May 8, 2007
CHICAGO, Ill. — Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman announced Tuesday that the Big Ten Network will produce more than 350 events, totaling more than 1,000 hours of original high definition (HD) content within its first year. The network will also produce all studio programming in HD and will be the most prolific producer of original HD content of any new network in television history.
Included in the list of events is the 2007 home opener for the University of Iowa’s football team. Coach Kirk Ferentz’s Hawkeyes will square off against Syracuse inside historic Kinnick Stadium in one of five Big Ten Conference football games slated for primetime broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
The Big Ten Network plans to capture virtually its entire slate of high-profile football and men’s basketball games in HD, beginning in August with the new 2007 season. It will similarly produce women’s basketball and softball in HD and plans to do the same across many other conference events such as baseball, soccer, swimming, track and field, tennis, gymnastics, volleyball, wrestling and other popular NCAA action. The Big Ten Network is also providing campus content drawn from its 11 Big Ten university programs and is currently exploring HD opportunities for future campus-based series and specials.
“We’re proud and privileged to be partnered with some of the most prestigious institutions in America, and so it’s only natural that we showcase their teams and campuses with the highest quality production,” Silverman said. “The Big Ten Network has the opportunity to become an important hub for HD, broadband, mobile and other exciting ways to engage the Big Ten experience, so we’re excited to jump in with both feet right away.”
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“We’re proud and privileged to be partnered with some of the most prestigious institutions in America, and so it’s only natural that we showcase their teams and campuses with the highest quality production. The Big Ten Network has the opportunity to become an important hub for HD, broadband, mobile and other exciting ways to engage the Big Ten experience, so we’re excited to jump in with both feet right away.”
Mark Silverman, president
Big Ten Network |
The Big Ten Network will provide at least 35 major college football games and over 100 men’s basketball games, as well as more women’s sports and Olympic sports than any similar programming service in television history. The Big Ten Network will also generate more than 600 hours of content from inside its campuses, approximately the same amount of original programming that a major broadcast network provides in a typical season.
About the Big Ten Network: Launching this August, the Big Ten Network is dedicated to covering the Big Ten Conference and its 11 member institutions. The Big Ten Network will provide unprecedented access to an extensive schedule of conference sports events and shows; original programs in academics, the arts and sciences; campus activities; and associated personalities. Sports programming will include live coverage of more major men’s and women’s events than ever before, along with news, highlights and analysis, all complemented by hours of university-produced campus programming. The network is available to all cable and satellite carriers and television distributors nationwide, with most programs offered in stunning high-definition television (HDTV). The Big Ten Network is a 20-year partnership between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Cable Networks.
Click HERE to learn more about the Big Ten Network.