Summit League Network.. BB finals to CBS Sports Network

[Hansel]

https://thesummitleague.org/news/2023/8/9/general-summit-league-unveils-an-expansion-of-media-rights-through-agreements-with-cbs-sports-and-midco.aspx

The new partnership with CBS Sports will boost the profile of The Summit League by providing more nationally televised basketball games than ever before. Starting with the upcoming basketball season, CBS Sports Network will televise at least six Summit League regular-season men’s basketball games with an opportunity to add an additional six men’s or women’s games. The schedule of regular season contests to air on CBS Sports Network will be released in the fall. Member institutions will retain the local linear distribution rights for any games not on CBS Sports Network.

In addition to the regular season, CBS Sports Network will televise select games during the 2024 Summit League Basketball Championships. The Women’s Championship semifinals and final, along with the Men’s Championship final will air on CBS Sports Network in the traditional tournament slots. This is the first time in the history of the Summit League that the semifinals will be televised nationally.

Both Summit League finals in 2025 and 2026 will be televised by CBS Sports Network with the men’s and women’s semifinals in those years having the potential to be televised based on scheduling availability.

[THEsocalledfan]

I think this is a bad move for NDSU for a few reasons:

1. Already got an email from SDSU (since I've bought tickets from them) that all their games will no longer be on ESPN+. You have to buy Midco + access, so good luck watching other teams aligned with Midco.
2. Losing ESPN coverage for the men's and women's final is bad no matter how you slice it.
3. CBS sportsnetwork is about as hard to find on sports packs at PAC12 network. I think a few years ago, I had to sign up for a free trial of Hulu TV to watch a Mountain West football game.
4. Good luck finding much of anything, other than NDSU, on ESPN+.

Here is a direct quote from the SDSU email, and sure this will be the same for USD and UND:

SIOUX FALLS — Summit League officials, in partnership with Midco Sports, announced Thursday the creation of the Summit League Network, a digital streaming platform that will showcase hundreds of regular season and postseason tournament contests.

In addition, a three-year agreement with CBS Sports Network also has been signed, boosting the profile of The Summit League by providing more nationally televised basketball games than ever before.

"The Summit League is ecstatic to announce a new relationship with CBS Sports and an expanded partnership with Midco. This is a historic moment for the League, and these relationships will give fans a better experience to consume Summit League content, with more national exposure on CBS Sports Network and enhanced digital content through Midco," said Summit League Commissioner Josh Fenton.

The Summit League Network will provide a centralized platform to watch broadcasts of regular season home games featuring all nine current league members, as well as conference championship events not selected for broadcast by national television/linear partners. SLN is powered by the Midco Sports Plus app, which is available in mobile/tablet apps (iOS and Android), connected TV device apps (AppleTV, FireTV, and Roku), and a web-based browser interface at MidcoSportsPlus.com.

Subscriptions cost $9.99 a month or $79.99 for 12 months. Current Midco Sports Plus customers will see their rate increase in September.

As a result of this extended partnership between The Summit League and Midco Sports Plus, video streaming of South Dakota State athletic events through Jackrabbits All-Access at GoJacks.com has ceased, effective immediately. Video streaming of Jackrabbit football (Midco Sports Plus and/or ESPN+), wrestling (FloWrestling) and equestrian (YouTube) will continue under current partnerships not affiliated with The Summit League.

Free audio streaming of all SDSU football, men's basketball and women's basketball, plus select baseball and softball games, will continue to be available through the Jackrabbit Sports Network.

Starting with the upcoming basketball season, CBS Sports Network will televise at least six Summit League regular-season men's basketball games with an opportunity to add an additional six men's or women's games. The schedule of regular season contests to air on CBS Sports Network will be released in the fall.

In addition to the regular season, CBS Sports Network will televise select games during the 2024 Summit League Basketball Championships. The Women's Championship semifinals and final, along with the Men's Championship final will air on CBS Sports Network in the traditional tournament slots. This is the first time in the history of the Summit League that the semifinals will be televised nationally.

Both Summit League finals in 2025 and 2026 will be televised by CBS Sports Network with the men's and women's semifinals in those years having the potential to be televised based on scheduling availability.

For more information, review the list of frequently asked questions or log on to SummitLeagueNetwork.tv .

[HerdBot]

Will we still be om WDAY Xtra?

How much revenue will this generate?

[KSBisonFan]

Anytime your teams are moving away from an ESPN platform, which most already subscribe to, to CBSSN, I don't see that as a positive for fans.

Guessing there's some extra revenue for the schools or this makes no sense.

Not getting the men's BB championship on ESPN2, is a huge fail.

Will the local linear rights retained by teams still be broadcast on ESPN+ for those of outside the area or is everything on the Summit League Network requiring another subscription?

Edit: sounds like ESPN+ option will only be for FB. All other sports (except wrestling) move to SLN.

[NDSU2006]

I wish this would lead to a change in the days of the tournament but that doesn't seem to be the case.

[TAILG8R]

EDIT: Realized poster was most likely talking about basketball and other sports..

[TAILG8R]

Until I know more details this sounds like a clusterfuck of some games sometimes for some schools will be on this streaming service or that one or this one ....

[TAILG8R]

Reading the Summit League's press release things are a bit clearer.

"SLN will be a subscription-based, one-stop shop for all Summit League digital content and serve as the exclusive streaming home for live and on-demand coverage of the member institutions."

This seems pretty cut and dry that any Summit League game/match that is going to be streamed has to be streamed only on the SLN.

So now I have to have ESPN+ for football and MidcoPlus(SLN) for basketball. Yay. This is obviously a better overall approach for the other schools but when a school like NDSU was already making sure their games were on streaming networks it's a downgrade imo. We will see how this affects WDAY Xtra. My guess is they won't be able to stream but can broadcast OTA. Which again, has very little value to me since I don't have cable or a big ass antenna on my roof. :rolleyes:

[Professor Chaos]

Was hoping this means that the SLT finals don't need to be on a Tuesday night anymore but don't see any mention of that so I assume that isn't the case.

[TAILG8R]

Also you can't just subscribe to the CBS Network. It's not an a la carte streaming service ...

Guess I'll be watching the BBall tourney through FirstRowSports courtesy of every malware known to man.

[KSBisonFan]

Reading the Summit League's press release things are a bit clearer.

"SLN will be a subscription-based, one-stop shop for all Summit League digital content and serve as the exclusive streaming home for live and on-demand coverage of the member institutions."

This seems pretty cut and dry that any Summit League game/match that is going to be streamed has to be streamed only on the SLN.

So now I have to have ESPN+ for football and MidcoPlus(SLN) for basketball. Yay. This is obviously a better overall approach for the other schools but when a school like NDSU was already making sure their games were on streaming networks it's a downgrade imo. We will see how this affects WDAY Xtra. My guess is they won't be able to stream but can broadcast OTA. Which again, has very little value to me since I don't have cable or a big ass antenna on my roof. :rolleyes:

I guess one positive for basketball is games that weren't on ESPN+ in past years (Denver, UMKC?) should now be on SLN.

Curious how any conference championship games on CBSSN the last few years stacked up to the Summit title game on ESPN2 for viewership.

[KSBisonFan]

Also you can't just subscribe to the CBS Network. It's not an a la carte streaming service ...

Guess I'll be watching the BBall tourney through FirstRowSports courtesy of every malware known to man.

Also, I don't believe CBSSN is part of the Sling sports package.

[Professor Chaos]

Also, I don't believe CBSSN is part of the Sling sports package.
No Sling or Philo - it is on Hulu Live, DirecTV Stream, Fubo, and YouTube TV.

https://thestreamable.com/channels/cbs-sports-network

[THEsocalledfan]

I missed the part that this covered NDSU streaming; even a shittier deal. I'm not going to pay it.

[heffray]

No Sling or Philo - it is on Hulu Live, DirecTV Stream, Fubo, and YouTube TV.

https://thestreamable.com/channels/cbs-sports-network

So basically zero change for Hulu Live subscribers. Cool.

[El_Chapo]

this is stupid. ESPN+ was much better.

only 22% even get Midco in Fargo DMA. so congrats Stony Brook AD!! 78% CANT WATCH

Cbs sports apps suck.

another reason for NDSU to bolt this chocolate stand

[THEsocalledfan]

this is stupid. ESPN+ was much better.

only 22% even get Midco in Fargo DMA.

Cbs sports apps suck.

another reason for NDSU to bolt this chocolate stand

Yep, I'm sure Mountain West would be better on this issue....oh, wait a minute.....

[Gully]

So basically zero change for Hulu Live subscribers. Cool.

but only a few games will be on CBSSN right? won't you lose all of the games that you used to get on ESPN+?

[abc123]

this is stupid. ESPN+ was much better.

only 22% even get Midco in Fargo DMA. so congrats Stony Brook AD!! 78% CANT WATCH


What does that have to do with anything? NDSU games aren't on Midco unless they are playing one of the other 3 Dakota schools.
Anyone can get the SLN to stream the games, it has nothing to do with having Midco as a cable provider.
Guessing there is also a revenue share portion of the streaming network back to the schools as you select the school you support when signing up. Those that have more fans will likely see a higher payout.

[THEsocalledfan]

but only a few games will be on CBSSN right? won't you lose all of the games that you used to get on ESPN+?

That is exactly my read. All ESPN+ is gone which really sucks for most of us. Thank goodness football is safe.

[B.Schlossman Fan Club]

I have Hulu live TV so I get CBSSN and ESPN+. I love watching PBR on Sat and Sundays. Also watch a bunch of MWC football on there too. I think Midco has CBSSN in their cable package so most of the state should get it. Not sure I understand the outrage.

[Gully]

I have Hulu live TV so I get CBSSN and ESPN+. I love watching PBR on Sat and Sundays. Also watch a bunch of MWC football on there too. I think Midco has CBSSN in their cable package so most of the state should get it. Not sure I understand the outrage.

I'm not outraged but you might be missing the fact that games won't be on ESPN+ anymore and only a few games will be on CBSSN.

[THEsocalledfan]

That's the rub! Most already have espn+....

[bruinbison]

CBSSD is regular cable on Sparklight/CableOne channel 1139.
On at 8:00 is football - Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Edmonton

[TAILG8R]

Who the F has cable anymore?????


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[El_Chapo]

Who the F has cable anymore?????


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


^^^^ this...

[NDSU_grad]

I have Hulu live TV so I get CBSSN and ESPN+. I love watching PBR on Sat and Sundays. Also watch a bunch of MWC football on there too. I think Midco has CBSSN in their cable package so most of the state should get it. Not sure I understand the outrage.
Only 6 regular season Summit League games will be on CBSSN. Everything else will be streamed on a service nobody has. In the past most NDSU games were streamed on ESPN+.

[Tony Almeida]

Only home games were on ESPN+ last year. It sounds like away games will now be on the new app. And good luck finding baseball games, volleyball, wrestling, and soccer on espn+...now that will change with this new streaming service. I just wish the new deal was with espn+

[NDSU_grad]

Only home games were on ESPN+ last year. It sounds like away games will now be on the new app. And good luck finding baseball games, volleyball, wrestling, and soccer on espn+...now that will change with this new streaming service. I just wish the new deal was with espn+
This deal doesn’t include wrestling.

[nodak651]

This deal doesn’t include wrestling.

Why would it?

[NDSU_grad]

Why would it?
I don’t know. Ask the dude I was replying too.

[nodak651]

I don’t know. Ask the dude I was replying too.

My apologies. I didnt realize he included wrestling in his list, so I thought you were listing wrestling because he didn't, as if he missed it. :banghead:

[The_Sicatoka]

NDSU wrestling is not Summit League.
It's like UND hockey is not Summit league.
Each is covered under different agreements.

[TAILG8R]

Might post this in the FBS thread as well since is relevant to re-org and media deals. I found this interesting:


Streaming appears to have reached its inflection point. According to new data released by Nielsen Research, linear TV viewership (cable + broadcast TV) accounted for less than 50% of all TV usage last month for the first time ever.

Per the data:

Broadcast and cable TV represented a record-low 49.6% of total TV usage in July. Compared to this time last year, broadcast viewing was down 5.4%, and cable viewing was down 12.5%.
On the flip side, streaming usage increased ~25% over the past year, and streaming services like YouTube and Netflix accounted for a record ~39% of total US TV usage in July (the category’s largest share reported to date).
And, like The Little Engine That Could, this trend is set to keep on going. By the end of 2025, cord cutters – defined as those without a TV subscription from a cable, satellite, or telco TV access provider – will comprise an estimated 72% of US households.

[B.Schlossman Fan Club]

Matt Larson was just on 1660 and said one of the reasons they went with the CBS Sports deal was for the nation exposure from the 6 nationally televised games and the post season semis and finals. Giving up the convenience of ESPN+ for some national broadcasts will pay off and hopefully help at the bracket seeding time.

[B.Schlossman Fan Club]

Also many of you keep trashing CBS Sports but the same people want to move to the MWC. Many of the MWC games are on CBS sports and most of the cable providers out west have CBSSN on the lower packages. We need to embrace this and hopefully extend our exposure out west too

[TAILG8R]

Also many of you keep trashing CBS Sports but the same people want to move to the MWC. Many of the MWC games are on CBS sports and most of the cable providers out west have CBSSN on the lower packages. We need to embrace this and hopefully extend our exposure out west too

To be fair I don't think anyone wants to go to the MWC because of what network the games are on.

[El_Chapo]

To be fair I don't think anyone wants to go to the MWC because of what network the games are on.

we want MWC and FBS so we can have a CHANCE at a CFP spot!

[B.Schlossman Fan Club]

To be fair I don't think anyone wants to go to the MWC because of what network the games are on.

I do. Do you want a media package that broadcasts most of their games during the week? The AAC contract is the only one in the G5 that is better than the MWC deal.

[Tony Almeida]

NDSU wrestling is not Summit League.
It's like UND hockey is not Summit league.
Each is covered under different agreements.

Yes I made a mistake by mentioning wrestling, but my point stands. Basketball away games were never on ESPN+ as of late, and neither were any other sport. Only basketball home games were. So losing ESPN isn't that great a deal. Do I wish the new deal was through ESPN? Of course, but I'll take an app where I have a chance of watching all Bison athletics for now.

[KSBisonFan]

Yes I made a mistake by mentioning wrestling, but my point stands. Basketball away games were never on ESPN+ as of late, and neither were any other sport. Only basketball home games were. So losing ESPN isn't that great a deal. Do I wish the new deal was through ESPN? Of course, but I'll take an app where I have a chance of watching all Bison athletics for now.

Men's basketball road games at the Dakota schools and St Thomas were on ESPN+. WIU and UMKC were free streams on the teams' websites. ORU was on ESPN+ or free stream, I can't remember which.

Denver and maybe Omaha were the only road games that weren't available as part of ESPN+ or free stream.

Non-conference road games were hit and miss, but mostly available on some streaming platform.

[El_Chapo]

most of basketball was on espn + !!

plus we already had that for football.

this is bad deal. Fenton got swayed by a cbs marketing gal.

[nodak651]

ORU and UST were not on espn+ and some of SDSU's stuff was paywalled on their website.

Biggest benefit is the move to CBS will allow the tournament championship game to be moved to a weekend in future years. Matt Larson said so himself. Much more flexibility than ESPN.

[KSBisonFan]

Men's basketball road games at the Dakota schools and St Thomas were on ESPN+. WIU and UMKC were free streams on the teams' websites. ORU was on ESPN+ or free stream, I can't remember which.

Denver and maybe Omaha were the only road games that weren't available as part of ESPN+ or free stream.

Non-conference road games were hit and miss, but mostly available on some streaming platform.

Correction to my previous post with info taken from GoBison.

At St Thomas and ORU were available to stream on their websites.

At Denver was on Altitude (subscription required) and not sure Omaha was available at all.

At UND and SDSU were on ESPN3.

4 of 8 non-conference road games were on SEC Network (Arkansas) or ESPN+.

[BigHorns]

ORU and UST were not on espn+ and some of SDSU's stuff was paywalled on their website.

Biggest benefit is the move to CBS will allow the tournament championship game to be moved to a weekend in future years. Matt Larson said so himself. Much more flexibility than ESPN.

If this get us more television exposure, I'm all for that. Weekend sounds better for attendance.

Mostly just confused how this works for fans. Is CBS Sports Network offered via streaming, or only as part of a cable package?
We also need to subscribe to SLN? How does that work with Midco? Is that the same thing, or there are different ways to watch?

Midco website shows SLN games, but also some other leagues and it looks like some MVFC games (western oregon vs the jacks listed)
I guess the answer here is to subscribe to Midco, but then have to figure out the CBS side of it.

Football I assume stays the same for us.

[TAILG8R]

If this get us more television exposure, I'm all for that. Weekend sounds better for attendance.

Mostly just confused how this works for fans. Is CBS Sports Network offered via streaming, or only as part of a cable package?
We also need to subscribe to SLN? How does that work with Midco? Is that the same thing, or there are different ways to watch?

Midco website shows SLN games, but also some other leagues and it looks like some MVFC games (western oregon vs the jacks listed)
I guess the answer here is to subscribe to Midco, but then have to figure out the CBS side of it.

Football I assume stays the same for us.

CBS Sports isn’t available as a streaming service. It is a cable add-on or it does come with a few live streaming services like Hulu and YouTube which is basically cable under a different name.

SLN will be a separate subscription from Midco+ and yes Football is not affected by this.


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[BigHorns]

CBS Sports isn’t available as a streaming service. It is a cable add-on or it does come with a few live streaming services like Hulu and YouTube which is basically cable under a different name.

SLN will be a separate subscription from Midco+ and yes Football is not affected by this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks, wish we had been able to get all this under one roof/provider.

So, we should hold off on Midco+ and wait for a separate SLN package, or we need both?
I'll probably just do SLN and ESPN+ The cheapest streaming/cable package I've seen for CBS sports is over $70. Can always hit up a bar for those games.

[nodak651]

Thanks, wish we had been able to get all this under one roof/provider.

So, we should hold off on Midco+ and wait for a separate SLN package, or we need both?
I'll probably just do SLN and ESPN+ The cheapest streaming/cable package I've seen for CBS sports is over $70. Can always hit up a bar for those games.

May be poor wording. Just to clarify, SLN IS included as part of Midco Sports Plus. There is only one subscription and it isn't seperate in any way from the subscription for Midco Sports Plus. It's just a branding thing for the Summit League. I have had a subscription to Midco Sports Plus and I do not need to do anything to get the Summit League games. This is where all Summit League Games will be found except for those shown on CBSSN. CBS Sports has the TV and streaming rights to the games they broadcast, and those are the only games not on Midco Sports Plus.

[nodak651]

Thanks, wish we had been able to get all this under one roof/provider.

So, we should hold off on Midco+ and wait for a separate SLN package, or we need both?
I'll probably just do SLN and ESPN+ The cheapest streaming/cable package I've seen for CBS sports is over $70. Can always hit up a bar for those games.

May be poor wording. Just to clarify, SLN IS included as part of Midco Sports Plus. There is only one subscription and it isn't seperate in any way from the subscription for Midco Sports Plus. It's just a branding thing for the Summit League. I have had a subscription to Midco Sports Plus and I do not need to do anything to get the Summit League games. This is where all Summit League Games will be found except for those shown on CBSSN. CBS Sports has the TV and streaming rights to the games they broadcast, and those are the only games not on Midco Sports Plus.

From their FAQ:
What content does Midco Sports Plus cover?

Midco Sports Plus covers high school and collegiate sports in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, as well as heart-racing motor sports and original content. Please note, UND Hockey is NOT available on Midco Sports Plus at this time.

Midco Sports Plus is also the exclusive streaming app for The Summit League conference, steaming 500+ live sports events from soccer to basketball.

What do I get with a subscription to Midco Sports Plus?

A subscription to Midco Sports Plus gives you more live games, on more devices -- plus gameday replays and Midco Sports original shows all in one place, without a cable subscription.

Where can I stream Midco Sports Plus?

You can access Midco Sports Plus anywhere in the US using any of the supported devices listed below.

Desktop web browsers Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge (Internet Explorer not supported)
Android mobile/tablet
iOS mobile/tablet
Amazon Fire TV
Apple TV
Roku

How much does Midco Sports Plus cost?

A monthly subscription to Midco Sports Plus is $9.99 per month, plus applicable taxes. Subscriptions will automatically renew until canceled. An annual subscription is $79.99 per year.

Do I need to be a Midco customer to get Midco Sports Plus?

No. Midco Sports Plus is a standalone product and you do not need to have any other Midco services.

[The_Sicatoka]

https://www.extrapointsmb.com/p/heres-summit-leagues-new-tv-deal-unique?utm_source=www.extrapointsmb.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=here-s-why-the-summit-league-s-new-tv-deal-is-so-unique

[Tony Almeida]

Sounds like many of you have little idea how much Bison athletics was really on ESPN+. Football aside, ONLY home basketball games last year were on ESPN plus. That's it. You had to go through the school's respective websites or conference sites or Midco to catch anything other than home basketball games. No other Bison sport was on ESPN+, other than an occasional away baseball or softball game from a school that actually put their games on espn+. Heck, I had to go to Youtube just to watch Bison baseball play against Northern Colorado.
But now, we will be able to watch most Bison sports home and away games on this new app if everything they are hyping comes to fruition.
You will still be able to watch football on ESPN+ and WDAY except for the MVFC game of the week. (Midco exclusive?)

The only thing that hurts Bison athletics is the lack of tournament exposure on ESPN2.

[TAILG8R]

Sounds like many of you have little idea how much Bison athletics was really on ESPN+. Football aside, ONLY home basketball games last year were on ESPN plus. That's it. You had to go through the school's respective websites or conference sites or Midco to catch anything other than home basketball games. No other Bison sport was on ESPN+, other than an occasional away baseball or softball game from a school that actually put their games on espn+. Heck, I had to go to Youtube just to watch Bison baseball play against Northern Colorado.
But now, we will be able to watch most Bison sports home and away games on this new app if everything they are hyping comes to fruition.
You will still be able to watch football on ESPN+ and WDAY except for the MVFC game of the week. (Midco exclusive?)

The only thing that hurts Bison athletics is the lack of tournament exposure on ESPN2.

You're forgetting the part where NDSU is being moved off of a platform that myself and many others already have subscriptions to because there is other content(live sports) that we can watch. Will bison fans pay for Midco, most likely. Some may drop ESPN+ but at best it's annoying for those of use who were willing to pay for ESPN+ because it gave us some NDSU games plus hundreds of others and at worst it moves us off a streaming service where other college sports fans could find us.

It's not the end of the world and isn't even a large negative to the school as a whole. It's just annoying. It's easy to see how much better this deal is for most of the other Summit schools than for NDSU.

In the end it will be fine and won't negatively impact NDSU athletics imo.

[Tony Almeida]

You're forgetting the part where NDSU is being moved off of a platform that myself and many others already have subscriptions to because there is other content(live sports) that we can watch. Will bison fans pay for Midco, most likely. Some may drop ESPN+ but at best it's annoying for those of use who were willing to pay for ESPN+ because it gave us some NDSU games plus hundreds of others and at worst it moves us off a streaming service where other college sports fans could find us.

It's not the end of the world and isn't even a large negative to the school as a whole. It's just annoying. It's easy to see how much better this deal is for most of the other Summit schools than for NDSU.

In the end it will be fine and won't negatively impact NDSU athletics imo.

Yes, I understand the inconveniences that go with this new setup, but my point was you weren't able to watch many Bison games/matches to begin with, because they weren't on ESPN+. Now, you will be able to with the Midco plus app.
I wish they would just put all Bison athletics on ESPN+ like some schools do. But that wouldn't make the conference any money, would it?

[WYOBISONMAN]

The new contract will leave me out of watching anything but football. I will not pay for another streaming service. Basketball recently has not really been worth paying for an additional streaming service.