CSTV Reaches Agreement With CBS Sports for Rights to Produce and Televise Nine NCAA Championship Events
CSTV To Provide Expanded Coverage of NCAA Championships; First-Ever Live, National Television Coverage Of Division I Women’s Ice Hockey, Lacrosse and Field Hockey, Division II and III Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse, and Men’s and Women’s Water Polo
November 5, 2003

Courtesy College Sports Television

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NEW YORK, November 3, 2003 – CSTV: College Sports Television (www.CSTV.com), the fastest-growing independent cable network, has reached an agreement with CBS Sports that will provide expanded coverage of NCAA championships. CBS Sports owns the television rights to 67 NCAA championships. As part of the agreement, CSTV will present the first-ever live, national television coverage of the NCAA championships in Division I women’s ice hockey, Division II and III men’s lacrosse, Division I, II and III women’s lacrosse, Division I field hockey and men’s and women’s water polo.

[Deep South Conference Note: Limestone has been in the NCAA Division II lacrosse championship game the last four years, winning twice.]

The first championship event College Sports Television will air under the agreement will be the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championships from Amherst, Mass., on Sunday, November 23 (12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT).

CSTV, the first 24-hour sports network, is available to approximately 15 million households nationally on satellite and cable. The network is available on Adelphia and Insight systems and on DirecTV. For information on CSTV availability in particular markets, consumers can log on to www.cstv.com or call their local cable or satellite operator.

Last spring, CSTV televised NCAA regular and post-season action in Division I and III Women’s Lacrosse, Division I Baseball, Division I Women’s Gymnastics and Division I Outdoor Track & Field. The network also provided a full schedule of regular season baseball and men’s and women’s lacrosse games.

Since its launch six months ago, CSTV has aired more than 1,300 hours of original programming featuring more than 21 men’s and women’s college sports among the top conferences and universities across Division I, II and III, and NAIA

“As the new home of college sports, we are excited about providing a national broadcast platform for these NCAA Championships,” said Brian Bedol, president and CEO, CSTV. “The addition of these national championships to our year-round event and studio coverage will enable college sports fans to follow the ‘best of the best’ in college athletics from the season opener to the final whistle of the season.”

“CSTV’s telecasts of these NCAA Championships, as well as its accompanying studio coverage, will result in unprecedented exposure for NCAA student-athletes,” said Jo Jo Rinebold, managing director, branding, broadcasting and communications, NCAA. “This agreement translates into a unique, national showcase for student-athletes who otherwise would not receive such exposure.”

"We are pleased that CSTV will provide this exposure for the nine NCAA Championships," said Mike Aresco, senior vice president, programming, CBS Sports. "This agreement will translate into increased visibility for these student-athletes and their fans."

CSTV’s NCAA Championship Rights:
Division I Field Hockey (November 23)
Men's Water Polo (December 7)
National Collegiate Women’s Hockey Championship, Semi-Finals and Final (March 26 & 28, 2004)
Women's Water Polo (May 9, 2004)
Division II Women's Lacrosse (May 15, 2004)
Division III Women's Lacrosse (May 16, 2004)
Division I Women's Lacrosse (May 23, 2004)
Division II Men's Lacrosse (May 29, 2004)
Division III Men's Lacrosse (May 29, 2004)

College Sports Television’s current programming lineup includes football, hockey, soccer and volleyball games-of-the-week, with extensive men’s and women’s basketball and wrestling event coverage later this month. The network’s original programming lineup also features studio shows such as CSTV Primetime and CSTV Scoreboard, which provide the latest news, scores and highlights, and programs such as Coach, Crystal Ball, Notre Dame Primetime and Coast2Coach all of which provide college sports fans with unique perspectives of the college sports experience.

CSTV: College Sports Television televises regular season and championship event coverage in football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer and other sports from the ACC, Atlantic 10, Big East, Big Sky, Big Ten, Big 12, Big West and Conference USA, as well as the Ivy League, Mountain West, Sun Belt, WAC and West Coast Conferences. CSTV also presents NCAA postseason action in baseball, lacrosse, women’s ice hockey, field hockey, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s water polo, gymnastics and track & field. For more information on CSTV, log on to www.cstv.com.

College Sports Television was co-founded by President/CEO Brian Bedol, Chairman Stephen Greenberg and Executive Vice President Chris Bevilacqua. Bedol and Greenberg co-founded Classic Sports Network, which they sold to ESPN and which is now ESPN Classic. Bevilacqua is a former senior executive with Nike Inc., where he headed the company’s successful foray into the college market.