Aug. 1, 2022
BTN to carry 47 contests, while ESPN2/ESPNU to televise another six and FS1 to broadcast two
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference has taken another step in its elevation of women’s sports and the sport of volleyball, as the conference announced Monday that a record-setting 55 Big Ten volleyball matches will be televised nationally on the Big Ten Network, ESPN2, ESPNU and FS1. The announcement comes just before the start of the inaugural Big Ten Conference Volleyball Media Days at the BTN studios in Chicago, with the Big Ten becoming the first conference in the country to hold an in-person preseason volleyball media event.
Big Ten Network will carry at least 47 matches spotlighting all 14 conference schools on linear television, and matching BTN’srecord number of volleyball broadcasts from last season. This year’s BTN broadcast schedule includes 13 doubleheaders, and potentially a 14th on Nov. 4. All Big Ten Network matches can also be seen through its digital extension, the FOX Sports app, delivering live events and on-demand programming to Big Ten Network customers via the web, smartphones and tablets.
All non-televised Big Ten Conference volleyball matches are scheduled to appear on B1G+, a subscription service for non-televised live events. In the coming weeks, additional matches may be assigned to both Big Ten Network and B1G+, with the latter also offering sport-specific packages for fans only interested in viewing volleyball events. Details and subscription information can be found at bigtenplus.com.
Earlier on Monday, the Big Ten Network announced a groundbreaking, multi-year distribution partnership with Volleyball World that will enhance the promotion and coverage of Big Ten Conference volleyball across the globe. As part of that agreement, 70+ Big Ten volleyball matches will appear worldwide on VolleyballWorld.tv. There will also be live streaming of nearly 50 televised Big Ten Network volleyball matches outside of North America and certain Caribbean islands, as well as worldwide streaming of an additional 28 matches from B1G+ inventory, with those matches airing concurrently on B1G+.
ESPN networks will televise another six Big Ten volleyball contests this season. Three of those can be seen on ESPN2 (Sept. 25 – Purdue at Iowa; Oct. 16 – Michigan at Wisconsin; Oct. 23 – Wisconsin at Michigan) and another three on ESPNU (Oct. 12 – Rutgers at Illinois; Oct. 19 – Minnesota at Iowa; Oct. 26 – Michigan at Ohio State). All matches on ESPN networks will also be available via the ESPN App on smartphones, tablets, connected streaming devices or espn.com/watch.
Two other Big Ten Conference volleyball matches will be televised on FS1 — Texas at Ohio State on Aug. 26 and Ohio State at Michigan on Sept. 28. Like Big Ten Network matches, those on FS1 can be seen on connected streaming devices through the FOX Sports app.
Along with linear broadcast coverage is “At The Net”, now in its third season as the Big Ten Network’s multi-platform, behind-the-scenes look at the elite volleyball players and programs across the conference. Episodes of “At The Net” will also be made available globally on VolleyballWorld.tv.
Fans can find the latest updates on Big Ten Conference volleyball by following the Big Ten’s volleyball Twitter feed (@B1GVolleyball) and the Big Ten Network’s volleyball-focused Instagram account (@B1GVolleyball). Throughout the season, both accounts will be home to original videos, highlights and custom content featuring some of the most competitive and exciting volleyball in the nation.
The Big Ten Conference led all conferences with eight schools chosen to compete in last year’s NCAA Volleyball Championship, with five Big Ten schools earning national seeds. Wisconsin went on to earn its first NCAA national championship (the ninth by a Big Ten school in the past 15 seasons), defeating fellow Big Ten member Nebraska in the title match, 3-2. That thrilling national championship match was played before a record-setting crowd of 18,755 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, and nearly 1.2 million television viewers on ESPN2, making it the most viewed women’s college volleyball match ever on ESPN networks.
The current 2022 Big Ten volleyball television schedule can be found here:
Big Ten Conference (bigten.org) is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching, and public service. Founded in 1896, Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in the lives of students competing in intercollegiate athletics and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness, and competitiveness. The broad-based programs of the 14 Big Ten institutions will provide over $200 million in direct financial support to more than 9,800 students for more than 11,000 participation opportunities on 350 teams in 42 different sports. Big Ten sponsors 28 official conference sports, 14 for men and 14 for women, including the addition of men’s ice hockey and men’s and women’s lacrosse since 2013.
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