Comcast SportsNet

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Comcast SportsNet (or CSN) is a group of four regional sports networks. The group is primarily owned by the Comcast cable television company.

The channels, CSN-Chicago, CSN-Philadelphia, CSN-Mid-Atlantic (serving Baltimore/Washington), and CSN-West (serving northern and central California), have rights to carry some or all of the local professional teams in baseball, basketball, and hockey. They also air nightly sports-news and talk shows, post-game shows and other shoulder programming related to local National Football League teams, and a variety of college sports programming.

CSN Chicago, CSN Philadelphia, CSN Mid-Atlantic and SportsNet New York air SportsNite, a nightly sports news program which has a format that is very similar to ESPN's SportsCenter.

1 CSN Chicago
2 CSN Philadelphia
3 CSN-Mid-Atlantic
4 CSN-West
5 FSN on Comcast SportsNet
6 Other channels
7 Comcast SportsNet HD
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] CSN Chicago

CSN-Chicago is jointly owned by Comcast (20%), the Tribune Company (owners of the Cubs, 20%), Jerry Reinsdorf (owner of the both the Bulls and the White Sox, giving him a 40% stake), and Bill Wirtz (owner of the Chicago Blackhawks, 20%). The channel airs a majority of games for those four teams (the majority of Blackhawks home games, however, are not televised at the owner's request). They also carry games for the MLS Chicago Fire soccer, and NIU Huskies football. If any two of the teams play at the same time, a second alternate channel (called Comcast Sportsnet Plus, and aired on CLTV) is utilized to show both events, although WCIU and WGN-TV carry many Cubs, White Sox, and Bulls games. Comcast SportsNet Chicago was created so the teams mentioned could have editorial control over their broadcasts, unlike the past 'produced by' arrangements with the now-defunct FSN Chicago, whose facilities were taken over by CSN Chicago when the network launched. All home games of the teams on CSN-Chicago are broadcast in high definition (home games on WGN are also available in high definition). CSN-Chicago also airs Chicago Bears-related programming.

In the Chicago area, Comcast operates a separate Comcast Network, a general entertainment channel that also airs the entire schedule of the AHL's Chicago Wolves.

[edit] CSN Philadelphia

CSN Philadelphia broadcasts the Comcast-owned Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia Flyers, along with the Philadelphia Phillies. In addition, CSN-Philadelphia also carries some games of the AHL's Philadelphia Phantoms (also owned by Comcast), indoor lacrosse of the Philadelphia Wings, and local college sports games, including the Philadelphia Big Five, the Atlantic 10, and the Colonial Athletic Association.

In Philadelphia, Comcast distributes the signal only by land line. By doing so, it is able to avoid an FCC regulation that requires most television channels to be offered to direct broadcast satellite companies. Thus DBS customers in the Philadelphia region do not get access to the local team's games. However, cable companies other than Comcast within the CSN-Philadelphia market, such as Service Electric, do have access to the channel. Phillies games are not available on the out-of-market package MLB Extra Innings, although the NBA and NHL sometimes have been able to use the CSN-Philadelphia feeds for their packages. In December 2006, Comcast made a deal to place CSN Philadelphia on Verizon's competing FiOS systems. [1]

CSN-Mid-Atlantic, Chicago, and West, however, are equally available on DBS and cable.

CSN-Philadelphia debuted on October 1, 1997, replacing the old PRISM Network in the Philadelphia area. Comcast is the primary owner of the channel, with the Phillies holding a minority stake.

CSN-Philadelphia's studios and offices are located inside the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. CSN-Philadelphia also has a small studio inside Citizens Bank Park, which is used sporadically during the baseball season.

In addition, Comcast owns CN8, which on occasion will air Phillies games in the Philadelphia metro area when a Flyers or 76ers game airs on CSN-Philadelphia.

[edit] CSN-Mid-Atlantic

CSN-Mid-Atlantic is the former network HTS (Home Team Sports) that was partly owned by CBS. It televises most games of the Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals, and DC United. CSN-Mid-Atlantic also carries Washington Redskins magazine and post-game shows. The network has rights to ACC-related games, in particular those offered by Lincoln Financial Sports or that would otherwise not be televised, and coaches shows from Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland-College Park.

CSN-Mid-Atlantic also shows Colonial Athletic Association basketball games. During 2007, it also aired many Fox Sports Net programming, including the 2007 Pacific-10 Conference Men's Basketball Tournament and 2007 Big 12 Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.

Up until the 2006 season, CSN-Mid-Atlantic showed Baltimore Orioles games, which will be moving to team-owned MASN in 2007. Comcast refused to add MASN, which debuted in 2005 and also shows Washington Nationals games, to its cable systems until September, 2006, because the company believed that they had a contractual right to keep Orioles games on their network. This led to some subscribers switching to DirecTV, which had reached a deal with MASN, and a lawsuit between Comcast and the Orioles, which the Orioles ultimately won.

[edit] CSN-West

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CSN-West carries Sacramento Kings games, Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers-related programming, and assorted collegiate sports.

[edit] FSN on Comcast SportsNet

CSN-Chicago, CSN-Philadelphia, and CSN-Mid-Atlantic carry FSN programming in lieu of a FSN affiliate. This offers the regions access to a variety of college sports, notably ACC men's and women's basketball on Sundays, and Big 12 and Pac-10 football on Saturdays during their respective seasons, and shows produced by FSN, such as The Best Damn Sports Show Period, and the FSN Final Score. This arrangement is exclusively to secure national coverage for its collegiate lineup of games. When FSN Chicago ceased operations, FSN secured coverage of live games on CSN-Chicago and CSN-Chicago Plus

[edit] Other channels

Comcast is part owner (with St. Louis, Missouri-based Charter Communications) of CSS (Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast), a regional network serving the southeastern portion of the nation, based in Atlanta. CSS carries primarily collegiate and high school sports in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and South Carolina. CSS is not directly related to Comcast SportsNet.

Comcast also co-owns (with Fox Sports Net) the Sun Sports cable television network based in Orlando, Florida and serving the state of Florida (Sun Sports and FSN Florida are operated and programmed together). Comcast is also co-owner of FOX Sports Net New England, which carries Boston Celtics games, along with regional and national college sports.

Comcast also owns a local sports network in Detroit and available across Michigan and central Indiana, CL (Comcast Local). CL carries collegiate and prep sports from their area, as well as minor league sports throughout the state.

Similarly, Comcast owns local channels, branded CN8, based in the Philadelphia and Boston metropolitan areas. CN8 is aired on most Comcast cable systems along the East Coast from Boston to Richmond, Virginia. The CN8 channels are primarily local news/information channels, but carry some regional sports programming, including Eastern League baseball, and some Phillies games within the Phillies' designated market.

In March, 2006, Comcast (along with Time Warner Cable and The New York Mets) launched SportsNet New York. The network is following the format of CSN stations with Mets games and New York Jets-related programming as the primary professional sports content, along with sports news programs and talk shows. College sports programming will feature the Big Ten Conference, among others.

[edit] Comcast SportsNet HD

Comcast SportsNet HD is a high definition simulcast of the best programs from Comcast SportsNet including live sports & series. Each regional channel has its own separate HD feed and decides what will be broadcast in HD.