MASN adds Big South Conference to programming lineup: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network will team up with the Big South Conference to air live football and basketball games beginning in November, the network said Monday.
MASN, which is predominantly owned by the Baltimore Orioles, will air at least two football and four men's Big South basketball games in the upcoming 2007-2008 seasons.
The young network's multiyear deal with the conference kicks off Nov. 3 when Liberty University hosts Coastal Carolina University in football.
The Big South Conference includes the following schools:
Virginia Military Institute;
Liberty University;
Charleston Southern University;
Winthrop University;
High Point University;
University of North Carolina, Asheville; and
Radford University.
Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina is currently a member of the conference with football participation only. The school will become a full member in the 2008-2009 season.
Presbyterian College will join the Big South in 2008-2009.
MASN's new deal with the Big South -- which has heavy North Carolina presence -- comes as the network has been making a formal push to get Time Warner Cable in the state to begin airing the network on its most broadly distributed subscription tier. A Time Warner spokesman told the Baltimore Business Journal recently that the company has tried to negotiate with MASN to air the network on its digital sports tier in North Carolina.
The network is currently available to North Carolina residents who subscribe to satellite carriers DirecTV (NYSE: DTV) and Dish Network, owned by Echostar Communications (NASDAQ: DISH). Territorial rights in North Carolina for Orioles' and Washington Nationals' games -- whose games are also broadcast on MASN -- span to the east of Charlotte, networks officials said.
MASN, as well as its sibling station, MASN2, broadcasts in more than 5 million households ranging from Harrisburg, Pa., to Charlotte, N.C.
The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network will team up with the Big South Conference to air live football and basketball games beginning in November, the network said Monday.
MASN, which is predominantly owned by the Baltimore Orioles, will air at least two football and four men's Big South basketball games in the upcoming 2007-2008 seasons.
The young network's multiyear deal with the conference kicks off Nov. 3 when Liberty University hosts Coastal Carolina University in football.
The Big South Conference includes the following schools:
Virginia Military Institute;
Liberty University;
Charleston Southern University;
Winthrop University;
High Point University;
University of North Carolina, Asheville; and
Radford University.
Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina is currently a member of the conference with football participation only. The school will become a full member in the 2008-2009 season.
Presbyterian College will join the Big South in 2008-2009.
MASN's new deal with the Big South -- which has heavy North Carolina presence -- comes as the network has been making a formal push to get Time Warner Cable in the state to begin airing the network on its most broadly distributed subscription tier. A Time Warner spokesman told the Baltimore Business Journal recently that the company has tried to negotiate with MASN to air the network on its digital sports tier in North Carolina.
The network is currently available to North Carolina residents who subscribe to satellite carriers DirecTV (NYSE: DTV) and Dish Network, owned by Echostar Communications (NASDAQ: DISH). Territorial rights in North Carolina for Orioles' and Washington Nationals' games -- whose games are also broadcast on MASN -- span to the east of Charlotte, networks officials said.
MASN, as well as its sibling station, MASN2, broadcasts in more than 5 million households ranging from Harrisburg, Pa., to Charlotte, N.C.
