Founded in 2011, the Longhorn Network has been a destination for Texas fans to watch their sports teams for more than a decade. Now, as the school moves its athletic programs to the SEC, the Longhorn Network is getting a rebrand.
According to a report by Sports Business Journal, the Longhorn Network is rebranding the in-house television network to a free streaming platform.
The decision to rebrand to a streaming platform came alongside the move from the Big 12 to the SEC. That’s because the SEC’s television deal with ESPN has entailed that Texas’ Longhorn Network be phased out amid the move, with the SEC Network holding game rights.
“About 40% of people get their content through streaming,” Texas AD Chris Del Conte said. “Having that available and having shoulder programming around all of our games, the ability to show coaches shows, replays, everything that’s within the new, exciting move to the SEC, putting that on a streaming platform was just something we really felt passionate about.”
The streaming platform is going to include plenty of content for Texas fans. That includes original content, live coaches shows, historic footage, play-by-play radio audio, statcast, and other content. The hope is for the platform to look like popular streaming platforms that most people already use.
Endeavor Streaming has presented a baseline operating platform that could allow the Longhorn Network to operate. It will also be staffed by Learfield, who are going to work alongside Texas and its in-house staff for creative development. For its part, Endeavor Streaming is known for its work streaming soccer in Europe.
Learfield CEO & President Cole Gahagan explained how this rebrand of the Longhorn Network is going to be unique from other schools that have looked at some kind of subscription platform. In particular, he pointed to the branded content Texas will have.
“Longhorn Network certainly stands on its own in terms of its brand equity and its history,” Gahagan said. “But the framework of what we’re building there — a constant flow of unique content to fans, that often includes student athletes and is branded with the participation of brand partners — that’s the multimedia rights model of the future.”
This isn’t necessarily going to be a money-making effort. It’s going to be a marketing one. It’s a venture designed to add exposure for Texas as a school and help build up a larger fanbase.
“We took a hard look at the landscape of what was out there existing today in college athletics, and then took a look at the overall landscape of where consumers go to get content,” Drew Martin, Texas Executive Senior Associate AD for External Affairs said. “But it all kind of began with this idea of ‘OK, we’re moving to the SEC. What happens with Longhorn Network?’”
It’s officially set to rebrand on July 1st. It will be free to use and Texas says it will tie content to advertising on its branded content.
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