ESPNU to air college sports
By ED BARKOWITZ
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As sports television goes, ESPN is the handsome quarterback with the rocket arm. It’s already the biggest man on campus, making all the plays, winning all the awards and getting all the girls.
The network, which has conquered nearly all the sports solar systems, is looking to become king of college sports programming. Leading that initiative is the launch of ESPNU on Friday, March 4.
About 3 million customers will have initial access to ESPNU, according to Burke Magnus, ESPNU vice president and general manager. The network already has deals with DirecTV and Adelphia Cable, but not yet with Comcast Cable.
“Active discussions “are being held with many other cable providers, Magnus said.
“Our goal is digital basic [outlets], “Magnus said.
Comcast spokeswoman Suzanne Amarant said adding ESPNU was not in the immediate plans for the local cable giant, but added “we are consistently looking at programming options based on the interest and input of our customers.”
In other words, if you want it, let them know.
With CSTV and Fox College Sports already in existence and available in parts of the area, is there a market or a need for another all-college network?
“For me, I can’t get enough. I think a lot of people in this country share that sentiment, “Magnus said. “I enjoy what we do. I enjoy what our competitors do… There’s plenty of good stories out there. There’s plenty of good competition out there. There’s certainly some remarkable stories of athletes in sports that don’t get a lot of exposure that can be brought forth to a national audience.”
ESPNU joins the conglomerate of networks that includes ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNme, ESPNyou, etc., etc., etc. All they need to do now is give Chris Berman some fresh material and they’ll really be on to something. But backkk, backkk, backkk to ESPNU.
The network kicks off, appropriately enough, with a two-hour Championship Week preview show from the campus of Oklahoma State that will be simulcast on ESPN2. The first live event will be an Ohio Valley Conference tournament semifinal game later that night. Mike Hall, the winner of ESPN’s original “Dream Job “contest, will be the network’s lead anchor.
Football and hoops will be the network’s primary focus, but other sports also will get some exposure. For instance, the network will televise the early rounds of this year’s NCAA Hockey Tournament, and next year will broadcast regular-season games.
“Fans’ passion is really the key to this whole network, “Magnus said. “It doesn’t have to be a Florida-Tennessee football game [to be important]. It could be Lehigh-Lafayette. It could be Oklahoma-Iowa State wrestling. Those are the stories we want to find.”
Wrestling Gear
