Sportsnet
| Rogers Sportsnet logo | |
| Type | Specialty service (regional sports) |
|---|---|
| Country | |
| Availability | National |
| Owner | Rogers Sportsnet Inc. (Rogers Media) |
Key people | Douglas Beeforth - President |
Former names | CTV Sportsnet (c. 1998-2000) |
Official website | www.sportsnet.ca |
Rogers Sportsnet is a Canadian cable television sports specialty channel, operating four regional feeds and one national high-definition feed. It is owned by Rogers Sportsnet Inc., which is owned by Rogers Media.
Rogers Sportsnet was launched as CTV Sportsnet. The name was chosen to match the regional "Fox Sports Net" operations across the United States. CTV owned 40%; Rogers, Molson and Fox owned 20% each. When CTV purchased NetStar, the parent company of TSN, in 1999, they were forced to sell either Sportsnet or TSN by the CRTC. CTV elected to sell Sportsnet, on which the other shareholders had first right of refusal; as Rogers was the only interested party, Rogers bought CTV's interest and renamed the service Rogers Sportsnet. It has since acquired the shares of Molson and Fox, but does air some programs from FOX networks, notably including the English Premier League, NASCAR, and Major League Baseball, though MLB coverage outside of the Blue Jays has not always been the FOX domestic feed. Sportsnet also offers ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball package.
Broadcasting nationally across Canada, the station is actually similar to a broadcast network, with four regional feeds airing different sporting events tailored to the region they serve. As well, Sportsnet also operates a national high-definition programming service. The Sportsnet feeds are:
- Sportsnet East, which serves the Ottawa region, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
- Sportsnet West, which serves Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
- Sportsnet Pacific, which serves British Columbia and the Yukon.
Sportsnet Pacific carries selected Seattle Mariners games produced by FSN Northwest, while Sportsnet East and Ontario carry or have carried in the past selected Boston Red Sox games produced by NESN and selected New York Yankees games produced by YES, respectively, although the MLB Extra Innings package is available for purchase in Canada.
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 satellite television or digital cable. However, in some instances programming on the out-of-market Sportsnet feeds, such as regional National Hockey League games, are blacked out.
In early 2005, Rogers Sportsnet was part of the consortium that won the Canadian broadcast rights to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, as well as the London 2012 Summer Olympics. This was considered a serious coup, as the CBC had consistently won Olympic broadcast rights from the 1996 Summer Olympics through to the 2008 Summer Olympics. CTV and TQS will be the primary broadcasters; Rogers Sportsnet, TSN and RDS will provide supplementary coverage.
Personalities
Original Programs
- Pratt and Taylor - Simulcast of the popular Team 1040 sports radio program out of Vancouver. Hosted by David Pratt and Don Taylor. Available only on Sportsnet Pacific.
- Hockey Central - News and reports from the NHL with Daren Millard, featuring the following team of hockey personalities- Nick Kypreos, Bill Watters and Gord Stellick.
- IBM Golf Report - All the latest Golf news as well as previews of upcoming tournaments with Gerry Dobson & Mark Evershed.
- 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.
- Soccer Central - News and reports from the Canadian and World Soccer scene, highlights from matches from all the major leagues in Europe and around the world with Gerry Dobson and Craig Forrest.
Sportsnet HD
Sportsnet HD is a high definition simulcast of Rogers Sportsnet. Most of the time, the channel is a mirror of the Ontario feed, but will sometimes simulcast programmes with the other three regions or air completely separate programming. The channel launched on September 1, 2003 with the Toronto Blue Jays versus the New York Yankees. Toronto Blue Jays games make up the majority of Sportsnet's live HD programming, as the team itself is owned by Rogers. NHL coverage is not currently available on Sportsnet HD because only TSN has national cable rights.