Pac-12 drives record growth in audience and fan engagement

 

 

SAN FRANCISCO – The Pac-12 Conference today reported strong year-over-year growth in fan engagements across its television and digital properties.  2016-17 was the Pac-12 Networks’ most-watched season ever for several sports on linear TV, including football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball, and the Pac-12’s digital platforms also set new audience records.  The Pac-12 saw increases of 74% in live TV Everywhere video plays on the Pac-12 Now app and Pac-12.com, 39% in social media video views, and 28% in social media engagements for the period July 2016 through June 2017.

 

The Pac-12’s focus on leveraging digital platforms to drive tune-in led to a banner week of viewership to kick off the 2017-18 season. The first week of the football season was the most-watched week ever on Pac-12 Networks, as well as on the Pac-12 Now app and Pac-12.com where fans consumed over 120,000 hours of video.  Additionally, Pac-12 Networks delivered its most-watched Facebook Live video of all time with USC’s postgame press conference featuring inspiring blind long-snapper Jake Olson.

 

On the social media front, the Pac-12 collaborated with Silicon Valley neighbor Facebook, the NCAA, and its member universities to pilot Facebook’s Crossposted Video tool over the last year, enabling the Networks to introduce Pac-12 content to new and larger audiences, increasing Facebook video views by nearly 60%.  In total over the past year, Pac-12 Networks saw over 15 million video views on Facebook for content crossposted with member schools, the NCAA and other third parties (case study published by Facebook here).

 

The Pac-12 and its universities have also experimented with new forms of storytelling, including Facebook Live and Twitter Live streams of school-produced events as part of its Pac-12 Plus platform.  The Conference’s YouTube Multi-Channel Network partnership enables content sharing across the Conference and all 12 Universities, giving Pac-12 fans expanded access to original digital short-form content from 11 of the 15 Pac-12 Conference Championships, the Pac-12’s annual China basketball game, and a host of other Pac-12 on and off field events.

 

“Working closely with our Universities and leading digital companies has enabled the Pac-12 to amplify the stories of our incredible teams and student-athletes to more fans in a more compelling way than ever before, all while driving tune-in and viewership to our core portfolio of TV events,” said Ryan Currier, Vice President of Digital Business & Products for Pac-12 Networks.

 

A recent example of Pac-12 Networks’ efforts to showcase its unique and compelling access to universities and student-athletes is the Networks’ coverage this past weekend of USC’s long snapper, Jake Olson. Highlights of the moment have thus far been viewed more than 5.5 million times, with over 11.9 million impressions across the Networks’ Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, in addition to 47,000 retweets (a record for Pac-12) and close to 100,000 likes on Facebook. 

 

Coverage of the 2017 Pac-12 football season and all Pac-12 sports continues on Pac-12 Networks’ linear and digital channels this week and throughout the season.

 

Pac-12 Networks is the innovative TV and multimedia company of the Pac-12 Conference and is the first such company to be wholly owned by 12 universities. Pac-12 Networks incorporates one national and six regional television networks, plus extensive digital content accessible through social media, university websites and Pac-12 Now, its TV Everywhere service. Each year, Pac-12 Networks offers live coverage of 850 sporting events, making it one of the top live sports producers in the country. In addition, Pac-12 Networks creates extensive original programming, provides visibility for marquee football and basketball events as well as traditionally under-served women’s and Olympic sports. Pac-12 Networks also provides training and paid internships for thousands of students of the Pac-12’s member universities, preparing them for careers in media. With headquarters in San Francisco’s SOMA District, Pac-12 Networks draws on the creative, entrepreneurial and technological culture of the Bay Area and nearby Silicon Valley. For more information, go to Pac-12.com.

 

The Conference has a tradition as the “Conference of Champions,” leading the nation in NCAA Championships in 51 of the last 57 years, with 501 NCAA team titles overall. The Conference comprises 12 leading U.S. universities. The University of Arizona, Arizona State University, the University of California-Berkeley, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Colorado, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, the University of Utah, the University of Washington and Washington State University. For more information on the Conference’s programs, member institutions, and Commissioner Larry Scott, go to www.pac-12.com/conference.