Cougars Set Streaming Records in Inaugural Big 12 Conference Season
6/21/2024 10:30:00 AM | Baseball, Football, General, Men's Basketball, Softball, Women's Basketball, Soccer, Volleyball
Over one million people watched Houston home events on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ in 2023-24
HOUSTON – The University of Houston Athletics Department saw its streaming viewership for home events on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ soar in the 2023-24 athletic calendar, with over 1.2 million viewers across seven sports for a total of over 42 million minutes watched, the equivalent of almost 80 years.
Cougar Productions saw a 19% increase in total viewership during the 2022-23 athletic year. Volleyball, Soccer, Women's Basketball, Softball and Baseball all set individual program streaming records for home games while the department as a whole claimed new high marks in number of events streamed (114) and total combined viewership (1,234,762). The 42 million minutes watched marked an increase of 55% from last year's total.
Houston Athletics internally produced a total of 110 broadcasts for Big 12 Now on ESPN+, including all Cougar home events for Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Football, Soccer, Softball and Volleyball not picked up for linear broadcasts. The production team, headed by Assistant Athletics Director for Cougar Productions Jon McAfoos, included a significant pool of student interns to produce the broadcasts.
"I'm thrilled with the strides we made in broadcast production this year," McAfoos said. "Producing over 100 ESPN broadcasts with a crew built primarily around students is something we take a lot of pride in. The significant jump in viewership shows the growing importance of digital broadcasts, and I'm excited to continue to grow the quality of our product for all of our athletic programs over the coming years."
Men's Basketball led the way for Houston with nearly half a million viewers across 10 home events streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The Big 12 champions had nearly their entire home conference slate picked up for linear distribution with less conference games being streamed via the ESPN+ suite.
Volleyball claimed the biggest year-over-year increase as it averaged 11,232 viewers, a 172% increase from its 2022 season (4,069). In total, the team gathered 134,781 viewers across 12 matches streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The team also had over 227,000 viewers on ESPN for its Oct. 15 contest against Texas with the match being simulcast on ESPN+.
Softball earned 305,118 viewers across 30 home games during its 2024 campaign, marking a 99% surge in average viewership from its 2023 levels that saw an average of 5,105 tune in. Softball nearly topped Men's Basketball in total minutes watched, posting a total of 12,677,452 compared to the 2023 Big 12 Champions' 12,740,801.
Baseball's average viewership grew by 9% in 2024 with a mean of 5,968 tuning in for each game. In total, 191,419 fans watched a sum of 7,709,679 minutes this season. Women's Basketball saw over 125,000 tune in, totaling nearly 4.5 million minutes watched, while Soccer gathered nearly 2,500 viewers per game.
SUPPORT YOUR COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of University of Houston Athletics by supporting LinkingCoogs – UH's very own NIL collective – and by joining Cougar Pride which provides financial support for student-athlete scholarships and priority needs of the Athletics Department.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougars on X, formerly Twitter, and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at HoustonAthletics or on the team's Instagram page at houstoncougars.
– UHCougars.com –
Cougar Productions saw a 19% increase in total viewership during the 2022-23 athletic year. Volleyball, Soccer, Women's Basketball, Softball and Baseball all set individual program streaming records for home games while the department as a whole claimed new high marks in number of events streamed (114) and total combined viewership (1,234,762). The 42 million minutes watched marked an increase of 55% from last year's total.
Houston Athletics internally produced a total of 110 broadcasts for Big 12 Now on ESPN+, including all Cougar home events for Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Football, Soccer, Softball and Volleyball not picked up for linear broadcasts. The production team, headed by Assistant Athletics Director for Cougar Productions Jon McAfoos, included a significant pool of student interns to produce the broadcasts.
"I'm thrilled with the strides we made in broadcast production this year," McAfoos said. "Producing over 100 ESPN broadcasts with a crew built primarily around students is something we take a lot of pride in. The significant jump in viewership shows the growing importance of digital broadcasts, and I'm excited to continue to grow the quality of our product for all of our athletic programs over the coming years."
Men's Basketball led the way for Houston with nearly half a million viewers across 10 home events streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The Big 12 champions had nearly their entire home conference slate picked up for linear distribution with less conference games being streamed via the ESPN+ suite.
Volleyball claimed the biggest year-over-year increase as it averaged 11,232 viewers, a 172% increase from its 2022 season (4,069). In total, the team gathered 134,781 viewers across 12 matches streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The team also had over 227,000 viewers on ESPN for its Oct. 15 contest against Texas with the match being simulcast on ESPN+.
Softball earned 305,118 viewers across 30 home games during its 2024 campaign, marking a 99% surge in average viewership from its 2023 levels that saw an average of 5,105 tune in. Softball nearly topped Men's Basketball in total minutes watched, posting a total of 12,677,452 compared to the 2023 Big 12 Champions' 12,740,801.
Baseball's average viewership grew by 9% in 2024 with a mean of 5,968 tuning in for each game. In total, 191,419 fans watched a sum of 7,709,679 minutes this season. Women's Basketball saw over 125,000 tune in, totaling nearly 4.5 million minutes watched, while Soccer gathered nearly 2,500 viewers per game.
SUPPORT YOUR COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of University of Houston Athletics by supporting LinkingCoogs – UH's very own NIL collective – and by joining Cougar Pride which provides financial support for student-athlete scholarships and priority needs of the Athletics Department.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougars on X, formerly Twitter, and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at HoustonAthletics or on the team's Instagram page at houstoncougars.
– UHCougars.com –
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