PROVO, Utah— For BYU football fans who aren’t traveling to Dallas, there’s an alternative way to watch Friday’s BYU-SMU game.
They can watch the game at a movie theater.
Utah-based company Theater Sports Network will have the BYU-SMU game playing at Megaplex Theaters.
Utah-based company Theater Sports Network
Theater Sports Network brings live college football broadcasts to theaters around the country. They have a contract with the Walt Disney Company to air the College Football Playoff, bowl games, and the ACC inside theaters nationwide.
Since SMU is an ACC member, and the game is on an ESPN network (ESPN2), the nonconference showdown in Dallas between the Mustangs and BYU can air in theaters.
Theater Sports Network President and Co-Founder Scott Daw spoke with KSL Sports about the concept of watching a football game in a movie theater.
“This is something that you don’t generally think about. ‘Hey, I think I’ll go watch football at a movie theater.’ But it’s an exciting opportunity,” said Theather Sports Network President and Co-Founder Scott Daw. “It adds a new dimension to fandom and the experience of watching live sports.”
Daw and his father, Ron Daw, created Theater Sports Network two years ago when they had an idea for a different way to watch bowl games.
Get your 🍿 ready!
ESPN has reached a theatrical distribution agreement with Theater Sports Network to make regular season @ACCFootball & @CFBPlayoff games available in movie theaters during the '23-'24 college football season
More: https://t.co/IFXJSBOtlv pic.twitter.com/VXhysU3HS2
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) August 29, 2023
“My dad and I thought, wouldn’t it be kind of cool to watch end-of-season bowl games in a movie theater? It’s during the holiday season, which is the most expensive time to travel. It’s generally family time. So I could just imagine this conversation with my wife, ‘Hey, honey, good luck with the holiday mess. We’re off to watch football.’ The tickets are $700, airfare $1000, and hotels only $400-500 a night. We thought, ‘Let’s rent out a local theater and watch the game.'”
Last January, Theater Sports Network aired the College Football Playoff National Championship Game between Michigan and Washington in 300 theaters nationally.
Why watch a college football game in a movie theater?
But why would someone leave their house to watch a football game in a theater?
“That’s the number one question we probably get. ‘Why would I go to the theater?’ I think that’s the same answer as to why we go to the stadium.
“From a pure viewing experience, watching at home is a much better viewing experience than even going to the stadium. I don’t have to drive an hour through traffic; I don’t have to pay for parking. I’m not sitting in a cold seat. The restrooms are much cleaner at home, the food is probably better at home. A lot of things are better at home. So then, why is it that I go to the stadium? It’s experience, it’s community. It’s the chance to gather with other fans and support the team. ‘I was there. I was part of history.’ It was an exciting thing to do—the same thing as in the theater. I can never replicate that in-stadium experience. I just can’t do that.”
Instead, Daw points to the benefits of being able to watch a football game on a screen “the size of an NBA basketball court” and experiencing a game with Dolby Digital surround sound.
“This is a chance to get out with fellow fans and celebrate together. It’s a unique opportunity and something that I hope everybody will take advantage of,” said Daw.
Ticket price for BYU/SMU in a theater
Daw says that Theater Sports Network is in talks with other power conferences, such as the Big 12, to air more games in theaters.
Tickets for Friday’s BYU-SMU game at Megaplex Theaters cost $26.81 per person and can be purchased through the Megaplex website.
Megaplex Theaters at Jordan Commons (Sandy), Thanksgiving Point (Lehi), the District (South Jordan), or Geneva (Vineyard) are the locations that will have theaters designated for viewing the game.
BYU at SMU
Date: Friday, September 6, 2024
Kickoff: 5 p.m. (MDT)
TV: ESPN2
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM)
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference onX: @Mitch_Harper.
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