Sportsnet

Sportsnet
Launched	October 9, 1998
Owned by	Rogers Media (Rogers Sportsnet Inc.)
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Slogan	Fuelled By Fans
Country	Canada
Broadcast area	National, through regional feeds
Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario
Formerly called	CTV Sportsnet (1998–2000), Sportsnet (2000–2001), Rogers Sportsnet (2001–2011)
Sister channel(s)	Sportsnet One Sportsnet World CJCL and CFAC
Website	Sportsnet
Availability
Satellite
Bell TV	405–408 (SD) 846–849 (HD)
Shaw Direct	416–419 (SD) 260–263 (HD)
Cable
Available on most Canadian cable systems	Check local listings, channels may vary
IPTV
Bell Aliant TV	110–113 (SD) 472–475 (HD)
Bell Fibe TV	405–408 (SD) 1405–1408 (HD)
MTS	171–174 (SD) 471–474 (HD)
Optik TV	111–114 (SD) 664, 665, 667 (HD)
SaskTel	24, 120–122 (SD) 324 (HD)

Sportsnet (formerly known as CTV Sportsnet and Rogers Sportsnet) is a Canadian English-language Category C sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Communications.

Although licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as a single national service, for all intents and purposes it is equivalent to a collection of four regional sports networks, each simulcast in both standard definition and high definition, and each covering a different region of Canada. In each region, only the local Sportsnet channel is available on analogue cable, but all four channels are available nationally via digital cable (subject to blackouts for some out-of-market teams).

The Sportsnet brand has since been extended beyond the original regional channels, now encompassing the national digital channel Sportsnet One (and its associated part-time companion channels), the soccer/rugby premium channel Sportsnet World, Sportsnet Radio stations in Toronto and Calgary, and Sportsnet Magazine.

With these brand extensions, Rogers now generally uses "Sportsnet" (by itself) to denote its sports media properties as a whole, and on-air promotions for programs being carried nationally by these four regional feeds often list all four channels separately, or refer to the "Sportsnet regional channels", to avoid any ambiguity. However, standalone mentions of "Sportsnet" in reference to a specific channel can still generally be assumed to be referring to the four regional channels (or the specific regional channel available locally on analogue cable).

History

Sportsnet's original "Player" logo maintained the same basic form until 2011. The logos are of pre-2011, 2001–2010, and 2010–2011

Sportsnet was launched on October 9, 1998 as CTV Sportsnet. The name was chosen to match the regional "Fox Sports Net" operations across the United States. CTV owned 40% and was the managing partner of the new network; Rogers, Molson and Fox owned 20% each

The new network gained credibility before it went on the air, wrestling the National Hockey League (NHL) Canadian cable package away from long-time holder TSN. From 1998–99 until 2001–02, Sportsnet aired NHL games to a national audience throughout the regular season, and covered first-round playoff series not involving Canadian teams. On the day of Sportsnet's launch, its first live sports event was an NHL opening-night telecast between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers. The national cable rights to the NHL have since returned to TSN, though Sportsnet retains regional rights to 5 of the 7 Canadian-based clubs — through regional feeds and its national French network, TSN holds rights to the remaining two; the Montreal Canadiens and the Winnipeg Jets.

Acquisition by Rogers

When CTV purchased NetStar, the former parent company of TSN, in 2000, the CRTC ordered CTV to sell either TSN or its stake in Sportsnet. CTV ultimately chose to sell its Sportsnet stake. The other shareholders had first right of refusal; as Rogers was the only interested party, it acquired CTV's stake in the summer of 2001, and soon after renamed it Rogers Sportsnet. During part of the transition period, during which time the channel was known simply as "Sportsnet", CTV was allowed to control programming on both networks, and some cross-affiliation and programs that were going to be tape-delayed on TSN, most notably figure skating, were given to Sportsnet.^{[citation needed]}

While Sportsnet had been based there from the beginning, TSN's operations would move to CTV's suburban Toronto complex, 9 Channel Nine Court, following the acquisition. This led to some peculiarities related to the fact that the two rival sports channels were only separated by a "parking lot", leading to jokes and references from both networks. On April 30, 2008, Rogers Sportsnet moved broadcast operations from 9 Channel Nine Court to the Rogers Building, a cluster of buildings in the Mount Pleasant-Jarvis Street area of Downtown Toronto.^[1]

Expansion

In 2010, Rogers began to extend the Sportsnet brand beyond the original regional networks with the August 14 launch of Rogers Sportsnet One — a national companion channel promising 800 hours of live events per year. The channel was also accompanied by additional part-time feeds to serve as overflow channels for its regional NHL coverage.^[2]

Sportsnet Radio

In January 2011, Rogers' sports radio stations, CJCL Toronto ("The FAN 590") and CFAC Calgary ("The FAN 960"), were re-branded as "Sportsnet Radio Fan 590" and "Sportsnet Radio Fan 960" respectively. Critics speculated that the Sportsnet Radio branding was intended to increase synergy with its television counterparts, upon rumors that TSN would be launching a sports radio network of its own.^[3] (TSN Radio)

Sportsnet World

In July 2011, Rogers announced that it would be re-branding its premium international sports channel Setanta Sports Canada as "Sportsnet World" on October 3, 2011 — a move that would allow the channel better opportunities for cross-promotion with other Sportsnet services. As part of the transition, Setanta Sports sold its minor ownership interest in the channel to MLM Management.^[4][5]

Sportsnet Magazine

On September 29, 2011, Rogers published the first issue of Sportsnet Magazine, a bi-weekly sports magazine positioned "for Canadian sports fans", covering professional sports from a Canadian perspective. Sports writer Stephen Brunt left his position at The Globe and Mail to become the magazine's back page columnist.^[6]

Subsequently, the entire Sportsnet family of networks underwent a major overhaul on October 3, 2011, as the cornerstone of its campaign to expand the Sportsnet brand. The re-branding incorporated a revamped appearance for the networks designed in conjunction with Rogers Media and the Troika Design Group, a new image campaign ("Fuelled By Fans"), and a new logo — first used as part of the cover of Sportsnet Magazine. Additionally as part of the re-launch, the network's official name was shortened to just "Sportsnet". The new logo does not incorporate the previous "player" logo (which had been used in the network's branding since its original launch), as research performed by Rogers indicated that its association with Sportsnet did not resonate with a majority of English Canadians. The redesign of Sportsnet was overseen by Dean Bender, who served as the network's creative director upon its original launch as CTV Sportsnet.^[7][8]

Regional feeds

Rogers Sportsnet operates in a similar manner to a regional sports network in the United States, with four regional feeds airing different sporting events tailored to the region they serve. The four regional feeds are:

• Sportsnet East, which serves Eastern Ontario (defined as east of an imaginary line stretching from Pembroke in the north to Belleville in the south), Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

• Sportsnet Ontario, which serves all of Ontario excluding the region served by Sportsnet East.

• Sportsnet West, which serves Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories.

• Sportsnet Pacific, which serves British Columbia and the Yukon.

All four feeds are available in both standard and high definition formats.

Although cable companies in Canada are permitted to carry only the local Sportsnet feed on analogue cable packages, all four feeds can be carried on digital television services. However, in some instances, programming on the out-of-market Sportsnet feeds, such as regional NHL games, are blacked out.

Programming

Much like its American counterparts, Sportsnet carries both regional and national programming. Sportsnet is a major regional broadcaster of National Hockey League games. The network's four regional feeds carry selected games of the NHL teams based in their respective regions: the Ottawa Senators on Sportsnet East, the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sportsnet Ontario, the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers on Sportsnet West, and the Vancouver Canucks on Sportsnet Pacific. The Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets are the only Canadian NHL teams not broadcast by Sportsnet, as both teams have broadcasting deals with TSN (regional coverage for both teams) and sister channel RDS (national coverage in French for the Canadiens). In addition to the NHL, Sportsnet is the national carrier of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), broadcasting a package of national and regional games, culminating in the Memorial Cup.

Sportsnet is the main television outlet for Major League Baseball in Canada, holding Canadian rights to the All-Star Game and the postseason. Additionally, Sportsnet is also the main television outlet for the Toronto Blue Jays, airing the team's games on both the Sportsnet channels and Sportsnet One, and providing additional coverage of the team. Sportsnet also carries other regional MLB games from regional networks as well.

For the 2005 season, Rogers Sportsnet also began airing National Football League (NFL) games, splitting late games across the Pacific and West feeds, and the East and Ontario feeds. The games not shown in the opposite regions are also carried by the now Rogers-owned Citytv stations in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton.

Sportsnet additionally covers live Barclays Premier League matches on weekends, and alongside TSN and GolTV carries select Toronto FC games broadcast on select feeds, with limited ones available nationally. Sportsnet has also been awarded the media rights in Canada for the 2009–12 UEFA Champions League and for the UEFA Super Cup.^[9] As of 2010, Sportsnet will be airing the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, an annual competition featuring Canada's three professional soccer teams – Toronto FC, Montreal Impact, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

In early 2005, Rogers Media and CTVglobemedia jointly acquired broadcast rights to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, as well as the London 2012 Summer Olympics. This was considered a serious coup, as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) had consistently won Olympic broadcast rights from the 1996 Summer Olympics through to the 2008 Summer Olympics. CTV and V were the primary broadcasters; Rogers Sportsnet, TSN, and RDS provided supplementary coverage. However, Rogers announced in 2011 that it would not bid with CTVglobemedia's predecessor Bell Media for the rights to the 2014 and 2016 games, citing scheduling and financial issues for its widthdrawl. Bell Media will instead partner with the CBC to bid for coverage.^[10]

Since the acquisition of the Citytv stations by Rogers, Sportsnet began providing sports updates for those channels in some cases, although certain stations retain their own sports departments. In the event of programming conflicts, Sportsnet has occasionally moved Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, or Vancouver Canucks games to the local Citytv station, although the network's current preference is to use Sportsnet One's companion channels for this purpose instead.

On February 8, 2011, Sportsnet announced that they had signed a multi-year deal with Tennis Canada to acquire the exclusive rights to the Rogers Cup as well as the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 & ATP World Tour 500 series events.^[11]

Original programs

• Sportsnet Connected – The daily sports news/highlights program of Rogers Sportsnet. Hosted by various personalities. Formerly known as Sportscentral and Sportsnetnews.

• Hockeycentral – News and reports from the NHL. Hosted by Daren Millard and features hockey analysts Nick Kypreos, Bill Watters, and Gord Stellick.

• Hockeycentral at Noon – News and reports from the NHL. Hosted by Daren Millard and features either Nick Kypreos or Bill Berg as co-host. It is simulcast on Rogers Sportsnet Ontario and The Fan 590 on weekdays.

• IBM Golf Report – All the latest golf news as well as previews of upcoming tournaments with Gerry Dobson and Mark Evershed.

• Pratt & Taylor – Simulcast of the popular Team 1040 sports radio program out of Vancouver. Hosted by David Pratt and Don Taylor. Available only on Rogers Sportsnet Pacific.

• Prime Time Sports – Simulcast of the popular Fan 590 sports radio program out of Toronto. Takes a look at current and popular sports stories with host Bob McCown and various sports journalists.

• Soccercentral – News and reports from the Canadian and world soccer scene and highlights from matches from all the major leagues in Europe and around the world with Gerry Dobson and Craig Forrest.

On-air staff

High definition television

Sportsnet operates 4 high definition feeds, one for each regional channel.

Originally, Sportsnet operated one national feed that consisted primarily of a simulcast of Sportsnet Ontario, carrying nationally televised events, or separate content from other regional feeds. That feed was launched on September 1, 2003.

In 2007, Sportsnet began utilizing a second high-definition feed in order to broadcast select Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators hockey games in HD, beginning in the 2007–08 NHL season,^[12] activated only in the regions a game is to be televised. On January 26, 2009, the national HD feed was replaced by individual HD feeds for each region.

References

External links

• Sportsnet

v t e   Sports television in Canada Broadcast networks Full sports divisions CBC Sports • Radio-Canada Sports Occasional or U.S. simulcasts only Citytv • CTV • Global • TVA • V • CHCH/CHEK/Metro 14† Mainstream specialty English Sportsnet • Sportsnet One • The Score • TSN • TSN2 French RDS • RDS2 • RDS Info • TVA Sports Niche specialty (English) Archival ESPN Classic Canada Sport specific ATN Cricket • ATN Cricket Plus • EuroWorld Sport • Fight Network • GolTV • HPItv • Leafs TV • NBA TV Canada • NHL Network • Sportsnet World Lifestyle and recreation radX • Wild TV • WFN Occasional broadcasts bold • CBN • EastLink TV • Rogers TV • Shaw TV • TVCogeco Defunct Breakaway PPV • CFN • Fox Sports World Canada • Sens TV • WTSN • X-Treme Sports Foreign Big Ten Network (USA) • CBS Sports Network (USA) • Golf Channel (USA) • NFL Network (USA) • Speed (USA) †These three stations are officially independent stations, but they jointly purchase Canadian broadcast rights to sports events and some other programming.