ESPN Releases MAAC Branded Channel
Edison, N.J. – ESPN announced the release of a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference branded channel through WatchESPN. The MAAC channel is one of 15 college conferences that will have its own dedicated channel. Each channel will provide live and on-demand content, including programming from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 and ESPNews.
“The MAAC membership is extremely pleased in the next phase of its partnership with ESPN as the network implements a MAAC branded channel on Apple TV and Roku and seeks to provide further outlets in the near future,” notes MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor. “Providing MAAC content through multiple outlets was envisioned when the MAAC and ESPN extended their broadcast agreement in 2011 through 2016 and it is great to see the rollout of this service to MAAC sports fans.”
The launch of a MAAC branded channel comes in time for the end of the men's and women's basketball regular season and MAAC Basketball Championships held in Springfield, Mass. Fans will be able to use the channel to watch tonight's double-header at Quinnipiac where featuring the top-ranked women's team, the Iona Gaels, taking on the Bobcats at 6 p.m. The women's game will be followed by the Quinnipiac men taking on the Saints of Siena who are looking to take the No. 5 seed at the MAAC Championships and earn a bye in the first round of the tournament.
Other men's and women's basketball games to be featured on the MAAC channel include Friday's men's games of Iona at Manhattan on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. and Canisius at Rider on ESPNU at 9 p.m. Also, the final day of MAAC regular season will be highlighted on the MAAC ESPN channel as the Iona Gaels host the Marist Red Foxes in a showdown of the top two women's teams in the league. The Iona men will host Rider and Canisius will travel to Manhattan. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN3.
Currently, the channel will be available on Apple TV and Roku devices and are scheduled to be accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and other connected-TV devices at a later date.
The aim of a conference branded channel is to drive the usage of WatchESPN, including ESPN3. The MAAC currently showcases over 40 men's and women's basketball games on ESPN's family of networks. The full WatchESPN service is currently accessible in 55 million households including: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, AT&T U-verse TV, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Charter, Cox, Google Fiber, Verizon FiOS and other pay-TV providers.
