Verizon Communications this month will produce its first live broadcast: A Feb. 20 matchup between George Mason and University of Delaware men’s basketball teams, which will be available to FiOS TV subscribers in Northern Virginia and parts of Maryland.
The telco’s local FiOS1 channel will carry the game from George Mason’s Patriot Center starting at 9 p.m. Calling the game will be Washington Post sports columnist B.J. Koubaroulis and Craig Esherick, a former Georgetown head coach.
"Verizon FiOS is a new, innovative player in the market of sports broadcasting, and we are thrilled to be part of their first live sports broadcast,” George Mason athletic director Tom O'Connor said, in a prepared statement.
In addition to the live broadcast, the George Mason-Delaware game will be available on FiOS1’s video-on-demand service.
FiOS1, launched last spring in the D.C. suburbs, also provides taped broadcasts of local high school basketball games, along with Washington metro weather, traffic, sports and community features. The service, available on channel 1, is available at no extra charge to FiOS TV subscribers.
Cable overbuilder RCN – a Verizon competitor in the area – is an official sponsor of the 10,000-seat Patriot Center, in Fairfax, Va.
