Pac-12 reaches agreement to stream 27 basketball games in China
SAN FRANCISCO— The Pac-12 Conference and Pac-12 Networks have partnered with the Chinese interactive video platform LeTV to live stream Pac-12 men’s basketball games in China this season, the Conference announced today.
The new deal makes LeTV the exclusive Chinese distributor of 27 games, including every game of the Pac-12 Tournament. The deal will allow LeTV users to live stream Pac-12 basketball on PCs, tablets, mobile devices, and LeTV Super TV (OTT) devices.
The Pac-12 is the only Conference to stream basketball games in China this season and the 2015 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament will be the first Conference tournament streamed in its entirety for a Chinese audience.
This partnership comes as a big step forward in the Pac-12’s ongoing Globalization Initiative. The initiative is an unprecedented effort to showcase the Pac-12 and its member institutions in China through student-athlete exchanges and sport. Since launching the Pac-12 Globalization Initiative in 2011, the Conference has sent men and women’s basketball teams, two women’s all-star volleyball teams, and a men's basketball all-star team to China for competitive exhibitions.
In November 2015, the Pac-12 will stage a regular season men’s basketball game in China between the University of Washington and the University of Texas, becoming the first major U.S. sports league, collegiate or professional, to host a regular season contest in China.
“We are thrilled to showcase the excitement of Pac-12 basketball and our esteemed universities to a new audience across China through LeTV,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott. “For the first time ever, the basketball-savvy Chinese audience will see our talented student-athletes compete at the highest level of basketball and learn more about our member universities.”
The 27 games available to LeTV audiences are being televised on Pac-12 Networks and ESPN in the United States and feature all 12 Pac-12 universities at least three times, including No. 6 ARIZONA and No. 13 UTAH. LeTV has already carried six games this season and will conclude its coverage at the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas in March.
LeTV is a leading provider of cross-platform Internet video service in China. LeTV’s content is vast, including over 100,000 television episodes, 5,000 movies, and sports partnerships with companies like FIFA, the PGA, the NBA, the NFL, and the MLB.
In addition to the 27 full Pac-12 basketball games streamed live, LeTV will offer all users on its platform access to a weekly package of Pac-12 basketball coverage and other programming to be consumed on demand. LeTV’s website also includes a Pac-12 microsite (sports.letv.com/izt/Pac-12/) that will feature Pac-12 basketball news throughout the 2015 season.
Full Schedule of Pac-12 men’s basketball games to be streamed by LeTV:
ARIZONA at CALIFORNIA Sat., Jan. 24, 7:30 p.m.
OREGON at ARIZONA Wed., Jan. 28, 7:00 p.m.
CALIFORNIA at WASHINGTON STATE Thurs., Jan. 29, 8:00 p.m.
OREGON at ARIZONA STATE Fri., Jan. 30, 5:00 p.m.
COLORADO at UCLA Sat., Jan. 31, 7:30 p.m.
CALIFORNIA at WASHINGTON Sun., Feb. 1, 12:00 p.m.
UCLA at CALIFORNIA Sat., Feb. 7, 5:00 p.m.
UTAH at COLORADO Sat., Feb. 7, 7:00 p.m.
OREGON STATE at UCLA Wed., Feb. 11, 7:00 p.m.
STANFORD at UTAH Thur., Feb. 12, 6:00 p.m.
USC at ARIZONA Thurs., Feb. 19, 6:00 p.m.
CALIFORNIA at STANFORD Sat., Feb. 21, 3:30 p.m.
USC at ARIZONA STATE Sun., Feb. 22, 5:30 p.m.
WASHINGTON STATE at USC Wed., Feb. 25, 7:00 p.m.
OREGON STATE at STANFORD Thurs., Feb. 26, 8:00 p.m.
WASHINGTON at USC Sat., Feb. 28, 7:00 p.m.
Pac-12 Tournament - First Round Wed., Mar. 11, all day
Pac-12 Tournament – Quarterfinals Thurs., Mar. 12, all day
Pac-12 Tournament – Semifinals Fri., Mar. 13, 6:00 p.m.
Pac-12 Tournament – Final Sat., Mar. 14, 8:00 p.m.
*all times Pacific