SE: Benefits of Big 12 Now on ESPN+ for Fans, Conference, K-State Athletics
Aug 21, 2019 | Sports Extra, Athlete Services
By Corbin McGuire
Roughly 70 live events, including the season-opening football game, several women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, and baseball games, along with press conferences, football pregame and coaches' shows, all in one spot.
This is just a start to what a subscription to ESPN+, for $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, will offer K-State fans in the first year of the Big 12 Now digital network.
"In terms of where things are going from a digital perspective, to be on the forefront of that is great for us, great for our fan base," K-State Athletics Director Gene Taylor said of the Big 12 Conference's expanded rights agreement with ESPN. "It gives fans a lot more flexibility. Certainly, we want them in the stands but, if they can't be in the stands, they don't necessarily have to be at home watching on TV. They can watch it on their mobile devices, and that's a good thing. And they always have just one place to go now."
K-State fans can find all of these events and shows via the ESPN App, available on most major mobile and connected-TV platforms, including iPhone, iPad, AppleTV, Android devices, Roku, Chromecast, FireTV, XBOX One, Playstation 4, Oculus Go and Samsung connected TVs. It is also available via ESPN.com on the web.
Additionally, ESPN+ subscribers receive access to a selection of live games from MLB, MLS, Serie A, FA Cup, EFL and NHL. Also offered are live UFC Fight Nights, 30-plus top rank boxing cards, and grand slam tennis from Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and Australian Open. Not to mention the library of ESPN original programs like its 30 For 30 documentary series.
(For more information on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, including how to sign up, click here)
This year, Baylor, Oklahoma State and Kansas will also deliver live events via Big 12 Now on ESPN+. In the 2020-21 seasons, Iowa State, TCU, West Virginia and Texas Tech will join the lineup.
At Big 12 media days in July, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby emphasized the importance of this expanded agreement for a few reasons.
First, it's a matter of power in unity in regard to the conference's first-tier rights negotiation.
"We will have eight of our schools aligned," Bowlsby said, as Texas and Oklahoma will not produce and deliver programming to Big 12 Now on ESPN+ at this time. "Part of the process is aligning and putting ourselves in position for the future environment."
While unpredictable, Bowlsby said the future seems to be headed toward less and less households with cable television. Earlier this year, Nielsen released a report showing that 14 percent (or 16 million) of U.S. homes now participate in the cord-cutting trend, which represents a 48 percent increase over an eight-year span.
Numbers like these helped lead to the creation of Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
"This technology is up and running. It's easy to subscribe to, and it's cutting edge. It is very much anticipatory of what tomorrow's technology environment is going to look like," he said. "The product has evolved to the point where it's very high quality and very reliable in terms of your ability to get on and get it."
Behind K-StateHD.TV, which launched in 2011, K-State Athletics is well positioned to deliver reliable and high-quality content. The Emmy Award-winning, in-house production department has produced around 70 live events for ESPN, FOX and COX Communications for the past three years.
"We, at K-StateHD.TV, are in a unique position comparative to the rest of the conference, having produced around 70 events a year for many distributors, including ESPN, over the past few years," K-State Senior Director of Broadcasting/Video Services Brian Smoller said. "Our equipment and production have already produced live events for various ESPN platforms, so the transition to ESPN+, on our end, has been relatively smooth to this point. One of the exciting aspects of this transition has been that our position has allowed us to help and share ideas with fellow conference partners as we work together to unify under this new Big 12 digital network platform."
Roughly 70 live events, including the season-opening football game, several women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, and baseball games, along with press conferences, football pregame and coaches' shows, all in one spot.
This is just a start to what a subscription to ESPN+, for $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, will offer K-State fans in the first year of the Big 12 Now digital network.
"In terms of where things are going from a digital perspective, to be on the forefront of that is great for us, great for our fan base," K-State Athletics Director Gene Taylor said of the Big 12 Conference's expanded rights agreement with ESPN. "It gives fans a lot more flexibility. Certainly, we want them in the stands but, if they can't be in the stands, they don't necessarily have to be at home watching on TV. They can watch it on their mobile devices, and that's a good thing. And they always have just one place to go now."
K-State fans can find all of these events and shows via the ESPN App, available on most major mobile and connected-TV platforms, including iPhone, iPad, AppleTV, Android devices, Roku, Chromecast, FireTV, XBOX One, Playstation 4, Oculus Go and Samsung connected TVs. It is also available via ESPN.com on the web.
Additionally, ESPN+ subscribers receive access to a selection of live games from MLB, MLS, Serie A, FA Cup, EFL and NHL. Also offered are live UFC Fight Nights, 30-plus top rank boxing cards, and grand slam tennis from Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and Australian Open. Not to mention the library of ESPN original programs like its 30 For 30 documentary series.
(For more information on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, including how to sign up, click here)
This year, Baylor, Oklahoma State and Kansas will also deliver live events via Big 12 Now on ESPN+. In the 2020-21 seasons, Iowa State, TCU, West Virginia and Texas Tech will join the lineup.
At Big 12 media days in July, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby emphasized the importance of this expanded agreement for a few reasons.
First, it's a matter of power in unity in regard to the conference's first-tier rights negotiation.
"We will have eight of our schools aligned," Bowlsby said, as Texas and Oklahoma will not produce and deliver programming to Big 12 Now on ESPN+ at this time. "Part of the process is aligning and putting ourselves in position for the future environment."
While unpredictable, Bowlsby said the future seems to be headed toward less and less households with cable television. Earlier this year, Nielsen released a report showing that 14 percent (or 16 million) of U.S. homes now participate in the cord-cutting trend, which represents a 48 percent increase over an eight-year span.
Numbers like these helped lead to the creation of Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
"This technology is up and running. It's easy to subscribe to, and it's cutting edge. It is very much anticipatory of what tomorrow's technology environment is going to look like," he said. "The product has evolved to the point where it's very high quality and very reliable in terms of your ability to get on and get it."
Behind K-StateHD.TV, which launched in 2011, K-State Athletics is well positioned to deliver reliable and high-quality content. The Emmy Award-winning, in-house production department has produced around 70 live events for ESPN, FOX and COX Communications for the past three years.
"We, at K-StateHD.TV, are in a unique position comparative to the rest of the conference, having produced around 70 events a year for many distributors, including ESPN, over the past few years," K-State Senior Director of Broadcasting/Video Services Brian Smoller said. "Our equipment and production have already produced live events for various ESPN platforms, so the transition to ESPN+, on our end, has been relatively smooth to this point. One of the exciting aspects of this transition has been that our position has allowed us to help and share ideas with fellow conference partners as we work together to unify under this new Big 12 digital network platform."
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