Le Réseau des sports
| Réseau des sports | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Launched | September 1, 1989 |
| Owned by |
Bell Media (80%) and ESPN Inc. (20%) (CTV Specialty Television) |
| Picture format |
1080i (HDTV) (2007-present) 480i (SDTV) (1989-present) |
| Slogan | Le sport sans limites! (Sports Without Limits!) |
| Country | Canada |
| Broadcast area | National |
| Headquarters | Montreal, Quebec |
| Sister channel(s) | RDS2, RDS Info, TSN, TSN2 |
| Website | RDS (in French) |
|
Availability
|
|
| Satellite | |
| Bell TV | Channel 123 (SD) Channel 1880 (HD) |
| Shaw Direct | Channel 750 (SD) Channel 382 / 240 (HD) |
| Cable | |
| Available on many Canadian cable systems | Check local listings |
| IPTV | |
| Bell Aliant Fibe TV | Channel 821 (SD) Channel 921 (HD) |
| Bell Fibe TV | Channel 108 (SD) Channel 1108 (HD) |
| Bell MTS | Channel 191 (SD) Channel 1191 (HD) |
| Optik TV | Channel 8080 (SD) Channel 2080 (HD) |
| SaskTel | Channel 126 (SD) |
| Telus Quebec | Channel 20 (SD) Channel 520 (HD) |
| VMedia | Channel 508 (HD) (ON) Channel 23 (HD) (QC) |
| Zazeen | Channel 230 (HD) |
Réseau des sports (commonly abbreviated as RDS), is a Canadian French language Category C specialty channel showing sports and sport-related shows. It is available in 2.5 million homes, and is owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc. (Bell Media 80% and ESPN 20%). Its full name (usually prefaced in speech by the French article "le") translates as "The Sports Network", the name of its English-language sister network, TSN.
RDS was launched on September 1, 1989 as a sister network to Labatt's highly successful English-language sports network TSN, but the new network initially was run on a low budget and struggled to obtain rights to major professional sporting events. Despite this, RDS became infamous in its early years for its program Défi Mini-Putt, a weekly miniature golf program best known for its energetic commentator Serge Vleminckx, and his enthusiastic cries of "Birdie!" when a hole in one was scored.
By the early 1990s, the network became more established, obtaining the rights to Montreal Expos, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and some Montreal Canadiens games. Rodger Brulotte became the network's second broadcasting star with his enthusiastic colour commentary of Expos games. RDS also covered some of Montreal's other professional sports teams, such as the Montreal Machine WLAF football team, the Montreal Impact soccer team, the Montreal Roadrunners roller hockey team, the Montreal Express lacrosse team, and the Montreal Alouettes Canadian football team. While the Machine, Roadrunners, and Express folded, the partnership between RDS and the Impact and Alouettes helped both the network and the teams to become popular. Much of the rise of popularity of Canadian football in Quebec can be attributed to RDS coverage of Canadian Football League and university games. Its small market (mainly limited to Quebec), however, has meant that its revenues are modest. It has had to offer proportionately modest fees for broadcast rights.
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Wikipedia