ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference and its 10-member schools will combine to produce more than 300 live events in the months of November, December, January, February and March, distributed exclusively on The Valley on ESPN -- the league’s co-branded digital network.
Winter Programming Schedule on The Valley on ESPN (PDF)
Originally branded and launched as The Valley on ESPN3 in August 2015, the league’s new digital initiative is available through the redesigned ESPN App and features live-event programming on both ESPN3 and ESPN+ -- the premium multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International Group and ESPN.
The new, redesigned and re-imagined ESPN App gives fans a premier, all-in-one digital access point for everything ESPN offers -- 1) news, scores, highlights and audio, 2) “TV Everywhere” video and 3) ESPN+.
The league’s digital endeavor is part of its 10-year contract with ESPN which runs through the 2023-24 academic year.
“After delivering quality content with our Fall programming lineup on ESPN3 and ESPN+ via the ESPN App, we are excited to distribute our upcoming men’s and women’s basketball productions this winter,” said Jack R. Watkins, MVC Associate Commissioner.
“With preseason favorites Loyola (men) and Drake (women) prepared to defend their respective regular-season and tournament titles, we look forward to showcasing both sports, capped by post-season coverage via the ESPN App.”
The Winter 2018-19 exclusive lineup features 248 live events, including regular-season men’s basketball, regular-season and post-season tournament for women’s basketball, regular-season Loyola men’s volleyball and the indoor track and field championship.
The exclusive regular-season live events will be produced and transmitted by production units on each of the league’s campuses, while the exclusive post-season tournaments will be produced and distributed by Tupelo Raycom of Indianapolis, Indiana -- the Conference’s digital production agency.
An additional 63 linear live events -- productions by institutional partners and Niles Media Group (the league’s Kansas City-based linear production agency) -- will be made available for distribution via the ESPN App. Those include regular-season and post-season coverage of men’s basketball and regular-season programming for women’s basketball.
Since the launch of institutional production units, the Conference and its schools have combined to produce an average of 220 ESPN exclusive regular-season basketball events: 217 (86 men/131 women) in 2015-16, 214 (85 men/129 women) in 2016-17 and 231 (96 men/135 women) in 2017-18.
“Since our Presidents Council gave its approval of the league’s digital endeavor in the Spring 2015, we’ve told great stories about coaches and student-athletes,” said Watkins, who oversees the league’s linear-digital video endeavors.
“And at the same time, we have expanded our coverage and programming offerings for our fans and alumni throughout the country, fostered across-campus involvement from our student population and sent our graduates to ESPN and into other field-related career opportunities.”
The schedule starts on November 6, when Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Valparaiso, Illinois State and Loyola open their men’s basketball seasons.
In all, 96 exclusive regular-season men’s hoops games will be produced, with 45 linear productions being made available for ESPN distribution.
Women’s basketball coverage begins on November 9, when Northern Iowa plays host to Delaware.
A total of 131 exclusive women’s hoops contests will be shown, and an additional eight linear productions will be made available for ESPN distribution.
For the four-straight year, league-member Loyola -- which captured NCAA Division I men’s volleyball titles in 2014 and 2015 -- will produce a 10-match exclusive regular-season package for ESPN3 distribution. The Ramblers will also have four linear telecasts available through the ESPN App.
Post-season championship coverage will include the first six games from the 2019 State Farm MVC Men’s Basketball Tournament on March 7-8 and all nine games from the 2019 MVC Women’s Basketball Tournament on March 14-17.
The women’s coverage will also include a tournament preview show on March 14.
Post-season programming will also include the 2019 MVC Indoor Track and Field Championship from the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Saturday and Sunday, February 23 and 24.
This coverage will mark the fifth-straight year that ESPN3 has carried this league’s indoor championship.