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PACIFIC-12 CONFERENCE MEDIA DAYS

July 31, 2015

Lydia Murphy-Stephans

BURBANK, CALIFORNIA

LYDIA MURPHY‑STEPHANS: Good morning to everyone here today and those of you watching from some other location. This event has grown significantly in popularity over the last few years, so in order to make sure all fans have the opportunity to watch and experience Pac‑12 Media Days on Pac‑12 Networks, we decided to make our coverage free for everyone on Pac‑12.com. It's extremely important to us that everyone has the ability to watch Pac‑12 Networks.
It's so good to see all of you here today. Again, this year, as we look forward to another Pac‑12 football season. Last year will be very hard to top, but we plan to do it.
As you saw in the video that just played, Pac‑12 Networks has a great relationship with all of our schools. They trust us because they've worked with us for the past three years to build this network, and of course, because they own us.
This special relationship has allowed us in‑depth, behind‑the‑scenes coverage that fans cannot get anywhere else. Over the last three years we've proven ourselves to be the most reliable link between our teams and our fans.
Last year, viewership on the Pac‑12 Networks increased 43%. The increase extended across almost every sport and into our studio shows as we documented compelling stories, like Marcus Mariota's Heisman Trophy season, and followed Oregon all the way to the National Championship Game.
As we enter our fourth year, we are once again focused on telling the stories from our campuses and delivering the most comprehensive coverage for our fans worldwide. This season will produce 34 football games with every team appearing at least twice on the Pac‑12 Networks. In addition, every home game, no matter which network it originally airs on will be telecast on Pac‑12 Networks Football in 60 series, where fans can watch every game in a one of had hour format.
I know we're all anxiously awaiting the beginning of football season, which I'm happy to say is now less than five weeks away. But before we get there, Pac‑12 Networks will get fans ready for the season by covering training camp.
We'll spend the month of August in the trenches with our coaches and student‑athletes as they prepare for the season, starting August 10th we'll produce a one‑hour show from each university's training sight. We'll talk to the coaches, get a closer look at student‑athletes, and we'll showcase each team's story lines heading into the season.
When the season begins, we'll have football coverage from breakfast all the way past midnight, with pre and post‑game shows for all of our games. We'll also premier a new show, Pac‑12 Final Score, hosted by Mike Yam. Final Score will feature highlights and stories from college football action across the country. And our coverage of football season extends beyond Saturdays with our weekly studio shows, Pac‑12 Sports Report, and Inside Pac‑12 Football. Pac‑12 Sports Report hosted this coming season by Ashley Adamson and Mike Yam, will showcase all the big events each week with highlights, interviews, feature stories, and recaps from all of our sports.
Inside Pac‑12 Football will offer in‑depth analysis of each week's biggest games and the biggest plays, including interviews with coaches and student‑athletes.
This season, our all‑access docudrama series, The Drive, will feature two schools, one from the north, and one from the south. Fans will get a unique look at Coach Andersen's first year at Oregon State, while watching Utah compete for a title in the Pac‑12 south.
Pac‑12 Networks is about more than just football. One of our founding principles is a commitment to our schools educational mission. This year we produced a special titled conference of champions that focused on the brilliant research done across the conference, and highlighted the incredible opportunities that come with a Pac‑12 education. Not only are we giving student‑athletes great exposure on the field, we're also hiring students to help us do it.
Last year more than 2,000 production jobs were filled by students who were trained and paid for their contributions. In fact, we hire at least one student to work every live event we produce, including this one.
During the school year, Pac‑12 Networks hosts training sessions on all of our campuses to prepare students to work in our production trucks. Several of our students who have worked for the Pac‑12 Networks in the last couple of years have gone on to professional careers in the media industry. Providing that training and experience is something we're very passionate about, and will continue to do.
As the only media company wholly owned by 12 universities, it should come as no surprise that we have taken an innovative approach to the way we produce our live events and studio shows. I'm proud to say we've developed the most innovative and efficient live sports event production model in the world. By leveraging our university's powerful internet connectivity, we've been able to build a robust, broadcast quality IP network that's allowed us to deliver high‑quality content to our fans in a cost‑effective way.
Our IP methodology has allowed for unmatched efficiency and control while enhancing production value, so we can deliver the very best content to our fans throughout the year.
For example, we can produce live coverage of press conferences or interview coaches and student‑athletes who are on campus while we're in our San Francisco studio without the use of production trucks and all the other equipment that is usually required for this type of production. Last year 277 of our 850 live sporting events were produced with this IP TV model. This year we're planning to utilize this production method on at least 350 live events. We know how important it is to our fans to have access to their teams 24/7. Through our Pac‑12 Now app and our robust digital platforms we're giving them the access they crave.
This past year fan engagement grew by 600%. Fans tuned into games all over the country on all various kinds of devices, using the Pac‑12 Now app, and they took to social media to express the pride in their team and in the Pac‑12. Pac‑12 After Dark was brought to life by social media.
Last season fans revelled in the remarkable performances and nail biting finishes that happened almost every single weekend. We will continue to aggressively share our rich content through our digital and social media channels, because we know our fans want to engage with content that matters to them. More and more we're seeing fans rush the field online, and it's definitely safer than in the stadium. It's also a really important part of the fan experience.
Our digital presence has also helped us expand the reach of Pac‑12 sports globally. Last year at this time, we announced our partnership with YouTube that made us the first live 24/7 network available on their international platform. Over the past 12 months, we've continued to form partnerships that showcase Pac‑12 athletes to fans everywhere, including in China, where millions of people watch Pac‑12 basketball games through our partnership with LeTV. These initiatives have provided a recruiting boost to many of our schools and have enabled families abroad to watch their student‑athlete compete.
We are proud of the fact that after three years anyone, nearly anywhere in the world, can watch Pac‑12 Networks. Even though we've enjoyed steady growth and have more than 70 providers domestically, we will not be satisfied until we have complete distribution for our fans.
As you know, the acquisition of DIRECTV by our partner AT&T was finalized last week. With the football season right around the corner, we're looking forward to strengthening and expanding our partnership so that Pac‑12 fans don't miss any of what's bound to be a thrilling football season.
This year, we'll also be covering the Pac‑12 centennial celebration. Throughout the year we'll recognize some of the amazing athletes and milestone moments in Pac‑12 history by weaving remarkable stories into our programming. With 478 NCAA titles, the Pac‑12 has truly earned its place as the conference of champions. We're looking forward to celebrating its rich history of success with fans all year long.
As all of you have seen and heard already, there are a lot of good football teams in the Pac‑12 this year. I have no idea who is going to emerge as the front runner or who may be a household name by the end of the season, but I do know Pac‑12 Networks will cover all of our teams better and in more detail than anyone else. We will be the go‑to place for Pac‑12 fans, from first thing in the morning, to way after dark. We'll be there for the ups, for the downs, the Hail Marys and the celebrations, from training camp through the bowl season, and far beyond.
Thank you all for being here today and for tuning in. I hope you enjoy another great season of football on the Pac‑12 Networks.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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