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New ESPN deal

PostPosted: July 23rd, 2015, 9:29 am
by uniftw
Discuss

http://www.mvc-sports.com/mbasketball/n ... bEHkvlViko

ESPN and the Missouri Valley Conference have announced a 10-year extension to their current media rights agreement that will provide increased coverage of conference events across ESPN platforms through the 2023-24 academic year.

 “The 10-year extension of the ESPN-MVC media rights agreement clearly signals a new era for our Conference,” says Commissioner Doug Elgin. ”Over the term of this new agreement, our member institutions will literally be producing thousands of live events that will be carried on ESPN3.

 “The co-branded network that we are announcing today – The Valley on ESPN3 – is recognition that the MVC continues to be relevant in an increasingly competitive Division I environment. The exponential increase in exposure will bring significant benefits to men’s and women’s basketball, and to every Conference-sponsored sport.”

 As part of the deal – which continues a business relationship that began in 1986 – ESPN, the Missouri Valley Conference and its 10 member institutions will work jointly to develop in-house production capabilities at each campus that will provide significant national coverage for multiple sports on ESPN3 and hands-on educational opportunities for students. As a result, ESPN3 will showcase a minimum of 820 events a year (a minimum of 70 men’s basketball) in the final six years of the agreement.

 Elgin continues: “A key aspect of this new campus-based production model will be the involvement of students in academic programs – broadcast media and journalism majors – providing hands-on experience that will translate to opportunities for our graduates to gain entry into television media.

 “I’m proud of the commitment that our Presidents Council and athletics directors are making to our student-athletes and teams, and to the campus community, in general. The opportunity to promote our academic programs, and to showcase individuals throughout our campus communities will also be greatly enhanced. We are extremely grateful that the Missouri Valley’s relationship with ESPN will be stronger than ever.”

 ESPN also retains the rights to the Men’s Basketball Tournament semifinals and championship and Women’s Basketball Tournament championship each year. The agreement will continue to feature multiple men’s basketball and Olympic sports game telecasts across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNEWS each year.

Re: New ESPN deal

PostPosted: July 23rd, 2015, 9:45 am
by isumvc1
I like it, let's face it, the MVC is never going to be mainstream media like the BCS schools, so any additional coverage like this is still great news for the conference IMO

Re: New ESPN deal

PostPosted: July 23rd, 2015, 2:21 pm
by isumvc1
Todd Golden's in depth article looking a little more in depth at the deal, good to see the MVC championship game will remain on CBS TV

http://www.tribstar.com/sports/local_co ... 87bfb.html

Re: New ESPN deal

PostPosted: July 23rd, 2015, 2:32 pm
by isumvc1
the MVC preview on youtube and espn3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw4dmRG ... e=youtu.be

Re: New ESPN deal

PostPosted: July 23rd, 2015, 7:36 pm
by pafan
I hope ESPN at least pays a stipend for the students who are going to be doing all this work. I know my college self wouldn't volunteer to work for ESPN.

Re: New ESPN deal

PostPosted: July 23rd, 2015, 9:12 pm
by Aargh
ESPN inking a deal for WSU basketball for 10 years is a brilliant move on ESPN's part. WSU probably has more revenue appeal to ESPN than the rest of the Valley combined.

Re: New ESPN deal

PostPosted: July 24th, 2015, 8:01 am
by UE-grad
Does this deal include an increase in bandwidth? ESPN3 has the worst resolution of all the streaming platforms.

Re: New ESPN deal

PostPosted: July 24th, 2015, 8:28 am
by uniftw
UE-grad wrote:Does this deal include an increase in bandwidth? ESPN3 has the worst resolution of all the streaming platforms.

I've never had an issue with it for any games streamed from UNI, Drake, WSU, Bradley, or either ISU.

You're right though, games from Evansville, Loyola and MSU do leave some to be desired compared to others.

SIU is hit and miss

99% of ESPN3 broadcasts are pretty damn good. Might be on your end?

Re: New ESPN deal

PostPosted: July 24th, 2015, 1:58 pm
by veeny009
Good for the conference, but probably won't help me much since they'll probably still black out every game in Iowa

Re: New ESPN deal

PostPosted: July 28th, 2015, 5:04 pm
by KCfan
Is this really any different than when we paid Fox Midwest to air our game of the week?