Sooner Network close to reality

[Boomer]

to be carried in Oklahoma,Texas,Louisiana, Arkansas as part of the Fox Sports

Cable customers in Austin, Texas, don’t have access to their hometown University of Texas’ Longhorn Network.

But starting next fall, those Texas subscribers 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.

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, yes, 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. Third-tier TV rights include live games that are not picked up by the Big 12’s primary network partners, ESPN and Fox.


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. This type of coverage is coveted by schools for its ability to broaden their fan base and recruiting base.

In addition to sports, the OU-branded programming block would include university events, such as commencements and guest speakers, and programming from departments other than athletics.

Sooners stake their claim on two Fox RSNs - SportsBusiness Daily | SportsBusiness Journal

=====================================================

Very similar to the Florida Gators package that nets them 8 million a year, my guess is it would be in the 5-8 million range

 

[CYphyllis]

Didn't bother me in the least when Texas got one, will bother me even less if Oklahoma does as well.

 

[twojman]

To me this is dumb. Why not team up with the rest of the Big 12 schools and get a member dedicated network. The divide amongst the conference will continue to grow with the 'everyone for themselves attitude.'

The remaining schools united would have had a great network not including Texas. I do not see how this ends well for the conference.

 

[mt85]

Yippee! The greedy stupidity that has led this conference to brink of dissolution can continue.

 

[isuno1fan]

To me this is dumb. Why not team up with the rest of the Big 12 schools and get a member dedicated network. The divide amongst the conference will continue to grow with the 'everyone for themselves attitude.'

The remaining schools united would have had a great network not including Texas. I do not see how this ends well for the conference.

There are 8760 hrs in a year. This is 1000 hrs of coverage for 3rd Tier rights to a limited audience. Who gives a rat's arse. I love the way the B12 lets schools do what they want with third tier.

 

[cyman05]

To me this is dumb. Why not team up with the rest of the Big 12 schools and get a member dedicated network. The divide amongst the conference will continue to grow with the 'everyone for themselves attitude.'

The remaining schools united would have had a great network not including Texas. I do not see how this ends well for the conference.

Yeah, it doesn't make sense for the overall health of everyone in the conference, but it will keep OU happier. It's a Double-edged sword.

Good for OU though. Will the middle class of the conference now gone, I think this is the last you'll see of a school-supported network...although this deal with OU is VERY different than Texas' deal since its not a 24/7 channel. I suppose any other B12 school could make a similar deal with Fox Sports, but they're only going to get pennies on the dollar compared to Texas or OU.

Maybe I have the wrong attitude on this, but I don't care. Let them have their network. It's not what I'd like to see and its not what's best for the conference, but if it keeps them happy then so be it.

 

[Al_4_State]

Good for you guys. I don't understand why so many people have a problem with this sort of thing. It's only a problem if certain members schools get bent out of shape about it, and I don't see anyone left at this table who is going to get butt hurt about this kind of thing.

 

[Boomer]

my biggest and only real concern with the LHN was HS content. Texas is free to make its millions, its there right but the HS content was bunk and im glad its banned

 

[CYphyllis]

my biggest and only real concern with the LHN was HS content. Texas is free to make its millions, its there right but the HS content was bunk and im glad its banned

Which was really dumb and over blown by the way. Not saying you yourself are a stupid person, just the idea of showing some HS games in Texas as the straw that broke the back was ridiculous.

The idea that it was going to give Texas a recruiting advantage is laughable at best. Here's a hint, their recruiting advantage is being ******* Texas.

 

[Al_4_State]

Does anyone think that ISU/KU/KSU/OSU/TTU/Baylor/TCU/WVU are going to flip **** over this?

There are two sides in every fight, but the schools that left, with the exception of CU, were just as much of a problem as the ones that get looked upon as greedy and manipulative.

 

[CycloneChris]

Yeah, this is pretty much a non-event. I'm guessing $5mil a year on the high end, with $3mil a year more likely. Sooners may brag about this being shown in Texas, but when your largest distribution area hates the content, it's not going to be worth much.

 

[cyatheart]

Thank god! Oklahoma fans were demanding womens basketball games televised and finally now they have it!!!!

Yeah, I don't care if OU makes more money, so they have gold plated toilets while ours are still normal. Big deal. Maybe they have some hyperbaric chamber so Landry Jones can sit in it after a game or something. Another 20M isn't helping them any. They can still only play 11 guys, and it's not like getting a network means they can recruit Aliens that at 8 feet tall and can run 3.0 forty yards dashes.

It is a double edged sword though. My guess is this type of stuff ruins college athletics as we know it. But it is the only path we have right now.

 

[RustShack]

Personally I don't see the big deal. Its not like everyone in those states will be forced to watch it every night. I know if I had the channel I wouldn't watch it ever, hell I never watch the B1G network.

 

[mt85]

Good for you guys. I don't understand why so many people have a problem with this sort of thing. It's only a problem if certain members schools get bent out of shape about it, and I don't see anyone left at this table who is going to get butt hurt about this kind of thing.

The problem that I have is that as a group the conference schools could pool their content and actually have enough programming to support a conference network. This would give the conference the leverage to get cable providers to carry the network across the conferences footprint. We would then be able to collect both cable fees and advertising revenue from that programming.

When everyone acts independently it is not possible to maximize the value and distribution of the conferences content, and that puts us at a competitive disadvantage to the conferences that do pool their content in order to maximize its value.

This conference struggles to achieve stability because the members put themselves before the conference.

 

[jaretac]

Which was really dumb and over blown by the way. Not saying you yourself are a stupid person, just the idea of showing some HS games in Texas as the straw that broke the back was ridiculous.

The idea that it was going to give Texas a recruiting advantage is laughable at best. Here's a hint, their recruiting advantage is being ******* Texas.

Its a slippery slope and I can understand people not wanting it. If you allow Texas to do it then OU can do it and the list goes on. If Iowa came up with something like this we all would be ticked.

I still think that OU would be smart by going in with all the other schools and creating a network. They would probably get more programming time that way too.

 

[CrossCyed]

To me this is dumb. Why not team up with the rest of the Big 12 schools and get a member dedicated network. The divide amongst the conference will continue to grow with the 'everyone for themselves attitude.'

The remaining schools united would have had a great network not including Texas. I do not see how this ends well for the conference.

You've never seen how anything could end well for the conference. Everyone saw what happened with the LHN and they are still ok with this.

There's nothing stopping us from working out a similar deal with Kansas, K State and FSN Midwest.

 

[VeloClone]

Personally I don't see the big deal. Its not like everyone in those states will be forced to watch it every night. I know if I had the channel I wouldn't watch it ever, hell I never watch the B1G network.

I occasionally watch the Big 10 network because sometimes ISU games, matches or meets are on there when they are playing a Big 10 team. Otherwise it is another home shopping channel that I skip when channel surfing.

 

[twojman]

You've never seen how anything could end well for the conference. Everyone saw what happened with the LHN and they are still ok with this.

There's nothing stopping us from working out a similar deal with Kansas, K State and FSN Midwest.

Ahhh your twojman hate continues.

Yes, things could end VERY well for this conference just not the way things are heading right now. 12 teams and a conference wide network would be outstanding. Instead we are at 10 teams because schools are being shortsighted. They want the increased revenues of splitting between 10 schools for a couple of years instead of looking towards the future for anything.

Instead we will get schools thinking only of themselves. A house divided cannot stand.

Kansas, KSU, ISU and maybe OSU can get together. I suppose that would be something. I still think the remaining schools should get together (inlcuding West Va and TCU) and try to get a true conference network at least as much as you can with the outliers. (texas & OU)


Can anyone honestly say that schools striking deals on their own will keep this conference strong?

 

[Al_4_State]

The problem that I have is that as a group the conference schools could pool their content and actually have enough programming to support a conference network. This would give the conference the leverage to get cable providers to carry the network across the conferences footprint. We would then be able to collect both cable fees and advertising revenue from that programming.

When everyone acts independently it is not possible to maximize the value and distribution of the conferences content, and that puts us at a competitive disadvantage to the conferences that do pool their content in order to maximize its value.

This conference struggles to achieve stability because the members put themselves before the conference.

Nothing is stopping schools like us, KU, KSU, etc from doing the same thing.

Its a slippery slope and I can understand people not wanting it. If you allow Texas to do it then OU can do it and the list goes on. If Iowa came up with something like this we all would be ticked.

I still think that OU would be smart by going in with all the other schools and creating a network. They would probably get more programming time that way too.

Speak for yourself. I couldn't care less if Iowa had a Hawkeye Network. Hell, they've owned the media in this state for years.

 

[jdoggivjc]

Yippee! The greedy stupidity that has led this conference to brink of dissolution can continue.

Perhaps ISU should give up the Cyclone Radio Network and CloneZone? It's essentially the same thing... :SLEEP: