Oklahoma Nearing Broadcast Deal With ESPN+
Oklahoma is making a landmark change to its third-tier television broadcast rights.
The Sooners are expected to announce soon a new agreement to broadcast their sports on ESPN+, a source confirmed to SI Sooners. The announcement is expected within the next week or so and could be coming as early as Thursday or Friday.
ESPN+ will replace Bally Sports in broadcasting Oklahoma athletics, and the contract is expected to start on July 1, 2022.
Bally Sports is undergoing a change in its streaming model, as the network indicated it will be moving to subscription-based streaming.
Sinclair Broadcasting Company, the parent company of Bally Sports, announced plans to roll out Bally Sports+, set to cost subscribers $19.99 a month or $189.99 a year.
The Big 12 already has in place a deal with ESPN+ to carry the conference’s non-football offerings on Big 12 Now.
ESPN+ is an online-only streaming service separate from the ESPN network sports packages available on cable or satellite.
Currently under the Big 12 Now agreement, one football game per season for each school is carried exclusively on ESPN+ — with the exception of Oklahoma and Texas, who retained their own third-tier broadcast rights.
Oklahoma's new deal with ESPN+ could possibly vary from the current Big 12 Now framework, or elements of it could fold into the league's current setup.
Previously, the Sooners only featured on Big 12 Now when they were the road team in sports other than football.
The fate of Oklahoma's yearly pay-per-view football broadcast is unknown at this point but could also be impacted by the coming arrangement.
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