KATV hands over UA media rights to ISP Sports

The Arkansas Razorback Sports Network is no more, according to a news release from KATV in Little Rock.

UPDATE (4 p.m.): KATV agreed to hand over rights of Razorbacks broadcasts — including radio, television and game packages — to ISP Sports, which will now handle the Razorbacks’ multimedia rights.

The athletic department’s official Web site, ArkansasRazorbacks.com (ISP still thinks it’s Hogwired.com), will now be handled by ISP as well. ISP will also oversee athletic venue signage, printed materials such as game programs and at-event hospitality and promotional opportunities, according to the release.

Here’s more:

Under the agreement, KATV, which previously served as the official radio and television rights holder for Arkansas, will remain the flagship television station of the new network that will carry extensive television coverage of the Razorbacks, including coaches’ shows, a statewide men’s basketball game package along with numerous pre and post season special programs for football and basketball.

ISP will have multimedia rights for UA athletics for the next 10 years.

As part of the agreement, Arkansas will be guaranteed a total of $73 million in the tenure of the contract. The $5.7 million in the first year of the contract represents a 67-percent increase in comparison to the $3.4 million generated last year.

ISP has really blossomed in recent years and is now partnered with five SEC schools in similar agreements.

Before today’s news, the UA and KATV had a contract that was scheduled to end after the 2011 basketball season.

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12:21 p.m.: The University of Arkansas sports information department just announced a press conference in Little Rock at the studios of KATV. The presser is set for 3:30 p.m. today. KATV runs the Arkansas Razorback Sports Network, which produces the UA’s radio and television broadcasts.

There had been rumblings recently that ARSN may be up for sale. We’ll hear soon enough whether that comes to pass.

Here’s an excerpt from the press release:

The press conference will feature representatives of KATV and Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long.

Long has said he would like to explore the option of pay-per-view for some of Arkansas’ games this season. We’ll have more on today’s presser as it becomes available.

Last summer, the UA selected Chuck Barrett to replace long-time broadcaster Paul Eells as the Voice of the Razorbacks for football. KATV was reportedly pushing anchorman Scott Inman, who hosts ARSN’s post-game show for football broadcasts, to fill the spot left open by Eells’ passing in the summer of 2006.

The battle of the UA vs. KATV and the ideal of Barrett vs. Inman got pretty messy.

– Brandon Marcello

Filed under: Arkansas Baseball, Arkansas Basketball, Arkansas Football, Arkansas Women's Sports, Other U of A Sports, SEC Baseball, SEC Basketball, SEC Football, SEC Women's Sports by Brandon Marcello. Posted on: August 13, 2008 at 11:21 am