Midco Sports

What Midco Sports does

Midco Sports is a regional sports media business and division of Midcontinent Communications (Midco), a private telecommunications company headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The company operates a dual-platform model: (1) linear regional sports television channels (Midco Sports on channel 622/32 and Midco Sports Two on channel 624) distributed through 30+ cable providers across the Midwest, and (2) a direct-to-consumer streaming platform, Midco Sports Plus, available on web browsers, iOS, Android, Apple TV, Fire TV, and Roku, organized into three subscription tiers (MSP1 at $79/year, MSP2 at $129/year, and All In at $199/year). The company is the official streaming home for The Summit League (NCAA Division I), Central Collegiate Hockey Association (NCAA Division I hockey), and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NCAA Division II), and holds broadcast partnerships with South Dakota State University, University of North Dakota, University of South Dakota, and Augustana University.

Midco Sports Plus streams more than 900 live sports events annually across football, basketball, hockey, soccer, volleyball, and wrestling, supplemented by award-winning original programming including The 701, Through These Doors, Midco Sports Magazine, Tourney HQ, and Varsity Sports Live. Revenue is generated through three streams: recurring subscriptions (DTC streaming), advertising (linear TV commercials, in-game sponsorships, billboards, scorebug animations, social media placements on X, Facebook, and Instagram), and broadcast and licensing rights fees from conferences and universities. The company has 58 employees, is migrating to Visaic as its new streaming technology platform in summer 2026, and reports subscriber presence in all 50 US states and Canada with +71% year-over-year subscriber growth.

Name

Midco Sports

Legal name

Midco Sports (operated by Midcontinent Communications)

Website

https://midcosports.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Midco Sports is a Midwest regional sports media division of Midcontinent Communications that operates a dual linear-TV and DTC streaming platform (Midco Sports Plus), serving as the exclusive streaming home for The Summit League, CCHA, and NSIC collegiate conferences with 900+ live events annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Sports Broadcasting and Streaming

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events (7113), Spectator Sports (71121)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports OTT Aggregators & Bundling Services (MPAKAOAB)

Keywords

• Regional sports broadcasting
• Live sports streaming
• Collegiate sports coverage
• Sports media network
• Sports content production

Headquarters

HQ city

Sioux Falls

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Subscription Streaming (Midco Sports Plus): Monthly and annual subscription plans for streaming service offering access to live games, replays, and exclusive content. Three tiers: MSP1 (Summit League Network), MSP2 (CCHA TV), and All In (everything). Subscriptions auto-renew until cancelled.
2. Television Advertising: In-game advertising including commercials, sponsorships, live mentions, billboards, scorebug animations. Ads run during live broadcasts plus minimum five re-airs within the same week.
3. Social Media Advertising: Logo placements, profile/page tags, and mentions across X, Facebook and Instagram during live broadcasts.
4. Broadcast and Sponsorship Agreements: Partnership deals with universities and conferences for broadcast rights, production, distribution, in-venue signage, and promotional support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Midco Sports is a regional sports media business that produces, distributes, and streams live and on-demand collegiate sports coverage across the Upper Midwest. It operates a linear regional sports television network (Midco Sports and Midco Sports Two on MidcoTV) and a direct-to-consumer streaming platform (Midco Sports Plus) with subscription tiers, delivering more than 900 live sports events annually including exclusive coverage of The Summit League, CCHA hockey, NSIC, and partner universities. The company also sells in-game advertising and sponsorships and produces award-winning original sports programming.

Product overview

Midco Sports operates a dual-platform sports media business consisting of a linear regional sports television network (Midco Sports on MidcoTV, channels 622/624) and a standalone streaming platform (Midco Sports Plus). Midco Sports Plus is the central streaming product, offered in three subscription tiers — MSP1, MSP2, and All In — each unlocking different content bundles. Within Midco Sports Plus, content is organized into branded sub-networks: the Summit League Network (SLN) for Summit League collegiate sports, CCHA TV for Central Collegiate Hockey Association coverage, and the NSIC Network for Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference events. These sub-networks are supplemented by Midco Sports Original Productions including The 701, Through These Doors, Tourney HQ, Varsity Sports Live, Midco Sports Magazine, Benchwarmers, and Midco Motorsports. The company also offers a sports advertising and sponsorship service leveraging its linear and streaming inventory. Midco Sports Plus is available across web browsers, iOS, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku. The company announced a technology platform transition to Visaic planned for summer 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Midco Sports Plus: Over-the-top streaming platform for live and on-demand sports content, featuring Summit League Network and CCHA TV coverage
• Summit League Network (SLN)
• CCHA TV

Products and services

• Midco Sports Plus Standalone direct-to-consumer streaming platform offering live and on-demand collegiate sports coverage, including exclusive streaming for The Summit League and CCHA. Available without cable subscription on web, mobile, and connected TV devices with multiple subscription tiers.
• Midco Sports (Linear TV) Regional linear sports television network delivering live game coverage across MidcoTV on channels 622 (Midco Sports HD) and 624 (Midco Sports Two HD), covering collegiate sports in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and surrounding states via 30+ cable provider partnerships.
• Summit League Network (SLN) Branded streaming network within Midco Sports Plus providing comprehensive coverage of The Summit League's collegiate sports, including regular season games, conference playoffs, and most championships.
• CCHA TV Branded direct-to-consumer digital network within Midco Sports Plus dedicated to Central Collegiate Hockey Association coverage, streaming regular season games, Mason Cup quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship games.
• NSIC Network Streaming network powered by Midco Sports Plus delivering exclusive live and on-demand coverage of all 16 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference member institutions, including conference and non-conference home contests and NSIC championships.
• Midco Sports Original Productions Award-winning original programming including The 701 (Fighting Hawks football series), Through These Doors (UND hockey series), Tourney HQ, Varsity Sports Live, Midco Sports Magazine, Benchwarmers, and Midco Motorsports.
• Sports Advertising & Sponsorship In-house advertising service offering commercials, sponsorships, and social media placements during live game broadcasts across Midco Sports linear TV and Midco Sports Plus streaming, with options for live mentions, billboards, scorebug animations, and logo placements.

Quantifiable outcome

• 71% year-over-year subscriber growth
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 July 2026Launch of NSIC's new streaming home on Midco Sports Plus. Fans can subscribe to Midco Sports Plus for comprehensive lineup of NSIC contests including home regular season conference and non-conference contests plus championships.
• South Dakota State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2026Broadcast and sponsorship agreement extension making Midco Sports the primary broadcast partner for Jackrabbit Athletics. Includes production and distribution of live events, in-venue signage at First Bank & Trust Arena and Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
• University of South DakotacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2026Broadcast and sponsorship agreement extension continuing since 2012. Midco Sports serves as exclusive telecommunications sponsor of the Coyotes, producing and airing wide range of USD athletic events with expanded on-demand and original content.
• University of North DakotacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2026Television and Multimedia Production and Broadcast Agreement renewal extending Midco Sports' role as UND's primary broadcast partner for Fighting Hawks athletics. Continues production and distribution of live events and original programming.
• The Summit LeaguecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2026Multi-year partnership extension establishing Midco Sports as the official streaming home for The Summit League. Midco Sports Plus broadcasts and distributes Men's and Women's Basketball Championships through semifinal rounds, with enhanced Summit League Network experience including My Clips feature and international expansion.
• VisaiccoreTechnology or Integration · 15 January 2026Technology partnership for streaming platform upgrade. Midco Sports selected Visaic as its new streaming platform provider with technology upgrade planned for summer 2026.
• Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 January 2026Expanded partnership to power NSIC Network as centralized home for NSIC digital content. Delivers exclusive live and on-demand streaming coverage of all 16 member institutions beginning fall 2026.
• Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 May 2024Three-year media rights agreement making Midco Sports Plus the exclusive streaming home for CCHA. Streams all regular season games, Mason Cup quarterfinals, semifinals and championship games through CCHA TV branded digital network.
• Augustana UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 October 2023Multi-year agreement to broadcast Augustana hockey home games beginning with inaugural season. Eleven of Vikings' 15 home contests produced and carried on Midco Sports or Midco Sports Two. Includes naming rights to Midco Arena.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• NESN (New England Sports Network): Regional sports network covering professional and collegiate sports in the New England market across linear TV and streaming. Direct model comparison for Midco Sports' regional RSN-plus-OTT hybrid structure, though focused on a different geography.
• MASN (Mid-Atlantic Sports Network): Regional sports network serving the Mid-Atlantic US with live professional and collegiate sports coverage. Comparable as a regional sports media business with linear and digital distribution and enterprise partnerships with local teams.
• SNY (SportsNet New York): New York-focused regional sports network producing and distributing live games plus original programming via linear TV and streaming. Similar mid-size regional sports media business model with ad-supported and subscription revenue streams.

Direct peers

• FloSports: Subscription-based sports streaming service that aggregates rights to niche and emerging sports, including NCAA conference and collegiate content. Most directly comparable to Midco Sports Plus in business model (D2C streaming of rights-controlled sports content) and target customer (passionate but geographically dispersed fan bases).
• Big Ten Network: Linear and digital network dedicated to a major NCAA conference, providing live games, original programming, and D2C streaming access. Comparable to Midco Sports in serving as the broadcast home for a conference (Summit League) with a tiered subscription product.
• Conference USA Digital Network: Conference-operated digital streaming service for an NCAA D-I conference, offering live and on-demand games. Comparable to Midco Sports' Summit League Network and CCHA TV as a conference-branded OTT destination serving displaced alumni fans.

Broad incumbents

• FanDuel Sports Network (formerly Bally Sports): Regional sports network operator producing and distributing live local/regional sports across the US. Closest analog to Midco Sports' linear regional sports network business and the broader RSN model against which Midco Sports Plus is positioning as a D2C alternative.
• Peacock: NBCUniversal's streaming service carrying a significant slate of live sports including Big Ten football, NBA, NFL, and Premier League. A competitor for sports streaming subscription dollars and a potential buyer of conference rights that Midco Sports currently holds.
• ESPN+: Disney's D2C sports streaming platform carrying a wide range of live sports including college football, basketball, hockey, and more. Competes with Midco Sports Plus for the same cord-cutting sports fan wallet and increasingly competes for mid-major conference rights.

Emerging players

• Stadium: Multi-platform sports media brand streaming live college sports, original programming, and highlights across digital channels. Comparable to Midco Sports in its emphasis on college sports content and digital-first distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MidcoSports
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/MidcoSports
• Facebookfacebook.com/MidcoSports
• Instagraminstagram.com/midco.sports
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/midcosports

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Midco Sports