MVC Television & Radio Partners Tournament Title Game To Air on CBS As Part of League’s ESPN Agreement
The 24-hour college sports television network airs more than 650 live events annually and offers over 600 original studio shows. ESPNU has seen a steady increase since its inception on March 4, 2005 and is now in over 73 million households. The brand is also available in high definition on ESPNUHD, now in over 20 million homes. The network has long-term carriage agreements with all 10 of the top multichannel TV providers -- Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV (Channel 208), DISH Network (Channel 141), Mediacom, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV and AT&T U-verse. ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of global sports events annually and accessible online via WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold members. It is currently available to 73 million homes at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. The network is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks. CBS Sports, college basketball’s leading network broadcaster, will continue to televise the next four MVC Men’s Basketball Championship games, including the 2013 title
contest on March 10. CBS Sports broadcasts an extensive regular-season schedule of college basketball and also televises the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship in partnership with Turner Sports.
Missouri Valley Conference Sports Properties (MVCSP) and St. Louis-based all-sports radio station WXOS-FM (101.1) are in the third year of a three-year agreement, where WXOS will have exclusive rights to broadcast men’s basketball games of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis through March 2013. In addition to carrying games from the MVC Tournament, WXOS will also air a daily program, beginning two weeks prior to each season’s tournament. The show will feature scores and highlights from games in the league. In 2009, WXOS won the radio rights to the St. Louis Rams, and it also acquired the rights to Saint Louis University basketball. WXOS also airs the Bowl Championship Series, the World Series, the NBA Finals, and other events from ESPN Radio.
Missouri Valley and Fox Sports Midwest
Services/TV
ESPN, Inc., is the world’s leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of more than 50 multimedia sports assets. The company is comprised of eight 24-hour domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes, ESPN 3D and the regionally focused Longhorn Network) and five HD simulcast services (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS and ESPN Deportes). Other businesses include ESPN Regional Television, ESPN International (48 networks, syndication, radio, digital), ESPN Radio (broadcast, satellite, digital, a growing category led by ScoreCenter), ESPN.com (plus a variety of sport-, college-, and market-specific sites), ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Enterprises and espnW. Multi-screen offerings include WatchESPN (access to several ESPN networks online and via an app), ESPN3 (live multi-screen network available online, on the go and via Xbox LIVE) and ESPN Mobile (mobile Web, mobile TV and video, apps, alerts and messaging). Based in Bristol, Conn., ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.
Missouri Valley Conference on WXOS
In addition to being the TV home for Missouri Valley Conference sports, FOX Sports Midwest is a presenting sponsor of the MVC Men’s Basketball Championship in St. Louis and the MVC Women’s Basketball Championship in St. Charles each March. FOX Sports Midwest, which was launched on Nov. 1, 1996, serves as home for MVC basketball, baseball, soccer, softball and volleyball. FOX Sports Midwest and sister networks FOX Sports Indiana and FOX Sports Kansas City reach more than 5.9 million cable and satellite television homes in six Midwestern states and telecast more than 3,000 hours of local programming annually. FOX Sports Midwest is also the home for St. Louis Cardinals baseball, St. Louis Blues hockey, Kansas City Royals baseball and Indiana Pacers basketball. Launched on Sept. 9, 2004, FOX College Sports (FCS) is home to MVC basketball, baseball, men’s and women’s soccer, softball and volleyball. FCS is seen by viewers in the nation’s 25 largest cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas and Atlanta. FOX College Sports is available on most major TV providers including AT&T U-verse, Charter, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS. For complete TV provider information and availability, log onto http://fcs.channelfinder.net/start.asp. Launched on Oct. 1, 2004, Comcast SportsNet Chicago is home to MVC basketball, baseball, men’s and women’s soccer, softball and volleyball. Comcast SportsNet Chicago reaches over 4.8 million TV households in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa. Comcast SportsNet Chicago is also home for Chicago Blackhawks hockey, Chicago Bulls basketball and Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox baseball.
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