NewSport was an American
cable
Cable may refer to:
Mechanical
* Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof
* Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
and
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
television network
A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or multichannel video programming distributo ...
that was owned by Rainbow Programming Holdings, a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
between the
Rainbow Media
AMC Networks Inc. is an American entertainment company headquartered in 11 Penn Plaza, New York.
AMC Networks owns and operates the eponymous cable channel and its siblings, IFC, We TV, and Sundance TV; the art house movie theater IFC Cen ...
subsidiary of
Cablevision
Cablevision Systems Corporation was an American cable television company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City. It was the fifth-largest cable provider and ninth-largest television provider in the United States. Throughout its ex ...
,
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
and
Liberty Media
Liberty Media Corporation (commonly referred to as Liberty Media or just Liberty) is an American mass media company controlled by chairman John C. Malone. The company has three divisions, reflecting the company's ownership stakes in Formula One ...
. Predating the launch of the originally similar
ESPNews
ESPNews (pronounced "ESPN News", stylized ESPNEWS) is an American multinational digital cable and satellite television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns ...
by three years, it focused on 24-hour coverage of
sports news
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
and analysis.
History
NewSport debuted on October 1, 1993, replacing
SportsChannel America
SportsChannel is the collective name for a former group of regional sports networks in the United States that was owned by Cablevision, which from 1988 until the group's demise, operated it as a joint venture with NBC.
Operating from March 1, 1 ...
, a national version spun off of Rainbow's SportsChannel
regional sports network
In the United States and Canada, a regional sports network (RSN) is a cable television channel (many of which are also distributed on direct broadcast satellite services) that presents sports programming to a local market or geographical region.
...
group. NewSport developed a unique
sports ticker, known as the "NewSport Score Box", which debuted in 1995 and provided constantly updated score information on ongoing games and schedules for upcoming sports events at the bottom right of the screen.
The network also aired original programs such as ''NewSport Talk'' (a sports discussion program), ''NewSport Journal'', ''NewSport Tonite'' (a nightly program featuring news and analysis on the day in sports) and ''Scoreboard Central'' (which premiered on April 29, 1995, a 12-hour sports news program that aired on Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.
Eastern Time
The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...
). Programming from the network was used as filler on Rainbow's regional SportsChannel networks and
PRISM
Prism usually refers to:
* Prism (optics), a transparent optical component with flat surfaces that refract light
* Prism (geometry), a kind of polyhedron
Prism may also refer to:
Science and mathematics
* Prism (geology), a type of sedimentary ...
(a Philadelphia-area movies/sports pay service also owned by Rainbow); some over-the-air television stations, like
WYLN-CD, also carried NewSport programming.
The network was slow to grow in coverage, with relatively limited carriage on cable system operators besides Cablevision, owner of SportsChannel and NewSport parent Rainbow Media. Ironically, even Cablevision did not give the network full-time coverage as it carried NewSport on the channel slots also occupied by
The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel broadcasts weather forecas ...
on some of their systems through a time-share arrangement. At its peak, NewSport had only about 10 million subscribers nationwide. This slow growth and lack of viewers, combined with the wide distribution and success of ESPNEWS and Rainbow reportedly losing more than $20 million operating the network, resulted in Rainbow Programming Holdings deciding to shut down NewSport on July 9, 1997.
American Sports Classics
American Sports Classics (named after then-sister network
American Movie Classics
AMC is an American multinational basic cable television channel that is the flagship property of AMC Networks. The channel's programming primarily consists of theatrically released films, along with a limited amount of original programming. ...
) was a network that focused on sports nostalgia programming; it was originally set to launch after NewSport ceased operations on July 9, 1997, however its launch was postponed "indefinitely" for a time, after Rainbow Media transferred control of the network to Fox/Liberty Networks, a joint venture between
News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
, Liberty Media and Cablevision created after News Corporation acquired a 40% stake in Cablevision's sports properties for $850 million in June 1997. When it launched that fall, the network featured a broad mix of biographical and magazine-style programs.
ASC's format contrasted with the similarly focused Classic Sports Network (which later became
ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic was an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns 20%).
The channel was originally l ...
), which at the time mostly showed archived sports event telecasts. The reason why the launch was postponed in the first place was due to problems Rainbow faced in trying to obtain the rebroadcast rights to sporting events from the major professional and collegiate sports leagues or their broadcast partners, forcing American Sports Classics to rely on the magazine and biographical programs.
Like NewSport, ASC was unable to stand up to its competitors, specifically Classic Sports Network. The network ceased operations in mid-1998, shortly after SportsChannel discontinued operations upon its merger with
Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on Mar ...
.
References
{{Prime Network
Television channels and stations established in 1993
Television channels and stations disestablished in 1997
Defunct television networks in the United States
Sports television networks in the United States
SportsChannel
Former General Electric subsidiaries
Joint ventures