The dedicated sports streamer FloSports has scored yet another touchdown this week. On Thursday, it was announced that FloSports had signed an extension with the BIG EAST, committing to carry the NCAA Division I conference’s games for another three years.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but FloSports featured over 600 Big East events during the 2021-2022 season on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN). The BIG EAST fields 10 men’s sports and 12 women’s sports across 11 member schools: Butler University, University of Connecticut, Creighton University, DePaul University, Georgetown University, Marquette University, Providence College, St. John’s University, Seton Hall University, Villanova University and Xavier University.
In addition to the games and matches, BEDN will broadcast original programs as “Shootaround” and “Fast Break,” the conference’s weekly men’s and women’s basketball feature shows. The multi-year agreement also provides access to discounted subscriptions for BIG EAST member institution students and faculty.
“We’re excited to extend our partnership with FloSports, which has been a great home for the BIG EAST Digital Network,” BIG EAST Deputy Commissioner Vince Nicastro said. “FloSports has been a fantastic platform to showcase our women’s basketball and Olympic Sports programs, as well as the original content our outstanding in-house digital team creates throughout the year … We are eager to deliver top-notch programming to our fans which will highlight the incredible student-athletes, coaches and programs of the BIG EAST.”
The BIG EAST is a basketball powerhouse, so it’s no wonder FloSports is determined to keep the conference’s streaming rights exactly where they are. The conference has fielded nine championship men’s basketball teams in the history of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and expects to contend for many more.
“With a shared belief in delivering outstanding college sports to a wider audience through digital platforms, FloSports is proud to continue our successful partnership with the BIG EAST,” FloSports’ VP of global rights acquisition Michael Levy said. “Since the onset of this partnership, we’ve seen steady, consistent growth both in viewership and engagement for BIG EAST athletics. We look forward to another three years of collaboration with Scott and the BIG EAST team that will put a spotlight on the talented athletes and coaches that are the definition of excellence in college sports.”
The announcement of the extension comes on the heels of Wednesday's news that the streamer had signed a deal with the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
That deal was the most expensive in the history of Division II athletics, and will bring more than 900 games to FloSports. In addition, FloSports recently signed a deal with the South Atlantic Conference that adds 1,300 more live sports events to the streaming service.
In addition to the BIG EAST, GLIA, and South Atlantic Conference, FloSports also has deals with the Colonial Athletic Association, Atlantic Hockey Association, Central Collegiate Hockey Association, Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, Gulf South Conference, and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
It’s an incredibly lucrative time to find a streaming partner for major college athletic conferences. The drama around the media rights for the Big Ten is continuing to unfold, but they could reportedly fetch as much as $1.5 billion by the time the process is complete.
FloSports
FloSports is a subscription video streaming service with unlimited access to live events across 25+ sports, plus over 300,000 hours of sports competitions live or on-demand, exclusive behind-the-scenes coverage and interviews, original programming, news, expert commentary, films, documentaries, weekly studio shows, podcasts, and more.