BYU TV (stylized as BYUtv) is a television channel and free family-friendly streaming service, founded in 2000, which is owned and operated as a part of Brigham Young University (BYU).[1] The channel, available on most smart TVs or through cable and satellite distributors in the United States, produces a number of original series and documentaries with emphases in comedy, history, lifestyle, music and drama. BYUtv also regularly broadcasts feature films, nature documentaries, acquired dramas and religious programs (consistent with the university's sponsoring organization, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).[2][3] Additionally, BYUtv Sports is the primary broadcaster of BYU Cougars athletics, producing more than 125 live sporting events in 2012 alone.[4] The channel has won multiple regional Emmy Awards,[5] a national Children's and Family Emmy Award,[6] and several of its original series have been praised by national television critics.[7][8][9]
BYUtv was founded in 2000, and has grown from a "relatively unknown cable channel on a single satellite" to a national provider on Dish Network, DirecTV, and over 600 cable systems in the US.[1]
During 2010 and 2011, newly appointed BYUtv director of content, Scott Swofford, commissioned focus groups targeting TV viewers who were at least nominally religious, to see what they liked, disliked and wanted on TV. Swofford summarized the results as, "We want to be entertained. Then we'll stick around for the message." This led to the creation of the pilot for Granite Flats, which became BYUtv's first and flagship original scripted television drama series, and went on to significantly expand the channel's audience, eventually attracting about 500,000 viewers per episode, compared to the previous top-rated show, Love of Quilting, which typically drew under 10,000.[14]
Programming
BYUtv produces shows under several categories: BYU Sports, Campus, Documentary, Faith, Family, Lifestyle, People, and Performing Arts.[15] This includes original series, documentaries and religious service programs, along with family and faith-based films licensed from Disney Entertainment Distribution and Sony Pictures Television.
Religious programming derives from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which owns and operates BYU. Some religious programming airs on Sundays or in the early morning hours on BYUtv:
The channel was the primary home for most telecasts of BYU Cougars athletics, including select home and away games for football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, gymnastics, men's and women's volleyball and women's soccer. Beginning in 2009, the network also began covering BYU-Hawaii Seasiders sports, including all conference home games in women's volleyball and men's basketball, as well as select conference home games in women's basketball and additional non-conference home games for men's basketball.
In 2011, BYUtv added the WCCMen's and Women's Basketball Tournaments to their sports broadcasts. BYUtv produced the first round and quarterfinals of the men's and women's basketball tournaments, which were also broadcast on ESPN3.com.[19]
In 2011, ESPN reached a deal to broadcast home games of the newlyindependentBYU Cougars football team. At least one home game per season would air live on BYUtv, along with reruns on BYUtv of home games broadcast on ESPN's networks.[20] Its coverage also included pre-game and post-game shows, with the pre-game show Countdown to Kickoff hosted by BYU Cougars alumni Alema Harrington, Dave McCann and a rotating panel of analysts: Gary Sheide, Blaine Fowler, David Nixon, Brian Logan, and Jan Jorgensen.[21][22] In 2014, Spencer Linton replaced Harrington on the panel.
Additionally, the network launched a separate website for its sports coverage, Byutvsports.com, in partnership with ESPN and IMG College. The site features news, video and free video on demand streaming of recent games.[23] The site folded back into byutv.org in fall 2015.
The channel also produces its own sports shows including BYU Sports Nation (weekdays, 1 hr), BYU Sports Nation Game Day (formerly Countdown to Kickoff, preceding each football game), Postgame Show (following each football game), After Further Review (weekly), Inside BYU Football (weekly) and previously carried Bronco Mendenhall's post-game press conferences for football games.
With BYU joining the Big 12 in the 2023–24 season, BYU TV will no longer carry Cougars sports telecasts, due to a contract with ESPN+ to hold the third-tier media rights of all teams in the conference. The telecasts will continue to be produced by BYU staff, and BYU TV will continue to carry studio programming.[24]
Availability
BYUtv is available on a variety of streaming platforms and devices, including:
Streaming Devices: Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Android TV, Google TV, and Xumo/X1.
Smart TVs: Samsung Smart TVs (2020-2024), LG Smart TVs (2019-2024), Vizio TVs, and Sony TVs with Google TV.
Gaming Consoles: Xbox.
Mobile Devices: Android and iOS.
Web: The BYUtv app is accessible on the latest desktop and mobile browsers, including Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. The official website is byutv.org
Additionally, BYUtv is available through many cable companies, making it accessible to a wide audience across various platforms.
