Pac-12, Ooyala Team For Sports Network

Pac-12 Enterprises, the new content and multiplatform media company of the Pac-12 Conference, and online video provider Ooyala have partnered to develop and deploy the Pac-12 Digital Network, featuring original sports entertainment.

The two say they will work together to “deliver highly personalized, interactive and customizable video experiences for fans on the Web, tablets, smartphones and connected TVs.”

Via this deal, customers of Pac-12 Network’s distribution partners reportedly will be able to watch live content on connected devices, with TV Everywhere authentication. “This marks the first time such technology has been designed alongside the broadcast network experience at launch, and will be available for consumer access when the Pac-12 Networks launch on Aug. 15,” they add.

Pac-12 Networks will produce original studio programming from its San Francisco facilities, and it will televise more than 800 live sporting events annually, including more than 30 football games and 130 men’s basketball games. Programming also will target women’s sports and Olympic sports.

Pac-12 Enterprises says it chose Ooyala because of its analytics expertise. Processing more than 2 billion video-analytics events daily, Ooyala studies conversion rates, video completion rates, social sharing events and hundreds of other key metrics across Web and device platforms and geographies. The company then analyzes the data in real time to determine business insights and content trends.

Comments Gary Stevenson, president at Pac-12 Enterprises, “Ooyala is on the forefront when it comes to convergence of mobile, social and video. Their focus on big data analytics and personalization is a perfect match for our vision of extremely personalized, highly social TV. Our partnership brings together two world-class teams in sports and technology to deliver the type of high-caliber innovation the Pac-12 Conference is known for.”

“It’s a privilege to work with the Pac-12 team which shares our commitment to innovation, and to be part of its digital TV deployment from the ground up,” adds Ooyala CEO Jay Fulcher. “Together we’re putting the technology and processes in place to deliver a progressive fan experience that people can enjoy on any device from any place. And with unlimited capacity to broadcast any sporting event from anywhere, the Pac-12 is on the cutting edge of live broadcasting in the digital age.”

Pac-12 Enterprises and Ooyala also are working to develop a suite of applications for iOS and Android tablets and smartphones that can be customized by individual viewers regarding their favorite Pac-12 teams, sports and related content.

“These applications will provide a rich set of content ranging from live and on-demand sporting events, analysis and commentary, statistics, press conferences, documentaries and other content that extends dramatically beyond the programming available through the telecast,” the partners explain. “They will enable and encourage social viewing and live interaction around a wealth of content, and capitalize on Ooyala’s ability to highly personalize Web-delivered video experiences, leveraging its expansive global video analytics footprint, detailed content trending data and the social graph of individual viewers.”

In the future, Pac-12 Enterprises and Ooyala also develop paid and ad-supported content models for those global regions not supported by the Pac-12’s telecast partners. Additionally, Ooyala will provide live ad insertion across all connected devices.