Play ON! Sports, a division of Turner Sports, and the Atlantic Sun Conference (A-Sun) announced today a partnership to provide exclusive online video streaming of all sports for nine of the A-Sun member institutions. Participating schools include Belmont University, East Tennessee State, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida and USC Upstate.
Beginning August 2007, Play ON! Sports will power a new Web service that will host a minimum of 540 regular-season and championship games across a variety of A-Sun sports, including men’s and women’s basketball, soccer and volleyball, as well as baseball and softball throughout the 2007-08 academic year. All events will be available for viewing both live and via on-demand replay to fans throughout the country. Marketing plans for the service will be a joint effort between Play ON! Sports and the A-Sun through its marketing partner, Rights Marketing Group (RMG). Pricing and the full event schedule will be announced at a later date.
“Our partnership with the Atlantic Sun Conference signifies the increasing need for greater access to online sports coverage, especially that of collegiate sports,” said Phil Sharpe, SVP/GM of Play ON! Sports. “We’re looking forward to streaming more than 500 A-Sun events during the next academic year and giving fans across the country the best seat in the house to watch their favorite college match-ups.”
“Delivering live video of A-Sun events will be a great step in promoting the outstanding student-athletes and institutions in the A-Sun,” said Atlantic Sun Conference Commissioner Ted Gumbart. “Teaming with Turner’s Play ON! Sports gives us a global leader in production technology and delivery service, and the fans will become a real winner as they enjoy a great quality product.”
“RMG is proud to be the exclusive provider of marketing, media and sponsorship services for the Atlantic Sun Conference,” said RMG President John T. Zarzycki. “it is exciting to build a top line and unique video streaming product with the fine Turner organization on behalf of the Atlantic Sun Conference. This product will provide a unique and expansive point of distribution to experience A-Sun sports and live events”.
The A-Sun partnership is a notable addition to the Play ON! Sports portfolio, which also includes exclusive partnerships with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the United Soccer Leagues (USL) and to provide webcasts of sporting events. Turner Sports also holds the interactive rights for some of the leading major sports Web sites, including NASCAR.com, PGATour.com and PGA.com.
About A-Sun
The Atlantic Sun Conference, a Division I member of the NCAA since
1978, is based in Macon, Georgia. The 12-member league includes Belmont, Campbell, ETSU, Florida Gulf Coast, Gardner-Webb, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Mercer, UNF, USC Upstate and Stetson. Rights Marketing Group (RMG), based in Atlanta, Georgia, leads the marketing efforts for the A-Sun. The partnership gives the A-Sun comprehensive professional management of its brand identity, corporate partner and media services programs.
