Aug. 25, 2003

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville has reached an agreement with Yahoo! Sports to be part of a national network of real-time sports programming on the Internet beginning with the 2003 football season that will generate revenues for the athletic program.

Cardinal football, men's and women's basketball, and baseball broadcasts, as well as the "Bobby Petrino Radio Show" and "Rick Pitino Radio Show" will be available via the university's official athletic website, UofLsports.com, on a subscription basis.

By logging on to www.UofLsports.com and clicking on the "AUDIO" option on the top , alumni and fans across the country will be able to support Cardinal Athletics by selecting one of two subscription options provided by Yahoo! Sports. A portion of all revenue from each subscription goes to the school's athletic department.

Listeners may subscribe to Cardinal programming (School Pass) on a monthly basis ($4.95) or at a reduced rate on an annual basis ($29.95).

Programming from nearly 40 other major colleges (College Pack) will also be offered for a monthly ($9.95) or yearly fee ($59.95). This package allows listeners to access all college broadcasts from all schools participating in the program.

In addition to Louisville, schools such as Alabama, Duke, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest have committed to participate.

"We have been fortunate with our ability to provide our fans with free broadcasts over the last few years, but the cost to produce this option has become prohibitive to providing it cost-free," said U of L Associate Athletics Director Kenny Klein. "More than 50 athletic programs and many professional organizations already have been using a subscription plan. This service will provide Cardinal fans around the world an affordable solution to continue listening to our events through a quality provider."

To purchase a subscription, visit the Audio page and click on one of the sports for live broadcasts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why the subscription plan?
The landscape of the Internet has evolved in many ways as the medium has grown and become a part of millions of households. Internet service providers and companies that provide specialty services on the Internet (such as audio & video streaming) have found that the current advertising marketplace will not support continued free services. In order for such services to continue to be provided, organizations must have a means of financially supporting their technology.

Professional sports such as Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League, as well as sports entities such as NASCAR, have already gone to a pay-to-listen model. Some collegiate athletic programs also chose this direction a year ago. It is not a surprise that we, too, must now take this step in order to maintain the level of dependable quality service that our fans have become accustomed to enjoying.

Why have you selected Yahoo! as your partner in this endeavor?
Yahoo's experience in Internet service is second to none. The company has also been a loyal and valued partner of Cardinal Athletics in the area of audio streaming the past five years. In fact, last year when other collegiate athletic programs first decided to use a pay-to-listen model, Yahoo continued to provide streaming for U of L at no cost in order to be better prepared to make this changeover at this time. Yahoo brings vast experience in this industry and will be a reliable and cooperative partner for our fans.

What programming will be included?
Programming offered last year will continue to be provided. Among the items available are game broadcasts for football, men's basketball, women's basketball and baseball, as well as call-in radio shows featuring the football and men's basketball head coaches. Additional selected audio features such as news conferences are also available.

Who receives the revenues?
Yahoo and U of L athletic programs will share in revenues received from all subscribers and listeners. The percentage of payment to Cardinal Athletics will be dependent upon three factors: (A) the number of subscribers who enlist at each university's website; (B) the number of times that all subscribers access that university's programming; (C) the amount of time that all subscribers spend listening to the programming.

Please note that for U of L to receive the revenue share from your subscription plan, you must access the audio from the links found on www.UofLSports.com. Accessing the Yahoo audio page from other sites will not provide the appropriate credits to U of L.

The university will benefit from both the quantity of subscribers that it brings into the program (through its website), as well as by the interest in its programming as measured by all listeners, even those who may not initially sign up via the university's website.

What options are available to a subscriber?
Subscribers may subscribe to their favorite team's programming on the School Pass package on a monthly or annual basis. This is intended to satisfy the fan who may be interested in only one sport (i.e., football for three months) as well as the fan who wants to receive all programming available. The annual subscription cost will involve savings over a month-by-month subscription.

Each subscriber will also be able to add the overall College Pack option which will include nearly 40 additional major college athletic programs for a monthly or annual fee.

Is there any special software required for users to access the content?
No. All school broadcast content will be available in the Windows Media format, which is the same format that was used on Yahoo this past school year and is the most widely available streaming format. If any users do not have this software already installed on their computer, Yahoo provides a Media Helper that allows foolproof installation of the necessary software at no charge.