Aug. 30, 2011

STANFORD, Calif.-- Stanford Athletics, Google Inc. and YouTube have reached a partnership agreement that includes the launch of The Cardinal Channel (www.TheCardinalChannel.com), a Stanford Athletics Video Sports Network that will produce original video content for all 35 of Stanford’s athletic programs. The agreement, secured by Cardinal Sports LLC, Stanford Athletics’ exclusive multimedia and marketing partner, unites one of the most successful and broad-based intercollegiate athletic programs in the country with the world’s largest video sharing community.

Stanford Athletics will produce features, interviews, and original content such as “The Program,” a web series following the Stanford Football program through the 2011 season. In addition, The Cardinal Channel will broadcast a live pregame show 90 minutes before each Stanford Football home game that will include features on Stanford sports, fan contests, and live interviews with alumni, fans, Stanford student-athletes and coaches. The show will air live from pre-game Fan Fest, located across from Stanford Stadium.

The student-athletes and teams that comprise Stanford’s Olympic sports programs will also be prominently featured via The Cardinal Channel on a regular segment titled “19 hours,” a web series that gives each sports team 19 hours to feature its program and student-athletes through short films.

“With its proximity to Silicon Valley, Stanford Athletics seeks to serve its various audiences by continuing to harness technology and encouraging innovation,” stated Bob Bowlsby, Stanford Athletics Jaquish & Kenniger Director of Athletics.  “By partnering with Google Inc. and YouTube, we are enthusiastic to extend our reach to fans worldwide through this exciting video initiative.  “This alliance will provide Stanford Athletics the opportunity to capture the essence of Cardinal student-athletes and their amazing accomplishments both on and off the field.”

About YouTube
Founded in February 2005, YouTube allows billions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. With over two billion views per day, YouTube content is viewed at nearly double the prime time audience of all three major U.S. Networks combined. More video is uploaded to YouTube in 60 days than all three major U.S. Networks created in 60 years.

About Stanford Athletics
Stanford University is a member of the Pac-12 Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Its administrative and coaching staffs are committed to offering a wide range of high quality programs that will encourage all participants to realize opportunities for championship athletic participation, recreation, physical fitness, health, and well being. Stanford Athletics manages 18 world-class sports facilities and serves more than 800 student-athletes representing 35 intercollegiate sports programs. Very few athletic departments in the country can boast the kind of success that Stanford has enjoyed. Stanford has won a total of 117 national championships and 17 consecutive Directors' Cup titles. Stanford teams have captured NCAA championships at an unprecedented rate, winning at least one NCAA team championship for 35 consecutive years and 101 team titles overall. Stanford student-athletes have gone on to win Super Bowls, Olympic medals, NBA world championships, World Series championships, Grand Slam golf and tennis championships, World Cup championships, and have also become American and world record holders, Super Bowl MVPs, Cy Young Award winners, and Hall of Fame inductees. With an extensive list of accomplishments, it is no wonder Stanford Athletics is widely known as the "Home of the Champions." For more information, please visit www.GoStanford.com.

About Cardinal Sports LLC
Cardinal Sports LLC is a property of Learfield Sports, which manages multimedia rights for more than 50 collegiate institutions, conferences and associations.  In addition to Stanford, it also represents fellow Pac-12 Conference members Oregon State and Colorado.  The company also titles the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup with NACDA and USA Today and manages marketing partnerships for the Black Coaches & Administrators (BCA).  Learfield Sports’ programming is seen on more than 160 local television stations, cable systems and Regional Sports Networks, and it also provides exclusive sports programming to more than 1,000 radio stations nationwide. For additional detail about its history and complete collegiate portfolio, visit learfieldsports.com.