SoCon Officially Announces Digital Network

(re-printed from SoConSports.com)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference today (Sept. 10) introduced the SoCon Digital Network, a collaboration of the athletic departments of the 10 member institutions, designed to provide live and on demand video-streamed events for viewers.

The network may be accessed at either socondigitalnetwork.com or socondn.com.

In its inaugural year, the SoCon Digital Network will feature more than 400 live events, as well as highlights, interviews and student-athlete profiles. Video will be provided in high definition with users having a robust menu of functionality, including DVR controls, picture-in-picture, slow motion, video on demand, and some integration of live stats. All content will be free to viewers.

“This is a huge step forward for our members, our student-athletes, our alumni and our fan base,” said Southern Conference Commissioner John Iamarino. “A project like this requires the cooperation of the Presidents, Chancellors and athletic administrators. It’s been more than two years in the making and we’re happy to make it available to the general public.”

In an effort to achieve a desired level of quality control, members will initially be required to produce home contests in four selected sports – football, volleyball, men’s basketball and women’s basketball. Some institutions are already prepared to produce live content for additional team sports, while others will gradually add sports.

“Our goal is to have coverage across the board in as many of our sports as possible in a relatively short period of time,” Iamarino said. “There are a lot of moving pieces to this. Our video personnel are still in the process of integrating new equipment and testing out playing venues for HD transmission. We expect viewers will see steady improvement in the manner in which the games are presented.”

Events carried on national or regional television networks, as well as those on a national broadband carrier like ESPN3, will not be available on the SoCon Digital Network. All Conference championships will receive coverage and events shown live on the network can later be accessed by viewers on demand. Special campus events of a non-athletic nature will also be featured.

The SoCon Digital Network’s provider is NeuLion, whose video client list includes the NFL, NBA and NHL.