The network, which will also air original series, studio shows, historical programming and other academic and cultural events, will launch in September. There will also be an online component to the college network offering content not featured on the TV feed.
The network will offer a modest number of live games involving the University’s hugely popular American football and men’s basketball teams, with a minimum of one American football fixture and at least eight men’s basketball games set to be covered every year. The deal includes Texas' licensing and marketing partner IMG, with more than 80% of revenue set to go to the University.
“This is an extremely exciting new venture for our university,” said University of Texas president William Powers. “With our partners, we are now able to increase the exposure of our outstanding athletics programs and our first-class academic and cultural communities. This agreement provides significant new resources to enhance faculty and academic support.”
In other news, ESPN has revamped ESPNcricinfo.com ahead of the start of the Cricket World Cup on February 19 after the sports media giant’s cricket-dedicated website enjoyed record growth. ESPNcricinfo.com will offer ball-by-ball updates, scores and text commentary as well as recaps and player profiles from every match.
Boosted by interest in the Ashes series between England and Australia and the recent Test series between South Africa and India - the top two-ranked Test sides globally - ESPNcricinfo.com broke the 20 million unique browser barrier for the first time in December. ESPNcricinfo.com is additionally launching a mobile application ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup, while ESPN Classic will also provide support programming around the Cricket World Cup.
