[font=verdana,geneva,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]http://http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/10935621p-11852949c.html[font=verdana,geneva,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]
Kings' TV to launch Nov. 2
Currently, only Comcast customers will be able to see the broadcasts.
By J. Freedom du Lac -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Friday, October 1, 2004
Comcast Cable's nascent regional sports network now has a name, a launch date, a channel position and some additional programming beyond the Kings and Monarchs.
What the new network doesn't yet have, however, is a home in enemy territory.
Three weeks after announcing its relatively vague plans to launch a 24-hour regional sports network with the Kings as its crown jewel, Comcast on Thursday finally filled in a bunch of the blanks.
Called Comcast SportsNetWest, the station will launch Nov. 2 on Comcast's Channel 34 with a Kings pregame show, followed by the team's season-opener - one of 52 games the network plans to carry during the Kings' upcoming campaign.
It remains to be seen whether Kings fans who subscribe to any of Comcast's competitors will be able to watch those games.
The formation of the all-sports network represents a major offensive in the pitched battle for cable and satellite customers, though Comcast said it's offered SportsNet West to its rivals here - including DirecTV, DISH Network and SureWest Broadband.
So far, no takers.
"Their customers should contact them to determine if they are going to choose to carry the service," said Susan Gonzales, spokeswoman for Comcast's Central Valley operation.
DirecTV spokesman Bob Marsocci said "it's a little premature to say" whether the satellite provider will strike a deal to carry SportsNet West.
"We will either have a deal shortly or we will not," Marsocci said. He declined to say what kind of rights fee Comcast is seeking for the network.
Marc Lumpkin, a DISH Network spokesman, said the satellite operator doesn't comment on negotiations, but repeated the company line that DISH would like to carry the new network for a "reasonable" rate.
No matter what happens with the negotiations, the six Kings preseason telecasts that Comcast plans to carry won't be available anywhere else in the local pay-TV galaxy.
Though it was originally announced that those October games would be broadcast on the new network, Comcast says it will instead show them on Channel 2 while the company races to get the new network going.
Once live, the all-sports channel will be available to more than 770,000 Comcast subscribers from Chico to Fresno, further cementing the Kings brand throughout the Central Valley.
By January, the channel will be available to Comcast customers in the Bay Area, too - though Kings games will be blacked out there, as the Warriors own the TV rights in the territory.
While avoiding specifics, Gon zales acknowledged Comcast's general interest in adding at least some of the Bay Area's teams to the SportsNet West stable.
"We're in active discussions with several groups, and we're hopeful to reach agreements," she said.
In addition to the Kings and their surging, sister team, the Monarchs, SportsNet West's programming will include a sampler platter of regional college sports: Fresno State football, Sacramento State football (eventually) and a heavy dose of UC Davis.
On Comcast's skeleton programming schedule released Thursday, Davis dominates the collegiate listings with a football game, a women's basketball game, a half-dozen men's hoops contests and something called the UC Davis Aggie Athletics Auction.
"We're excited for the exposure for Aggie sports," said Larry Swanson, the university's associate athletic director. "The timing is really good for us, as we make the transition from Division II to Division I. This is the perfect opportunity to increase our profile in the region."
Davis will receive a "modest" rights fee from Comcast, Swanson said - modest meaning "it's not going to be a large money-maker for us."
But he acknowledged the TV exposure could lead to increased sales of tickets and Aggies apparel, plus a spike in alumni contributions.
"This gives us the opportunity to reach several hundred thousand people that we may not have had a chance to reach in the past," he said. "And that can result in additional revenue. That's not the main goal for us, but it certainly can be a nice side benefit."
In between all the games, SportsNet West will air other things - programming that hasn't been announced, as it hasn't yet been figured out by the network's general manager who is not yet in place.
"We'll be re-airing games and adding other sports-related content," Gonzales said.
She added: "This is just the initial programming schedule, with a very strong flagship team in the Sacramento Kings."
The programming will be part of Comcast's expanded basic cable package, though some Kings home games will be offered in high-definition as well.
Comcast HD subscribers will be able to see several home games in high-definition in the early part of the season - and all of them after Dec. 19.
Those broadcasts, with their brilliant picture clarity and superior sound, will air on Comcast's Channel 920, an all-purpose HD position.
Comcast SportsNet West's permanent in-house home - Channel 34 - is currently occupied by the Comcast-owned Outdoor Life Network, best known for its live coverage of the Tour de France.
OLN will move to Channel 65 on Nov. 2.
About the Writer
---------------------------
The Bee's J. Freedom du Lac can be reached at (916) 321-1115 or jdulac@sacbee.com. Bee staff writer Clint Swett contributed to this report.
[/font]
[/font]
Kings' TV to launch Nov. 2
Currently, only Comcast customers will be able to see the broadcasts.
By J. Freedom du Lac -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Friday, October 1, 2004
Comcast Cable's nascent regional sports network now has a name, a launch date, a channel position and some additional programming beyond the Kings and Monarchs.
What the new network doesn't yet have, however, is a home in enemy territory.
Three weeks after announcing its relatively vague plans to launch a 24-hour regional sports network with the Kings as its crown jewel, Comcast on Thursday finally filled in a bunch of the blanks.
Called Comcast SportsNetWest, the station will launch Nov. 2 on Comcast's Channel 34 with a Kings pregame show, followed by the team's season-opener - one of 52 games the network plans to carry during the Kings' upcoming campaign.
It remains to be seen whether Kings fans who subscribe to any of Comcast's competitors will be able to watch those games.
The formation of the all-sports network represents a major offensive in the pitched battle for cable and satellite customers, though Comcast said it's offered SportsNet West to its rivals here - including DirecTV, DISH Network and SureWest Broadband.
So far, no takers.
"Their customers should contact them to determine if they are going to choose to carry the service," said Susan Gonzales, spokeswoman for Comcast's Central Valley operation.
DirecTV spokesman Bob Marsocci said "it's a little premature to say" whether the satellite provider will strike a deal to carry SportsNet West.
"We will either have a deal shortly or we will not," Marsocci said. He declined to say what kind of rights fee Comcast is seeking for the network.
Marc Lumpkin, a DISH Network spokesman, said the satellite operator doesn't comment on negotiations, but repeated the company line that DISH would like to carry the new network for a "reasonable" rate.
No matter what happens with the negotiations, the six Kings preseason telecasts that Comcast plans to carry won't be available anywhere else in the local pay-TV galaxy.
Though it was originally announced that those October games would be broadcast on the new network, Comcast says it will instead show them on Channel 2 while the company races to get the new network going.
Once live, the all-sports channel will be available to more than 770,000 Comcast subscribers from Chico to Fresno, further cementing the Kings brand throughout the Central Valley.
By January, the channel will be available to Comcast customers in the Bay Area, too - though Kings games will be blacked out there, as the Warriors own the TV rights in the territory.
While avoiding specifics, Gon zales acknowledged Comcast's general interest in adding at least some of the Bay Area's teams to the SportsNet West stable.
"We're in active discussions with several groups, and we're hopeful to reach agreements," she said.
In addition to the Kings and their surging, sister team, the Monarchs, SportsNet West's programming will include a sampler platter of regional college sports: Fresno State football, Sacramento State football (eventually) and a heavy dose of UC Davis.
On Comcast's skeleton programming schedule released Thursday, Davis dominates the collegiate listings with a football game, a women's basketball game, a half-dozen men's hoops contests and something called the UC Davis Aggie Athletics Auction.
"We're excited for the exposure for Aggie sports," said Larry Swanson, the university's associate athletic director. "The timing is really good for us, as we make the transition from Division II to Division I. This is the perfect opportunity to increase our profile in the region."
Davis will receive a "modest" rights fee from Comcast, Swanson said - modest meaning "it's not going to be a large money-maker for us."
But he acknowledged the TV exposure could lead to increased sales of tickets and Aggies apparel, plus a spike in alumni contributions.
"This gives us the opportunity to reach several hundred thousand people that we may not have had a chance to reach in the past," he said. "And that can result in additional revenue. That's not the main goal for us, but it certainly can be a nice side benefit."
In between all the games, SportsNet West will air other things - programming that hasn't been announced, as it hasn't yet been figured out by the network's general manager who is not yet in place.
"We'll be re-airing games and adding other sports-related content," Gonzales said.
She added: "This is just the initial programming schedule, with a very strong flagship team in the Sacramento Kings."
The programming will be part of Comcast's expanded basic cable package, though some Kings home games will be offered in high-definition as well.
Comcast HD subscribers will be able to see several home games in high-definition in the early part of the season - and all of them after Dec. 19.
Those broadcasts, with their brilliant picture clarity and superior sound, will air on Comcast's Channel 920, an all-purpose HD position.
Comcast SportsNet West's permanent in-house home - Channel 34 - is currently occupied by the Comcast-owned Outdoor Life Network, best known for its live coverage of the Tour de France.
OLN will move to Channel 65 on Nov. 2.
About the Writer
---------------------------
The Bee's J. Freedom du Lac can be reached at (916) 321-1115 or jdulac@sacbee.com. Bee staff writer Clint Swett contributed to this report.
[/font]
[/font]