Rejoice! The Longhorn Network has its first carrier, Verizon FiOS. The high speed broadband network in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex will offer Longhorn Network programming to its roughly 200,000 customers beginning September 1, 2011. While the offering will not start tomorrow, August 26th, which is the official launch date of the ESPN/University of Texas endeavor, fans in the DFW market will be able to watch the Texas vs. Rice football game which will be carried exclusively on the Longhorn Network.
This is excellent news for some Longhorn fans and disappointing for other fans who are waiting on pins and needles to hear if/when additional providers such as Time Warner Cable, Comcast, AT&T U-Verse and satellite providers will offer LHN programming. Fans need not worry too terribly much – more providers will pick up the network prior to the Texas vs. Rice Game.