Big 12 commish Bob Bowlsby says Longhorn Network is a 'boulder in the road' of league TV plans
As Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby looks into the future of his conference’s television arrangements, one channel stands in the way.
Specifically, Bowlsby referred to the Longhorn Network – the ESPN-operated channel devoted entirely to Texas athletics – as a “boulder in the road” in the way of long-term television planning for the conference.
“(Texas) did something that almost no other institution in the country could do because of the population in the state, and we’re looking at some way to try and morph that around a little bit,” Bowlsby said, per the Austin American Statesman.
“It really begs the question about, how are we going to get our sports in the years ahead?,” Bowlsby continued. “If technology changes in the next five years as much as it’s changed in the last five years, we’re not going to be getting our sports by cable TV. I don’t know what it’ll be. But increasingly, we’re using mobile devices … Google Network and Apple TV and things like that are coming into play.”
Instead of following the pattern set by the Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC networks, Bowlsby is thinking outside the box for the Big 12.
“I’m not sure the world needs another exclusive college cable network,” Bowlsby said. “Rather than trying to do what everybody else has done, I would much rather try to figure out what tomorrow’s technology is and get on the front side of that and be a part of what happens going forward and monetize that.”
Though it was added by Dish Network, Longhorn Network has not been picked up by other cable providers like DirecTV. Additionally, the Statesman’s Brian Davis writes that Texas officials tried to “boost LHN’s value by adding football games” to its broadcast schedule, but “it’s doubtful” the league office would allow Texas to broadcast a “marquee game” on the network.
As expansion talks pertaining to the Big 12 linger, Bowlsby’s moves when it comes to future media deals is worth keeping an eye on moving forward. Navigating around LHN’s presence could prove to be a significant hindrance.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
