Aug. 28, 2003
LAS VEGAS - UNLV alumni and fans across the country will be able to follow the Rebels in 2003-04 by listening to real-time coverage of the school's games and coach's shows on the World Wide Web.
UNLV Athletics announced Thursday that it is once again partnering with Yahoo! to deliver audio broadcasts of Rebel football, men's and women's basketball and other select sporting events throughout the school year.
By logging on to www.unlvrebels.com's audio section and selecting one of two subscription options, fans can access live audio broadcasts of games, coach's shows and related athletic department events. A portion of the revenue from each subscription goes directly to support UNLV athletics.
The Yahoo! Sports audio offerings are available for both broadband and dial-up users and enable fans to listen to the radio broadcast of the official UNLV flagship radio station. As a result, alumni that live thousands of miles from their alma mater will be able to follow every game as if they were back on campus listening to UNLV's hometown announcers.
This year, Yahoo! Sports will be providing fans with higher-quality audio streaming, and more content from participating schools. All of the more than 40 schools that are making audio content available via Yahoo! Sports in 2003 - including UNLV - will offer the following subscription packages:
School Pass Subscription
Users can access all broadcasts for UNLV athletics on a monthly or annual basis. For example, users can pay $4.95 per month or $29.95 per year to gain access to all streamed sports broadcasts for only Rebel games and radio shows.
College Pack Subscription
Each school will be integrated into and offered as part of the College Pack subscription for $9.95/month or $59.95/year. This package allows users to access all college broadcasts for ALL schools.
In addition to UNLV, below is a partial list of the schools that will be featured in Yahoo! Sports' College Pack:
Arizona StateAlabamaCaliforniaDukeGeorgia TechKansasIndianaLouisvilleMarshallMichiganNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina StateOklahomaOregon StatePurduePittsburghIowaVirginia TechWashington StateWest Virginia
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions Regarding UNLV and Yahoo! Live Audio
Why are fans being charged for something that used to be free?
Despite efforts to continue providing free-to-user services, entities such as the NBA, Major League Baseball and most college programs, as well as leading media sources ABC, CBS and CNN, have shifted to a service that requires payment for access to live game audio and other multimedia. The movement toward a pay model was determined after careful evaluation of several factors. It was decided that this subscription-based service would best serve the student-athletes, parents, alumni, fans and students, while affording UNLV Athletics the greatest opportunity to provide quality, on-demand programming of its athletic events. Hosting multimedia and streaming broadcasts are expensive to facilitate, and this subscription service will allow fans to continue to experience both audio game broadcasts and other features.
Why has UNLV selected Yahoo! Sports as its partner in this endeavor?
Yahoo!'s experience in Internet service is second-to-none, and Yahoo!, Inc. has also been a loyal and valued partner of UNLV Athletics. In fact, last year when other collegiate athletic programs first decided to use a pay-to-listen model, Yahoo! was willing to continue to provide streaming for partner schools at no cost, in order to be better prepared to make the changeover at this time. Yahoo! brings vast experience in this industry, and will be a reliable and cooperative partner for UNLV Athletics and program subscribers.
What programming will be included?
The same programming that has been provided in the past will be included in the subscription package. In most instances, this includes audio game broadcasts for football, men's basketball, women's basketball and perhaps more sports. The weekly radio coaches' shows for football and men's basketball will also be offered.
What options are available to a subscriber?
Individuals may subscribe to UNLV Athletics programming on the "School Pass" package on a monthly or annual basis. This is intended to satisfy the fan who may be interested in only one sport (i.e., football for three months) as well as the fan who wants to receive all programming available. The annual subscription cost will involve a savings over a month-by-month subscription. Each subscriber will also be able to add the overall "College Pack" option, which will include more than 40 additional major college athletic programs for a monthly or annual fee.
What software will be required for users to access the content?
All school broadcast content will be available in the Windows Media format, which is the same format that was used on Yahoo! last season and is the most widely available streaming format. If any users do not have this software already installed on their computer, Yahoo! provides a Media Helper that allows easy installation of the necessary software at no charge.
How will users know how to find school content?
The school content will be accessible through www.unlvrebels.com, the official website of Rebel athletics, but will also be extensively promoted by Yahoo!
