ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference announced today that selected regular-season digital productions plus post-season championship coverage in May will be distributed on ESPN+ -- the first-ever multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company Direct-to-Consumer and International group in partnership with ESPN.
Full Release (PDF)Â Â Â Â Â
Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 per month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.
Launching on Thursday, April 12, ESPN+ will be an integrated part of a completely redesigned ESPN App. The new ESPN App will be the premier all-in-one digital sports platform for fans and is a showcase of the company's culture of innovation.
The Valley, which is in the fourth year of a 10-year national rights-holding agreement with ESPN, will start its programming schedule on ESPN+ on April 13, when Evansville plays host to Bradley in a 6 p.m. Central baseball game at Braun Stadium in Evansville, Indiana.
Another 79 MVC events -- all originally slated for distribution on ESPN3 -- will be featured on ESPN+.Â
Regular-season softball (32) and baseball (22) plus post-season championships for those sports as well as outdoor track and field comprise the 2017-18 league offerings on ESPN+.
"Reaching current as well as future audiences is the top priority for our linear and digital video endeavors, and ESPN continues to position its place as a leader in the industry," said MVC Commissioner Doug Elgin, who is the longest-tenured commissioner (30 years) in the 111-year history of the league.
"Utilizing mobile devices to stay as up-to-date as possible on every one of our athletic programs is nothing new for our fans, and the redesigned ESPN App will give sports fans an unmatched, one-stop digital sports platform."
The new, redesigned and re-imagined app will include three core offerings to fans -- 1) News, Scores, Highlights & Audio, 2) TV Everywhere streaming and 3) ESPN+.
News, Scores, Highlights & Audio will feature the same services that millions of fans turn to the ESPN App for today -- through a new, dynamic and more personalized user interface.
TV Everywhere streaming will continue to provide authenticated access to ESPN's linear networks and ESPN3 for pay TV subscribers.
ESPN+ will offer fans more sports, more leagues and more games -- as well as original shows, films and an unmatched on-demand sports library.
ESPN+ will not include access to stream ESPN's existing linear networks and ESPN3.
For the remainder of the Spring 2018 term, other Conference-produced live content will continue to be available on The Valley on ESPN3 -- the league's co-branded digital network with ESPN.
In addition to the 80 MVC events that will be available on ESPN+, an additional 33 softball and 23 baseball productions will also be shown on ESPN3.
"The Missouri Valley Conference's inclusion in an exciting venture like ESPN+ would not be possible without the dedication and support shown by our production units on league campuses," said MVC Associate Commissioner Jack R. Watkins, who oversees The Valley's linear and digital video operations.
"The Valley on ESPN3 was created in the spring of 2015, and since that time through the end of this academic year, the Conference will have produced nearly 1,800 exclusive live events -- inclusive of 14 league sports -- all distributed nationwide by ESPN."
The 2018 MVC Softball Tournament from Ron Buel Field at Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday-Saturday, May 10-12, will be the first of three league championships to be distributed on ESPN+.
The 2018 MVC Outdoor Track and Field Championship will be shown on ESPN+ from Gibson Track and Field Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Friday-Sunday, May 11-13.
The league will conclude its 2017-18 post-season tournament schedule on Wednesday-Saturday, May 23-26, as the 2018 MVC Baseball Championship will be shown on ESPN+ from Horner Ballpark in Dallas, Texas.
The site of a 2015 NCAA Division I Baseball Regional, Horner Ballpark will play host to its first-ever MVC Tournament and mark the first time in league history that an affiliate Valley member -- Dallas Baptist University -- has played host to the league's post-season baseball championship.Â
This event also denotes the seventh consecutive year that games from the tournament have been shown on an ESPN digital platform -- ESPN3 or ESPN+ -- beginning with the 2012 event from Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri.
