RE: New CAA TV deal in the works
Several points to add...
1. ESPN has minimum operational performance standards which schools must meet for ESPN-3/WatchESPN broadcast productions (e.g., bandwidth, cameras, etc.). Also, the home schools almost always produce the ESPN-3 streams so JMU will have to improve significantly over the MadiZone Buffer Fest that we often get. Further, with few exceptions, the host athletic member school provides the announcers (and just hopes they are as objective as possible and not complete homers...this will also be a slight difference to MadiZone).
2. The SEC and ACC have spent many millions in production capability improvements at member schools' campuses to provide the SEC Network Plus and now ACC Network Extra (starting in a month) broadcasts to make more professional. Speaking of, while those 2 monikers are just ESPN-3/WatchESPN with a fancy new conference bow on them, having those outside of the ESPN-3 list of broadcasts does now open up space for CAA and others to fill some of that void - not that anybody is screaming for it, mind you.
3. The best connectivity with ESPN/ESPN-3/WatchESPN in addition to ESPN being a giant and better exposure for the CAA to me is the trickle over into other sports. Not just FB and MBB, but Lady Dukes, Softball, Baseball, etc. Also, as recently shown, the CAA FB Media Days and other non-game shows can be provided, though ESPN will not want to dilute their list of offerings with shows which will attract a dozen fans.
4. While there is no DVR option for ESPN-3 ala TV carriage, be aware ESPN-3 broadcasts are in archive for several weeks after an event completes so if you want to watch the game in entirety afterwards, that option exists. A lot of schools' fans somehow get them to YouTube for permanent viewing (though I'm not sure if there are any trademark issues with that practice).
5. Many athletic programs have a PPV option for all home live broadcasts across multiple sports events throughout the school year which are not on TV or streamed via ESPN-3. They use the same equipment and broadcast as if it is going on ESPN-3...just that ESPN-3 doesn't want it. This would be your Lady Dukes games against cupcakes at the Convo, for example. Coaches shows, bracket announcement party shows, etc. Think MadiZone, but you pay an annual fee (say around ~$79 is what I've seen for the entire school year or ~$10 for a month subscription). It's an additional revenue stream for the AA and puts the onus on the AA to provide live coverage of almost all home sports events throughout the school year on some kind of platform - TV or ESPN-3 as primary and PPV as backup. This also can help recruiting because our coaches can advise family members of recruiting targets that they can watch every game online from wherever they live if/when they cannot be in Harrisonburg. The CAA can develop a network across its members so a PPV to JMU gets you access to road games at CAA institutions.
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