By MICHAEL PETERS Sports Editor on Sep 4, 2012, at 7:48 PM Updated on 9/04 at 7:48 PM
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I awoke to the news Friday morning that the Longhorn Network had finally landed its long-awaited second national cable/satellite carrier -- AT&T U-verse.
U-verse is the only cable provider available in my new neighborhood (I have a fun story about my installation I can tell another day), so I decided I would share the joy with those Cox, DirecTV and Dish subscribers who aren't so lucky.
A note to my bosses at the Tulsa World: if you're wondering why I was a little late to work Friday, it's all DeLoss Dodds' fault.
What I'm about to say may sound like a joke, but I swear it's not.
Here was the day's lineup Friday on the LHN:
* Four consecutive episodes of Longhorn Extra, the 30-minute highlight and interview show for Texas athletics.
* Mack Brown's one-hour coaches' show.
* A three-hour review of the 2011 football season.
* Two women's soccer matches, including one that was a replay from five days earlier.
It's content only Dodds -- and the athletic department budget -- could love.
But while the content -- other than the two live football games currently on the network -- can be mocked, it's obvious the network has everyone's attention.
It's probably no surprise details of Oklahoma's own television endeavor with Fox Sports Net leaked out Friday just as the LHN-AT&T deal was being announced.
OU's deal figures to hit more homes in Texas and Oklahoma -- at least for now. And Bob Stoops has always said he doesn't care about the LHN as long as the recruiting rules are fair.
But that's where the LHN can't be a joke to Texas' rivals. Even with the rules applying the same to everyone, the LHN gives UT a pretty significant advantage -- if it ever gets a broader audience.
The content may seem silly, but the production values are first rate. And what school wouldn't enjoy pointing recruits to a 24-hour a day, seven-day a week infomercial for its university beamed live to their TV?
Maybe AT&T is the final push in a single-school network deal that will eventually be a forgotten memory.
But if it's the first major step, OU, OSU and the rest of the Big 12 better watch out.
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