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CSTV Unveils College Sports Broadband Service

Aug 31, 2006  •  Post A Comment

CBS’s CSTV on Thursday introduced a broadband service, CSTV XXL, that will provide individual channels for hundreds of colleges, including Notre Dame and USC.

Participating schools will provide programming that includes live sporting events, archived games and coaches’ shows. Some programs will be available for free, others will be subscription-only. SCTV is making all of the channels available for $14.95 a month or $99.99 a year. Individual college channel prices are set by the schools, and range from $4.95 to $9.95 a month.

CSTV XXL is ad-supported; sponsors include Coca-Cola, Pontiac, State Farm and Sonic.

CSTV CEO Brian Bedol said the programming will be blacked out when other broadcasters have rights to a game. “This is not a substitute for television,” he said. “People who can watch a game on HD with a 50-inch set will prefer it that way.” But for fans who don’t have access to games or who follow teams that don’t often get on TV, “This is a 24-hour channel for them to go to and get as much as they want.”