediacom, several smaller affiliates and is close to distribution agreements with others. The 24-hour television network is the key component of the multi-media ESPNU initiative that will deliver college sports content across ESPN's family of services, such as ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Mobile, ESPN Radio, ESPN Interactive, ESPN360, merchandising and more.
Southland Conference
The Southland Conference consists of 11 member institutions in Texas and Louisiana. Texas institutions in the conference include Lamar University in Beaumont, Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas State University at San Marcos, the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Texas at San Antonio. Louisiana institutions include McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond and the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
http://southland.collegesports.com/genrel/081505aaa.html (http://)