201-598: NBCSN (also known as NBC Sports Network) was an American sports television channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal , a subsidiary of Comcast . It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network ( OLN ), which was dedicated to programming primarily involving fishing, hunting, outdoor adventure programs, and outdoor sports. By the turn of the 21st century, OLN became better known for its extensive coverage of
402-527: A sportscast ) is the live coverage of sports as a television program , on radio , and other broadcasting media. It usually involves one or more sports commentators describing events as they happen. Sportscaster's environment is usually in booth, sets, and radio and television studios. Depending on the sportscasters specific job it is a time sensitive job, especially when depending on a play by play, they cannot miss any action, and due to their job they have to be flexible with schedule. Sports broadcasters have
603-445: A "soft" news daily strip, with a number of imitations following (among which have included such entertainment news shows as TMZ on TV , Extra and ET ' s own spin-off The Insider ); and "tabloid" television, in the wake of ABC 's 20/20 and, more immediately, 20th Television 's A Current Affair , would become a syndication staple with such series as Hard Copy and Real TV . Another area where network dominance
804-498: A Gun (1957–1959), and This is Alice (1958). The venture lasted five years and closed down in 1961. By the late 1960s, a de facto two-tiered system had developed in the United States, with the major network affiliates (usually on longer-range VHF stations) consistently drawing more viewers than their UHF, independent counterparts; syndicators thus hoped to get their programs onto the major network stations, where spots in
1005-449: A MW opt-out on BBC Radio 2 , The launch of Radio 5 in 1990 saw a huge increase in the level of coverage on BBC Radio. Radio 5 became BBC Radio 5 Live in 1994 and the station, which combines live news and sport, provides round-the-clock coverage of sport through both live commentary and sports news and discussion. Live cricket commentary is broadcast on 5 Live's digital sports channel BBC 5 Sports Extra. This includes cricket coverage which
1206-464: A basic cable channel, it had developed a stable of sports broadcasts ranging from major leagues to oddities. ESPN has since grown into a massive multiplexed network, with several channels and a large news bureau that has led to the network bestowing the title of "Worldwide Leader in Sports" upon itself. Cable, and later digital cable and satellite, greatly expanded the number of channels (and, by extension,
1407-468: A considerable coup for a debuting promotion, considering NBC Sports' past interest in the UFC. Upon the announcement of the broadcast deal, WSOF President Ray Sefo stated that the promotion wanted to host 8–10 events per year, whilst holding a one-year deal with NBC Sports. However, the next day, an NBC spokesman revealed that the deal only covered WSOF's inaugural event, with the option for more, should NBC hold
1608-508: A consolidated case, also noting that the constitutional basis for such a law had not been proven. No such laws have been passed since. Since then, sports have been a lucrative source of revenue in the U.S. pay television industry, including mainstream networks such as ESPN , as well as channels devoted to specific sports, leagues, and college sports conferences. These networks receive revenue from both advertising and carriage fees charged to television providers (and passed onto consumers as part of
1809-481: A continuing life as syndicated programming tailor-made for the early fringe. In 1971, the U.S. FCC passed the Prime Time Access Rule and Financial Interest and Syndication Rules , which prevented networks from programming one particular hour of prime time programming on its television stations each night and required the networks to spin off their syndication arms as independent companies. Although
2010-404: A disadvantage in that their costs can be higher than some other formats due to the high volume of episodes needed. In many markets, a stripped show will be seen twice daily, usually with different episodes (one being a more recent episode and the other being an episode from a previous season). Sometimes, station groups with more than one station in a market, or a " duopoly ", will run one episode of
2211-428: A few companies provide the service. In 1911, more than 1,000 people gathered in downtown Lawrence, Kansas to watch a mechanical reproduction of the 1911 Kansas vs. Missouri football game while it was being played. A Western Union telegraph wire was set up direct from Columbia, Missouri . A group of people then would announce the results of the previous play and used a large model of a football playing field to show
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#17327939928242412-659: A field sport anywhere in Europe was when Paddy Mehigan covered the All-Ireland Hurling Semi-Final between Kilkenny and Galway on 29 August 1926. This game is credited with being the first mainly because the BBC was prevented from broadcasting sporting events before 7.00pm as a means of protecting British newspaper sales. Originally there was no sports department for Irish radio. Gaelic Games and live commentary were very popular with Irish radio. One prominent figure
2613-577: A fixture of Canadian television since the CBC's debut in 1952. From 1962 (one year after the debut of CTV ) through 2007, there were two separate CFL contracts: one for CBC, and one for CTV (or a sister channel such as cable outlet TSN ). Terrestrial television broadcasts of CFL games ended in 2008, when TSN acquired exclusive TV rights to the league. American sports broadcasts are widely available in Canada, both from Canadian stations and from border blasters in
2814-466: A football game, that were trying to learn of a play via telegraph, but wasn't official because no one was present. Ten years later in 1921 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the first radio broadcasting event occurred of a boxing match. Then the first televised sporting event occurred 1939, which was the summer olympics in the United States. In 1951, the first sports color telecast was a baseball game between
3015-601: A greater artistic freedom, and looser standards (not mandated by a network). The older Bugs Bunny and Popeye cartoons made way for first-run syndicated cartoons such as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe , Inspector Gadget , Heathcliff , ThunderCats , My Little Pony , The Transformers , G.I. Joe , Voltron , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , and reruns of Scooby-Doo , Garfield and Friends , and The Pink Panther , among many others. Syndication
3216-636: A group level, with multiple stations owned and/or operated by the same broadcasting group carrying the program in different markets (except in areas where another station holds the market rights to the program) – making it increasingly more efficient for syndicators to gain widespread national clearances for their programs. Many syndicated programs are traditionally sold first to one of six "key" station groups ( ABC Owned Television Stations , NBC Owned Television Stations , CBS Television Stations , Fox Television Stations , Telemundo Station Group , and Televisa Univision ), allowing their programs to gain clearances in
3417-401: A home, for two seasons, on NBC, as SCTV Network 90 (and on premium cable channel Cinemax by 1983). The Universal / Paramount -produced package of original programming, Operation Prime Time , began appearing on ad hoc quasi-networks of (almost by necessity) non-network stations in the U.S. in 1978, with a mini-series adaptation of John Jakes ' The Bastard . From the later 1960s into
3618-409: A joint venture between former national telecommunications monopoly BT Group and Warner Bros. Discovery . There is also a dedicated UK version of Eurosport , called British Eurosport, and Viaplay Sports , which replaced Premier Sports in 2022, also broadcasts live and recorded sports coverage. National and local media both serve major roles in broadcasting sports in the United States . Depending on
3819-466: A locally broadcast high school football game can be heard worldwide on any device with an audio output and an Internet connection. Individual leagues (including major ones) all have subscription services that allow subscribers to watch their sporting events for a fee. One of the first live sporting events in the U.S. to be streamed was the Ohio State spring football game in 2001 by WBNS-TV . The game
4020-422: A monthly series produced in conjunction with the magazine of the same name . Sports television The broadcasting of sports events (also known as a sportscast ) is the live coverage of sports as a television program , on radio , and other broadcasting media. It usually involves one and more sports commentators describing events as they happen. The broadcasting of sports events (also known as
4221-484: A national roll-out is feasible based on the ratings accrued in the selected markets where the program is being aired. While market penetration can vary widely and revenues can be unreliable, the producers often enjoy more content freedom in the absence of network's standards and practices departments; frequently, some innovative ideas are explored by first-run syndicated programming which the networks are leery of giving airtime to. Meanwhile, top-rated syndicated shows in
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#17327939928244422-486: A package of 10 Big 12 and Pac-10 football games sublicensed from Fox Sports Net (replacing a package it had previously sub-licensed to TBS ). In 2008, Versus announced a contract with the Ivy League to broadcast at least three games each year beginning in the 2008 season, culminating with the annual Harvard–Yale rivalry game . The initial two-year contract was later renewed in 2010. Versus secured coverage for
4623-483: A part of researching their sports history and knowing game statistics. Studying sports and using facts is needed in their job and making the games exciting and entertaining. Perhaps the first sports broadcast was by Guglielmo Marconi , who broadcast the 1899 America's Cup from New York Harbor . The first ever prerecorded sportscast occurred in 1911 in Kansas. The first recording had a group of people recreate plays of
4824-428: A popular new stripped series hosted by Winfrey-associate Dr. Phil McGraw, in primetime, with impressive ratings results. With a general decline in first-run production in the 2020s, syndicators and stations have turned to reruns of stripped talk shows to fill time slots, with observers noting that conflict-driven tabloid shows tend to draw higher ratings in reruns than non-tabloid shows. First-run syndicated shows in
5025-637: A positive evaluation. On February 4, 2013, it was reported by several news outlets that NBC Sports signed a 3-year deal with WSOF. On December 16, 2012, NBC Sports Network, along with CNBC , aired a portion of the Sunday Night Football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the New England Patriots . This was because the game's coverage on NBC was interrupted by President Barack Obama 's press conference following
5226-461: A profitable run in reruns. Other sitcoms, such as Small Wonder , Out of This World , The Munsters Today , and Harry and the Hendersons (as well as more action-adventure oriented series like Superboy and My Secret Identity ) enjoyed success in syndication throughout their entire run. The broadcast networks aired many action-adventure programs from the 1950s to the 1980s. By
5427-438: A program that was first-run syndicated, to other stations; and public broadcasting syndication. In first-run syndication, a program is broadcast for the first time as a syndicated show. Often these programs are made specifically to sell directly into syndication and not made for any particular network. In off-network syndication, a program whose first airing was on network television (or, in some cases, first-run syndication)
5628-421: A reputation for carrying a large number of college football bowl games in an era when televised college football was highly restricted. Modern syndication networks still exist for sporting events, such as Raycom Sports and American Sports Network , both of which specialize in college sports. The debut of ESPN in 1979 revolutionized the broadcasting of sports events. Within several years of ESPN's founding as
5829-540: A similar style to how it covered the Tour , hoping that its coverage might bring "surprise" results for the channel. Due in part to Armstrong's absence from the Tour in 2006, its ratings for live coverage of the first four stages of the race drew 49% fewer viewers than previous years. In May 2005, ESPN rejected a $ 60 million offer to renew its broadcasting contract with the National Hockey League into
6030-485: A simulcast of programming from its sister network Headline News (now HLN ) to broadcast stations later, as did its rival All News Channel , although both were used mainly to fill overnight time periods and were effectively discontinued in syndication when All News Channel folded in 2002 and HLN launched a "Headline Prime" talk show block in 2006. In 2019, NewsNet began offering a similar service to its affiliates. Entertainment Tonight began its long and continuing run as
6231-417: A strip on one of their stations in the morning, and the other available episode on another of their stations that night. Meanwhile, the popularity of some of the audience-participation talk shows continues to encourage new participants, some of whom, such as Morton Downey Jr. and Rosie O'Donnell , have brief periods of impressive ratings and influence; others, such as Oprah Winfrey and Maury Povich , have
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6432-595: A sustained run. A notable scheduling decision was made by KRON-TV in San Francisco: a 2000 dispute with NBC led to that station's disaffiliation from that network after 52 years, and since all the other larger networks were already represented in San Francisco, KRON decided to become one of the largest commercial independent stations by market size on the VHF band in the U.S., and soon tried running Dr. Phil ,
6633-717: A telegraph line was connected to the Victoria Rink in Montreal to update fans in Winnipeg of the Stanley Cup challenge series between Montreal and Winnipeg ice hockey teams. In 1923, the first radio broadcast of an ice hockey game took place on 8 February, with the broadcast of the third period of a game between Midland and North Toronto of the Ontario Hockey Association . Later that month,
6834-573: A total run of 20 seasons dating back to the show's premiere in August 1999). Because game shows are very inexpensive to produce, with many episodes completed each day of production, successful ones are very profitable; for example, in 1988 Jeopardy! cost an estimated $ 5 million to produce but earned almost $ 50 million in revenue. New game show concepts (that is, not based on an existing or pre-existing format) are rarely tried and usually unsuccessful in syndication; somewhat of an exception to this
7035-525: A unique round ring without ropes. Versus entered into a partnership with World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) to bring mixed martial arts events to the channel, with the first being broadcast live on June 3, 2007. The channel also added a variety of sports events as part of the rebranding, including men's and women's college basketball, high school basketball, a weekly "game of the week" for the National Lacrosse League , darts competitions,
7236-405: A variety of sections to deliver footage and their job can provide postgame coverage and interviews with athletes and coaches. Sports casting is a big industry throughout the United States and worldwide. Anything sports related, whether it's reading, watching, and hearing is a type of way sports broadcasting is in media. Sports broadcasters do more than just voice over plays and matches, they must be
7437-414: A weekly basis and are usually aired on weekends only. Big discussion occurred in the 1990s and 2000s about whether previously aired episodes of a show could become syndicated while new episodes of it continued to air on its original network. There had been much opposition to this idea and it was generally viewed to lead to the death of the show. However, licensing a program for syndication actually resulted in
7638-411: A weekly regular-season game for 11 weeks as well as a wild card playoff game. However, the agreement was not renewed and was later picked up by ESPN , who also acquired a minority stake in the league's ownership. In April 2006, Comcast announced that it would be renaming Outdoor Life Network to Versus in the fall of 2006. As the network had shifted beyond simply "outdoor" programming, the name "Versus"
7839-734: Is a partnership between the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles . The Longhorn Network , in which ESPN owned a stake, was even more specialized, designed as an outlet for the athletic program of the University of Texas at Austin (although it has also aired football games of the UT system's San Antonio campus ). Team-owned channels are also common in Europe, most notably Barça TV , Benfica TV , Galatasaray TV , Manchester United TV , Liverpool TV and Real Madrid TV . Broadcast syndication Broadcast syndication
8040-481: Is also aired on the long wave frequencies of BBC Radio 4. BBC Local Radio provides extensive coverage of sport, giving more exposure to second-tier football clubs which would otherwise receive limited national coverage. The BBC's main commercial rival is Talksport , but this has not acquired anywhere near as many exclusive contracts as Sky Sports and instead dedicates much of its airtime to sports discussions and phone-ins. The first sporting event to be televised in
8241-627: Is also broadcast on terrestrial TV in Canada, while the CFL no longer is (the CFL is broadcast only on cable in the United States); the simultaneous substitution benefits are not extended to cable stations. For the purposes of regional sports broadcasting , the Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Raptors both claim all of Canada as their "territory", allowing Blue Jays and Raptors games to be broadcast nationwide. The first live commentary on
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8442-555: Is available on a delay to a free-to-air broadcaster. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission attempted to introduce similar restrictions on cable broadcasts of specific sporting events and recent films as to not cannibalize broadcast TV. In 1977, these restrictions were deemed to be invalid when a federal district court ruled that the FCC did not have the authority to make such decisions in
8643-433: Is less common. Three common types of syndication are: first-run syndication, which is programming that is broadcast for the first time as a syndicated show and is made specifically for the purpose of selling it into syndication; Off-network syndication (colloquially called a " rerun "), which is the licensing of a program whose first airing was on stations inside the television network that produced it, or in some cases
8844-575: Is licensed for local broadcast on individual stations. Reruns are usually found on stations affiliated with smaller networks like The CW or MyNetworkTV, especially since these networks broadcast one less hour of prime time network programming than the Big Four television networks and far less network-provided daytime television (none at all for these networks). A show usually enters off-network syndication when it has built up about four seasons' worth or between 80 and 100 episodes , though for some genres
9045-530: Is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast their content to other television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air it on. It is common in the United States where broadcast programming is scheduled by television networks with local independent affiliates . Syndication is less widespread in the rest of the world, as most countries have centralized networks or television stations without local affiliates. Shows can be syndicated internationally, although this
9246-404: Is unknown. The final live sports broadcast aired on NBCSN was an exhibition cornhole "Team USA vs. The World" event (both men's and women's) from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (during the 2021 US Open Cornhole Championships) on December 31. It led into the final program, a replay of the second day of Mecum's Kansas City auction event from December 3, and following the program the transition to
9447-583: The "stripping" (or "strip") talk show, such as Donahue , Oprah , The Tyra Banks Show , and Jerry Springer . Strip programming is a technique used for scheduling television and radio programming to ensure consistency and coherency. Strip programming is used to deliver consistent content to targeted audiences. Broadcasters know or predict the times at which certain demographics will be listening to or watching their programs and play them at that time. As with game shows, talk shows are inexpensive to produce and very profitable if successful. They have
9648-605: The 1958 NFL Championship and the later establishment of the American Football League in 1960. Monday Night Football , NFL on Fox , and NBC Sunday Night Football have changed the landscape of American football broadcasts, including the scheduling of the Super Bowl , transforming it from an afternoon broadcast into a primetime spectacle. The price for the NFL's broadcast rights has increased steadily over
9849-602: The 2005–06 season , and the league rejected its alternate proposal for a revenue sharing agreement similar to the one it had established with NBC . With the NFL also shopping a new late-season package of Thursday and Saturday night games to potential broadcasters, speculation began to emerge that Comcast would bid on the new NHL contract as its first step to transforming OLN into a mainstream sports channel that could compete with ESPN. Comcast had already been involved in NHL broadcasting; at
10050-719: The 2007 America's Cup , which had been a staple on ESPN and ESPN2 for years. The channel began to show qualifying regattas in late 2005, aired the Louis Vuitton Cup for challengers in 2007, and the America's Cup match between the Louis Vuitton winner and current champions, won by Alinghi of Switzerland in Valencia, Spain . In 2006, it picked up American broadcast rights (in conjunction with The Tennis Channel ) of Davis Cup events. Versus, with NBC Sports and
10251-404: The 2012 Summer Olympics . Its coverage of the women's soccer gold medal match between the United States and Japan set a new viewership record for the network, with 4.35 million viewers. In August 2013, after having largely been used as an initialism in unofficial capacities, the channel officially shortened its name to NBCSN. The change was made to help streamline its branding in preparation for
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#173279399282410452-460: The 2014 Winter Olympics , by which time the name change was mostly complete. On September 22, 2013, NBCSN broadcast an episode of Under Wild Skies —a hunting program aired as a time-buy by the NRA —in which host and NRA lobbyist Tony Makris was shown killing an African elephant on a trip to Botswana . The network was criticized by the media for airing such material; while NBC responded by pulling
10653-693: The BBC on 29 March 1926, a British featherweight title defence by Johnny Curley , and 6 October 1927, when Teddy Baldock lost his claim to the British version of the World bantamweight title to South African Willie Smith. The first outdoor sports event broadcast in the United Kingdom was a Rugby Union international between England and Wales , broadcast from Twickenham in January 1927. Two weeks later
10854-515: The Canadian Football League in 2008. On April 5, 2010, Versus debuted The Daily Line , a sports betting show consisting of a four-person panel (host Liam McHugh before moving to NBC Sports, handicapper Rob DeAngelis, comedian Reese Waters , and Jenn Sterger ) who discussed, often with heavy satire, sports-related topics that were popular that day. However, the show was cancelled due to low viewership on November 4, 2010. It
11055-582: The Champion's Cup final. Versus would drop the NLL for the league's 2012 season ; U.S. broadcast rights were instead picked up by CBS Sports Network . In April 2011, NBC Sports and Versus announced they had reached a ten-year extension to their television contract with the National Hockey League worth nearly $ 2 billion over the life of the contract. As part of the announcement, Dick Ebersol ,
11256-643: The European Commission disapproved of. Following warnings of legal action to stop the monopoly, an announcement was made that an alternative structure would be in place when the contract ended in 2007. In the United States , team sports are broadcast by networks usually only in "game of the week" or championship situations, except for the NFL (see NFL on television ) and motorsport. Other sports are broadcast by sports channels , and are limited by who can view them based on various rules set by
11457-889: The FIFA World Cup , Summer Olympic Games , Cricket World Cup , UEFA Champions League , UEFA European Championship , FA Cup , Tour de France , Rugby World Cup (rugby union), State Of Origin (rugby league), Indian Premier League , Wimbledon , NBA Finals , Stanley Cup , Super Bowl , World Series , and the FIA Formula One World Championship. TV Rights of the UEFA Champions League, per country. Season 2009-2010 , according to FootBiz. In some countries, broadcast regulations referred to as " anti-siphoning laws " exist in order to ensure that coverage of major sporting events of national importance—often covering major events such as
11658-526: The GSN dating game show Baggage first aired in syndication as a test run in early 2011 on stations owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group , which preceded its full launch into other markets in fall 2012; although it was removed from syndication after one season. The 2014–15 season saw the introduction of Celebrity Name Game , hosted by former The Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson ;
11859-761: The Major Indoor Soccer League , and the USA Sevens , one of the nine tournaments (then eight) that make up the IRB Sevens World Series , the top annual circuit in the sevens version of rugby union . In 2007, Versus expanded its college football coverage; the network acquired a portion of the rights to the Mountain West Conference (as part of the deal, Comcast also took a stake in the conference's new cable network MountainWest Sports Network ), and acquired
12060-607: The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour each Wednesday at 7 p.m. The races originated from a variety of locations, including Stafford Motor Speedway , Tri-County Speedway, and Thompson Motor Speedway. In February 2011, Comcast acquired a majority stake in NBC Universal , and merged its content operations into the company. As part of the acquisition, Versus and Comcast's other sports channels began to be integrated into
12261-530: The NBC Sports division. Coinciding with the merger, President Jamie Davis was replaced by Comcast Sports Group president Jon Litner. Litner began to oversee the channel, in addition to his other duties following the Comcast takeover. In March 2011, Versus expanded its college football coverage by becoming the pay-TV partner for NBC's coverage of Notre Dame football , airing replays of Notre Dame games, and
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#173279399282412462-636: The NHL All-Star Game , conference finals, and the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals . With the help of its new NHL package, by June 2006, OLN had now reached 75 million subscribers. However, due in part to OLN's lesser carriage in comparison to ESPN, the NHL's ratings that season had suffered in comparison. In 2006, OLN broadcast selected games in the Arena Football League 's 2006 season . The channel televised
12663-605: The Olympic Channel (which itself shut down nine months after NBCSN did) and Peacock , beginning at 12:00:01 a.m. on January 1, 2022; at that time, the network, after signing off , would then carry a looping advisory video advising viewers where their programs could be found until January 10, though the provider could simply take the channel dark immediately after sign-off. NBC also advised viewers during broadcasts of affected games as to their new location, along with making sure electronic program guide listings reflected
12864-572: The Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN), moved into syndicated distribution when its network was displaced by WB/UPN-affiliated stations, and eventually ended its final season on TNT (1998). In 1997 Earth: Final Conflict , based on ideas from Gene Roddenberry , premiered in syndication. Three years later, a second Gene Roddenberry series, Andromeda also premiered in syndication. As emerging networks WB and UPN signed contracts with formerly-independent stations, and
13065-518: The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting . NBCSN will continue to serve as overflow coverage for Sunday Night Football and other NFL games covered by NBC in the event the ongoing game is interrupted by an NBC News special coverage. On July 23, 2013, NBC announced that coverage of NASCAR racing would return to NBC beginning in the 2015 season under a new contract lasting through 2024. The deal includes broadcast rights to
13266-697: The Sky Sports News channel to its weekday morning lineup, returning that program to the American airwaves for the first time since the discontinuation of Fox Soccer in September 2013. On January 22, 2021, an internal memo sent by NBC Sports president Pete Bevacqua announced that the network would cease operations by the end of the year, and that USA Network and NBC would begin "carrying and/or simulcasting certain NBC Sports programming," including
13467-604: The Stanley Cup Playoffs , IndyCar Series , and NASCAR Cup Series , before NBCSN's shutdown (NBC lost the rights to the NHL to an ESPN / Turner Sports consortium after the 2020–2021 season). When NBCSN was shuttered, its programming was effectively merged into USA Network's schedule, with some events also moving to CNBC on weekends, freeing NBC Sports from the burden of having secondary programming to fill time without any live sporting events. Peacock , NBCUniversal's new streaming service, began to broadcast some of
13668-522: The Tour de France but eventually began covering more "mainstream" sporting events, resulting in its relaunch as Versus in September 2006. In 2011, Comcast , the original owner of the network, acquired a majority stake in NBCUniversal . As a result, Comcast merged the operations of its pay channels with those of NBC. In particular, it aligned the operation of its sports channels with NBC 's sports division, NBC Sports . On January 1, 2012, Versus
13869-502: The Tour de France for US$ 3 million. Coverage of the Tour on OLN brought substantially greater viewership to the then fledgling channel, due in part to the then-growing popularity of American rider Lance Armstrong . In 2004 , where Armstrong would aim for a record-breaking sixth straight Tour de France title, OLN would devote over 344 hours in July to coverage of the Tour , along with documentaries and other original programming surrounding
14070-581: The "Newfoundland" portion after the dominion confederated into Canada in 1949) all the way to CBC's first national television broadcast (the first actual broadcast was on closed-circuit in Maple Leaf Gardens in Spring 1952) of Hockey Night in Canada in October 1952. Today it is consistently among the highest-rated programs in Canada. Broadcasting of the Canadian Football League has been
14271-489: The 1950s were MCA 's The Abbott and Costello Show (vaudeville-style comedy) and Guild Films ' Liberace (musical variety) and Life With Elizabeth , a domestic situation comedy that introduced Betty White to a national audience. In addition to the Adventures of Superman , many other series were based on comic strips and aimed at the juvenile audience, including Flash Gordon , Dick Tracy , Sheena, Queen of
14472-452: The 1950s, however, much of the theatrical product available consisted of low-budget secondary features (mainly Westerns) with relatively few notable stars. One syndication company, National Telefilm Associates , attempted to create a " NTA Film Network " of stations showing its lineup of first-run series, which included syndicated programs such as Police Call (1955), How to Marry a Millionaire (1957–1959), The Passerby , Man Without
14673-438: The 1960s. For this reason, as well as the regional nature of the sport, televised NHL games have struggled to gain a foothold on American television for the past several decades, trailing the other leagues in ratings. After several decades of bouncing around various networks (and a stretch from 1975 to 1994 when the league had no permanent broadcast partner), the NHL established a stable broadcast partner in 2004, when NBC and what
14874-800: The 1980s caused the number of independent stations to grow from fewer than 100 in 1980 to 328 as of 1986 , as they did not need cash for programming. With the loosening of FCC regulations and the creation of new additional broadcast networks (such as The CW and MyNetworkTV ), most of these independents have joined one or another of these or smaller (religious or low-budget) networks. In other cases, like those of KCAL-TV in Los Angeles, KMCI-TV in Lawrence - Kansas City and WMLW-TV in Racine - Milwaukee , those independent stations are used to complement their network-affiliated sister station (respectively in
15075-446: The 1990s) allowed the carriage of these networks' sporting events across the country. However, with the increased availability of sports to broadcast came increasing rights fees, which could be recovered by the newly authorized practice of collecting retransmission consent fees from cable subscribers, which has led to numerous disputes and the dropping of channels from cable lineups. Individual leagues began launching their own networks in
15276-401: The 2000s onward, reality competition shows in one form or another, such as Star Search and American Gladiators , enjoyed popularity in syndication as early as the mid-1980s. Since the now-defunct networks UPN and The WB began offering their affiliates additional nights of prime time programming in the late 1990s, there have been fewer first-run scripted series in syndication, at least, in
15477-403: The 2000s; specialty networks of other sports have had varying levels of success. One of the first live high-definition sports broadcasts in the U.S. took place in September 1998 in which a football game between Ohio State and West Virginia , aired on WBNS-TV . The station claims this to have been the first locally produced HD broadcast in the U.S.; however, as several other stations throughout
15678-453: The 2008–09 season before those reruns moved exclusively to cable. More new shows were added for the 2008–09 fall season, including a daytime run of Deal or No Deal (which featured certain elements that differed from the show's franchised format, most notably with prospective players instead of models holding briefcases that held the monetary amounts) and an adaptation of the popular board game Trivial Pursuit . While Deal caught on and
15879-649: The 22 October 1939 game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Brooklyn Dodgers . The same year, the first nationwide radio broadcast of an NFL championship game was carried on the Mutual Broadcasting System . While the NFL had weak television deals that ranked behind college football and even the Canadian Football League in the 1950s, the broadcast rights of the NFL would go on to become an important property following
16080-399: The BBC played a dominant role in televising sport, providing extensive high-quality advertisement free coverage and free publicity in exchange for being granted broadcast rights for low fees. ITV broadcast a smaller portfolio of events, and Channel 4 broadcast a few events from the 1980s, mainly horse races and so-called "minority sports". In the early 1990s this arrangement was shaken up by
16281-474: The Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Braves. As years went by more options were given to the public and the more popular sports broadcasting became. The first voice broadcasters happened, live broadcasting happened, and professional broadcasting happened. More media options became available to the public whether it be on newspapers, radio, or television. As the number of people tuning in increased, so did
16482-635: The CFL's decision, and additional plans have the College Football Playoff National Championship Game returning to broadcast in 2027. Several sports teams in the United States have their own channels, or own shares in other sports networks. For example, the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins own New England Sports Network , which retains the New England area television broadcast rights for
16683-695: The Clock and To Tell the Truth premiered in the late 1960s and found loyal audiences for many years. Several daytime network games began producing once-a-week nighttime versions for broadcast in the early evening hours, usually with bigger prizes and often featuring different hosts (emcees were limited to appearing on one network and one syndicated game simultaneously) and modified titles ( Match Game PM , The $ 100,000 Name That Tune or The $ 25,000 Pyramid , for example). A few independent game shows, such as Sports Challenge and Celebrity Bowling , also entered
16884-614: The Jungle , and Joe Palooka . Original juvenile adventure series included Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion , Cowboy G-Men , and Ramar of the Jungle . Series based on literary properties included Sherlock Holmes , Long John Silver (based on Treasure Island ), and The Three Musketeers . Several of these were co-productions between U.S. and European (usually British) companies. Crusader Rabbit pioneered in
17085-536: The Kansas/Missouri game, distributed in telegraph code but was open to anyone listening to the station. The first voice broadcast of a sporting event took place on 11 April 1921 when Westinghouse station KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania broadcast a 10-round, no decision boxing match between Johnny Dundee and Johnny Ray at Pittsburgh's Motor Square Garden . The event was reported by Florent Gibson,
17286-469: The Light Heavyweight division. The second event aired on August 1 with Jon Jones facing Vladimir Matyushenko . Also as part of the agreement with the UFC, several UFC Countdown shows would air. A countdown show aired the week of a pay-per-view event, usually lasting for one hour, and covering 2–3 of the biggest fights on the card. In August 2011, the UFC announced a new broadcasting deal with
17487-531: The Nielsen-monitored audience. Forever Knight drew devoted "cult" audiences (3% rating). Psi Factor and Poltergeist: The Legacy attempted to draw on the audience for the Fox series The X-Files (as did the short-lived spinoff Baywatch Nights ). Among the other series were Relic Hunter , V.I.P. , High Tide , She Spies and Once a Thief . Babylon 5 began life in 1993 on
17688-545: The Night , Lauren Hutton 's innovatively shot Lauren Hutton and... , and talk shows hosted by Dennis Miller , Whoopi Goldberg , David Brenner and Keenen Ivory Wayans ; Magic Johnson 's The Magic Hour was seen as a massive flop, similar to Thicke of the Night . The popularity of syndicated talk shows fell dramatically in the mid-1990s as network and cable offerings expanded in the wake of Johnny Carson 's retirement. Long before their popularity on network television from
17889-539: The Olympics, FIFA World Cup , and national team events in culturally-significant sports—are available on free-to-air, terrestrial television, rather than exclusively on pay television. Some larger events (particularly the Olympics) may be covered under rules allowing a portion of the event to be televised by a pay TV partner if a specific minimum of coverage is broadcast free-to-air, or if an extended highlights package
18090-474: The Seeker was canceled in 2009, until Trifecta Entertainment & Media (a company that mainly distributes programs for off-network syndication) began producing SAF3 (pronounced "safe") in 2013. During the late 1970s and 1980s, independent stations signed on in mid-sized and many small markets. The market for made-for-television cartoons grew as a result to include a branch for such stations. It usually had
18291-406: The U.S.; much as with the closing of windows that provided opportunity for Ziv in the 1950s and various producers in the early 1970s. The more expensive dramatic projects are less attractive to syndicators (particularly when they might be sold, with somewhat less risk, to cable channels); "reality" series such as Cheaters and Maximum Exposure and several dating series began to be more common in
18492-473: The UK was an international boxing tournament between England and Ireland from Alexandra Palace on 4 February 1937. The United Kingdom saw the first live television broadcast of a football match, with the BBC showing a specially arranged fixture between Arsenal and Arsenal Reserves on 16 September 1937. The British media is dominated by national outlets, with local media playing a much smaller role. Traditionally
18693-607: The United States " (E/I) rule imposed in the late 1990s as part of an amendment to the Children's Television Act of 1990 that requires stations to air three hours of educational children's programs every week, regardless of the station's format. Syndication is generally a less expensive option for a local station than to attempt to produce its own locally originated E/I programming; not all networks provide their own E/I programs, so stations that are affiliated with networks that do not carry children's program blocks acquire E/I programs off
18894-423: The United States has been a fixture of the major networks on a continuous basis since that time. The NCAA severely restricted broadcasts of college football from the 1950s until a judge ruled that the action was a violation of antitrust rules in 1984 , which allowed for a much greater expansion of college football broadcasting. NBC broadcast the first televised National Football League (NFL) game when they carried
19095-523: The United States in the 1970s was probably The Muppet Show , also from Lew Grade's company. Animated series from the 1980s Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds and Around the World with Willy Fog came from Spanish animation production company BRB Internacional and their Japanese co-producers Nippon Animation . Game shows thrived in syndication during the decade. Nightly versions of What's My Line? , Truth or Consequences , Beat
19296-679: The United States include talk shows (e.g., The Dr. Oz Show , Dr. Phil , The Real , The Doctors , The Ellen DeGeneres Show & The Kelly Clarkson Show ); tabloid/newsmagazine shows (e.g., TMZ Live ); crime/law enforcement shows (e.g., Crime Watch Daily ); game shows (e.g., Hollywood Squares , Funny You Should Ask , Family Feud , Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune ); court shows (e.g., Judge Judy , Judge Mathis , Judge Jerry , Judge Faith , Protection Court , Hot Bench , America's Court with Judge Ross , and The People's Court ); and sitcoms (e.g., The First Family ). The emergence of barter syndication in
19497-527: The United States usually have a domestic market reach as high as 98%. Very often, series that are aired in syndication have reduced running times. For example, a standard American sitcom runs 22 minutes, but in syndication it may be reduced to 20 minutes to make room for more commercials. Syndication can take the form of either weekly or daily syndication. Game shows, some "tabloid" and entertainment news shows, and talk shows are broadcast daily on weekdays, while most other first-run syndicated shows are broadcast on
19698-601: The United States. Family Feud , created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman , ended its first syndication run in 1985. Three years later, a revival of the program featuring Ray Combs as host became a moderate hit and continued for seven seasons, its last year featuring the return of original host Richard Dawson in a failed attempt to save the series. A third revival hit the airwaves in 1999 and has gone through four hosts. The first three hosts ( Louie Anderson , Richard Karn and John O'Hurley ) struggled in their respective runs and only lasted three to four years. The current run of
19899-504: The United States. In order to protect Canadian broadcasters' advertising, broadcast stations can invoke simultaneous substitution : any cable or satellite feed of an American station broadcasting the same program as a Canadian broadcast station must be blacked out and replaced by the Canadian feed. This rule is part of the reason the NFL, which is broadcast on terrestrial television in the United States but has no direct presence in Canada,
20100-683: The World Championship Sports Network (later Universal Sports ), broadcast coverage of the 2007 World Championships in Athletics from Osaka, Japan, as well as the 2009 World Championships in Athletics from Berlin, Germany. On January 28, 2008, Versus and the NHL extended their television contract through the 2010–11 season. In June 2008, operations were moved from Stamford, Connecticut , to Comcast's headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . On August 7, 2008,
20301-673: The advisory loop was done without ceremony. Said loop continued until 2:34 p.m. ET on January 10, when it went dark. The Canadian iteration of the former OLN was relaunched as Bravo in 2024 licensing the name to Toronto-based Rogers Sports and Media . As of September 15, 2014, the entirety of NBC Sports' operations, including NBCSN, moved to a new campus in Stamford, Connecticut . Football Night in America remained at NBC Studios in Rockefeller Center until September 7, 2014, when that program also moved to Stamford. WSOF
20502-540: The area of first-run animated series; followed by Bucky and Pepito , Colonel Bleep , Spunky and Tadpole , Q. T. Hush , and others. (All of these were five-minute shorts designed to be placed within locally hosted kiddie shows.) Syndicated sports programming included Championship Bowling and All-Star Golf , both produced by Chicago-based Walter Schwimmer Inc. In addition to regular series, syndicators also offered packages of feature films, cartoons, and short subjects originally made for movie theaters. Until late in
20703-627: The arrival of pay-TV in the form of BSkyB and its sports channel Sky Sports . Their dedicated sports channels have since become the only place for some major sports to be seen. Starting in 2006, the Irish company Setanta Sports emerged as a challenger to Sky Sports' dominance of the British pay-TV sports market; however, Setanta's UK channel went into bankruptcy administration and off the air in 2009. Between 2009 and 2013 ESPN made an attempt to challenge Sky Sports before its British operations were bought out by Sky's current main competitor, TNT Sports ;
20904-404: The availabilities of where to hear and watch the broadcastings. Sports broadcasting also had an impact to the rise of American citizens being interested in being entertained. As more demand occurred from more sports broadcasters, the programing networks got more advanced with the technology as well. Broadcasting of sports started with descriptions of play sent via telegraph in the 1890s. In 1896,
21105-416: The beginning of July 1995. However, it was delayed when Times Mirror decided to reassess its media holdings. Times Mirror decided to reduce its stake in the two new networks to 10%; bringing Comcast and Continental Cablevision on as partners. The network initially had trouble gaining carriage and was also broadcast on several low power television stations. In 1999, OLN acquired the U.S. broadcast rights to
21306-545: The brief commercial-television run of William F. Buckley Jr. 's interview/debate series Firing Line . The more obvious result was an increase in Canadian-produced syndicated dramatic series, such as Dusty's Trail and the Colgate -sponsored Dr. Simon Locke . Game shows, often evening editions of network afternoon series, flourished, and a few odd items such as Wild Kingdom , canceled by NBC in 1971, had
21507-445: The broadcast networks. In the 1980s, national broadcast networks only aired cartoons on Saturday mornings , not competing with the weekday and Sunday syndication blocks aired by local independent stations; however, by the 1990s, Fox and then The WB launched their own weekday afternoon children's program blocks. By the end of the 1990s, both syndication distributors and broadcast networks ended up losing most of their children's market to
21708-616: The channel announced a 10-year deal with the Indy Racing League to broadcast at least 13 IndyCar Series events a year in HD, beginning in 2009. The channel would also broadcast various motorsports series on its Lucas Oil Motorsports Hour program such as USAC , the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series , and World Series of Off-Road Racing . The channel aired the 96th Grey Cup , the championship game of
21909-410: The channel reached around one million homes and found most of its carriage via the then-infant platforms of direct broadcast satellite services and digital cable . The network was one of two (the other being Speedvision ) formed out of a partnership of Cox Cable and Times Mirror which had combined their cable systems operations a year earlier. Outdoor Life was originally planned to have launched at
22110-428: The channel's closure, and the company's social media was used to advise viewers as well. Mecum Auctions already had a secondary content deal with Motor Trend and a tertiary deal with RFD TV ; Motor Trend became its primary television partner at the start of 2022, though the fate of other surrounding non-NBC programming such as PowerNation programming (which is offered through its owner's own streaming service, Vuit),
22311-587: The channel. In the months leading up to the relaunch, NBC struck deals with Major League Soccer , dropped the UFL , and added coverage of college hockey games. On June 6, 2011, it was revealed that NBC Sports would extend its rights to the Olympic Games through 2020, outbidding competing bids by Fox Sports and ESPN in a $ 4.38 billion contract. The network began to participate in NBC's overall coverage beginning at
22512-505: The channels of rival Fox Sports , which would begin to take effect in November 2011. Versus had also struck a deal with the NBA to air 10 regular season NBA Development League Saturday night games, as well as six playoff games a year. In total, the channel would air 16 NBA Development League games, in addition to 25 hours of NBA specials. Starting in August 2010, Versus aired nine races of
22713-440: The company saw an overall revenue drop by 19% to $ 6.72 billion. Following a gradual "wind-down" of operations (even further aggravated by NBC's loss of NHL rights), it was further disclosed as to the process of how NBCSN would cease operations on November 2, 2021; specifically, it was revealed on that date that a majority of NBCSN's sports rights, beginning with rights to Premier League soccer, would transfer over to USA Network ,
22914-796: The cost of service), and can provide an outlet for expanded coverage of "niche" events with dedicated audiences. By the mid-2000s and early 2010s, most major U.S. sports leagues (barring the National Football League , which has historically stipulated that all games be shown on terrestrial television in at least the markets of the teams involved) had begun to steadily decrease their presence on broadcast television, and allow more of their content (including post-season coverage in many cases) to air on cable networks, and more recently, digital-only outlets. The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and national championship games in college football have also largely moved to cable (since 2016,
23115-459: The country also lay claim to this distinction, the veracity cannot be verified. It is widely considered the first ever live sports game in HD in the U.S. produced using a production truck and transmission vehicle from NHK , Japan 's national public broadcasting organization . The Internet has also allowed greater broadcasting of sports events, both in video and audio forms and through free and subscription channels. With an Internet broadcast, even
23316-595: The dance-music show Soul Train , and 20th Century Fox 's That's Hollywood , a television variation on the popular That's Entertainment! theatrically released collections of film clips from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer library. There were also many imported programs distributed this way. These include the documentary series Wild, Wild World of Animals (repackaged by Time Life with narration by William Conrad ) and Thames Television 's sober and necessarily grim The World at War . The Starlost (1973)
23517-569: The daytime and nighttime shows had diverged noticeably). The nighttime version of Family Feud (1977) quickly jumped from once-weekly to twice, and finally to five-day-a-week airings, and its massive popularity, along with that of new five-day-a-week entries like Jack Barry's The Joker's Wild (1977) and Tic-Tac-Dough (1978), the move of Match Game ' s daily run from CBS to syndication (1979), and Chuck Barris 's increasingly raunchy remakes of his 1960s hits The Newlywed Game and The Dating Game , brought an end (with rare exceptions) to
23718-532: The debut of a revival of You Bet Your Life that reunited host Jay Leno and sidekick Kevin Eubanks from their time on The Tonight Show ; it ran two seasons, before Leno left during the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes . 2023 saw the debut of two new games, Person, Place or Thing and Who the Bleep Is That . The dominant form of first-run syndication in the U.S. for the last three decades has been
23919-458: The early 2000s. Some of the more low-key programs in this category were designed to appeal to children, such as Beakman's World , Disney's Sing Me A Story with Belle , Animal Rescue and Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures . They were able to get significant clearance because of stricter Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enforcement of rules on children's television programming. Several game shows are currently syndicated; historically,
24120-437: The episode due to its "objectionable" content and stating that it would be more "aggressive" towards the content of future episodes of the program. Under Wild Skies was pulled from the network entirely after Makris made remarks on an NRA-produced webcast comparing critics of the show to Hitler . The network's outdoors block, its final connection with its OLN era, was slowly wound down by 2016 with natural contract expirations, as
24321-605: The episodes) distributed to PBS stations by the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority . Also in 1971, CBS dropped Lassie and Hee Haw , the latter show's run ending as part of the network's cancellation of all of its rural-oriented shows (known then as " rural purge ", which also resulted in the cancellations of The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres ). Lassie entered first-run syndication for two years, while Hee Haw continued to produce new episodes until 1992. Throughout
24522-540: The era of once-a-week games. Also popular in first-run syndication and daytime was The Gong Show , hosted by Barris throughout most of its run ( Gary Owens hosted the first syndicated season). A number of half-hour musical-variety shows were also offered in the early 1970s, generally built around personable middle-of-the-road singers like Bobby Vinton , Bobby Goldsboro , Dolly Parton , and Andy Williams , or groups like Sha Na Na , The Johnny Mann Singers , and The Golddiggers . Wait Till Your Father Gets Home (1972)
24723-502: The event, all of which promoted through a $ 20 million advertising campaign. Overall, while its coverage of the Tour de France helped OLN expand its carriage to over 60 million homes, rumors surrounding Armstrong's possible retirement from cycling led to concerns over the channel's overemphasis on him in its coverage (to the point that some critics sarcastically stated that OLN actually stood for "Only Lance Network"). Critics questioned whether
24924-647: The event. In the United Kingdom , Sky UK based its early marketing largely on its acquisition of the broadcast rights of the top division of the English league football , which as part of the deal with The Football Association broke away from The Football League to become the Premier League . This prevented the footage of any major Premier League football game being shown on free-to-air television until much later that evening as highlights, something
25125-873: The failure of the DuMont Television Network —could serve. Some stations were not affiliated with any network, operating as independent stations . Both groups sought to supplement their locally produced programming with content that could be flexibly scheduled. The development of videotape and, much later, enhanced satellite down link access furthered these options. While most past first-run syndicated shows were shown only in syndication, some canceled network shows continued to be produced for first-run syndication or were revived for syndication several years after their original cancellation. Until about 1980, most syndicated series were distributed to stations either on 16mm film prints (off-network reruns, feature films, and cartoons) or videotape (topical series such as
25326-534: The fall of 2011 (the latter ending when Darren Rovell moved to ESPN as their sports business correspondent). Bob Costas hosts Costas Tonight , which consists of monthly interview episodes, and quarterly town hall specials – the first of which aired from Indianapolis on February 2, 2012, as part of NBC's overall coverage of Super Bowl XLVI . The network also added more documentary-style series, including 36 , Caught Looking (a weekly series co-produced with Major League Baseball ), and Sports Illustrated ,
25527-466: The final episodes airing in late May of that same year; it would later be revived by CNBC in 2018. 5th Grader and Don't Forget the Lyrics! were canceled the following year for the same reason (although 5th Grader would later be revived by Fox and Nickelodeon on two different occasions). Reruns of the popular Discovery Channel show Cash Cab began airing in syndication in January 2011. Reruns of
25728-482: The first American football game, a college contest between Fordham and Waynesburg College was broadcast on television. The first nationwide broadcast of college football, which was also the first live sporting event seen coast-to-coast, was a game between Duke University and the University of Pittsburgh that was televised by NBC on 29 September 1951. The broadcasting of college football games on television in
25929-536: The first broadcast of a football match took place, with the BBC covering Arsenal's league fixture against Sheffield United at Highbury . Listeners to the broadcast could use numbered grids published in the Radio Times in order to ascertain in which area of the pitch (denoted as "squares") the action was taking place due to a second commentator reading out grid references during the match. The BBC broadcasts almost all major sports events. Initially broadcast as
26130-405: The first ever live broadcast of the team's annual spring game. Its coverage began with a marathon of three classic Fighting Irish games on March 17, St. Patrick's Day , to serve as a prelude to its coverage of the spring game. For the 2011 season, Versus also returned to airing National Lacrosse League telecasts with a nine-game package, starting with the 2011 All-Star Game and culminating with
26331-630: The first full-game broadcast took place in Winnipeg. That same season, hockey broadcasting pioneer Foster Hewitt made his first broadcast. In 1933, Hewitt called an olympic games -wide radio broadcast of an NHL game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs . Always starting the broadcast with "Hello, Canada, and hockey fans in the United States and Newfoundland !"; this phrase stuck around (albeit without
26532-554: The first sports broadcaster. The first radio broadcast of a baseball game occurred on 5 August 1921 over KDKA from Pittsburgh's Forbes Field . Harold W. Arlin announced a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies . Two months later, on 8 October 1921, from the same Forbes Field, Arlin announced the first live radio broadcast of a college football game on KDKA when he gave
26733-515: The foresight to film The Cisco Kid in color, even though color TV was still in its infancy and most stations did not yet support the technology. Among the most widely seen Ziv offerings were Sea Hunt , I Led Three Lives , Highway Patrol and Ripcord . Some first-run syndicated series were picked up by networks in the 1950s and early 1960s, such as the Adventures of Superman and Mr. Ed . The networks began syndicating their reruns in
26934-557: The former chairman of NBC Sports, said that Versus would be renamed "within 90 days" in order to reflect the synergy resulting from the merger. However, the announcement of a new name did not come until August 1, 2011, when Comcast announced that Versus would be relaunched as the NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) on January 1, 2012. The relaunch coincided with NBC's coverage of the NHL Winter Classic , which took place on
27135-584: The founding of the National Basketball Association , and has been aired on television ever since. College basketball, on the other hand, was much later in gaining a television foothold. Although the NCAA Tournament has aired since 1962, it was not until the mid-1970s that regular-season college basketball games would air on major network television. Outside of the networks, the only other source for national sports television
27336-439: The increased popularity for shows that remained in production. A prime example is Law & Order . As with radio in the U.S., television networks, particularly in their early years, did not offer a full day's worth of programming for their affiliates, even in the evening or "prime time" hours. In the early days of television, this was less of an issue, as there were in most markets fewer TV stations than there were networks (at
27537-416: The independent stations due to breaking news or sports commitments without the traditional inconvenience of a late night or weekend airing of the pre-empted show. A duopoly of a network-affiliated and independent station also allows a network station to move a low-rated syndicated program to their sister independent station to stem revenue losses. Off-network syndication occurs when a network television series
27738-492: The intent of the rule was to encourage local stations to produce their own programs for this time slot, budgetary limits instead prompted stations to buy syndicated programs to fill the slot. This, coupled with an increase in UHF independent stations , caused a boom in the syndication market. In the 1970s, first-run syndication continued to be an odd mix: cheaply produced, but not always poor quality, "filler" programming. These included
27939-454: The largest U.S. TV markets (such as New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Philadelphia , where all six aforementioned groups each own stations), before striking deals with other major and smaller station owners. Shows airing in first-run syndication that are carried primarily by an owned-and-operated station of a network may sometimes be incorrectly referenced as a network program, especially if said network's syndication wing distributes
28140-450: The late 1950s, and first-run syndication shrank sharply for a decade. Some stalwart series continued, including Death Valley Days ; other ambitious projects were also to flourish, however briefly, such as The Play of the Week (1959–1961), produced by David Susskind (of the syndicated talk show Open End and also producer of such network fare as NYPD ). Among other syndicated series of
28341-451: The late 1970s, Westinghouse also found considerable success with The Mike Douglas Show , a variety/talk show hosted by a singer with an easygoing interview style, which aired in the afternoons in most markets; similar programs soon followed featuring Merv Griffin , who had been the host of CBS ' most sustained late-night answer to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson previously, and another network veteran, Dinah Shore . Also notable
28542-510: The late 1980s, however, increasing production costs made them less attractive to the networks. Studios found that reruns of one-hour dramas did not sell as well as sitcoms, so they were unable to fully recoup the shows' costs using the traditional deficit financing model. When NBC canceled the television series adaptation of Fame after only two seasons, the producers made special arrangements with LBS Communications , which resulted in MGM reviving
28743-694: The league and event, telecasts are often shown live on network television (traditionally on weekends and during major events — either national through a television network , or in some cases, regionally syndicated by an operation such as Raycom Sports or a team), and nationally available cable channels (such as ESPN or Fox Sports 1 ). In some leagues (such as the NHL and the NBA ), events are also primarily shown by regional sports networks groups (such as Fox Sports Networks ), networks which air telecasts for teams of local interest, which are usually only carried within
28944-413: The league in 2014, offers two weekly games to CBC Television for free to allow the network to continue the long-running Hockey Night in Canada . The CFL's return to broadcast television was part of a broader trend away from cable television and toward over-the-air options, as the NFL had made more of its Monday Night Football games available on broadcast television in the two years leading up to
29145-511: The leagues themselves, resulting in blackouts . These limitations can be legally overlooked by purchasing out-of-market sports packages , such as MLB Extra Innings or NFL Sunday Ticket . Regular season games involving local teams (except the NFL) may also be viewed on those local stations or regional sports channels that have a contract to broadcast that team's games. Events that have been described as "the most watched" per various definitions include
29346-652: The lineup were far more scarce. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rulings in 1971 curtailed the U.S. networks' ability to schedule programming in what has become known as the " fringe time ", notably the 7–8 p.m. ( Eastern and Pacific Time ) hour of "prime time", with the stated hope that this might encourage more local programming of social and cultural relevance to communities (off-network syndicated repeats were also banned); some projects of this sort came to fruition, though these were usually relatively commercial and slick efforts such as Group W 's Evening/PM Magazine franchise, and such pre-existing national projects as
29547-402: The major broadcast networks, currently own some NFL rights. NBC also broadcast an NHL game in 1940; the league would briefly air games in the 1950s, but due to a dispute over how much of the rights fee money the players would receive (and difficulties programming around the two Canadian teams in the league at the time ), the NHL refused to televise its games in the United States for six years in
29748-421: The major team sports and the motorsports circuits operating their own networks. Local radio broadcasts cover a wide variety of sports, ranging from the majors to local school and recreational leagues. Internet broadcasts are also common, though college and major professional sports either use a pay wall or subscriber-based systems such as TV Everywhere to extract payment. Telephone broadcasts are rare, although
29949-471: The majority of Red Sox games (except nationally televised games). The New York Mets own SportsNet New York jointly with Comcast and Time Warner Cable . Madison Square Garden has its own network as well, MSG , where they broadcast New York Rangers , New York Knicks , New York Islanders and high school sports games, as well as original shows. Altitude airs games of all Denver-based teams owned by Kroenke Sports Enterprises. Mid-Atlantic Sports Network
30150-454: The mentioned cases, KCBS-TV , KSHB-TV and WDJT-TV ) by allowing a duopoly control of more syndicated programming than would be possible on one station (and to spread it throughout the schedule of the two stations, often several times a day), or to air news programming in times unavailable on the larger network station, along with fulfilling network and syndicated programming commitments, which allows popular or network programming to be moved to
30351-672: The mid-to-late 1980s into the early 1990s, sitcoms continued to enter first-run syndication after being canceled by the networks, the most successful of which were Mama's Family and Charles in Charge . Other sitcoms during this time to enter first-run syndication after network cancellation included Silver Spoons , Punky Brewster , Webster , It's a Living , Too Close for Comfort , 9 to 5 , What's Happening!! , and WKRP in Cincinnati . Many of these sitcoms produced new shows in syndication mainly to have enough episodes for
30552-516: The most popular have been Wheel of Fortune and the current version of Jeopardy! , both created by television personality Merv Griffin , respectively premiering in 1983 and 1984. The shows have been No. 1 and No. 2 or No. 1 to No. 3 in the syndication ratings consistently since at least the late 1980s. In fact, according to the Guinness Book of World Records , Wheel is the most popular syndicated television program both within and outside
30753-483: The network could sustain itself without the viewership that Lance Armstrong's presence had brought to its coverage. Following the 2005 Tour (where Armstrong captured his seventh victory in the race, and announced his retirement from cycling afterward), OLN debuted a new lineup of programming–led by the acquisition of off-network reruns of the reality competition series Survivor . OLN's executives believed that bringing Survivor into its lineup would fit well with
30954-441: The network would cease operations by the end of the year. NBCSN ceased operations on December 31, 2021, with its sports properties moved to USA Network , Peacock , and other NBCUniversal networks. The channel originally launched as the Outdoor Life Network (or OLN ) on July 31, 1995; the name was licensed from Outdoor Life magazine. Its programming consisted of hunting, fishing, and outdoor adventure shows. In its early days,
31155-430: The network's affiliates on the same day of the week and at the same time (in a given time zone, in countries where this is a concern). Some production companies create their shows and license them to networks at a loss, at least at first, hoping that the series will succeed and that eventual off-network syndication will turn a profit for the show. A syndicated program is licensed to stations for "cash" (the stations purchase
31356-553: The network's former programming such as Notre Dame hockey , and would also simulcast several major sports events held by NBCSN as a transitional move, most notably the opening games of the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals . The move was cited by industry analysts as a response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sports and television industries, the acceleration of cord-cutting , as well as formidable competition from rival sports networks such as ESPN and Fox Sports 1 , noting
31557-625: The new direction it had planned for OLN, and could attract viewership from fans of the show who had watched it on CBS , though it was also the first example to prove that traditional repeats of reality competitions with the results already known was an unviable strategy. Around the same period, OLN also acquired the rights to the Dakar Rally , America's Cup , the Boston Marathon , and the Iditarod . OLN planned to cover these events in
31758-478: The news agency model, where nominally competing networks share resources and rebroadcast each other's programs. For example, National Public Radio ( NPR ) stations commonly air the Public Radio Exchange 's This American Life , which may contain stories produced by NPR journalists. When syndicating a show, the production company , or a distribution company called a syndicator, attempts to license
31959-496: The number could be as low as 65. Successful shows in syndication can cover production costs and make a profit, even if the first run of the show was not profitable. This type of syndication has arisen in the U.S. as a parallel service to member stations of the Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS ) and the handful of independent public broadcasting stations. This form of syndication more closely resembles
32160-528: The outdoor networks of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment effectively monopolized the market through their own three networks, along with streaming providers. The editorial standards for those venues also had more tolerance to the firearms-centric genre (and advertiser base) of outdoors programming. NBCSN simulcast Spanish-language coverage of two matches from the 2018 FIFA World Cup from corporate sibling Telemundo : Brazil vs. Switzerland on June 17, and England vs. Belgium on June 28. In December 2018,
32361-418: The past several decades, in part because of bidding wars between the numerous networks and the fear of losing stature due to the loss of NFL programming; as of the most recent contract the league nets annual fees of over $ 6 billion, or half of the league's overall revenue, from television rights alone. Four of the five major sports television units in the United States, and the four companies that control all of
32562-535: The play-by-play action of the University of Pittsburgh victory over West Virginia University . On 17 May 1939, the United States' first televised sporting event, a college baseball game between the Columbia Lions and Princeton Tigers , was broadcast by NBC from Columbia's Baker Field . (The world's first live televised sporting event had been the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. ) On 30 September 1939,
32763-604: The program, hosted by Steve Harvey , has been a major ratings success; on the week of June 12, 2015, for the first time ever, Family Feud was the highest-rated syndicated program in terms of average household ratings. While the current version of The Price Is Right (another Goodson-Todman game show) has enjoyed tremendous success on the CBS daytime schedule since its inception in 1972 under hosts Bob Barker and Drew Carey , it has also produced three spinoffs, two of which failed after one season. The most successful syndicated edition
32964-418: The program, regardless to its distribution to stations of varying network affiliations and despite the fact it is not part of an individual network's base schedule. Since the early 2000s, some programs being proposed for national distribution in first-run syndication have been test marketed on a selected number of or all stations owned by certain major station group, allowing the distributor to determine whether
33165-541: The relevant market. Additionally, cable channels also exist that are dedicated to specific types of sports, certain college sports conferences, or a specific league. Pay-per-view broadcasts are typically restricted to combat sports such as boxing, mixed martial arts or professional wrestling. Radio broadcasts are extensive. The national leagues each have national network coverage of league high games in addition to local radio coverage originating with each team, with ESPN Radio and WestwoodOne controlling national rights to
33366-410: The results. Those in attendance cheered as though they were watching the game live, including the school's legendary Rock Chalk, Jayhawk cheer. This was followed on Thanksgiving 1919 by the first true broadcast (as opposed to the 1911 point-to-point transmission) of a college football game, over 5XB, the experimental station that eventually became WTAW ; that year's Lone Star Shootout was, as with
33567-427: The rights to local insertion some or all of the advertisements at their level); given to stations for access to airtime (wherein the syndicators get the advertising revenue); or the combination of both. The trade of program for airtime is called " barter ." In the United States (as a result of continued relaxation of station ownership regulations since the 1970s), syndicated programs are usually licensed to stations on
33768-427: The rise of cable television channels aimed at that audience such as Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network , which provided appealing children's entertainment throughout the week at nearly all hours. Syndication remains a method of choice for distributing children's programming, although this has gradually shifted to only produce programs to satisfy the federally mandated " regulations on children's television programming in
33969-454: The room for broadcasting sports events) available on a given set, and also gave channels such as ESPN the ability to broadcast direct and nationwide, as opposed to dealing with local affiliates. Syndication networks gave way to regional sports networks , which carried broadcasts of local sports on a far greater scale than full-service broadcast stations could provide at the time; these combined with out-of-market sports packages (which debuted in
34170-512: The same day. In an interview with TV Guide , president of programming Jon Miller stated that NBCSN was to be positioned as a credible "full-service sports network", dropping low-brow programming (such as Whacked Out Sports and The T.Ocho Show ) in favor of focusing on event coverage, and sports news and talk programs, including new original programming. NBC also made efforts to expand its current broadcasting relationships and acquire new rights for additional sports events to be broadcast on
34371-527: The second half of the NASCAR Playoffs and Xfinity Series seasons; the majority of which will air on NBCSN. On August 17, 2014, NBCSN aired rain-delayed coverage of the USGA 's 2014 United States Amateur Challenge , making it the first golf event to be televised on the network. Original programs aired by the network include NBC SportsTalk , and the weekly CNBC Sports Biz , which both debuted in
34572-416: The semi-finals of the former only air on broadcast television in odd-numbered years). A similar phenomenon has taken root in much of Canadian sports, where the Canadian Football League left broadcast television in 2008, not to return again until 2024. The National Hockey League survives on Canadian broadcast television because Rogers Sportsnet , the cable broadcaster that acquired exclusive rights to
34773-420: The series for first-run syndication in the fall of 1983, where it continued for four more seasons, with the last first-run episode airing in the U.S. on May 18, 1987. Star Trek: The Next Generation debuted in 1987, and became the most-watched syndicated show throughout its seven-year run. Its great success caused many others to debut. Friday the 13th: The Series (a horror series which shared its title with
34974-426: The series was renewed for a second season in January 2015, while Ferguson would also win a Daytime Emmy Award for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host for his work on the program. In January 2016, Fox owned-and-operated stations began a test run of South of Wilshire —a game show produced by TMZ. The 2017 summer season includes the game show iWitness created by TV judge Judith Sheindlin. 2021 saw
35175-413: The show to one station in each media market or area, or to a commonly owned station group, within the country and internationally. If successful, this can be lucrative, but the syndicator may only be able to license the show in a small percentage of the markets. Syndication differs from licensing the show to a television network. Once a network picks up a show, it is usually guaranteed to run on most or all
35376-689: The successful movie franchise) also debuted in 1987. The next syndicated shows that debuted in 1988 were War of the Worlds and Freddy's Nightmares . Baywatch , which debuted in 1989 on NBC and was canceled after one season also became one of the most watched syndicated shows throughout its ten-year-run, garnering a worldwide audience. By 1994, there were more than 20 one-hour syndicated shows. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Renegade were also syndicated. Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and its spin-off series Xena: Warrior Princess were also popular, often tying Deep Space Nine at 5% to 6% of
35577-471: The syndicated versions of Price were 30 minutes long. A Hollywood Squares revival also thrived beginning in 1998 under host Tom Bergeron , running six seasons until its 2004 cancellation. By far the most successful entry into the market in the 2000s has been the daily version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire , which premiered in September 2002 and was canceled in May 2019 after 17 seasons in syndication (and
35778-543: The syndication market around this time. Of these shows, Let's Make a Deal and Hollywood Squares were the first to jump to twice-a-week syndicated versions, in about 1973. Another popular daytime show to have a weekly syndicated version was The Price Is Right , which began concurrently in weekly syndication and on CBS ; the syndicated "nighttime" version was hosted by Dennis James for its first five years, after which daytime host Bob Barker took over for another three years of weekly episodes (even though, by this point,
35979-568: The syndication market shrunk, Andromeda season 5 moved to the Syfy Channel (2004). There was not another first-run syndicated drama (or a first-run scripted series in syndication) until 2008, when Disney-ABC Domestic Television and ABC Studios teamed up with Sam Raimi to launch a new first-run syndicated series, Legend of the Seeker , based on Terry Goodkind 's Sword of Truth novel series. Another gap in first-run scripted series in syndication followed for four years after Legend of
36180-469: The syndication market to fulfill the requirements. Also in the 1980s, news programming of various sorts began to be offered widely to stations. Independent Network News , which was produced by WPIX in New York City, was a half-hour nightly program that ran from 1980 to 1990 on independent stations (in some markets, INN was paired with a locally produced primetime newscast); CNN would offer
36381-414: The talk shows of Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin , and variety and quiz shows). Ziv Television Programs, after establishing itself as a major radio syndicator, was the first major first-run television syndicator, creating several long-lived series in the 1950s and selling them directly to regional sponsors, who in turn sold the shows to local stations. Ziv's first major TV hit was The Cisco Kid . Ziv had
36582-495: The time four), which meant that the stations that did exist affiliated with multiple networks and, when not airing network or local programs, typically sign-on and sign-off . The loosening of licensing restrictions, and the subsequent passage of the All-Channel Receiver Act , meant that by the early 1960s, the situation had reversed. There were now more stations than the networks—now down to three in number after
36783-477: The time, it owned majority control of the Philadelphia Flyers , and four Comcast SportsNet regional sports networks . In August 2005, ESPN declined to match Comcast's offer, and OLN acquired pay television rights to the NHL beginning in the 2005–2006 season in a three-year deal worth close to $ 200 million. The new deal would include 58 regular season games on Monday and Tuesday nights, coverage of
36984-429: The way for a second series two years later, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers . The following year, the two shows aired together under the umbrella block The Disney Afternoon . In the fall of 1990, Disney added another hour to The Disney Afternoon ; the block continued in syndication, running additional first-run animated series until 1999. These cartoons initially competed with the ones that were nationally televised on
37185-546: The yearly ratings rankings for American sports networks saw NBCSN rank second for the first time, ahead of ESPN2 , which fell below the second spot for the first time in its history. Because of Comcast's acquisition of Sky plc , NBCSN partnered with the British media firm's Sky Sports division on coverage of international events. The first collaboration came at the Premier League transfer deadline in January 2019. Two months later, NBCSN added an hour-long simulcast of
37386-520: Was Street Smarts , which lasted from 2001 to 2006 (despite the series airing in late night slots in many markets). Between 2003 and 2007, no new game shows debuted in syndication, marking four consecutive seasons where no new shows with that genre debuted, a syndication first. That streak ended with the fall 2007 debuts of Temptation and Merv Griffin's Crosswords , bringing the daytime tally to six game shows; both ended production after one year, though Crosswords aired in reruns in some cities during
37587-767: Was Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin who broadcast for the Gaelic Games and live commentary weekly beginning in 1930. Many sports were covered in Irish broadcasting including Bridge tournaments. The first sports event broadcast on radio in Europe was a Boxing contest for the Flyweight Championship of Great Britain and Europe between Elky Clark of Scotland and Kid Socks of England. relayed from the National Sporting Club in London on 26 February 1926. Further boxing commentaries were broadcast by
37788-617: Was a Hanna-Barbera cartoon series attempting to ape the All in the Family -style sitcoms; Skippy the Bush Kangaroo (1969), an Australian children's series, or Gentle Ben (a decade later, the decidedly not-for-children Australian Prisoner: Cell Block H would have a brief U.S. syndicated run); and a Canadian sketch-comedy series began appearing on U.S. television stations in 1977— Second City Television , which would eventually find
37989-451: Was a Canadian series, apparently modified from the vision of science fiction writers Harlan Ellison and Ben Bova . Britain's ITC Entertainment , headed by Lew Grade , made UFO (1970) and Space: 1999 (1975). These two series were created by Gerry Anderson (and his associates), previously best known for Supermarionation (a combination of puppetry and animation) series such as Thunderbirds . The most successful syndicated show in
38190-575: Was also important for the nascent anime community in the United States, with imports like Speed Racer and Star Blazers (a localized edit of Space Battleship Yamato ) helping to grow interest in Japanese animation. This led to the establishment of companies dedicated to importing and translating anime such as Streamline Pictures and Viz Media towards the end of the 1980s. In 1987, The Walt Disney Company tried its luck at syndication; DuckTales premiered that September and would eventually last for 100 episodes. The success of DuckTales paved
38391-471: Was challenged by syndicated programming in the 1980s was with late-night talk shows ; The Arsenio Hall Show was the only very successful one (it would be canceled after five years in 1994 due to ratings declines spurred by many CBS affiliates pushing the show to later timeslots following the debut of the Late Show with David Letterman , and was later revived in 2013), but similar programs were attempted such as Alan Thicke 's earlier short-lived Thicke of
38592-409: Was delivered on RealVideo , a compressed video format, on the RealPlayer media player platform on the station's website. It also was distributed to Windows Mobile mobile devices using the Windows Media Player format, including Compaq 's IPAQ personal digital assistant which required an ExpressCard to connect to the Internet . Broadcasting rights and contracts limit who can show footage of
38793-457: Was formed in 2012, having signed a broadcast deal with the NBC Sports Network. This was the third MMA promotion that NBC Sports has hosted, having broadcast World Extreme Cagefighting and Ultimate Fighting Championship events when the channel was formerly known as Versus . NBC Sports had been one of the bidders for the rights to broadcast future UFC events, but lost out to Fox . However, some journalists regarded WSOF's deal with NBC Sports to be
38994-417: Was intended to represent the common element of competition within its lineup. OLN's re-launch as Versus occurred on September 25, 2006. Among the new programming acquired by Versus was a number of combat sports , beginning with a series of boxing programs promoted by Bob Arum 's Top Rank promotion. The channel also began televising Chuck Norris 's World Combat League , a kickboxing promotion featuring
39195-481: Was rebranded as the NBC Sports Network . The branding was later shortened to NBCSN . By September 15, 2014, most of NBC Sports' operations, including NBCSN, had been moved to facilities in Stamford, Connecticut . As of February 2020, NBCSN was distributed to 79.879 million homes and was the second most watched cable sports network besides ESPN (though some sources included ESPN2 as a separate network in those figures). On January 22, 2021, NBCUniversal announced that
39396-411: Was renewed for the 2009–2010 season, Trivial Pursuit: America Plays suffered low ratings throughout its run and was canceled. For the 2009–2010 season, the Fox game show Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? moved to syndication with a new, less expensive format. Don't Forget the Lyrics! followed for the 2010–2011 season. Deal , suffering from falling ratings, was canceled in February 2010, with
39597-442: Was revived by NBC Sports Radio in 2019 after the PASPA Act was declared unconstitutional , though NBCSN instead blended betting content into regular programming. The Ultimate Fighting Championship would air two live events on the channel due to the new contract agreement with UFC sister promotion World Extreme Cagefighting. The first edition of UFC on Versus aired on March 21, 2010, headlined by Brandon Vera vs. Jon Jones in
39798-438: Was the 1972–80 weekly version that was initially hosted by Dennis James , but in 1977, daytime host Bob Barker also hosted the nighttime version for the final three seasons. For the 1985–86 season, Tom Kennedy hosted a daily syndicated version, and in 1994–95, Doug Davidson emceed his own daily syndicated version, titled The New Price Is Right . Unlike the daytime series, which expanded to its current one-hour length in 1975,
39999-521: Was the growing success of audience-participation talk shows, particularly that of the innovator of the format, Phil Donahue . First-run syndication in the 1970s also made it possible for some shows that were no longer wanted by television networks to remain on the air. In 1971, ABC canceled The Lawrence Welk Show , which went on to produce new episodes in syndication for another 11 years, and currently continues to much success in weekend reruns (with new segments featuring Welk cast members inserted within
40200-400: Was then Outdoor Life Network (now NBCSN ) took over NHL broadcast rights; they have since renewed those rights through 2021. The first-ever television broadcast of a basketball game occurred on 28 February 1940 when the University of Pittsburgh defeated Fordham at Madison Square Garden on NBC station W2XBS. Professional basketball has been aired on television since 1953, shortly after
40401-433: Was through early syndication networks. Sports Network Incorporated (SNI), later renamed the Hughes Television Network , carried Cleveland Browns (NFL) games in the 1950s and NHL games in the late 1970s, after the NHL lost its contract with NBC. TVS Television Network helped popularize the broadcasts of college basketball and also gave an outlet to the short-lived World Football League . Mizlou Television Network earned
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