PC to stream some b-ball games live online
6:35 PM Mon, Jul 30, 2007 | Permalink
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Projo Sports Blog |
PROVIDENCE -- The Providence College Friars will begin broadcasting basketball games online next season, sending streaming video worldwide to alumni and parents and giving a consolation prize to frustrated fans who cannot score a ticket for a sold-out home game. The college is not digitizing every dunk, but as many as seven home games next season will be available live on the Web, Arthur Parks, the college’s associate athletic director, said today. “It’s a service to our fans and alumns that can’t see the game but want to follow the team,” Parks said. It is also a potential moneymaker for Providence College, which plans to sell access to the programming and use it to drive traffic to its athletics Web site, where visitors can donate to the university, buy tickets for games and purchase merchandise. The streaming video technology is not new, but the Friars have been restricted from broadcasting their games by the agreement that gives ESPN ownership over all Big East basketball games. That contract was renegotiated this year. It now permits Big East schools to air games online that ESPN does not broadcast on any of its cable channels — including ESPN 2, ESPN Classic, ESPN Regional Television and ESPNU — or through its subscription-based Web television site, ESPN360. Selling access to the streaming video will allow schools to supplement the income they receive from the conference’s lucrative licensing agreement with ESPN.
Providence College already sells subscriptions for online audio broadcasts of sporting events, charging $6.95 per month for men’s and women’s basketball and ice hockey. The program, Providence All Access, is managed by CSTV Networks Inc., a college sports network founded in 1999 and acquired by CBS last year. There were 1,208 subscriber-months sold in the last fiscal year, generating $8,845 in revenue that Providence College split with CSTV. With streaming video, that monthly subscription fee will rise to $9.95. Parks said he hopes to increase gross revenue to $20,000. “We’re hoping that will go up because the video really enhances it,” Parks said. “It drives people to our Web site. There’s advertising on there that we generate revenue from, and an online store. As costs go up, you’re always looking for new revenue streams.” Providence All Access will also include live video for some home games for field hockey, women’s basketball, men’s and women’s ice hockey, volleyball and lacrosse. The games will be captured by college staff using a digital camera and laptop the college bought last summer. Eventually, the service will feature interviews with coaches and players online, as well as other features. Tom Odjakjian, an associate commissioner for the Big East conference, negotiated the new contract with ESPN. He said some colleges might not set up a pay-per-view system for the streaming video, and the number of games available for streaming might vary significantly. But all schools, Odjakjian said, could benefit from better brand recognition and new supporters. “Your fans around the world can see this,” he said. “It’s amazing the feedback you get from that outreach.” For Providence College next season, 18 of the 29 games are against conference rivals and will be broadcast on ESPN. Of the remaining 11, seven will be played at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, in Providence. The season begins in November and ends in March. ESPN could choose to air some non-conference games, such as the Dec. 22 contest against Florida State University. But the network is unlikely to snatch up all 29 games, with some rivalries, including Providence College and Brown University, of more local interest. (They are scheduled to play Dec. 9.) 
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