LAWRENCE, Kan. — University of Kansas basketball is akin to religion for some fans.
That explains why a change in broadcast options for Jayhawks basketball games has sparked anger and outrage.
New for the 2019-20, the Big 12 and ESPN moved some games, including seven KU basketball matchups, to ESPN+/Big 12 Now, which is a new streaming service that airs a variety of sports content.
Many games, including conference matchups, that aired on network or cable TV during past season are now exclusively available on ESPN+, which costs $4.99 a month or $12.99 when bundled with Hulu and Disney+.
"It was really last spring the conference made the decision to expand our rights with ESPN," Kansas Athletic Director Jeff Long said Monday in an exclusive interview with 41 Action News. "They held our over the air rights."
Unhappy fans have taken to social media to say express frustration about having to pay for another service, including many fans who complain the "quality is lacking" for ESPN+ broadcasts.
"I think you are screwing around with the little guy," KU almunus Merle Nunemaker said.
Nunemaker went on to say his college friends have the service and are having issues watching the games.
KU FANS: Are you upset with the change of several Kansas games on ESPN+, the new streaming service??? @41actionnews
— Jordan Betts (@JordanBettsTV) January 6, 2020
"I hear the service has not been great," he said. "So, that's another reason. It's only $5, but if you are not going to get a good feed off of it, what's the point?"
Long said the streaming arrangement does have an upside.
"We expanded with them in a way that allowed us to grow our programs, because it's not only men's basketball that people focus on," Long said. "It's all of our 18 sports. But what is missed is the legions of fans across the country and around the world who now have access to games through ESPN+."
Long stressed that the decision ultimately was made by the Big 12, but that streaming is the future of entertainment so it was a forward-thinking approach.
"We do think it's the future, not only for sporting events, but for entertainment, for movies, for television," Long said. "In general, there is a move to streaming. You see that in the television negotiations that are going on at other conferences right now. It's really about staying on the cutting edge and allowing our fans around the world to be able to access the Kansas Jayhawks."
Many fans 41 Action News spoke with who are unhappy with the changes said they are simply no longer watching KU games or have gone old-school, tuning in to radio broadcasts via the Kansas Sports Network.
Long understands the uproar early in the current transition period, but he believes the change eventually will pay off financially for the school and for the fan base in the future.
“We’re on the right side of technology,” Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said Monday from Ames, Iowa, where he was at the unveiling of a Big 12-funded digital learning lab at Ames Middle School. “Clearly, we’re trending away from the bundled cable environment toward digital consumption.”
The early returns also have been promising for the Big 12.
“The viewership has been really good," Bowlsby said. "The quality of the broadcast has been good. We had a couple of issues during the football season where we had disruptions due to weather, but, generally speaking, it’s been really positive."
Bowlsby, a former athletic director at Northern Iowa, Iowa and Stanford, said the issues with ESPN+ pale in comparison to previous changes in how games are broadcast, including the formation of the Big Ten Network during his Hawkeyes tenure.
“I remember when we did the rollout for the Big Ten Network, and there was a period of time you couldn’t get Ohio State football in central Ohio," Bowslby said. "There was no way to solve the problem. Here, you can solve the problem, for the most part. You can say in about four clicks you’re on."
Saturday's home win against No. 16 West Virginia and tonight's game at Iowa State game, which tips off at 7 p.m. from Hilton Coliseum in Ames, are among the third-ranked Jayhawks' games on ESPN+.
KU at West Virginia on Feb. 12 and TCU at Kansas on March 4 are the remaining streaming-only games, according to the team's website.
Kansas State fans have a similar issue. The Wildcats' Jan. 14 game versus Texas Tech, Jan. 29 game versus Oklahoma, Feb. 15 game at TCU, Feb. 25 game at Baylor and March 7 game versus Iowa State are slated for ESPN+.
