Courtesy of AUEagles.com, AU Athletics has announced the launch of Eagles Vision TV. This new site will
"broadcast live streaming video of men's soccer, women's soccer, field hockey and lacrosse games. Added to the broadcasts of non-conference men's and women's basketball, wrestling and volleyball matches, alumni and friends will now have year-round access to American home games. All 2009-2010 games will also be archived, offering subscribers greater convenience and flexibility to watch. Live games will feature multiple camera angles, a live scoreboard with running time and analysis from a studio broadcast team and sideline reporters. Eagles Vision TV will also feature pre-game interviews with student-athletes and coaches, post-game highlights and exclusive behind the scenes access to each of American's 16 teams."
This sounds exciting, but here are some thoughts:
- An annual subscription is $49.95, which is pretty reasonable if you're interested in watching the home games of the other sports. Admittedly, since I run this site and since the name of the site is American University Basketball Central, I don't think it'll be a shock for you all to find out that I'm not as passionate about the other AU sports as I am about men's basketball (not that I don't wish the other teams well, but there's only so many days a year I can spend painted). Still $50 for all of those games from the comfort of your living room or laptop is a very, very good deal. For all you kids who are abroad this semester or next, it can be your best friend. I also like how there's an option to just pay for single games. $6 is about average for a single-game fee. (I've paid as little as $4 and as much as $10 for a single game through similar services)
- The new channel will only cover home games. This is good for alumni who aren't in the area anymore, but for this guy who lives right down the street from 4400 Mass. Ave, you know I'll be in Bender Arena painted for all of the home games. This makes it silly for me personally to sign up for this service. I'm really interested in the away games that our Eagles will play.
- I need to look into what the plan for the Patriot League All-Access is going to be for this season. That's what I had last year; it cost me something like $7.95 or $8.95 a month, and I got to see ALL of the Patriot League basketball games streamed. (Very, very useful). Admittedly this is probably what I will do if it's available.
Overall though, I applaud Athletics for putting this together. Anything that puts more AU fans in contact with AU sports at a reasonable fee is solid in my book. I do have a thought though about men's basketball. As an avid Nationals fan (I'm a glutton for punishment), I watch a lot of MASN. MASN bills itself as the official cable network of Georgetown and George Mason and also, somehow, the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks. WTF, mate? I'm hoping that Athletics will work with MASN to strike some kind of deal to have some AU games broadcast this season. After all, AU is the only area team to make the tournament both of the past two years. While I'm happy to see we can stream home games now, I'd much rather see them on my TV live from Bender Arena. Hopefully when Athletics releases the TV schedule in October, they'll have worked out some kind of deal.
Anyway, that's that for the night. Until next time...
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
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