Keep the Horizon League Network Free

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On October 23, 2006, the Horizon League launched the Horizon League Network, which was the premier broadband destination for free, live video of League games and other video-on-demand features highlighting the League's teams and student- athletes. In the press released linked below, the Horizon League said: HLN will provide Free, live coverage of ...
more than 140 Horizon League regular-season men's and women's basketball conference games
first- and second-round games of the Horizon League men's basketball championship

On March 5, 2009, the Horizon League announced that they would move the Horizon League Network to a pay-per-view service, charging $5.00 per game. This move, during the worst recession since the Great Depression, is an ill-advised move by the Horizon League. A major reason for the success of the Horizon League the past five years was the fact that college basketball fans from all across American could watch Horizon League games online for free.

We urge you to sign our petition to encourage the Horizon League to rethink their decision and preserve the free coverage, which made the Horizon League Network the best online sports network.

HLN '06 Press Release: http://www.horizonleague.org/genrel/102306aab.html
HLN '09 Press Release: http://www.horizonleague.org/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/030509aaa.html

90 Signatures

  • Chris Bray
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • butler
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • im poor
  • Alex Ross
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Butler
  • James Hardy
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • UIC
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • This move will hurt the fanbase, which has relied on this free access in order to maintain their ties to the school. Why force them to pay extra just to support the team?
  • AJ Stump
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • butler
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • HLN showed poor sportmanship to charge for the network without previous notice. The HL needs all the national PR it can get!
  • Norman Stump
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • butler
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • Dirty trick to charge HL fans without notice. Except for Butler, the HL doesn't get any attention. Way to kill any PR!
  • Jason Marquardt
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • UIC
  • David Ruehrschneck
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Butler University
  • Matthew Rioux
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Valparaiso University
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • The production quality this past season has been suspect at best! I wouldn't pay a dime for the quality provided this last season!
  • Danny Robertson
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Valparaiso University
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • This is a great way for fans and especially students to stay connected to their teams...to think that a student will pay $5 per game is simply unreasonable.
  • Miles Janssen
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Valparaiso
  • Adam Gibson
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Valparaiso
  • William Sonna
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • UIC
  • Todd Witherow
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Butler
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • How does this help the league
  • John Adams
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Butler
  • Dennis Murphy
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Butler
  • Greg McGuire
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Butler
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • keep free
  • Buddy Williams
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Youngstown State University
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • I am a YSU fan from Florida. I enjoyed watching the 'guins down here in Florida this year, but there is no way I'd ever buy the $5.00 stream for the other schools feeds. YSU's is superior to the likes of CSU and Valpo.
  • Boris Golubov
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Butler University
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • Keep the network how its been. Why would you change something that is working to make an extra buck? We are all losing jobs and dont have the money to pay for it. Give us something we have been enjoying for years for free like it has been.
  • Lee Kolodziej
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • UIC
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • A fee wil not help the network, league and individual schoools gain exposure. It will severely limit it outside the few loyal "old" supporters
  • Aaron Klemme
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Butler University
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • It is so nice to actually have a free network online where some of the less-fortunate fans can watch the game that is not nationally televised.
  • Chris Brown
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • UIC
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • DO NOT DO THIS! Horizon League already has terrible exposure and you will just increase this by charging for Horizon League games.
  • Bob Stokas
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Loyola
  • Michael Metzinger
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Youngstown State
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • I do not believe this is a smart move by the Horizon League. HLN was this league's exclusive sports network. The HL does not have the luxury of getting exposure from ESPN or FSN each week. The HL needs to reverse its decision and make it free again. Failure to do so will cost the league much needed exposure from all parts of America.
  • Bob McDonald
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Cleveland State
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • I know my opinion matter little to you. But OUR opinion matters a great deal!
  • Mike Klingshirn
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Wright State
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • I will not pay to watch any HL games over the internet. I'll be listening to my favorite team's free radio broadcasts instead.
  • Bill ODonnell
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Wright State
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • Stop paying the blogging guys and keep it free
  • Jeff Gardner
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Wright State University
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • This league is not premier enough to draw people at $5/game. You are doing a disservice to every team in the league because overall leaguee exposure will drop significantly. Who's going to pay $5 to watch teams like Detroit and Valpo? It will be hard enough to convince people to watch the top-tier schools in the league, unless they are already fans of those particular schools. You are going to lose the casual watcher who doesn't have a particular HL team to root for.
  • John Droescher
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Cleveland State
  • Keith McCann
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Cleveland State University
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • Bad Timing
  • Rick Kerkhoff
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Wright State University
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • Charging will drive fans away, not offset costs.
  • Larry Dingmann
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Wright State U
  • Tim Farrell
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Wright State
  • Mr Zachary Gibson
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • YSU
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • Go YSU! Make this free again!
  • Cindy Gulden
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Wright State
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • The feed is erratic at best, freezing, restarting at beginning or middle of game. Not good enough yet for pay.
  • Mike Stuewe
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • CSU
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • 5 dollars for subpar production quality is not worth it. At most, make it 10 or 15 bucks for the entire year.
  • John Jacobson
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Valpo
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • Bad decision and worse timing
  • BJ Duckworth
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Youngstown State
  • Diane Rodriguez
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Youngstown State University
  • Brandon Ogarek
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Youngstown State
  • Regina Hawkins
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Youngstown State University
  • Stephanie Raybuck
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • YSU
  • Jessica Heilman
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Youngstown State University
  • Craig Ziobert
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Youngstown State University
  • Andrew Timko
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Youngstown State
  • Tanner Vanden Heuvel
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • UWM
  • Ronald Anderson
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Youngstown State
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • You want money, for something I can live without...your loss!
  • Donald Ellingsen
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Milwaukee
  • John Parker
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Milwaukee
  • John Olson
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • Milwaukee
  • Olyer Anderson
    • Favorite Horizon League School
    • UIC
    • Comments to the Horizon League
    • The justification for this move is neither warranted nor welcomed