Oklahoma's Deal With Fox Sports Is for $40 Million Over 10 Years Earlier this month, the University of Oklahoma announced a deal with Fox Sports that broadened the availability of its sports within the state and spread them throughout Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. A national component was also added. The arrangement fell short of a full-fledged Sooners channel, like the University of Texas's Longhorn Network, which ESPN created. And it does not come with the Longhorn Network-like money - $300 million over 20 years - that Texas will receive. According to Oklahoma's contract, which The Times was allowed to examine, the university will get $40.1 million in rights fees over 10 years, starting with $3.5 million this academic year, and increasing by about 3 percent annually. In addition, Fox will reimburse Oklahoma's SoonerVision nearly all of its costs in producing virtually all the programming. Over 10 years, it will get $18.05 million. SoonerVision started operations in 1997 and recently invested $5 million in its facilities. Within Oklahoma, the school's programming - dubbed Sooner Sports TV Powered by Fox Sports - will be carried by Fox Sports Oklahoma, where it holds a prominent position, along with Thunder basketball. The programming features one pay-per-view football game a year; a minimum of four to six men's basketball games; and the bulk of the women's basketball games. As with the networks started by the Big 10 and Pac-12, much of the programming will be non-revenue Olympic sports and the academic and cultural content that is most attractive to students, their parents and alumni. In Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, the Oklahoma games will be seen on Fox Sports Southwest. Nationally, the programming will be available on Fox College Sports, or on satellite on DirecTV and Dish. The overall deal lets Oklahoma reap more money for its sports programming beyond its share of Fox and ESPN's Big 12 contracts. And it eliminates concerns that a stand-alone Sooners channel could succeed in a state with about 1.3 million cable subscribers by placing the programming on existing Fox regional sports networks. With seven million subscribers, Texas is quite a fertile market in which to launch a sports channel. But the Longhorn Network, which ESPN began last year, has been having trouble getting broad distribution around the state.