The Fox Sports division of US network Fox has sealed a 10-year broadcast partnership with the University of Oklahoma and agreed rights deals with fellow Big 12 sports conference colleges Texas Tech University and Texas Christian University for enhanced coverage of their sports.
Under the deal with Oklahoma, Fox Sports will show blocks of programming dedicated to the university’s sports on its regional sports networks and on its national Fox College Sports channel. The programming package will be called ‘Sooner Sports TV’ and will comprise live men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and softball games as well as Olympic sports and pre- and post-game shows for American football games.
The package will also include coverage of the annual spring American football game and a weekly show by the team’s coach Bob Stoops, but not live coverage of any other Oklahoma American football matches. Some of the games will be covered by Fox Sports’s existing national 13-year deal, from 2012-13 to 2014-15, with the Big 12 conference.
“We did have a chance to examine several different options, including a stand-alone, 24-7 type of channel, but this really gives us the best of all possible worlds,” Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said, according to the Associated Press news agency. “We have substantial Oklahoma branding and programming along with immediate and full distribution for fans throughout Oklahoma, Texas, our region and… through a variety of Fox platforms around the country. Being able to launch and reach almost nine million people with the opportunity to grow that base is exciting.”
He added: “Getting at least 1,000 hours of programming in a multi-platform network really was exciting for us. This is at least 10 times the amount of programming the University of Oklahoma has been able to offer up previously to our fans.”
Financial terms were not disclosed, but Castiglione added: “We know it [the fee paid by Fox Sports] is enough to make Sooner Sports TV sustainable for really the foreseeable future. It allows us to invest in the type of equipment and production necessary to produce over 1,000 hours of specific University of Oklahoma programming.” The university’s SoonerVision production unit has 95 employees.
Under the deals with Texas Tech and TCU, Fox Sports will be able to show one American football match for each team on the Fox Sports Southwest, Fox Sports Southwest Plus or Fox College Sports channels each year, plus live coverage of both universities’ men’s and women’s basketball and other programming.
Fox Sports agreed the Texas Tech deal with the Learfield Sports agency, the university’s multimedia rights-holder.
The lengths and terms of the multi-year deals with Texas Tech and TCU were not disclosed.