Details of Sooner Sports TV to be unveiled during OU-UTEP game

[ou48A]

Oklahoma fans who tune into Saturday night’s telecast of the OU-UTEP game on Fox Sports will see a quick preview of their favorite team’s television future.

Sooner Sports TV, the school’s long-anticipated venture with Fox Sports, will be announced during the broadcast, a source said.

Coaches shows, pregame shows and postgame shows will be part of the package. Fox Sports has a pregame show, “Sooner Sports Gameday,” set for 8:30 p.m. ahead of the 9:30 kickoff at the Sun Bowl.

Programming will be aired on variety of Fox platforms, including Fox Sports Oklahoma, Fox Sports Southwest, Fox College Sports and Fox Sports Plus. The coverage area of Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and parts of Arkansas includes some 9-10 million homes, although national satellite subscribers to DirectTV and Dish Network will be able to upgrade to a sports package that carries all Sooner Sports TV programming.

Third-tier men’s basketball games, women’s basketball games and non-revenue sports such as baseball, softball, volleyball and soccer also will be regularly seen on Sooner Sports TV. Other university athletic events, such as Bob Stoops’ weekly press conference, will be carried live, and “legacy programming,” such as classic games or coaches shows from Bud Wilkinson or Barry Switzer’s days in Norman, will treat OU fans to a bygone era.

The source said as soon as the Big 12’s pending contract with ABC/ESPN is finalized, Fox Sports and Oklahoma will announce their complete programming arrangement.

Sooner Sports TV is not like the Longhorn Network, which is owned and operated by ESPN and paid the University of Texas $300 million over 20 years. Instead of its own network, OU will simply have programming shown on an already existing family of Fox networks.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/blogs/spor...ecast/54-16735

[ou48A]

From unofficial sources this is what the OU TV schedule is looking like tomorrow. (Subject to change)
Check your local listings.

OU Pregame is from 6-9:30 PM on FS Oklahoma
6PM - Sooner Football Preview
630p - Sooner Pregame
730p - Sooner Football Preview
800p - Sooner Football Preview
830p - Sooner Pregame

[ou48A]

Update on Sooner Sports TV

http://www.soonersports.com/multimed....html#schedule

[ou48A]

Official announcement on Sooner Sports TV …. new information

OU, FOX Launch Sooner Sports TV - SoonerSports.com - Official Athletics Site of the Oklahoma Sooners

[ou48A]

9/12/2012 12:09 PM
NORMAN — Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione enjoyed saying the number “nine million” when discussing his school’s new 10-year partnership with Fox Sports on Thursday morning.

OU and FOX Sports introduced “Sooner Sports TV,” a multi-platform network that will provide immediate and distribution of at least 1,000 hours of OU sports programming annually.

“The wide distribution opportunity and being able to launch and reach nearly nine million people with the opportunity to grow that base is exciting,” Castiglione said during a conference call.

Programming blocks featuring revenue and Olympic Sports will be distributed on FOX Sports Networks and will reach approximately nine million homes in the Oklahoma-Texas-Arkansas-Louisiana region. Select programming may also be made available nationwide on FOX College Sports on cable or other outer market regional sports packages via satellite.

Terms of the decade-long contract were not disclosed.

The Oklahoma-Fox partnership differs from the Longhorn Network, which is owned and operated by ESPN. Instead of its own network, OU will have programming shown on an already existing family of Fox networks.

Did Oklahoma explore its own exclusive network?

“We did have a chance to examine several different options, including a standalone 24/7 type of channel,” Castiglione said. “But this really gives us the best of all possible worlds. We have substantial OU branding and programming along with immediate and full distribution throughout Oklahoma, Texas and our region ...

“We really thought this approach would serve our fans in the best way possible.”

Castiglione didn’t want to discuss the Longhorn Network, which is 13 months old. The LHN doesn’t have a major cable or satellite carrier, but recently announced a deal with cable provider AT&T U-verse.

“We’ve been more focused on what’s best for the University of Oklahoma and reaching our fan base,” Castiglione said. “Again, when we can take the programming that we have, the live events and create opportunities that have never been there before and launch a multi-network platform network strategy and reach 9 million fans ... it’s compelling.”

Oklahoma’s partnership with FOX will include an online component featuring “all-access” contest that isn’t available on FOX Sports Networks. That will include live streaming, archived games and web-exclusive content.

Nearly all of the content will be produced by the SoonerVision production unit, which has expanded to a staff of 95 over the past five years.

“One of the things that really excited us about this relationship was when you looked and saw the infrastructure that the university had invested in for their SoonerVision Properties,” Fox Southwest General Manager Jon Heidtke said. “It’s a state-of-the-art facility.”

Sports events to be shown include encore presentations of OU football games originally televised on Fox and other networks and the spring game; approximately eight exclusive basketball games and select encores; select exclusive women’s basketball games plus encores; and exclusive events and encores of Olympic Sports.

“Sooner Sports TV” programming blocks will also showcase a variety of original programming and studio shows, including coaches’ shows, weekly magazine shows and press conferences.

The school will also showcase historical archives and give fans the opportunity to relive moments in Sooner history.

“They have a tremendous amount of archival footage going back into the ‘30s and ‘40s and Bud Wilkinson days,” Heidtke said. “The OU fans are really going to enjoy when we bring that to life, but college football fans in general will like taking a walk down memory lane and reliving those great moments of college football past.”

OU announces Sooner Sports TV with FOX Sports | Tulsa World

[Lord Helmet]

Hopefully some of this content will make it to other markets on Fox College Sports or something. Thats where I get the weekly wrap up show and the Bob Stoops show in Colorado.

[ou48A]

OU's new network: Questions and answers | Tulsa World
The University of Oklahoma and FOX Sports announced their television partnership today. With "Sooner Sports TV powered by FOX Sports" now official, here are answers to some questions you might immediately have.


Is it up and running?
It has been, actually, since the launch before Oklahoma's football opener at UTEP.


What are the outlets?
FOX Sports Oklahoma, FOX Sports Southwest and FOX College Sports.

What kind of reach are we talking about?
OU estimates nine million homes in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, with FOX College Sports also carrying some programming nationwide.


What kind of programming will be aired?
At least 1,000 hours annually of OU programming not selected by network or cable partners in the recently announced Big 12 agreement. This is known as tier 3 programming which a university may both distribute and generate revenue from. The estimate is eight men's basketball games and a select number of women's basketball telecasts. Expect a lot of games involving non-revenue sports (baseball, softball and soccer for instance), plus coaches shows, pre and postgame shows, press conferences and features geared toward OU's football past.


Does this include live football games?
OU athletic director Joe Castiglione referenced football rebroadcasts, but not live coverage when asked Wednesday. The Red-White Spring Game will be the one exception.


Have terms been announced?
It’s a 10-year deal. OU and FOX were officially mum on money, although a source familiar with the negotiations estimates the value at about $5 million annually. The Longhorn Network agreement between Texas and ESPN was a 20-year, $300 million deal.


How is this different from the Longhorn Network?
It's nowhere near as lucrative. It covers 10 years instead of 20. But while not as splashy as the Longhorn Network, OU officials are banking on it being a more sustainable model. It has an immediate distribution platform via the FOX regional entities, which should protect against the LHN's distribution pitfalls (it went mostly unseen over its entire first year of operation). Also, while Texas essentially hired ESPN to bring in its own talent and production facilities, OU will produce its own programming through SoonerVision facilities/elements/personnel already operational on campus.


So where are the money-making opportunities?
If you're selling a network that reaches nine million homes, you might expect to generate some advertising revenue. The agreement leaves room for Learfield, OU's multimedia rights holder, to secure some network sponsorships. In the meantime, FOX money should at least help recoup OU's multimillion-dollar investment in SoonerVision over the past several years, money OU invested with the idea that SoonerVision would one day produce the programming distributed by a network partner.


Did OU have stand-alone, 24/7 network options like the LHN?
Yes, Castiglione said. But all parties considered this a more practical, sustainable way to go.


Is there an Internet component?
Yes. It features, according to OU, "all-access content not televised on FOX Sports networks." What that means for now is "live streaming, archived games and additional content created exclusively for the web."