Title/Alt Text When ESPN partnered with the University of Texas to form Longhorn Network as a part of a 20-year, $295 million deal, it was supposed to be a landmark moment for the school, company and regional sports networks.

Instead, Longhorn Network has lost ESPN $48 million in its first five years of operation, according to SNL Kagan, a media research firm. Longhorn Network was announced on Jan. 19, 2011 and launched on Aug. 26, 2011.

Longhorn Network had its issues early on, some of which still remain. Cable and satellite providers were slow to pick up LHN in the first three years of its existence, LHN only receives two third-tier football games a year and instead had to supplement its coverage with basketball, baseball and Olympic sports. In addition, Longhorn Network never had the ability to broadcast high school games as had originally been the plan -- something the NCAA shut down because it would have been a recruiting advantage.

But most importantly, the football team has been bad since 2011. In the time since the Longhorn Network went on the air, Texas is just 36-28 overall with two straight losing seasons under new head coach Charlie Strong.

Per the SNL Kagan study, Longhorn Network, despite bringing in cash for the school, has lost money for five straight years. According to SNL Kagan, LHN was on the verge of "being a bust" before signing a distribution deal with DIRECTV last year to add 1.8 million additional homes to the network's reach. Per SNL Kagan, this puts Longhorn Network's subscriber base at around 7.5 million. SNL Kagan projects Longhorn Network will achieve its first profit in 2016, at roughly $2 million.

ESPN, according to the San Antonio News Express, instead said Longhorn Network has 20 million subscribers.