Athletics Department considers creation of sports TV network
A sports network could be operational in three to five years.
Published Aug. 24, 2010
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Iowa State senior defensive back Kennard Banks brings down senior wide receiver Danario Alexander during the game against Iowa State on Nov. 21, 2009 at Faurot Field. Athletic Department spokesman Chad Moller said MU is considering options for creating a university television network dedicated solely to MU sports.
MU is considering becoming one of the first universities in the nation to create its own sports television network, Athletics Department spokesman Chad Moller said. Television rights were a talking point earlier in the year, when both the University of Nebraska and the University of Colorado left the Big 12, to go to the Big Ten and the Pac-10, respectively.
Moller said an MU sports network would differ from existing stations owned by the university or operated by students, such as KOMU/Channel 8 and MUTV/Channel 23, because it could focus solely on sports broadcasting. Viewers could see a pregame show, the entire game, live with commentators, followed by a postgame show with interviews. This would all be a product of the student body.
Moller said the creation of an MU sports network wouldn't happen anytime soon.
"(For) a 24/7 network, I would estimate, if it were to happen, it would be three to five years down the road due to the sheer volume of ground work and lead time which would be needed to build it properly, from equipment, to facilities, to personnel, to production, to distribution and marketing, et cetera," Moller said.
When it comes to his personal opinion on the future of this plan, Moller said putting together a financially viable network would be challenging, but the athletic department is approaching it with an open mind and is considering all options.
The University of Oklahoma, a fellow Big 12 school, is also considering creating its own sports network.
"We are motivated to create something sooner rather than later, but obviously we can't move until the infrastructure and distribution are set," said Kenneth Mossman, University of Oklahoma Senior Associate Athletics Director.
Mossman said provided they do not run into any unforeseen problems, an Oklahoma University sports network could be feasible within five years.
Will Petersen, who served as MUTV’s sports executive for the 2009-10 academic year, said MU’s longtime student TV station could co-exist with a new sports-only MU network.
"MUTV could still exist if that were to happen, because they know that it's more of a way to learn and I think that, if they were to do it, they'd want professionals,” Petersen said.
Comments (4)
7:24 p.m., Aug. 24, 2010
Howard J. Flint P.E. said:
The number one Missouri school of journalism with the number one program in sports journalism is a worthy goal. Wow!
3:23 p.m., Aug. 25, 2010
Steve VanZandt said:
That is dumb and would never take work. Right now cable and sat operators do not have enough bandwidth to carry all of the national channels out there, Direct TV is not going to tie up bandwidth on a national satellite for a channel that no one would watch 90% of the time by a very small audience base. The only way that would work is if it was an Internet channel and they are kind of already doing that with very limited success. I think a true Big 12 network would be the way to go, which is what they should have done three years ago when they had the chance. Check out the Big 10 network for a great example of how it should be done. This is another example of Mizzou thinking they are better then they are. I think after this football season, Mizzou will calm down and stop acting like they are Texas. Texas doesn't have their own channel and they have many, MANY more fans to draw from.
12:26 p.m., Aug. 24, 2010
Jon said:
What a great opportunity for the University. A state-of-the-art facility could be built as part of a renovation of Faurot Field. It could follow a trend of on-site visible studios and become a model for other Universities to follow. For that matter it would be great to see KOMU move it's studio and offices to an area near the J-school downtown. With technology now there is no need to base all production in the Hwy 63 building.