Sportsnet | |
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Sportsnet's logo used since 2000–2001 also October 3, 2011.
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Launched | October 9, 1998 |
Owned by | Rogers Media |
Picture format |
1080i (HDTV) (HD feed downgraded to letterboxed 480i for SDTVs) 4K (UHDTV) (part-time, selected broadcasts) |
Slogan |
Canada's #1 Sports Network (primary) Fuelled By Fans (secondary) |
Country | Canada |
Broadcast area | National, through regional feeds |
Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
Formerly called | CTV Sportsnet (1998–2000) Rogers Sportsnet (2001–2011) |
Sister channel(s) |
TV: Sportsnet One Sportsnet World Sportsnet 360 TVA Sports WWE Network Sportsnet Radio: CJCL and CFAC |
Website | Sportsnet |
Availability
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Satellite | |
Bell TV | 405–408 (SD) 1405–1408 (HD) |
Shaw Direct | 416–419 / 117-120 (SD) 103-106 / 603–606 (HD) |
Cable | |
Available on most Canadian cable systems | Check local listings, channels may vary |
IPTV | |
Bell Aliant Fibe TV | 110, 112–114 (SD) 610, 612-614 (HD) |
Bell Fibe TV | 405–408 (SD) 1405–1408 (HD) |
Bell MTS | 171–174 (SD) 11711–1174 (HD) |
Optik TV | 9911, 9915–9917 (SD) 911, 915-917 (HD) |
SaskTel | 116–119 (SD) 416-419 (HD) |
VMedia | 27, 29, 94, 95 (HD) |
Zazeen | 60-63 (HD) |
Streaming media | |
Sportsnet Now |
now |
Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty service. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then was required to divest its stake in the network following its 2001 acquisition of competing network TSN. Rogers then became the sole owner of Sportsnet in 2004 after it bought the remaining minority stake that was held by Fox.
The Sportsnet license comprises four 24-hour programming services; Sportsnet was originally licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as a category A service, operating as a group of regional sports networks offering programming tailored to each feed's region (in contrast to TSN, which was licensed at the time to operate as a national sports service, and could only offer limited regional opt-outs). Since 2011, the service has operated under deregulated category C licensing, which allows Sportsnet to operate multiple feeds with no restrictions on alternate programming. In each region, only the local Sportsnet channel is available on analogue cable, but all four channels are available nationally via digital cable (subject to blackouts for some out-of-market teams).
The four Sportsnet feeds air some common programming and simulcast major, national events, but are capable of airing programming autonomously—most prominently regional programming. Sportsnet is the national cable rightsholder of the National Hockey League, and also holds regional rights to five of the league's Canadian franchises. It is also the national rightsholder of Major League Baseball in Canada (although most of ESPN's MLB broadcasts are sub-licensed to rival network TSN), and the exclusive broadcaster of the co-owned Toronto Blue Jays. It also splits regional coverage of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors with TSN; Rogers Communications and TSN's parent company Bell Canada own a joint majority stake in the teams' parent company.