You’ve been hearing all along how streaming video on the Internet is going to be the Next Big Thing. Well, Rice University sure hopes so – they just signed a deal to have their basketball and baseball games broadcast in that fashion.
The subscription-based serviced was created by by MaxVu Sports Broadcasting Network (MSBN), subsidiary of MaxVU, Inc., a Houston-based company, which teamed with the Owls to bring fans this exciting new way to see their favorite teams play live on the Internet.
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Rice will offer the Tulsa game on Jan. 11, 2003, and the women’s game against Hawaii on Jan. 30, free of charge. Links to OwlVision are located at RiceOwls.com or at MaxVuSports.tv. Following those games, all scheduled baseball games will be available to viewers at a low subscription cost of only $8 per game. Season packages for the baseball season are also available. Rice baseball, coming off of its third College World Series appearance, is scheduled to make 20 appearances on OwlVision, including games against defending national champion Texas, Texas A&M, Houston, Nebraska, and Mississippi.
It sounds like a pretty good deal, especially for a school like Rice that gets little exposure otherwise and has a powerhouse baseball team that most of its alumni never get to see. Obviously, this is somewhat of a niche market – fans of schools like Notre Dame and UCLA have no trouble seeing their teams play – but it’s not necessarily a small market. Consider all of the non-Division 1A football teams, the less visible sports like baseball, hockey, soccer, and volleyball – if the cost of setting up a broadcast for a given game are sufficiently moderate, the total potential audience is pretty vast. This will bear watching.
Holy Cow! $8 a game for an internet broadcast?
I saw this on the Rice fan board, and my comment there was that it’s a lot cheaper than a plane ticket if you don’t live in Houston. I would expect some number of far-flung Rice alums to be willing to shell out $120-$150 for the ability to watch 20 baseball games.
We are doing the same thing in NY and I must commend my old friend from Maxvu for being able to implement our ideas in their own back yard.
Students who seek to have their schools broadcasted to show their talent should not be overshadowed by the larger conferences.