Here's how more schools are trying to become their own media companies

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Way back in 2021, I think Notre Dame became the first school to launch their own team-specific Over The Top (OTT) streaming app. A few other schools followed, including many that partnered with a company called Sport & Story, like Oklahoma State, Arkansas, and LSU.

The specifics of each channel varied from market to market, but most shared broad similarities. Most team-specific streaming platforms were behind a paywall (either a conventional subscription, or with access tied to booster club participation). They included original documentaries, coach press conferences, historic game broadcasts and other school-directed programming. And these channels were certainly not meant to compete with conference networks or broadcast programming…these were niche entities, serving the hardest of the hardcore.

But a lot has changed since over the last two years. The ambition and scope of team-specific streaming is growing, and the products themselves are evolving.

“We want to help our partners become self-sufficient and really own their business,” Sport & Story president Victor Vitarelli told me. “We want to help schools become their own media entities.”

Here’s how….and why.

Live is now part of the equation:

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